JPH02106358A - Image recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To largely reduce the running cost of an image recorder by providing an adhering member for detachably applying driving means to the other side facer of a board and conductively applying the electrodes of the driving means to recording elements. CONSTITUTION:When a recording head is used, control electrodes 14, 14,.. of recording elements are gradually damaged, and it might be sometimes in trouble. In this case, a driving element 26 is removed from a board 20 having the troubled recording element by removing the electrodes from an adhering member 27, and the elements 26 are mounted on the adhering member 27 of the board 10 having new recording element. Thus, it is not necessary to replace all the recording head including the elements 26 with new one, and the expensive element 26 made of IC, etc. is continuously used, the running cost of the device can be largely reduced. Since the driving circuit of a driver or the like is integrally provided on the board 10, a signal line may be short to reduce a noise.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an image recording device such as an electrostatic latent image forming device that modulates ion flow to form an electrostatic latent image on a dielectric material.

[Prior Art 1] Conventionally, a recording head as the electrostatic latent image forming device is configured as shown below. As shown in FIGS. 34 and 35, driving electrodes 101, 101, . 1
Control electrodes 103, 103 and 02 intersect with each other.
. . are provided, and openings 104, 104 . . . are formed in these control electrodes 103, 103 . In addition, a screen electrode 106 is provided on the control electrodes 103, 103... with an insulating layer 105 interposed therebetween, and these insulating 110
5 and the screen electrode 106 include a control electrode 103.1.
Openings 107, 107... and 108, 108... are located at positions corresponding to the openings 104, 104... of 03...
... to form.

Then, as shown in FIG. 34, the recording head applies a high frequency voltage between the drive electrode 101 and the screen electrode 106, and also applies a pulsed ion control voltage to the control II electrode 103 and to the screen electrode 106. Apply DC voltage to each. By doing so, the drive electrodes 101, 101... and the control electrodes 103, 103...
Between the main electrode 03 and the screen electrode 10, a creeping corona discharge is generated in the openings 104, 104, and the ions generated by this creeping corona discharge are controlled.
6, the ions are accelerated or absorbed by the electric field formed between the ions and the ions, the ion emission is controlled, and an electrostatic latent image is recorded.

By the way, in the above recording head, the drive electrode 101
．． 101..., control electrodes 103, 103... and the screen electrode 106 are integrated into an IC, and this IC is integrally provided on the recording head substrate 100, thereby making it possible to connect the wiring to each of the electrodes. It is being considered to reduce noise and the like by shortening the length.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, the above prior art has the following problems. That is, in the recording head described above, if the recording head is continuously used, the control [l electrode 103 opening 1
04 due to discharge or adhesion of discharge products, it becomes difficult to perform creeping corona discharge normally, and this ends the service life of the device. On the other hand, a drive circuit made of an IC for driving a device has a longer lifespan than the device itself. Therefore, if the recording head becomes unusable due to its lifespan, even if the drive circuit such as IC is normal,
There is a problem in that the entire device including the drive circuit such as an IC that is integrally provided on the substrate 100 must be replaced, which increases the running cost of the device and is extremely uneconomical.

[Means for Solving the Problems] Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and its purpose is to solve the problems of the prior art when the recording element for recording an image fails. The object of the present invention is to provide an image recording device that can significantly reduce the running cost of the device by removing a driving device such as an IC and attaching the driving device to a new recording element. .

That is, the present invention includes a recording element, a base holding the recording element on one surface, and a driving means for driving the recording element, and on the other side of the base,
It is configured to include a joining member that connects the driving means to the recording element in a detachable and attachable manner and connects the electrodes of the driving means to the recording element in a energized manner.

The recording element may be divided into a plurality of parts as necessary, and these recording elements may be removably attached to the base.

[Function] In the present invention, a joining member is provided on one surface of the base holding the recording element, and the joining member connects the driving means to the recording element in a removable manner and the electrodes of the driving means to the recording element in a energized manner. If the recording element fails, the driving means is removed from the base via the bonding member, and the driving means is attached to the base with a new recording element via the bonding member, thereby removing the recording element. Drive means with longer lifespans are now being used continuously.

[Example] The present invention will be explained below based on illustrated embodiments.

FIG. 33 shows a printer to which the image recording apparatus according to the present invention can be applied. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a recording head, and an electrostatic latent image 3 is formed on the surface of a dielectric drum 2 by ions generated from the recording head 1 in response to an image signal.

