JPH01122457A - Recorder and recording method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a clear image of scarce color turbidity to be recorded at high speed when a multicolor recording is performed, by a method wherein a transfer recording medium having a transfer recording layer is conveyed, and any one of three kinds of light energy and heat energy of which fluorescent peak wavelength is within a specific range is selectively given to this transfer recording medium. CONSTITUTION:An image is formed on a transfer recording medium, and the image is transferred to a recording paper 8 as a color image by magenta, cyan, and yellow in a transfer part 4. Thereafter, the transfer recording medium 1 is peeled off from the recording paper 8 with a peeling roller 5, and the recording paper 8 on which an image of a required color is recorded is delivered on a delivery tray 11 with a pair of delivery rollers 13a, 13b. Color recording is performed by one action as abovementioned, and light energy of which fluorescent peak wavelength is within a range of 300-360nm, 360-430nm, and 430-600nm respectively is used as three kinds of light energy in this recording. Therefore, glass material of a low cost can be used. Further, since wavelength selectivity of photopolymerization initiator is good and sensitivity is high, clear high speed recording without colour turbidity can be realized.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Field of Industrial Application> The present invention relates to a recording device and a recording method that can be used in printers, copying machines, facsimile machines, and the like.

<Prior Art> In recent years, with the rapid development of the information industry, various information processing systems have been developed, and recording devices suitable for each information processing system have also been developed.

One of the above-mentioned recording devices is a thermal transfer recording device. In this method, recording is performed on a recording paper using an ink ribbon made by coating a ribbon-shaped support with a heat-melt ink made by dispersing a colorant in a heat-melt binder.

That is, the ink ribbons are stacked so that their heat-melting ink layers are in contact with the recording paper, and the ink ribbon and the recording paper are conveyed between a thermal head and a platen.
By applying pulsed heat according to the image signal using a thermal head from the support side of the ink ribbon, and pressing the two together to transfer the melted ink to the recording paper,
An ink image is recorded on recording paper in response to heat application.

The above recording apparatus has been widely used in recent years because it is small and lightweight, makes no noise, and can record on plain paper.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> However, conventional thermal transfer recording devices are not without problems.

The reason is that in conventional thermal transfer recording devices, the transfer recording performance, that is, the image quality, is greatly affected by the surface smoothness of the recording paper.
Although good image recording is performed on recording paper with high smoothness, there is a possibility that the quality of image recording will deteriorate when recording paper with low smoothness is used.

Furthermore, when attempting to obtain a multicolor image with a conventional thermal transfer recording device, it is necessary to repeat transfer to overlap the colors. For this purpose, it is necessary to install multiple thermal heads, or to make the recording paper perform complicated movements such as stopping and reversing, which not only makes color misalignment unavoidable, but also makes the entire device thicker (and more complicated). There are problems such as storage.

<Means for solving the problem> Therefore, the present applicant uses a photothermal sensitive material, and when thermal energy and light energy are applied, the reaction of the material is 2. He proposed a technology in which the transfer characteristics change rapidly and irreversibly, forming an image due to the difference in the characteristics depending on the image signal, and transferring it to a recording medium (Japanese Patent Application No. 60-120).
No. 080, No. 60-120081, No. 60-1314
No. 11, No. 60-134831, No. 60-15059
No. 7, No. 60-199926, etc.).

According to this technology, it is possible to record high-quality images even on recording media with low surface smoothness, and when applied to multicolor recording, it is possible to make the recording medium make complex movements. This allows you to obtain multicolor images without any problems.

The present invention is a further development of the above-mentioned technology, and aims to provide a recording apparatus and a recording method capable of recording clear images with little color turbidity at high speed during multicolor recording.

The means of the embodiments described below for this purpose are thermal energy,
A transfer recording medium having a transfer recording layer whose transfer characteristics change upon application of light energy is conveyed, and the transfer recording medium has a fluorescence peak wavelength of 300 nm or more.
Those in the range of less than 0 nm and those in the range of 360 nm+43
Forming an image by selectively applying at least one of three types of light energy, one in a range of less than 0 nm and one in a range of 430 nm or more, and the thermal energy,
It is characterized in that the image formed on the transfer recording medium is transferred to a recording medium.

<Operation> According to the above means, when the transfer recording medium and the recording medium are set in the apparatus and recording is performed, heat and light energy are applied to the transfer recording medium in the recording section to form an image. The image is transferred to the recording medium in the transfer section.

Furthermore, by irradiating light with a fluorescence peak wavelength of 300 nm or more as the light energy imparted to the transfer recording medium during the recording, it is possible to make the glass tube of a fluorescent lamp as a light source inexpensive, for example. Furthermore, the photopolymerization initiator used in the transfer recording medium has a wavelength of 300
In the range from nm to 600 nai, one with good wavelength selectivity and high sensitivity can be selected, so cross-pollination between different types of image forming elements (described later) is reduced, and clear images without color turbidity can be obtained. , high-speed recording is possible due to the high level of emotion.

<Example> Next, an embodiment of the present invention to which the above means is applied will be described.

FIG. 1 (1) is a schematic cross-sectional view of the recording device, and the first
Figure (B) is a perspective explanatory view.

In the figure, l is a long sheet-like transfer recording medium, which is wound into a roll and used as a supply roll 2 on the device main body M.
It is removably incorporated into the.

That is, this supply roll 2 is removably loaded onto a rotatable shaft 2a provided in the main body M of the apparatus.

