JP5332817B2 - Image forming device, foam coating device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that it is difficult to apply a processing liquid to a recording medium with a uniform film thickness. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming device has a bubble generation/supply section 211 for generating bubbles 210 from foamable processing liquid 201 such as liquid, gel, or both liquid and gel and supplying them to an application roller 212, the application roller 212 for bearing the bubbles 210 on the circumferential surface and applying the bubbles 210 to a recording medium 100, a thickness regulating member 214 for regulating the film thickness of the bubbles 210 borne on the application roller 212, and a heating member 218 for dispersing unnecessary bubbles 210a circulating to the rear side of the thickness regulating member 214 from among the bubbles 210 borne on the application roller 212 on the downstream side of the thickness regulation member 214 by heating. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and a foam coating apparatus.

  As an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a facsimile machine, a copying apparatus, a plotter, and a complex machine of these, for example, an ink jet recording apparatus is known as an image forming apparatus of a liquid discharge recording method using a recording head for discharging ink droplets. . This liquid discharge recording type image forming apparatus means that ink droplets are transported from a recording head (not limited to paper, including OHP, and can be attached to ink droplets and other liquids). Yes, it is also ejected onto a recording medium or a recording medium, recording paper, recording paper, etc.) to form an image (recording, printing, printing, and printing are also used synonymously). And a serial type image forming apparatus that forms an image by ejecting liquid droplets while the recording head moves in the main scanning direction, and a line type head that forms images by ejecting liquid droplets without moving the recording head There are line type image forming apparatuses using

  In the present invention, the “image forming apparatus” of the liquid discharge recording method forms an image by discharging liquid onto a medium such as paper, thread, fiber, fabric, leather, metal, plastic, glass, wood, ceramics, or the like. The term “image formation” means not only that an image having a meaning such as a character or a figure is imparted to the medium, but also an image having no meaning such as a pattern is imparted to the medium ( It also simply means that a droplet is landed on a medium). The “ink” is not limited to what is called ink, and is not particularly limited as long as it becomes a liquid when ejected. For example, a DNA sample, a resist, a pattern material, etc. Is also included.

  In such a liquid ejection type image forming apparatus, in order to form an image by forming ink containing a coloring material into droplets, feathering in which dots formed by the droplets are disturbed, and ink droplets of different colors When the ink is struck on the paper adjacent to each other, it may cause problems such as color bleeding, which causes the colors to mix with each other and the color boundary to become unclear. There is a problem that it takes.

  Therefore, conventionally, as described in Patent Document 1, before or after printing, a heating unit is used to prevent bleeding and promote ink drying after printing.

  Further, as described in Patent Document 2, a pretreatment liquid that reacts with ink to prevent bleeding is applied by an application roller, or as described in Patent Document 3, the pretreatment liquid is applied from a liquid discharge head. For example, it is applied by discharging in a mist form.

JP-A-8-323977 JP 2002-137378 A Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-138502

  However, the provision of the heating device as described in Patent Document 1 described above has a problem that the power consumption of the device increases. Also, as described in Patent Documents 2 and 3, when the pretreatment liquid is applied with an application roller or a liquid discharge head, application unevenness occurs, and after reaction with ink in order to apply a large amount of liquid onto the paper There is a problem with the quick-drying property of the paper, and in particular, the paper tends to curl or bend.

  This invention is made | formed in view of said subject, and it aims at enabling it to apply | coat with uniform thickness by making a liquid or a gel or a liquid and a gel into a bubble.

In order to solve the above problems, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention provides:
Image forming means for forming an image on a recording medium;
And a foam application unit for applying in the foam at least one of a liquid and a gel for the recording medium body,
The foam applying means is
Foam generating means for generating the foam;
And applying means for applying the foam to the recording medium body,
Foam supply means for supplying the foam generated by the foam generation means to the application means;
In between the supply position to the coating means from the foam supplying unit between the application position against the recording medium body by the application means, heating unnecessary the foam coating of uniform thickness to the recording medium And a heating means for disappearing.

An image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes:
Image forming means for forming an image on a recording medium;
A foam application means for applying a foam of at least one of a liquid and a gel to the recording medium,
The foam applying means is
Foam generating means for generating the foam;
Application means for applying the foam to the recording medium;
The bubbles unnecessary for coating with a uniform thickness among the bubbles coated on the recording medium are heated on the downstream side in the transport direction of the recording medium from the coating position on the recording medium by the coating means. And a heating means for making it disappear.

The foam coating apparatus according to the present invention is:
In a foam application apparatus that applies a foam of at least one of liquid and gel to a member to be coated,
Foam generating means for generating the foam;
Application means for applying the foam to the member to be applied;
Foam supply means for supplying the foam generated by the foam generation means to the application means;
Between the supply position from the bubble supply means to the application means and the application position to the application member by the application means, the bubbles unnecessary for applying a uniform thickness to the application member are heated to disappear. And a heating means.