This electrostatic latent image 3 is developed by a developing device 4 into a toner image 5, and this toner image 5 is transferred onto a recording paper 7 by a transfer means 6. The toner image 5 transferred onto the recording paper 7 is fixed onto the recording paper 7 by a fixing device (not shown), and ejected. After the transfer of the toner image 5 is completed, the remaining developer is removed from the surface of the dielectric drum 2 by a cleaner 9, and then the residual charge is removed by a static eliminator 8, in preparation for the next recording process.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of an image recording apparatus Q according to the present invention. This image recording apparatus is used, for example, as the recording head 1 described above.

The recording head 1 includes a base 10 having a planar rectangular shape, and the base 10 is formed of an insulating plate material. As shown in FIG. 13, a recording element 11 for forming an electrostatic latent image is provided on the surface of the substrate 10.

The recording element 11 includes an insulating substrate 12, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, and the insulating substrate 12 is formed into a rectangular shape in plan view.

A plurality of drive electrodes 13.1 are provided on the surface of this insulating substrate 12.
3 are provided parallel to each other at regular intervals along the longitudinal direction of the recording head 1.

Further, on the surface of the insulating substrate 12, a plurality of control electrodes 14.
14... are provided parallel to each other at a constant interval and intersect with the drive electrodes 13, 13... at a predetermined angle. As a result, the drive electrodes 13.13...
. . . and control electrodes 14, 14, . . . constitute a matrix.

As shown in FIG. 12, the control electrodes 14.14... have circular openings 15.15... for ion generation at positions that intersect with the drive electrodes 13.13... It is provided. Further, a screen electrode 17 is provided on the lower surface of the control electrodes 14, 14, . . . with an insulating layer 16 interposed therebetween. These insulating layer 16 and screen electrode 17 have openings 18.18, . . . and ion extraction openings 19.19, . ... are each drilled in a circular shape.

The surfaces of the drive electrodes 13, 13, . . . are covered with an insulating base 20.

As shown in FIG. 9, the recording element 11 configured in this manner has the base 20 side fixed to the surface of the base 10 by adhesive or other means.

The recording head 1, as shown in FIG.
A high frequency high voltage is applied by a driver 21 between the drive electrodes 13, 13... and the screen electrode 17, and a pulse-like ion control is performed by the driver 22 to the control electrodes 14, 14... in accordance with the image data signal. voltage,
A DC voltage is applied to each screen electrode 17 by a bias power supply 23 . By doing so, a creeping corona discharge is selectively generated in the ion generation openings 15.15 between the drive electrodes 13.13 and the control electrodes 14.14, Ions generated by this creeping corona discharge are accelerated or absorbed by an electric field formed between the control electrodes 14, 14... and the screen electrode 17, controlling ion emission and forming an electrostatic latent image. It is designed to record images. In the figure, 24 indicates a bias power supply connected to the driver 22.
5 indicates the metal layers of the dielectric drum 2, respectively.

By the way, in this embodiment, in addition to the above-mentioned configuration, a joining member is provided on the other surface of the substrate to connect the driving means in a removable manner and to connect the electrodes of the driving means to the recording element in a energized manner. ing.

That is, as shown in FIG.
Drive electrodes 13.13..., control electrodes 14.14...
The drivers 21 and 22 as driving means for applying a predetermined voltage to the screen electrode 17 are provided.

These drivers 21 and 22 are driving elements 26 formed into semiconductor chips using ICs or the like. As shown in FIG. 2, this driving element 26 has connection electrodes 26b, 26b, . . . on both sides of a thin rectangular parallelepiped main body 26a.
are formed by protruding downward at predetermined intervals. In the illustrated example, six driving elements 26, 26, . . . are provided on the back side of the base plate 10. In FIG. 1, C indicates a cable that sends a signal to the driving element 26.

The driving element 26 is removably attached to the substrate 10 via the joining member 27, and the driving element 26 is attached to the driving III electrode 13.13.
..., control electrode 14,14... and screen electrode 1
7 so as to be electrically conductive.

On the back surface of the substrate 10, as shown in FIG. 1, electrodes 26b126b... are provided on both sides of the driving element 26.
Bonding members 27, 27, . . . are buried at positions corresponding to . These joining members 27, 27... are the third
As shown in the figure, the openings 28, 28, which have a rectangular planar shape are shown.
have. As shown in FIG. 4, electrodes 29, 29, which are curved from one side surface 28a to the other side surface, are housed inside these openings 28, 28... . These electrodes 29.29, . . . are formed of metal plates having spring properties.
The upper end of 29... is fixed to the upper end of the opening 28 in a buried state, and the lower end is fixed to the extraction electrode 30 fixed to the side surface 28a of the opening 28 by soldering or the like. ing. The extraction electrodes 30.30... of each opening 28.28,... are connected to the predetermined drive electrodes 13.1.
3... are connected to the control electrodes 14, 14... and the screen electrode 17 via printed wiring (not shown) formed on the substrate 10.