First, the leading edge of the transfer recording medium 1 is transferred to the supply roll 2.
The peeling roller 5. It is directed by the guide roller 12c and brought to the take-up roll 6, and its tip is locked to the take-up roll 6 by means such as a gripper (not shown). Thereafter, by rotating the transfer roller 4a while applying torque to the take-up roll 6 in the direction of arrow C using a known drive means, the transfer recording medium l is fed out in the direction of arrow a, and is attached to the circumferential surface of the take-up roll 6. It is wound up one after another.

Incidentally, during the winding, a certain back tension is applied to the supply roll 2 by, for example, a hysteresis brake (not shown), and this tension and the guide rollers 12a, 12b cause the transfer recording medium 1 to move toward the recording head 3a. It is configured to be conveyed while being pressed against the object at a certain pressure and at a certain angle.

Next, the configuration of each of the above sections will be explained in detail.

First, as shown in FIG. 2, the transfer recording medium 1 has a transfer recording layer 1 having the property of forming an image when both thermal energy and light energy are applied on a sheet-like support la.
It is made by attaching b.

To explain this example, as shown in FIG. 2, the transfer record 1tb contains the components shown in Table 1 below as the core lc, the components shown in Table 2 as the core 1d, and the components shown in Table 3 as the core 1e. A microcapsule-shaped image forming element is formed using the following method.

Table 2: First, 10 g of the ingredients shown in Tables 1, 2, and 3 are mixed with 20 parts by weight of methylene chloride, and a surfactant with an HLB value of at least 10, such as a cationic or nonionic surfactant, and 1 g of gelatin are added. Mix with 200d of dissolved water and heat to 60℃
8,000 to 10,000 by homomixer under heating
Stir at 0 rpm to emulsify and obtain oil droplets with an average particle size of 26n.

Stirring is further continued at 60° C. for 30 minutes, and methylene chloride is distilled off to give an average particle size of about 10−.

A microcapsule slurry was obtained by adding 20° of water in which 1 g of gum arabic was dissolved, cooling slowly, and adding NH40H (ammonia) water to adjust the pH to 11 or more. O
d is added slowly to harden the capsule wall.

After that, solid-liquid separation was performed using a Nutsche filter, and 3
It is dried at 5° C. for 10 hours to obtain a microcapsule-shaped image forming element.

This image forming element has cores lc and l shown in Tables 1 to 3.
Microcapsules d and le are coated with shell 1f, and are formed to have a particle size ranging from 7 to 15, with an average particle size of about 10.

The image forming element thus formed is adhered onto a support la using 1 g of adhesive to obtain a transfer recording medium 1. To explain this in more detail, for example, Nippon Gosei Kagaku Kogyo ■
Made of polyester adhesive side polyester-LP-022 (
1 g of an adhesive prepared by dissolving 3 cc of toluene in 3 cc of toluene (solid content 50%) is applied onto a support la made of a polyethylene terephthalate film with a thickness of 6 nm. Thereafter, the solvent is removed by drying to a thickness of approximately 1 μm. Since 1 g of this adhesive has a glass transition point of 115° C., a slight tack remains even at room temperature, making it possible to easily adhere the image forming element formed as described above to the support 1a.

Next, a microcapsule-shaped image forming element using the materials shown in Tables 1 to 3 as core materials obtained as above was prepared.
Mix at a ratio of 1:1 and sprinkle this on to adhere.

Thereafter, when excess image forming elements are brushed off, the image forming elements are arranged on the adhesion layer in approximately one layer and at a rate of 90%.

Thereafter, a pressure of about 11 g/a4 and thermal energy of about 80° C. are applied to firmly fix the image forming element onto the support la, thereby forming a transfer recording medium l.

The photopolymerization initiator in the image forming element shown in Table 1 absorbs light in the band of graph A (peak wavelength 298 rus) and starts a reaction in the light absorption characteristics shown in FIG. 3, thereby forming an image. Sometimes the color is magenta, and the photopolymerization initiator in the image forming element shown in Table 2 is in the band (
The reaction starts by absorbing light with a peak wavelength of 389n+*), and the color becomes cyan when forming an image.The photopolymerization initiator in the image forming element shown in Table 3 has a wavelength of (peak wavelength: 458 nm) and starts a reaction, resulting in a yellow color when forming an image.

Next, the recording section 3 will be explained. The recording unit 3 includes heating means for applying thermal energy to the transfer recording medium 1;
It also includes a light irradiation means for applying light energy to the transfer recording medium 1.

The heating means is composed of a line-type heating element row 3b arranged on the surface of the recording head 3a for A-4 size with a width of 0.2 squares and 8 dots/fin, which generates heat according to the image signal.
As described above, the support la side of the transfer recording medium 1 is configured to come into contact with the heating element array 3b with a predetermined pressure due to the pack tension during conveyance. The image signal is generated from a control unit of a facsimile, an image scanner, an electronic blackboard, or the like, depending on the purpose.

On the other hand, a light irradiation means is provided on the transfer recording layer lb side facing the recording head 3a. As shown in FIG. 1 (A), <8), this light irradiation means is made of glass with a thickness of 2 mm (manufactured by 5CIIOTT in West Germany, product name: DtlRAN50), which has the characteristics shown in FIG. 4 as a spectral transmittance.
The rotating body 3C made of a cylinder made of
It is rotatably supported by rollers 3e and 3f, and is configured to rotate at a constant speed by driving and rotating the roller 3d with a motor.

Moreover, three types of phosphors A, B,
C is applied at 120 degrees (three equal parts) in the circumferential direction.