The “bubble” in the present invention is a liquid in which a gas such as air is rounded and formed by the surface tension of the liquid enclosing the gas, and can maintain a three-dimensional shape for a certain period of time. Say. The foam having such shape-retaining properties preferably has a bulk density of 0.05 g / cm ³ or less, a foam diameter distribution range of 10 μm to 1 mm, and an average foam diameter of 100 μm or less. In addition, although a bubble is formed in a round shape by itself, when a plurality of bubbles are combined, the shape of each bubble takes a polyhedral shape due to surface tension. “Gel” means a colloidal solution or polymer compound dispersed in a dispersion medium loses its independent mobility due to the interaction, and the particles are connected to each other, forming a net-like or honeycomb-like structure. Means a solidified semi-solid substance. Further, “extension” means to extend and expand, and “introduction” means to supply bubbles from the outside to the supply means.

According to the foam application device according to the image forming apparatus and the present invention according to the present invention comprises a liquid, or a gel or a liquid and a gel to be applied in a uniform thickness in the foam.

According to the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, the coating fabric liquid or gel or liquid and gel can be made uniform thickness in the foam.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of a first embodiment of an image forming apparatus including a foam coating apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is typical explanatory drawing which shows an example of the foam production | generation / supply part of the foam application apparatus. It is typical perspective explanatory drawing with which it uses for description of the foam coating apparatus which concerns on a comparative example. It is typical explanatory drawing with which it uses for description of 1st Example of the heating means of the foam coating apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a typical explanatory view similarly used for description of 2nd Example of a heating means. FIG. 6 is a schematic explanatory view for explaining the third embodiment of the heating means. It is a typical explanatory view which uses for description of 4th Example of a heating means similarly. It is a typical explanatory view similarly used for description of 5th Example of a heating means. FIG. 2 is a block explanatory diagram illustrating an overview of a control unit of the image forming apparatus. It is a flowchart with which it uses for description of an example of the printing process by the control part. It is a flowchart with which it uses for description of the process which similarly follows FIG. It is a flowchart with which it uses for description of the process which similarly follows FIG. It is a whole block diagram of 2nd Embodiment of an image forming apparatus provided with the foam coating apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a printing process performed by a control unit of the image forming apparatus. It is a flowchart with which it uses for description of the process which similarly follows FIG. It is a flowchart with which it uses for description of the process which similarly follows FIG. FIG. 4 is an enlarged explanatory view of a portion where a roller coating surface and unfixed resin fine particles are in contact with each other when the pressure applied on the contact surface between a coating roller and a recording medium is relatively high when applied to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. . FIG. 6 is an enlarged explanatory view of a portion where the roller application surface and the unfixed resin fine particles are in contact with each other when the pressure on the contact surface between the application roller and the recording medium is relatively low.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, a first embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention including a first embodiment of a foam coating apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of the image forming apparatus.
The image forming apparatus accommodates a recording head unit 101 as an image forming unit that forms an image by ejecting liquid droplets onto a sheet 100 that is a recording medium, a conveyance belt 102 that conveys the sheet 100, and the sheet 100. A paper feed tray 103, and a foam application device (apparatus for applying bubbles to a member to be applied) 200 according to the present invention for applying bubbles to the paper 100, which is a member to be applied, upstream of the recording head unit 101 in the paper conveyance direction It has.

  The recording head unit 101 is composed of a line type liquid discharge head having a nozzle row in which a plurality of nozzles for discharging droplets are arranged in a length corresponding to the paper width. Yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan The recording heads 101y, 101m, 101c, and 101k are provided with ink droplets of each color of (C) and black (K). Note that the recording head can be mounted on the carriage as a serial type image forming apparatus.

  The conveyor belt 102 is an endless belt, and is configured to circulate between the conveyor roller 121 and the tension roller 122. The paper 100 can be held on the transport belt 102 by, for example, a configuration that performs electrostatic suction, suction by air suction, or other known transport means.

  The sheets 100 stored in the sheet feed tray 103 are separated one by one by a pickup roller 131 and are sent and held on the conveyor belt 102 via the conveyance path 135 by the sheet feed roller 132 and a pair of conveyance rollers (not shown).

  Then, the foam 210 is applied to the recording medium 100 as the application member to be conveyed by the conveyance belt 102 by the foam application device 200, and the foam 210 applied to the paper 100 is quickly dried, and the head unit 101. Then, droplets of each color are ejected to form an image, which is then discharged to a discharge tray (not shown).

  On the other hand, the foam applicator 200 includes a container 202 containing a liquid or gel or liquid and gel (hereinafter collectively referred to as “treatment liquid” or “setting agent”) 201 that can be made into a foam. The pump 203 that pumps the processing liquid 201 from the container 202, the foam generation means that generates the bubbles 210 from the processing liquid 201 that is supplied by the pump 203 via the supply path 204, and the generated bubbles are extended and supplied to the coating roller 212. The bubble generation / supply unit 211 that also functions as a bubble supply unit, and the bubble 210 is supplied from the supply port of the bubble generation / supply unit 211, and the bubble 210 is supported on the peripheral surface, and the bubble 210 is applied to the recording medium 100. And an application roller 212 as an application means for applying.