Therefore, the electrodes 26b126b of the driving element 26
... are inserted into the opening 28 of the joint part 127, as shown in FIG. 5, and the electrodes 14i26b, 26b, . By sandwiching the driving element 26 between them, the driving element 26 can be attached and removed, and the electrodes 26b, 26b, . . . of the driving element 26 can be connected to the recording element 11 so as to be electrically conductive.

Note that the joining member 27 may be provided on the base 10 as shown in FIG. 6. That is, as shown in FIG. 7, the joining member 27 is formed in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped box with an open top end, and has electrodes 29, 29, and 29 inside.
... is accommodated. At the lower end of the joining member 27, electrodes 31, 31, . . . corresponding to internal electrodes 29, 29, .
・Protrudes downward. Through holes 32, 32... are bored in the base 10 at positions corresponding to the electrodes 31, 31... of the joining member 27, and the inner surfaces and both end surfaces of the through holes 32, 32... is metal 1IW
It is covered with a conductor 33 made of A. and,
The bonding member 27 is fixed by soldering or the like, with its electrodes 31, 31, . . . fitted into the through holes 32, 32, . The through holes 32, 32, . . . are connected to predetermined electrodes 13, 14, etc. by printed wiring 34.

Further, as the joining member 27, as shown in FIG. 8, a member having a release mechanism including a release lever 35 or the like may be used. In such a case, the driving element 26 can be easily detached from the joining member 27 by operating the lever 35, and even if the driving element 26 has a large number of electrodes, it can be easily detached. Can be done.

In the above configuration, in the image recording apparatus according to this embodiment, the driving element is replaced in the following manner. In other words, base! The drive of the recording element 11 mounted on the 1110! A predetermined voltage is supplied to the iIl electrodes 13.13, . Ru. Then, an electrostatic latent image is formed by creeping corona discharge generated by the recording element 11. When the recording head 1 is used, the control electrodes 14, 14 of the recording element 11
...etc. may be gradually damaged and malfunction. In this case, the base 51310 with the failed recording element 11
, the driving element 26 is connected to its electrodes 26b, 26b...
These driving elements 26 may be removed by separating them from the joining member 27, and these driving elements 26 may be attached to the joining member 27 of the base 10 provided with a new recording element 11.

Therefore, there is no need to replace the entire recording head 1 including the drive element 26 with a new one, and the octavalent drive element 26 made of IC etc. can be used continuously. Costs can be significantly reduced. Furthermore, since drive circuits such as the drivers 21 and 22 can be integrally provided on the board 10, signal lines can be shortened and noise and the like can be reduced.

FIG. 13 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which the same parts as in the previous embodiment are given the same reference numerals. In this embodiment, the recording element is integrated with the base. Rather than being provided, the recording element is divided into a plurality of parts, and these recording elements are removably provided on the base. That is, the recording elements 11.11.
As shown in FIG. 13, the recording elements 11, 11, . . . are divided into four parts, and each recording element 11, 11, . Each recording element 11.11
The edges of the recording elements 11, 11, . . . are cut parallel to the drive electrodes 13, 13, . . ., and the edges of the recording elements 11, 11, .

As shown in FIG. 14, the recording elements 11, 11... all have the same configuration and can form electrostatic latent images at a constant recording density along the arrangement direction. It looks like this.

The recording elements 11, 11, . . . are shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 7, an insulating substrate 12 is provided, and the insulating substrate 12 is formed into a plane parallelogram shape. On the surface of this insulating substrate 12, a plurality of drive electrodes 13, 13...
are provided parallel to each other at regular intervals along the longitudinal direction of the recording head 1. In addition, the insulating substrate 12
A plurality of control electrodes 14, 14... are arranged parallel to each other at regular intervals on the back surface of the drive! vl electrode 13.13・
... and intersect with each other at a predetermined angle α. As a result, a matrix is formed by the drive electrodes 13, 13, . . . and the control m+electrons Ifi 14, 14, .