In this example, the main component of the phosphor A is Ca (PO4
)t: Tl, that is, thallium-activated calcium phosphate, is used as the main component of the phosphor B (Sr.

Mg) tPtOq: F! u, that is, europium-activated strontium magnesium pyrophosphate is used, and the main components of the phosphor C are Ba, MgAl+i0g? :E
u, that is, europium-activated barium magnesium aluminate is used. These phosphors A, B, and C are exposed to the light [(-Toshiba germicidal lamp GL-
20) When excited by light from 3g, phosphor A is graph A in Figure 5 (peak wavelength 335n+w), and phosphor B is graph B in Figure 5 (peak wavelength 390n+w)
.

Phosphor C has graph C in Figure 5 (peak wavelength 450n+*
) emits light with a spectral distribution of The light emitted by the phosphors A, B, and C is transmitted through the 0-width filter formed on the light shielding plate 3h.
．． The light passes through a 5 m slit 31 and irradiates the transfer recording device 1b.

Therefore, when the rotating body 3C is rotated and light is irradiated from the light source 3g, the phosphors A, B, and C are excited and emit light in order, and each light with a different spectral distribution passes through the slit 31 and is sequentially irradiated onto the transfer recording device 1b. will be done.

Here, a control configuration for controlling the rotational speed and phase of the rotating body 3C will be explained.

As shown in FIG. 1(B), the rotating body 3C has a large number of light shielding parts 14a formed in a stripe shape at regular intervals on the circumference near the end, and one light shielding part 14a' of the light shielding parts 14a' is formed on the circumference near the end. The light shielding portion 14a is formed wider than the light shielding portion 14a. Further, a light emitting member 14b such as an LED is disposed inside the rotating body 3c so as to sandwich the light shielding portion 14a, and a light receiving member 14c such as a photodiode is disposed on the outside.

Considering the above configuration, when the rotating body 3C is rotating at a constant speed, the signal obtained from the light receiving member 14c is as shown in FIG.
It will be as shown in A). Note that the level "R low" shown in FIG. and the light receiving member 14
c is in a state where no light is received. Therefore, since the frequency of the rising edge of this signal appears as the rotational speed of the rotating body 3C, by detecting and controlling this, the frequency of the rising edge of the rotating body 3C
It becomes possible to control the rotation speed of the

Next, regarding phase control, when the integral waveform of FIG. 6(A) is obtained, it becomes as shown in FIG. 6(B).
Since the portion (14a') is wide, the integrated wave height value of that portion becomes high. Therefore, the magenta line synchronization signal, cyan line synchronization signal, yellow line synchronization signal, video clock, strobe signal, enable signal, etc., which will be described later, are created based on the timing when the peak value becomes high, and the first r high of the enable signal is generated. During the period, the phosphor A of the rotating body 3C faces the transfer recording layer 1b through the slit 31, and during the period of the second r high 1 of the enable signal, the phosphor B faces, and during the third r of the enable signal. During the "high" period, the phosphors C may be controlled so as to face each other, and this may be repeated in sequence for the enable signal rhighj.

Therefore, in this embodiment, P L L (Phase Lock) is used to rotate the rotating body 3C at a constant speed and phase.
edLoop) motor driver 27 is used.

20 To explain the PLL@i1 method using a block diagram, as shown in FIG.
It consists of a light source motor 28a and a frequency comparator 28, a phase comparator 27a, and a low-pass filter 27b.
e Generator) 28b corresponds to the above ■CO. Note that the light source motor 28a is a motor that drives a roller 3d that supports a rotating body 3c, and the FG28
b is the output of the light receiving member 14c.

In this embodiment, the phase comparison output of the output of the FC 28b and the motor clock is obtained from the phase comparator 27a, and in order to further stabilize the system, the output of the FC 28b is integrated by the monostable multi-bi break 27b, and the output and phase are compared. The difference between the outputs of the
It is added to VC028 through d.

Also, in FIG. 7, the lock detector 27e is the phase comparator 27a.
This is to detect whether the system is in a synchronous state or not from the signals from the system. The output of the FC; 29b is integrated by an integrator 27f, and its waveform (corresponding to the sixth rjA (B)) is shaped by a waveform shaper 27g to obtain a rotational phase reference signal.

Next, the transfer section 4 will be explained. The transfer section 4 is disposed downstream of the recording section 3 in the conveyance direction of the transfer recording medium 1, and is in pressure contact with a transfer roller 4a that rotates in the direction of the arrow as shown in FIG. and a pressure roller 4b.

The transfer roller 4a is composed of an aluminum roller whose surface is coated with silicone rubber having a thickness of 1 mm and a hardness of 70 degrees, and the surface is maintained at a temperature of 90 to 100 degrees Celsius by a built-in 800 W halogen heater 4C. It is configured.

The pressure roller 4b is made of an aluminum roller coated with silicone rubber having a hardness of 70 degrees to a thickness of 1 inch, and has a pressing force of 6 to 1 ktf/cII against the transfer roller 4a by a pressure means (not shown) such as a spring. is set to .

Furthermore, recording paper 8 as a recording medium loaded in the cassette 7
is the feed roller 9. The LED 26a and the phototransistor 2 are fed by the registration roller pair 1Oallob.
By detecting the leading edge of the recording paper 8 by a registration sensor 26 consisting of 6b and controlling the feeding timing, the recording paper 8 is fed to the transfer section 4 synchronously so as to overlap the image area of the transfer recording medium 1. has been done.

Next, a recording method using the recording apparatus configured as described above will be explained.