  In addition, a thickness regulating member 214 composed of a plate-like blade member that is a thickness regulating means for regulating the film thickness (coating film thickness) of the foam 210 carried on the coating roller 212, and remains on the circumferential surface of the coating roller 212 after coating. A cleaning member 215 that removes the bubbles 210 and a heating member 218 that is disposed on the downstream side of the thickness regulating member 214 and serves as a heating unit that heats and eliminates unnecessary bubbles.

  Here, the treatment liquid 201 that can be foamed is a modifying material that modifies the surface of the paper 100 by being applied to the surface of the paper 100. For example, the liquid 201 is applied in advance to the paper 100 (not limited to the paper as a material as described above) in advance, so that the moisture of the ink can quickly permeate the paper 100 and thicken the color component. Furthermore, it is a fixing agent (setting agent) that prevents bleeding (feathering, bleeding, etc.) and back-through by accelerating drying and increases productivity (number of images output per unit time). .

  In terms of composition, this treatment liquid 201 is, for example, cellulose that promotes moisture permeation with respect to a surfactant (any one of anionic, cationic, nonionic, or a mixture of two or more thereof). And a solution to which a base such as hydroxypropyl cellulose and a talc fine powder are added. Furthermore, fine particles can be contained.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the foam generation / supply unit 211 that generates the bubbles 210 from the processing liquid 201 sends the processing liquid 201 to the end of the bubble generation / supply path 220 by the pump 203. For example, a gas (air) is sent from the gas supply unit 222 to the porous member 221 disposed at the end of the generation / supply path 220 from the gas supply unit 222 by, for example, a fan and a duct. Bubbles 210 are generated from the processing liquid 201 in the supply path 220. And while gas is further sent from the gas supply means 222, the bubble 210 produced | generated in the foam production / supply path 220 accumulates, As a result, the inside of this foam production / supply path 220 is conveyed, It is supplied to the application roller 212.

  The processing liquid 201 is replenished in an amount sufficient to generate the bubbles 210 from the container 201 to the bubble generation / supply unit 211 via the supply path 204 by the pump 203.

Here, the foam 210, the bubble content is intended is preferably in the range generally of about 0.01g ^/ cm ³ ~0.1g ^/ cm 3 as bulk density.

  Further, “bubbles” are not liquid but semi-solid, and exhibit physical properties close to solid in fluidity and the like. That is, the bubbles 210 are generated from the processing liquid 201, but the generated “bubbles” themselves are not “liquid” or “gel”.

  In this way, by applying the foam 210 to the surface of the paper 100, a small amount of application is possible by containing a large amount of air, the application can be made uniform, quick drying is improved, bleeding, show-through, A high-quality image without density unevenness can be output.

That is, by applying the treatment liquid in the form of foam, there are the following advantages (effects) compared to the liquid or mist-like treatment liquid.
(1) Since the foam contains a large amount of air, it can be applied in a small amount.
(2) Since the foam is close to solid, the coating film thickness can be easily adjusted by applying and scraping, etc., and since the peelability from the coating means is good at the time of coating from the coating means to the paper, Uniform application is possible.
(3) Since water does not easily penetrate into the fibers of the paper, wrinkles and curls are unlikely to occur on the paper.

  Furthermore, the use of “foam” as the processing agent for the recording medium in this way has a special effect during recording and processing at a particularly high speed as compared with a liquid processing agent. For example, when printing on continuous paper at a high speed as in a continuous book machine, it is necessary to rotate the roller or the like at high speed in order to catch up with the recording operation.

  When such a recording speed exceeds about 100 m / min, the centrifugal force generated by the high-speed rotation of the roller becomes very large, and in the case of a liquid processing agent, the processing agent is separated from the roller surface and scattered. There is a problem that the amount applied to the film is significantly reduced. In order to solve such problems by using a liquid processing agent, it may be possible to increase the viscosity of the liquid and make it difficult to scatter from the roller surface, but such a high viscosity liquid should be applied as a thin film. In addition, the load of the liquid supply / drainage operation increases, leading to an increase in the size of the transport pump and the complexity of the apparatus.

  On the other hand, the “bubbles” generated from the processing liquid are ordinary low-viscosity liquids during transport, have a small transport load, and exhibit a semi-solid property in a foamed state on the roller. The high-speed rotation will not follow and scatter. Further, as described above, it is advantageous for thin film coating on a recording medium. Further, the remaining bubbles after application can be easily recovered as a low-viscosity liquid by defoaming by heating with a heater or the like, and all problems in high-speed application of liquid treatment agent application can be solved.

  The advantages of such foam application do not depend on the type of treatment liquid, and the same effect can be obtained. The treatment liquid preferably has an effect of suppressing paper dust, and may have an effect of changing the background color of the paper.