The longitudinal edge 12a of the insulating substrate 12 is formed parallel to the control wJ electrodes 14, 14, . . . as shown in FIG. Then, with the recording elements 11, 11... arranged in a row, the edges 11a of the adjacent recording elements 11, 11, etc. coincide with each other, and each Control electrodes 14. of elements 11.11...
14... are arranged at regular intervals along the longitudinal direction of the recording head 1.

As shown in FIG. 16, the control electrode 14 has two thin electrodes 40, 40 arranged close to each other in parallel.
A space 41 for ion generation is formed between the picture electrodes 40, 40, and the picture electrodes 40, 40 are connected to U at one end 40a.
By connecting in the shape of a letter, it is formed into a tuning fork shape. The control electrodes 14, 14... are U-shaped connecting portions 40.
A are provided so that they are alternately located on opposite sides.

Furthermore, a screen electrode 17 is provided on the lower surface of the control electrodes 14, 14, . . . with an insulating layer 16 in between, as shown in FIG. These insulating layers 16 and screen electrodes 17 have openings 18, 18, and ion extraction holes at positions corresponding to the intersections of drive electrodes 13, 13, and control electrodes 14, 14, and so on. Opening 1 for
9.19... are drilled respectively.

Further, the surfaces of the drive electrodes 13, 13, . . . are covered with an insulating base 20.

Such a recording element 11 can be manufactured as follows. That is, the recording element 11 may, of course, be created separately from the beginning, but the first
As shown in FIG. 8, elements may be created on a base 42 from which a plurality of recording cables 11 can be taken, and then the elements may be cut one by one. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 19, a plurality of elements may be formed in a straight line on a base 43 corresponding to the size of the recording head, and then the elements may be cut one by one. .

By the way, when a matrix is configured by the drive electrodes 14.14... and the control 11 electrodes 15.15... as described above, the drive electrodes 14.14...
. . . and the intervals between the control electrodes 15, 15 . . . can be set large. Even when the portion forming the electrostatic latent image is divided into a plurality of recording elements 11, 11..., each recording element 17, 11... can be easily manufactured. .

That is, the drive electrodes 14 and the control electrodes 15 are not arranged in a matrix, but the openings 19, 19... of the screen electrodes 17 are arranged in a straight line at a distance of 2 dots, as shown in FIG. When these are arranged in a staggered manner so that the openings 19, 19, etc. are located alternately at a distance of 3 dat, they are arranged between the straight line and the straight line L' in the direction that intersects the arrangement direction. When divided by , the gap between adjacent openings 19 and 19 is only 1.9 dots. Now, if the recording density is 200dO1/1nch,
The distance between the centers of adjacent openings 19.19 is 1.9 dO
It is only 0.24 mm, which corresponds to t minutes. Therefore,
A plurality of recording elements 11 are arranged along the longitudinal direction of the recording head 1.
．． 11..., each recording element has a center-to-center distance of 0 from its end to the opening 19, 19.
．． It is necessary to make an electrode at half of 24 mm, or 0.12 mm.

Therefore, in order to create the recording element 11, if an attempt is made to create electrodes by printing or the like, the entire mass will protrude, making it impossible to form the electrodes properly.

Furthermore, if an electrode is created by pattern etching or the like, extremely high alignment accuracy between the mask and the substrate is required, leading to an increase in cost. Furthermore, 1
After creating multiple elements on one substrate 23 and 24, one
If the recording element 11 is cut in multiples, very high cutting accuracy is required, which also leads to an increase in cost, and in any case, it becomes extremely difficult to manufacture the recording element 11.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 20, the drive electrodes 13, 13... and the control electrodes 14, 14... Adjacent openings 19, 19... are arranged at an interval of 8 dat, Bxn (n is the number of control electrodes).
When forming a matrix of control electrodes 14, 14...
- The distance between them is 7.8 dat, which is about four times that of the case where they are formed in a staggered manner. This distance becomes a large value of 1 mm when the recording density is set to 200 dots/1 nch as described above.

Therefore, even if the portion where the electrostatic latent image is formed is divided into a plurality of recording elements 11.11..., the control electrodes 1 provided on the adjacent recording elements 11.11...
4.14... can be provided at a sufficient distance from the end of the recording element 11, so that the above-mentioned problems in manufacturing the recording element 11 do not occur at all.

By the way, on the base 10 on which the recording elements 11.11, . . . are arranged in a row, the recording elements 11.11,
A bonding member 12 is provided which holds the recording elements 11, 11, . That is, each recording element 11 is provided with an electrode that is removably attached to the bonding member 12 and that is used to energize the electrodes 13, 13, 14, 14, and so on of each recording element 11. ing.