Note that this embodiment shows an example in which heat is applied selectively according to the image signal, and light is applied uniformly.

An image is formed by driving the motor to sequentially feed out the transfer recording medium 1 from the supply roll 2, and applying light and heat to the transfer recording layer 1b of the transfer recording medium 1 in the recording section 3 according to the image signal. . The transfer record Jilb has a property that when light and heat of a predetermined wavelength are applied, the softening point temperature increases, that is, the transfer characteristics change irreversibly, and the transfer record is no longer transferred to the recording paper 8.

Therefore, as shown in the timing chart of FIG. 8, when recording magenta color, two parts of the heating element row 3b correspond to the complementary color of magenta of the image signal, that is, the green image signal.
5 Peng is energized, and at the same time, light source 3 G is turned on for 30 years. At this time, the transfer recording layer 1b located in the slit 31
is opposed to the phosphor A of the rotating body 3C, and the light energy of the spectral distribution shown in graph A in FIG. 5 is transferred to the transfer recording layer 1b.
is given uniformly to

Next, for cyan color recording, 50 m after the start of energization to the heating elements in the magenta color recording, 20 m of current is applied to the complementary color of cyan, that is, the portion corresponding to both red signals in the heating element array 3b. and at the same time light source 3
Light up g for 25m. At this time, the phosphor B of the rotating body 3c is facing the transfer recording layer ib located in the slit 31, and the light energy of the spectral distribution shown in graph B in FIG. 5 is uniformly applied to the transfer recording layer lb. Ru.

Next, when recording the yellow color, 50 m after the start of energization to the heating elements in the cyan recording, the 15th generation is applied to the complementary color of yellow, that is, the part corresponding to the blue image signal in the heating element row 3b. Power is applied, and at the same time, light source 3g is turned on for 20m. At this time, the phosphor C of the rotating body 3G faces the transfer record rltb located in the slit 31, and the light energy of the spectral distribution shown in the graph C of FIG. 5 is uniformly applied to the transfer record layer 1b. .

In the manner described above, the heat generation of the recording head 3a and the rotation of the rotating body 3C are performed according to the image signals of complementary colors of magenta, cyan, and yellow.
A transfer image is formed on the transfer recording layer 1b by controlling the rotation of and the lighting of the light source 3g, and the transfer recording medium 1 is conveyed in synchronization with this at a repeating cycle of 15 sec/line.

Here, a control system according to this embodiment for performing the above recording operation will be specifically explained with reference to FIGS. 9 to 15. In addition, FIG. 9 is a block diagram of the control system, FIGS. 10 and 11 are timing charts of recording operation, FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the relationship between each member, and FIGS.
FIG. 14 is a flowchart of the recording operation, and FIG. 15 is a circuit diagram of the temperature control system of the transfer roller 4a.

As shown in FIG. 9, this control system includes a CPU 20a such as a microprocessor, a ROM 20b storing control programs and various data for the CPU 20a, and a CPU 20a such as a microprocessor.
A control unit 20, which is used as a work area for the PU 20a and includes a RAM 20c for temporarily storing various data, etc., an interface 21, an operation panel 22, an image forming timing generator 23, and a feed motor driver 2.
4. Conveyance motor driver 25, registration sensor 2
6, PLL motor driver 27, light source lighting device 29
Consisting of

The control unit 20 receives various information (for example, recording density, number of recording sheets,
(recorded size, etc.), a signal from the registration sensor 26, a magenta line synchronization signal generated by the image forming timing generator 23, and a lock detection signal from the PLL motor driver 27. The control unit 20 also generates a motor ON signal for the feeding motor 30, a motor ON signal for the transport motor 31, a page signal, and a light source motor ON signal through the interface 21.

The image forming timing generator 23 divides the clock of the internal crystal oscillator and generates various signals (magenta line synchronization signal, cyan line synchronization signal, yellow line synchronization signal, page synchronization signal, video clock, enable signal, strobe signal, (light source ON signal, motor reference clock, etc.).

The magenta line synchronization signal, cyan line synchronization signal and yellow line synchronization signal have a cycle of 1 as shown in FIG.
At 50 m, the deutrity ratio is 1/3, and the signals are out of phase by 120 degrees. Also, the magenta line synchronization signal is PL
It is created based on the rotational phase reference signal from the L motor driver 27. Then, a page signal sent from the control unit 20 via the interface 21 is latched at the rising edge of the magenta line synchronization signal to generate a page synchronization signal.

The video clock is a signal that generates a 36 KHz clock from the rising edge of the magenta, cyan, and yellow line synchronization signals, and stops after generating 1728 clocks (approximately 48 meters) (note that the recording head 3a of this embodiment , with 1728 pixels per line).

Further, an external image signal generator (for example, a facsimile, an image scanner, an electronic blackboard, etc.) 32 receives a page synchronization signal, magenta, cyan, and yellow line synchronization signals, and a video clock from the image forming timing generator 23.
From the point when the page synchronization signal becomes r-high 1, when the magenta line synchronization signal is r-high 1, a magenta image signal is transmitted, when the cyan line synchronization signal is r-high 1, a cyan image signal is transmitted, and in the same way, the yellow line is synchronized. When the signal is "high", 1728 yellow image signals are sent out in synchronization with the video clock.

Furthermore, a strobe signal is generated that becomes rhigh 1 during the rhigh 1 period of the magenta, cyan, or yellow line synchronization signal and the video clock is at rest.