  By the way, in order to apply a uniform amount of foam to the recording medium or a member to be coated such as an intermediate member for coating on the recording medium, the foam 210 is uniformly formed on the peripheral surface of the coating roller 212 as a coating unit. It is necessary to carry by thickness (film thickness). Therefore, as described above, the film thickness is regulated by the thickness regulating member 214 facing the coating roller 212. However, since the bubble 210 as described above is viscous, the thickness regulation facing the coating roller 212 is restricted. The film thickness is not regulated at the nearest point of the member 214, and the surface of the thickness regulating member 214 wraps around to a surface that does not face the coating roller 212, and the thickness of the bubble 210 is changed after passing the regulation position by the thickness regulating member 214. There is a case where uniform coating cannot be performed by changing on the surface 212.

This point will be specifically described with reference to a comparative example of FIG.
The foam 210 supplied from the foam generation / supply unit 211 to the application roller 212 is conveyed by the rotation of the foam application roller 212, but as it is, the application film thickness is thick (by Δt) and nonuniform. Therefore, the coating thickness is reduced by the thickness regulating member 214. However, in actuality, the bubble 210 is pulled by the downstream side of the thickness regulating member 214 due to its own viscosity (around as shown by the bubble 210a), and is thicker than the gap between the thickness regulating member 214 and the application roller 212. The film becomes non-uniform and the film thickness becomes uneven.

  Therefore, in the present invention, a heating means for heating and eliminating unnecessary bubbles is provided between the supply position from the foam supply means to the application means and the application position on the recording medium or intermediate member by the application means, and the application is performed. The film thickness of the foam is made uniform.

First, a first embodiment of the heating means will be described with reference to FIG.
Here, a heating member having a wedge-shaped cross section as a heating means is provided on the upstream side from the position (region) where the foam 210 is applied from the application roller 212 to the paper 100, particularly downstream of the thickness regulating member 214 in the rotation direction of the application roller 212 218 is provided.

  As a result, the bubble 210a pulled to the rear end of the thickness regulating member 214 is ruptured and disappeared by the heat of the heated heating member 218, so that it corresponds to the distance between the heating member 218 and the application roller 212. The film thickness is adjusted to a predetermined thickness, and uneven coating thickness is eliminated.

  In this case, the heating member 218 approaches the bubble application surface (circumferential surface) on the application roller 212 and corresponds to a predetermined film thickness (proximity position), and a position retracted from the proximity position (retraction position). The timing when the foam coating film thickness is made uniform by placing them so that they can move (straightly, rotating) between them, making them approach at a predetermined timing, or heating them at a predetermined timing It is preferable that only unnecessary bubbles 210a disappear. Moreover, it is preferable that the contact part of the heating member 218 with respect to the bubble 210 is an acute angle shape (the shape of a present Example) rather than a planar shape.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the temperature at the time of heating of the heating member (heating means) 218 is set to 150 ° C. or more. If the temperature is equal to or higher than this temperature, bursting of the bubbles 210 at the contact portion between the heating member 218 and the bubbles 210 occurs instantaneously, By improving the bubble breakage, the bubbles are more evenly smoothed. In particular, considering the foam coating film thickness and the foam conveyance speed, the optimum temperature is 150 ° C to 400 ° C.

  As described above, by providing the film thickness regulating means and the heating means separately, and providing the heating means downstream of the film thickness regulating means and upstream of the application position on the paper, the foam coating film can be obtained with higher accuracy. Since the thickness and the film thickness can be made uniform, the effect of the set agent can be adjusted according to the environmental change, the paper type, etc., and the image quality can be improved and stabilized in various situations.

  In this case, the power consumption of the heating means for defoaming to eliminate the bubbles is much smaller than the power consumption of the fixing means for drying the ink (becomes about 1/10 or less), and the foam is applied. In this attached image forming apparatus, the power consumption is reduced as compared with the image forming apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-228707 that performs heat fixing.

Next, a second embodiment of the heating means will be described with reference to FIG.
Here, a blade member 234 serving as both a thickness regulating means (film thickness regulating means) and a heating means is disposed. Thereby, the thickness of the bubble 210 can be regulated while the unnecessary foam is heated and disappeared by the blade member 234, and it is not pulled to the rear end side of the blade member 234, and can be adjusted to a predetermined film thickness. Uneven coating film thickness can be eliminated.

  In particular, by using a blade-like member as a heating means, it is possible to realize reliable bubble uniformization with a stable amount of heat, and to more reliably improve and stabilize image quality. Furthermore, the structure is simplified by using both the film thickness regulating means and the heating means.

Next, a third embodiment of the heating means will be described with reference to FIG.
In this example, the thickness regulating means is partially used as the heating means while the thickness regulating means is also used as the heating means. That is, the blade member 234 serving as a thickness regulating unit faces the coating roller 212 without using the heating surface as the opposed surface 234b upstream of the contact point with the bubble 210 on the coating roller 212 with respect to the bubble conveyance direction. The portion 234a downstream of the contact point with the bubble 210 on the application roller 212 with respect to the bubble conveyance direction is used as a heating means.