The enable signal starts from the first cyan line synchronization signal when the page synchronization signal becomes "r high", and repeats "r high" of 25m5, 20m5, 15m3 in order from the rising edge of the cyan, yellow, and magenta line synchronization signals, and then repeats the page synchronization signal. 15m "high 1" within the "high j" period of the first magenta line synchronization signal when the signal becomes r low 1
It ends when . This enable signal corresponds to the energization signal to the heating element 3b corresponding to the image signal shown in FIG.

Further, the image forming timing generator 23 generates a light source ON signal. The ON signal of the light source 3g starts from the rise of the first enable signal, and repeats r high 1 in the order of 30 Ayu, 25 Ayu, and 20 Ayu at each rise of each enable signal.

Furthermore, the image forming timing generator 23 generates a motor reference clock for creating a motor clock to be given to the PLL motor driver 27. This clock is 6 KH
The motor clock is provided to the PLL motor driver 27 via a switch controlled by the light source motor clock sent from the control unit 20 via the interface 21.

The recording head 3a takes in an image signal from an external image signal generator 32 into a shift register inside the head using a video clock from an image forming timing generator 23. The captured image signal is latched in a latch register in the head by a strobe signal from the image forming timing generator 23, and then heated according to the image signal in the latch register by an enable signal from the image forming timing generator 23. The element 3b is energized, and at the same time the next image signal is taken into the shift register by the video clock.

Further, the lighting device 29 for the light source 3g receives the ON signal for the light source 3g from the image forming timing generator 23, and lights the light source 3g when the light source ON signal is r high 1.

As shown in FIG. 7, the PLL motor driver 27 drives the light source motor 28a so that the input motor clock and the output from the light receiving member 14c (FIG. 6 (^)) are synchronized in phase. Furthermore, this PLL motor driver 27 sends a lock detection signal to the control unit 20 via the interface 21 to notify that phase synchronization is applied, and to the image forming timing generator 23, the rotation body 3c is synchronized with the line synchronization signal. A rotational phase reference signal is sent to match the rotational phase. In addition, the light shielding part 14a on the rotating body 3C.

The number of 14a' is 900, and if the light source motor 28a is in phase synchronization state by the PLL motor driver 27, the motor clock is 6K)I as described above.
z, the rotating body 3C rotates at a speed of 15 rotations.

An image is formed on the transfer recording medium 1 by the above control.

Next, conveyance control of the transfer recording medium 1 and the recording paper 8 for transferring the image formed on the transfer recording medium 1 to the recording paper 8 will be explained.

The feed motor driver 24 is connected to the interface 21
When the feed motor clock from the control unit 20 is r high 1, the feed motor 30 is driven, and the feed roller 9 and the registration roller pair 10a, 10b are rotated to rotate the recording paper 8.
is transported at a constant speed.

Further, when the transport motor clock from the control unit 20 via the interface 21 is r high 1, the transport motor driver 25 drives the transport motor 31 to rotate the transfer roller 4a, and the pressure roller rotates as a result of this. 4
The transfer recording medium 1 and the recording paper 8 are conveyed at a constant speed by the cooperation with the transfer recording medium 1 and the recording paper 8.

Here, the timing of each signal sent by the control section 20 via the interface 21 is as shown in FIG.

Incidentally, the time T1 to T4 in FIG. 11 corresponds to the distance between each member as shown in FIG. It takes time.

Ll: Conveyance distance of the transfer recording medium l from the recording head 3a to the pressure contact portion between the transfer roller 4a and the pressure roller 4b.

Lt: Conveyance distance of the transfer recording medium l from the pressure contact portion to the peeling roller 5.

L: Conveyance distance of the recording paper 8 from the Ni-registration sensor 26 to the pressure contact portion.

Tt+Time required to transport the transfer recording medium 1 a distance of LI Ls.

T2: Time required to convey the recording paper 8 a distance of .

T: Length of recording paper 8 (for example, 29 for A4 size)
The time required to convey the transfer recording medium 1 by 7fi).

T4: Time required to transport the transfer recording medium 1 a distance of +L.

That is, when the operator presses the start button on the operation panel 22, the transport motor 30 and the light source motor 28a are driven.
When the recording paper 8 is fed and its leading edge touches the registration sensor 26, the driving is stopped. At this point, the rotating body 3c rotated by the light source motor 28a is driven by the zero-order conveyance motor 31, which is phase-synchronized by the control described above, to convey the transfer recording medium 1 in the direction of arrow a in FIG.
During , the page signal becomes "high" and the transfer image forming process is performed in the recording section 3. The conveyance motor 31 stops after the image forming time T3 has elapsed and a further time T has elapsed.

The feed motor 30 is driven for a time T□ after the time T has elapsed since the transfer recording medium 1 started to be conveyed, and the feeding motor 30 conveys the recording paper 8 at the same speed as the transfer recording medium 1, and then stops. As a result, the leading edge of the recording paper 8 matches the leading edge of the transfer image formed on the transfer recording medium 1 in the transfer section 4, and is conveyed by the drive of the conveyance motor 31 while being in close contact with the transfer recording medium 1.

Here, the operation of the control section 20 that sends out each signal as shown in FIG. 11 will be explained. The control section 20 inputs the magenta line synchronization signal via the interface 21, and counts the number of signals using a software counter. That is, since the magenta line synchronization signal has a period of 150 as described above, the control section 20 can manage time by counting the signal.

The control unit 20 has a sequence table as shown in FIG.
Then, while counting magenta line synchronization signals, sequentially refer to the sequence table
Sends N signal, transport motor ON signal, page signal,
The drive of each member is controlled by each signal.

In this embodiment, the sequence table has a 3-bit structure as shown in FIG. 13, and consists of a total of 3217 words from the 0th to the 3216th word, where bit 0 is the feed motor ON signal and bit 1 is the feed motor ON signal. The transport motor ON signal, bit 2, corresponds to the page signal, respectively.

In addition, the numbers in parentheses at the top of Fig. 11 indicate the magenta line synchronization signal at the time when the registration sensor signal becomes r high 1 as number 0, and the number of the magenta line synchronization signal at each time point (signal number). number).

Next, a series of operations of the control unit 20 having the above-mentioned functions will be explained using the flowchart of FIG.
1) When pressed, sends out a feed motor ON signal and a motor ON signal (S2, S3). Next, wait for the registration sensor signal to become r high 1, and
Wait until the lock detection signal from the L motor driver 27 becomes "r high", that is, wait for the phase synchronization of the rotating body 3c, and then substitute O into R indicating the rask number of the sequence table (34.35.36).

Next, wait for the magenta line synchronization signal to be r low j (S7), and then wait for it to become r high 1 (S8)
. This detects the rising edge of the magenta line synchronization signal. When the edge is detected, bits 0 to 2 are sent out as a feed motor ON signal, a conveyance motor ON signal, and a page signal, respectively, with reference to the Rth position in the sequence table (S9). Next, 1 is added to the value of R (310), and it is determined whether the value of H is greater than 3216 (5ll), and if the value of R is smaller than or equal to 3216, the process returns to step S7. If the difference is large, the light source motor 27a is stopped and the recording is ended (S12).

The image formed as described above is thermally transferred to the recording paper 8 in the transfer section 4, and the temperature control of the transfer roller 4a is configured as shown in FIG. 15.

The thermistor 33 in FIG. 15 is arranged so as to be in contact with the surface of the transfer roller 4a, and its resistance value changes depending on the surface temperature of the transfer roller 4a. and is compared with the reference voltage Eo by the comparator 35. The comparison output is connected to the power supply E via the relay driver 36 and by the relay 37.
, controls the energization of the halogen heater 4c.

Here, the driving principle of the temperature control configuration will be described. The thermistor 33 has a property that its resistance value decreases as the temperature rises. Therefore, as the surface temperature of the transfer roller 4a increases, the resistance value of the thermistor 33 decreases, and the voltage E2 decreases. Conversely, if the surface temperature of the transfer roller 4a decreases, the thermistor 33
The resistance value of increases and the voltage Et also increases. Therefore, the value of the reference voltage E is set to the voltage E corresponding to 95°C when the transfer roller 4a is
By setting the value to , when the surface temperature of the transfer roller 4a is lower than 95° C., the comparison output becomes “rhigh”, the halogen heater 4C is energized, and the surface temperature of the transfer roller 4a increases. On the other hand, when the temperature is higher than 95° C., the halogen heater 4C is not energized and the surface temperature decreases. Due to the above control, the surface temperature of the transfer roller 4a is 90 to 100''.
It is held in C. This control system is constantly operating when the power switch of the apparatus is on, and is controlled so that the surface temperature of the transfer roller 4a reaches 90 to 100 DEG C. before the start button on the operation panel is pressed.

An image is formed on the transfer recording medium 1 as described above, and the image is transferred to the recording paper 8 in the transfer section 4 as a color image of magenta, cyan, and yellow.

Thereafter, the transfer recording medium l and the recording paper 8 are separated by the peeling roller 5, and the recording paper 8 on which the image of the desired color has been recorded is
The ejection tray 11 is moved by the ejection roller pair 13a, 13b.
to be discharged.

As described above, color recording is performed using a one-shot yacht, and during this recording, three types of light energies are used: one with a fluorescence peak wavelength in the range of 300 nm or more and less than 360 nm, one with a fluorescence peak wavelength in the range of 360 nm+ or more and less than 430 nm, and 430 nm. Since we used a material in the range of 600 nm or less, inexpensive glass materials can be used, and the photopolymerization initiator has good wavelength selectivity and high sensitivity, allowing clear and high-speed recording without color turbidity. became possible.

Other Embodiments Next, other embodiments of each part of the above-mentioned embodiment will be described.

(1) Transfer recording medium In the above-mentioned embodiment, an image is transferred and recorded onto the recording paper 8 by changing the softening point temperature of the transfer recording layer 1b made of a polymeric material containing a colorant using light energy and thermal energy. Although an example is shown in which the image is transferred and recorded using the adhesive property to the recording paper 8 or the slow sublimation property.
Alternatively, the transfer recording medium l is provided with a layer that imparts color development to the recording paper 8 and changes the color development characteristics of the recording paper 8,
The image may be obtained by transferring the image formed on the transfer recording medium 1 to the recording paper 8.

In addition to the above-mentioned polyethylene terephthalate, for example, polyamide, polyimide, capacitor paper, cellophane paper, etc. can also be used as the material for the support 1a.

The image forming element constituting the transfer recording layer 1b contains a sensitive component and a coloring component, and the sensitive component exhibits changes in physical properties when multiple energies such as light and heat energy are applied. It is preferable to use a material that starts to respond or a material that rapidly changes the reaction rate of physical property change.

The polymerization component contained in the sensitive component is a component that causes a polymerization reaction or a crosslinking reaction, such as a monomer,
Oligomers or polymers may be mentioned.