  As a result, the upstream side with respect to the bubble conveyance direction with respect to the contact point between the blade member 234 and the bubble 210 on the application roller 212 is not affected by the heat of the heating portion 234a, and the bubble 210 on the application roller 212 is brought into the contact point. Therefore, it is possible to prevent bubbles from flowing around to the back surface of the blade member 234, so that the film thickness can be regulated more uniformly than in the second embodiment, and uneven coating film thickness can be eliminated.

Next, a fourth embodiment of the heating means will be described with reference to FIG.
Here, a wire member 238 is used in place of the heating member 218 of the first embodiment described above as the heating means. By using the wire member 238, since the volume is small, the amount of heat necessary for heating is small, and uniform application of bubbles can be realized with lower power consumption.

Next, a fifth embodiment of the heating means will be described with reference to FIG.
Here, similarly to the first embodiment, the heating member 218 having a wedge-shaped tip is disposed so as to be swingable about the support shaft 240 as a fulcrum, and driving means (solenoid) for swinging the heating member 218 in the direction of the arrow. Etc.) 241.

  As a result, the heating member 218 approaches the bubble application surface (circumferential surface) on the application roller 212 and corresponds to a predetermined film thickness (proximity position: position shown by a solid line) and a position retracted from the proximity position. It is possible to move (straight forward, rotate) between (evacuation position: position shown in phantom line), and it is possible to eliminate unnecessary bubbles 210a only at the timing when the foam coating film thickness is made uniform.

Next, an overview of the control unit of the image forming apparatus will be described with reference to a block diagram of FIG.
The control unit includes a CPU 801 that performs system control of the image forming apparatus, a ROM 802 that stores information such as programs executed by the CPU 801, a RAM 803 that is used as a working area, and an operation display unit that allows an operator to perform various settings. 804, various sensors 805 for detecting paper size and jam, various motors 806, I / O 807 for outputting control signals to various sensors 805 and various motors 806, and image reading device (scanner) 808 Various facsimile communication controls, including a read control unit 809 for controlling the print, a print control unit 811 for controlling the plotter unit (printing mechanism unit) 810, and a network control unit 812 for performing I / F control with the telephone line. A communication control unit 813 for performing control, a foam application control unit 814 for controlling the foam application device 200, and the like. To have.

  Here, in various sensors 805, the liquid end detection means for detecting whether or not the processing liquid 201 is in the container 202, the ambient temperature of the heating member 218 (here, the fifth embodiment is used). In addition, the motor 806 includes a pump 203, a coating roller 212, a supply amount / supply area adjusting unit, a thickness regulating unit 214, a conveying roller 121, a paper feeding roller 132, a pickup roller 131, and the like. And a solenoid 241 that swings the heating means 218 between a position in contact with the bubble and a position in which it is retracted.

Next, an example of printing processing in this image forming apparatus will be described with reference to flowcharts shown in FIGS.
Referring to FIG. 10, when an image output request is received by a print command from a personal computer, an operation from operation display unit 804, or the like, it is determined whether or not the processing liquid (setting agent) application function is set to be effective. When the processing liquid application function is valid, it is determined whether or not a predetermined amount or more of the processing liquid 201 is in the foam generation / supply path 220 of the foam generation / supply unit 211.

  At this time, if the predetermined amount or more of the processing liquid 201 is not contained in the foam generation / supply path 220 of the foam generation / supply section 211 (if near end), the pump 203 is driven to remove the processing liquid 201 from the container 202. After replenishing into the foam generation / supply path 220 of the foam generation / supply section 211, and if a predetermined amount or more of the processing liquid 201 is contained, the porous member of the foam generation / supply section 211 is used as it is at a predetermined timing. The gas supply means 222 sends gas to 221 to start the generation of the bubbles 210. Since the foam 210 is applied from the supply port to the application roller 212 by its own deposition force at the driving timing of the gas supply means 222, the start / stop of application can be controlled.

  Then, the temperature of the heating member 218 is detected by a temperature sensor, and it is determined whether or not the detected temperature of the heating member 218 is a predetermined temperature (for example, 150 ° C. or higher as described above). At this time, if the temperature of the heating member 218 is not equal to or higher than the predetermined temperature, the heating member 218 is heated to a predetermined temperature or higher by using a heating means such as a heater.

  Here, if the temperature of the heating member 218 becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature, the process proceeds to the process shown in FIG. 11 and the application roller 212 and the conveyance roller 121 (conveyance belt 102) are driven.

  On the other hand, application of the foam 210 to the application roller 212 from the foam generation / supply unit 211 is started. Then, the heating member 218 is moved to a position where it can come into contact with the bubble 210 on the application roller 212. Thereby, after the foam 210 applied on the application roller 212 is adjusted in thickness by the thickness regulating member 214, the unnecessary foam 210 a disappears by the heating member 218, so that the foam 210 is formed with a uniform thickness. It moves to the application position while being carried by 212. In this way, wasteful power consumption can be suppressed by exhibiting the bubble disappearance effect of the heating means 218 only during image formation.

  Then, the pickup roller 131 and the paper feed roller 132 are driven at a timing at which the bubbles 210 can be transferred onto the printing area of the paper 100 without excess or deficiency, and the paper 100 is transported from the paper feed tray 103 onto the transport belt 102. Above, the foam 210 is applied to the paper 100 by the application roller 212. When the leading edge of the paper 100 coated with the bubbles 210 reaches the recording head unit 101, ink is ejected from the recording head unit 101 at a predetermined timing according to the print area data, and printing on the paper 100 is performed.

  On the other hand, when the foam generation / supply unit 211 finishes supplying the foam to the application roller 212 for the print area, the paper 100 that has been printed is transported to the paper discharge unit, and the paper to be printed by the image output command. By controlling the gas supply means 222 until the number reaches the end number (the number of printed sheets), foam application, printing, and paper discharge on the paper 100 are repeated.

  When the number of printed sheets is reached, the bubble generation / supply unit 211 stops the bubble generation and supply by stopping the driving of the gas supply unit 222. Further, after the heating member 218 is heated and separated (retracted) from the bubble contact position, the pickup roller 131 and the paper feed roller 132 are stopped to stop paper feeding, and the application roller 212 is reliably cleaned. After a predetermined time, the driving operation of the transport roller 121 (transport belt 102) and the application roller 212 is stopped, and the operation is completed.

  On the other hand, in FIG. 10, for example, when it is not necessary to apply the processing liquid bubbles 210 by using a special recording medium, the processing liquid application function is set to be invalid. If it is not set, the process proceeds to the process shown in FIG. 12, the application roller 212 and the conveyor belt 102 are driven, the recording medium 100 is fed from the paper feeding unit, and the head unit for the recording medium 100 After the printing by 101, the paper is discharged, and when the number of prints is reached, the operation of the pickup roller 131 and the paper feeding roller 132 is stopped, and the operation of the conveying belt 102 and the coating roller 212 is stopped after a predetermined time has elapsed. To do.

  Here, the application roller 212 is also rotated because the gap between the application roller 212 and the paper conveying belt 102 is at most the paper thickness + the film thickness of the bubble 210, and particularly when the pressure application is performed, the gap is less than the paper thickness. Therefore, the application roller 212 is driven so that the conveyance of the recording medium 100 is not hindered.

Next, a second embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention including the second embodiment of the foam coating apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 is an overall configuration diagram of the image forming apparatus.
The foam application device 700 in this image forming apparatus directly applies the foam to the paper 100 that is a recording medium while generating the foam in the foam generation / application unit 711 that also serves as the foam generation means and the foam application means. The bubble generation / application unit 711 generates bubbles in the same manner as the bubble generation / supply unit 211 of the first embodiment described above.

  A heating member 712 that heats and eliminates unnecessary bubbles on the paper 100 is disposed downstream of the foam application position by the foam generation / application unit 711 in the paper conveyance direction. Similar to the heating member 218 according to the fifth example of the first embodiment, the heating member 712 is arranged to be movable between a proximity position and a retracted position by a driving unit. Further, a pressure roller 713 is disposed on the downstream side of the heating member 712, and bubbles having a uniform thickness are pressed and fixed on the paper 100. Residual bubbles adhering to the pressure roller 713 are removed by the cleaning member 714.

Next, an example of printing processing in this image forming apparatus will be described with reference to flowcharts shown in FIGS.
Referring to FIG. 16, when an image output request is received by a print command from a personal computer, an operation from operation display unit 804, or the like, it is determined whether or not the processing liquid (setting agent) application function is set to be effective. When the processing liquid application function is valid, it is determined whether or not a predetermined amount or more of the processing liquid 201 is in the foam generation / supply path 220 of the foam generation / application unit 711.

  At this time, if a predetermined amount or more of the processing liquid 201 is not contained in the foam generation / supply path 220 of the foam generation / application unit 711 (if near end), the pump 203 is driven to discharge the processing liquid 201 from the container 202. After replenishing in the foam generation / supply path 220 of the foam generation / application unit 711, and if a predetermined amount or more of the processing liquid 201 is contained, the porous member of the foam generation / application unit 711 is used at a predetermined timing. The gas supply means 222 sends gas to 221 to start the generation of bubbles. Since the foam is applied from the supply port to the paper 100 by its own deposition force at the driving timing of the gas supply means 222, the start / stop of the application can be controlled.

  Then, the temperature of the heating member 712 is detected by a temperature sensor, and it is determined whether or not the detected temperature of the heating member 712 is a predetermined temperature (for example, 150 ° C. or more as described above). At this time, if the temperature of the heating member 712 is not equal to or higher than the predetermined temperature, the heating member 712 is heated using a heating means such as a heater to be equal to or higher than the predetermined temperature.

  Here, if the temperature of the heating member 218 becomes equal to or higher than the predetermined temperature, the processing shifts to the processing shown in FIG. 15, and at a predetermined timing, the pickup roller 131, the paper feed roller 132, the transport roller 121 (the transport belt 102), The pressure roller 713 is driven to feed and convey the paper 100 to the conveyance belt 102.