Examples of the monomer or oligomer include polyvinyl cinnamate, P-methoxycinnamic acid-succinic acid half ester, etc., or those having a reactive group at the terminal or side chain of epoxy resin, unsaturated polyester resin, etc. It will be done.

Examples of the polymerizable hexamer include ethylene glycol diacrylate and propylene glycol diacrylate.

Further, when using the above polymerizable monomer or oligomer, cellulose acetate succinate, methyl methacrylate-hydroxyethyl methanelylate copolymer, etc. may be included in order to improve layer-forming properties.

A reaction initiator is added as necessary to cause the reaction of the polymerization component.As the reaction initiator, radical initiators such as azo compounds, organic sulfur compounds, carginyl compounds, and halogen compounds are preferable. .

In particular, in the structure of the transfer recording layer when a transferred image is formed by receiving both light and thermal energy, the reaction speed is determined by the reaction between the reaction initiator and the polymerization component, which act in response to the above-mentioned light energy. The type of reaction initiator and polymerization component should be selected so that the combination has a large temperature dependence.

For example, polymerizable prepolymers with functional groups such as methacrylic esters or acrylic ester copolymers,
Examples include a combination of a photosensitive crosslinking agent such as tetraethylene glycol diacrylate and a reaction initiator such as benzophenone and Michael's ketone.

The coloring component is a component contained in order to form an optically recognizable image, and various pigments and dyes are used as appropriate. Examples of such pigments and dyes include inorganic pigments such as carbon black and yellow lead, organic pigments such as Victoria Blue Lake and Fast Sky Blue, and colorants such as leuco dyes and phthalocyanine dyes.

In addition, the transfer recording layer 1b may contain stabilizers such as hydroquinone and p-methoxyphenol.

Furthermore, the transfer recording layer may contain a sensitizer such as P-nitroaniline or 1,2-benzoanthraquinone to enhance the energy activation of the reaction initiator.

Furthermore, in addition to the coloring agent and the sensitive component, a resin, wax, or liquid crystal may be mixed as a binder in the transfer recording layer ib.

Examples of the resin used as the binder include polyester resins, polyamide resins, and the like, and these resins may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

In addition, as binders for waxes, for example, vegetable waxes such as candelilla wax and carnauba wax,
Animal waxes such as spermaceti wax, mineral waxes such as montan wax, or synthetic waxes made of fatty acids, fatty acid amides, esters, etc. can be used, and one or more of the above waxes may be mixed. May be used.

Further, examples of the liquid crystal used as a binder include cholesterol hexanoate, cholesterol decanoate, and the like.

When microcapsules are used for the image forming element constituting the transfer recording Jilb, the core portion contains the above-mentioned materials, but the materials used for the wall material of the microcapsules include gelatin, gum arabic, and nitro. Examples include cellulose-based materials such as cellulose and ethyl cellulose, and polymer-based materials such as polyethylene and polystyrene.

(2) Recording section In the above embodiment, the light irradiation means has a fluorescence peak wavelength of 300
r+m or more but less than 360n+w, 360n+l1 or more 43
Although irradiation was performed with three types of light energy: less than 0 nm, and 430 nm or more and 600 nm or less, the phosphor having a peak emission within the above range is not limited to those described in the above-mentioned examples. wavelength is 300
nm or more and less than 360 nm, part of the calcium in the phosphor in the above example was replaced with zinc (Ca
+Z11)z(PO4)t: Tl''%, i.e. phosphors of Table 4, such as thallium-activated calcium zinc phosphate,
Further, the phosphors in Table 5 may be used as those having a wavelength of 360 nm or more and less than 430 nm, and the phosphors in Table 6 may be used as those having a wavelength of 430 nm or more and less than 600 nm.

(Margin below) Table 5 Also, in the above embodiment, in the recording section 3, light of a predetermined wavelength corresponding to a desired color is uniformly irradiated from the transfer recording layer 1bll of the transfer recording medium 1, and the support is Although the configuration is such that heat is applied from the 1a side according to the image signal, as another example, a configuration may be adopted in which heat is applied uniformly and light in the above wavelength range is irradiated according to the image signal. .

Furthermore, if the support 1a is made of a translucent material, the support 1a can be made of a transparent material.
A configuration may be adopted in which light is irradiated from the 8 side and heat is applied from the transfer recording layer 1b side.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, light irradiation and heat application were performed with the support 1a in between, but image formation is also possible by performing both light irradiation and heat application from one side of the support 1a. be.

Further, as the heating means, in addition to the method using the recording head 3a described above, a method of selectively heating using a YAG laser and a polygon mirror, etc. may be used.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, light energy and heat energy are applied to the transfer record Ji, 1b at the same time, but even if the light energy and the heat energy are applied separately, as a result, both energy Any configuration is sufficient as long as it provides the following.

(3) Transfer unit The transfer unit 4 is not limited to a roller-like configuration such as the transfer roller 4a and the pressure roller 4b, but may be configured as long as it can obtain a desired pressure, such as a rotating belt, for example. .

Furthermore, if necessary, a fixing means for fixing the image on the recording medium onto which the image has been transferred by the transfer section 4 may be provided downstream of the peeling roller 5 in the conveyance direction of the recording medium.

(4) Recording medium The recording medium is not limited to the above-mentioned recording paper (for example, an overhead projector (OHP)).
Of course, plastic sheets etc. can also be used.

<Effects of the Invention> As described above, the present invention sequentially performs the formation of an image on a transfer recording medium and the transfer of this image to a recording medium, so that an image can be formed even on a recording medium with a relatively low surface smoothness. Recording can be performed well. Furthermore, when the present invention is applied to multicolor recording, a multicolor image can be obtained without making any complicated movements on the recording medium.