  Thereafter, application of bubbles is started from the bubble generation / application unit 711 onto the paper 100 on the conveyor belt 102 at a predetermined timing. Then, the heating member 712 is moved to a position where it can come into contact with bubbles on the paper 100. As a result, the foam applied on the paper 100 is applied with a uniform thickness because unnecessary foam disappears by the heating member 712.

  When the leading edge of the paper 100 to which the bubbles are applied reaches the recording head unit 101, ink is ejected from the recording head unit 101 at a predetermined timing according to the print area data, and printing on the paper 100 is performed.

  On the other hand, when the foam generation / supply unit 211 finishes supplying the foam to the application roller 212 for the print area, the paper 100 that has been printed is transported to the paper discharge unit, and the paper to be printed by the image output command. By controlling the gas supply means 222 until the number reaches the end number (the number of printed sheets), foam application, printing, and paper discharge on the paper 100 are repeated.

  Then, when the number of printed sheets is reached, the bubble generation and application by the bubble generation / application unit 711 is stopped by stopping the driving of the gas supply means 222 (gas feed). Thereafter, the pickup roller 131 and the paper feed roller 132 are stopped to stop the paper feeding. Further, after the heating member 712 is heated and separated (retracted) from the bubble contact position, after a predetermined time when the cleaning of the pressure roller 713 is reliably completed, the conveyance roller 121 (conveyance belt 102), the pressure roller The driving operation 713 is stopped and the operation is completed.

  On the other hand, in FIG. 14, for example, when it is not necessary to apply bubbles of the processing liquid by using a special recording medium, the processing liquid application function is set to be invalid. Otherwise, the process proceeds to the process shown in FIG. 16, the pressure roller 713 and the conveyance belt 102 are driven, the recording medium 100 is fed from the paper feeding unit, and the head unit for the recording medium 100 is obtained. After the printing by 101, the paper is discharged, and when the number of printed sheets is reached, the operations of the pickup roller 131 and the paper feeding roller 132 are stopped, and after a predetermined time has passed, the operations of the conveying belt 102 and the pressure roller 713 are performed. Stop.

  In each of the above embodiments, the foam application device is described as applying foam to paper before image formation. However, the foam application device is arranged downstream of the recording head unit to perform image formation. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which foam is applied on the sheet. Moreover, although the said embodiment demonstrated the example which produces | generates and apply | coats foam from the liquid which can be made into foam, this invention produces | generates foam from the gel which can be made into foam, and is covered. The present invention can also be applied to an apparatus for applying to an application member and an image forming apparatus including this apparatus.

  The foam coating apparatus according to the present invention can also be applied to, for example, an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. For example, without disturbing fine particles containing a resin such as toner on a medium such as paper, and applying a foamed fixer (hereinafter referred to as “fixing bubbles”) to the medium to which the fine resin particles are adhered, After application, the resin fine particles are quickly fixed on the medium, and the present invention can also be applied to a fixing method and a fixing device, and an image forming method and an image forming apparatus in which a residual oil feeling does not occur on the medium.

  An example of application to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. FIGS. 17 and 18 are enlarged explanatory views of a portion where the roller coating surface and the unfixed resin fine particles are in contact with each other in the roller coating unit. FIG. 17 shows relative pressure applied on the contact surface between the coating roller and the recording medium. When the pressure is high, FIG. 18 shows the case where the pressure is relatively low. In addition, both the rotation direction of the application roller 1011 and the movement direction of the recording medium 1010 as the member to be applied are the arrow directions in the drawing.

  First, when the pressure on the contact surface between the application roller 1011 and the recording medium 1010 is high, the fixing bubble 1012 has a single-layer structure of bubbles 1013 on the application surface of the application roller 1011 in the example shown in FIG. Therefore, the bubbles themselves are likely to adhere to the application surface of the application roller 1011 due to surface tension, and the fixing bubbles 1012 are only applied unevenly to the layer of resin fine particles (unfixed toner) 1015 on the recording medium 1010. The resin fine particles 1015 are attracted to the bubbles 1013 and are offset to the application surface of the application roller 1011.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 17B, when the fixing bubble 1012 has a multi-layered bubble layer structure on the application surface of the application roller 1011, it is possible to embed the bubbles in the surface of the unfixed toner 1015 having irregularities. The fixing bubbles 1012 can be easily separated between the layers of the bubbles 1013, can be uniformly applied to the toner layer, and toner offset can be hardly caused.

  Therefore, when the pressure on the contact surface between the application roller 1011 and the recording medium 1010 is high, in order to prevent the unfixed toner 1015 from being offset to the application roller 1011, the average size of the bubbles generated in advance is set. If the film thickness of the fixing foam layer on the application roller 1011 is controlled so as to be the thickness of the plurality of bubble layers so that the bubble layer becomes a plurality of layers, the measurement is always performed on the application roller 1011. A fixing foam layer composed of a plurality of bubble layers is formed, and toner offset can be prevented.