In addition, by irradiating light energy having a peak wavelength within a certain range with the light irradiation means, it is possible to record clear images with little color turbidity at high speed.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 (A) and (B) are overall schematic explanatory diagrams of an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is an explanatory diagram of the structure of a transfer recording medium, and Figure 3 is an optical absorption characteristic of a photoinitiator in the transfer recording medium. FIG. 4 is a graph showing the light transmission characteristics of the rotating body, FIG. 5 is a graph showing the spectral characteristics of the light irradiation means, and FIG. 6 is the signal of the light receiving member that detects the rotation of the rotating body and its integration. Waveforms, Figure 7 is a configuration explanatory diagram of the PLL motor driver, Figure 8 is a timing chart for applying heat and light, Figure 9 is a block diagram of the control system, Figures 10 and 11 are timing charts for recording operation. , FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between each member, FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of a sequence table for sending out each signal, FIG. 14 is a flowchart of recording operation, and FIG.
The figure is an explanatory diagram of a temperature control system for the transfer roller 4a. 1 is a transfer recording medium, 1a is a support, 1b is a transfer recording layer,
lc, ld, le are the core, If is the shell, 1g is the adhesive, 2 is the supply roll, 2a is the supply roll shaft, 3 is the recording section,
3a is a recording head, 3b is a heating element array, 3C is a rotating body,
3d, 3e, 3f are support rollers, 3g is a light source, 3h is a light shielding plate, 31 is a slit 2, 4 is a transfer section, 4a is a transfer roller, 4b is a pressure roller, 4C is a heater, 5 is a peeling roller,
6 is a winding roll, 7 is a cassette, 8 is a recording paper, 9 is a feed μm, 10a, 10b are registration rollers, 11 is an ejection tray, 12a + 12b + 12c is a guide roller, 13a, 13b are Ejection roller, 20 is a control unit, 20a is a CPU, 20b is a ROM, 20c is an RA
M, 21 is an interface, 22 is an operation panel, 23
is an image forming timing generator, 24 is a feed motor driver, 25 is a transport motor driver, 26 is a registration sensor, 26a is an LED, 26b is a phototransistor, 27 is a PLL motor driver, 27a is a phase comparator, 27b is a monostable Multivibrator, 27c is a low-pass filter, 27d is a power amplifier, 27e is a lock detector, 27f is an integrator, 27g is a waveform shaper, 28
is a VCo, 28a is a light source motor, and 28b is an FG. 29 is a light source lighting device, 30 is a feeding motor, 31 is a transport motor, 32 is an external image signal generator, 33 is a thermistor, 34 is a resistor, 35 is a comparator, 36 is a relay driver, and 37 is a relay.

Claims (6)

[Claims] (1) A conveyance means for conveying a transfer recording medium having a transfer recording layer whose transfer characteristics change when thermal energy and light energy are applied, and a conveyance means for conveying the transfer recording medium conveyed by the conveyance means. a recording section provided along a conveyance path and having a heating means for applying thermal energy to the transfer recording medium and a light irradiation means for applying optical energy; a transfer unit for transferring an image formed on a recording medium to a recording medium, and the light irradiation means applies a fluorescence peak wavelength of 300 nm or more to the transfer recording medium.
Those in the range of less than 0 nm and those in the range of 360 nm or more 430
A recording device characterized in that it is configured to apply three types of optical energy, one in the range of less than 430 nm and one in the range of 430 nm or more. (2) The fluorescence peak wavelength is 300 nm or more and 360 nm
2. The recording device according to claim 1, wherein thallium-activated calcium phosphate or thallium-activated calcium zinc phosphate is used as the phosphor having a concentration of less than or equal to 100%. (3) The fluorescence peak wavelength is 360 nm or more and 430 nm.
2. The recording device according to claim 1, wherein europium-activated strontium magnesium pyrophosphate is used as the phosphor having a concentration of strontium pyrophosphate. (4) The recording device according to claim 1, wherein europium-activated barium magnesium aluminate is used as the phosphor having a fluorescence peak wavelength of 430 nm or more. (5) a conveying means for conveying a transfer recording medium having a transfer recording layer whose transfer characteristics change when thermal energy and light energy are applied, and a transfer recording medium conveyed by the conveying means; a recording section provided along a conveyance path and having a heating means for applying thermal energy to the transfer recording medium and a light irradiation means for applying optical energy; a transfer unit for transferring an image formed on a recording medium to a recording medium, and the light irradiation means is one of thallium-activated calcium phosphate and thallium-activated calcium zinc phosphate. The main component is a phosphor with a peak wavelength of 360 nm or more and 430 nm.
A phosphor whose main component is one whose peak wavelength is in the range of 430 nm or more and 600 nm or less, and a light source for exciting the three types of phosphors mentioned above. A recording device characterized by: (6) A transfer recording medium having a transfer recording layer whose transfer characteristics change when thermal energy and light energy are applied thereto is conveyed, and the conveyed transfer recording medium has a fluorescence peak wavelength of 30 nm.
Those in the range of 0 nm or more and less than 360 nm, and those in the range of 360 nm or more
Those in the range of nm or more and less than 430 nm, and 430 nm
Forming an image by selectively applying at least one of three types of light energy in a range of m or more and the thermal energy, and transferring the image formed on the transfer recording medium to a recording medium. A recording method characterized by recording.