  When the pressure on the contact surface between the application roller 1011 and the recording medium 1010 is low, the fixing bubble 1012 has a single-layer structure of bubbles 1013 on the application surface of the application roller 1011 as shown in FIG. Therefore, bubbles easily adhere to the surface of the unfixed toner 1015 having irregularities, the bubble layer is peeled off from the surface of the application roller 1011, and the fixing bubbles 1012 are applied to the unfixed toner 1015.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 18B, when the fixing bubble 1012 has a multi-layered bubble layer structure on the application surface of the application roller 1011, the bubbles 1013 are strongly coupled to each other, so the bubbles 1013 are moved toward the application roller 1011. On the contrary, the unfixed toner 1015 adheres to the air bubble 1013, and as a result, the unfixed toner 1015 is offset on the surface of the application roller 1011.

  Therefore, when the pressure on the contact surface between the coating roller 1011 and the recording medium 1010 is low, the average size of the bubbles is measured in advance, and a fixed bubble having a single-layer bubble layer structure is formed on the coating roller surface. By controlling the thickness of the fixing foam layer as described above, a fixing foam film having a single-layer bubble layer structure is formed on the coating roller, and toner offset can be prevented under high pressure conditions. Further, in order to prevent the unfixed toner 1015 from being offset to the application roller 1011, if the bubble layer on the application roller 1011 is too thick, the bubble layer flows at the contact portion between the application roller 1011 and the recording medium 1010. Since the toner particles move along the flow, and a problem of flowing of the image occurs, it is preferable to control the film thickness of the fixing foam layer within a range in which fluidity does not occur.

  In this way, by controlling the film thickness of the fixing foam layer according to the size and pressure of the bubbles contained in the fixing foam, toner offset and image flow to the contact application means such as the application roller can be prevented. In addition, fixing by extremely minute application can be made possible.

  That is, using a softening agent that softens the resin fine particles by dissolving or swelling at least a part of the resin fine particles, the fixing solution is applied to the resin fine particles on the medium by contact coating means, and the resin fine particles are fixed to the medium. When the fixing solution is applied to the surface of the fine resin particles on the medium, the fixing solution is in the form of bubbles containing bubbles by coating the fine particles in contact with the fine particles. By controlling the film thickness of the layer according to the applied pressure, it is possible to prevent toner offset and image flow to a contact application means such as an application roller, and to enable fixing by extremely minute application. Further, the resin fine particles are highly effective for the toner fine particles used in the electrophotographic technology, and offset and image flow can be prevented by controlling the film thickness of the fixing foam layer according to the layer thickness of the resin fine particles.

100: Recording medium (paper)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 ... Recording head unit 102 ... Conveyor belt 103 ... Paper feed tray 200 ... Foam coating apparatus 201 ... Processing liquid (foaming liquid or gel or liquid and gel)
211 ... Bubble generation / supply unit 212 ... Application roller 214 ... Thickness regulating member (thickness regulating means)
218 ... heating member 238 ... blade member (heating means combined film thickness regulating means)
700 ... Foam application device 711 ... Foam generation / application unit 712 ... Heating member 713 ... Pressure roller

Claims (8)

Image forming means for forming an image on a recording medium;
And a foam application means for applying in the foam at least one of a liquid and a gel for the recording medium body,
The foam applying means is
Foam generating means for generating the foam;
And applying means for applying the foam to the recording medium body,
Foam supply means for supplying the foam generated by the foam generation means to the application means;
Between the supply position to the coating means from the foam supplying unit between the application position against the recording medium body by the application means, heating unnecessary the foam coating of uniform thickness to the recording medium An image forming apparatus comprising: a heating unit that dissipates the light.   2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heating unit is a blade member.   3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the blade member is heated at a portion including a contact point with the bubble excluding a surface facing the coating unit.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heating unit is a wire member. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the heating means image forming apparatus which is a member for regulating the coating thickness by the coating unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
The application means is an application roller;
It said heating means is an image forming apparatus characterized by being arranged also on the downstream side of the coating roller rotation direction than member for regulating the coating thickness by the coating roller. Image forming means for forming an image on a recording medium;
A foam application means for applying a foam of at least one of a liquid and a gel to the recording medium,
The foam applying means is
Foam generating means for generating the foam;
Application means for applying the foam to the recording medium;
In the downstream side in the conveying direction of the recording medium than the application position relative to the recording medium by said application means, said heating unnecessary the foam coating of uniform thickness of the foam has been applied onto the recording medium An image forming apparatus comprising: a heating unit that dissipates the light. In a foam application apparatus that applies a foam of at least one of liquid and gel to a member to be coated,
Foam generating means for generating the foam;
Application means for applying the foam to the member to be applied;
Foam supply means for supplying the foam generated by the foam generation means to the application means;
Between the supply position from the bubble supply means to the application means and the application position to the application member by the application means, the bubbles unnecessary for applying a uniform thickness to the application member are heated to disappear. And a heating means for making the foam coating apparatus characterized by comprising:

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