The drive electrodes 13, 13, etc. of the recording element 11 are the 22nd
As shown in the figure, both ends 13a, 1, 3a, . . . are bent toward both ends in the width direction of the element 11, and the ends 13a, 113a, . , a connection electrode 4 protruding from the back side of the recording element 11
4.44... are provided.

Further, the control ill electrodes 14, 14, . . . are provided with connection terminals 45, 45, . Further, between the M poles 45 and 45 of the recording element 11, only one electrode 46 for connecting the screen electrode 17 is provided protruding toward the back side.

In this case, the end portions 13a of the drive electrodes 13.13...
, 13a, . . . are all bent toward both ends in the width direction of the recording element 11. On the other hand, at the end of the recording element 11 in the longitudinal direction, as shown in FIG. 22, it is necessary to arrange the control electrode 14 at a constant interval between adjacent recording elements 11. The space in which the end portion 13a of the drive electrode 13 is provided at the end of the recording element 11 is narrow, making it difficult to provide the electrodes 44, 44, . . . for connection of the drive electrode 13.

In order to solve this problem, as shown in FIG. 24, the ends 13a1'13a... of the drive electrodes 13. Connection electrodes 44, 44 are provided at the longitudinal ends of the device 11.
... may be provided.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 25 to 27, the drive electrode 1
3.13... A through hole 47 penetrating the base body 20 is provided at one end, and electrodes 45, 45... are provided protruding from the actual surface side through the metal 48 filled in the through hole 47. You can do it like this.

Also, the group! 810, as shown in FIG.
A joining member 50.50 is provided for fitting and holding the electrodes 44, 45, 46 of each recording element 11 and for applying a predetermined voltage to each electrode 44, 45, 46. The joining members 50.50 are fixed to both ends of the base 10 in the width direction along the longitudinal direction. This joining member 50.5
0 is equipped with an elongated frame-shaped body 51 made of an insulating member, and inside this body 51 are each recording element 1.
Electrodes 52.1 are located at positions corresponding to electrodes 44.45.46 of 1.
52... are provided. This electrode 52.52...
- As shown in FIG. 29, one inner surface 5 of the main body 51
The recording element 11 is bent into a substantially U-shape from 1a toward the other inner surface 51b, and is fitted into the joining member 27.
The electrodes 44, 45, 46 are held by their elastic force.

Note that the joining member 27 may, of course, be embedded integrally within the base 10 as shown in FIG. 30.

Further, as the joining member 27, as shown in FIG. 31, a member having a release mechanism including a lever 53 or the like may be used. In such a case, by operating the lever 53, the electrodes 44 of each recording element 11 can be connected to the connecting member 12.
45 and 46 can be easily removed, and even if the recording element 11 has a large number of electrodes, it can be easily removed.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 32, a bin 54 for positioning each recording element 11 is protrudingly provided on the base 10, and a positioning hole ( (not shown), the recording element 11 may be positioned at a predetermined position.

In this case, only the failed recording element 11 is used as the base! 1i10 and attach a new recording element 11 to the base 10, there is no need to replace the entire recording element 11 with a new one, so the running cost of the apparatus can also be reduced from this point of view. .

[Effects of the Invention] This invention has the above-described configuration and operation, and when the recording element for recording an image breaks down, the driving means consisting of an IC or the like is removed and this driving means is replaced with a new recording element. Since the drive means made of an expensive IC or the like can be used continuously, the running cost of the device can be significantly reduced. In addition, the IC on the base
Since the drive circuit consisting of etc. can be provided integrally, the signal line that supplies electricity to the recording element can be shortened.
Noise etc. can be reduced.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of an image recording apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a driving element, FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a joining member, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the joining member. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the driving element is attached to the joining member, FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing another example of the joining member, and FIG. 7(a) is a sectional view showing the joining member. 7(b) is a perspective view showing a base on which the joining member is attached, FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing still another example of the joining member, and FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a recording element. FIG. 10 is a sectional view of the main part of the recording element,
1 is a plan view of FIG. 10, FIG. 12 is a sectional view of the recording element, FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the recording element. 15 is a plan view showing the main part of the recording element, FIG. 16 is a partially cutaway plan view showing the main part of the recording element, FIG. 17 is a plan explanatory diagram showing the arrangement of the recording element, 18 and 19 are perspective explanatory views showing different manufacturing processes of the recording element,
Figures 0 and 21 are explanatory diagrams showing different electrode arrangements, Figure 22 is a perspective view of connection electrodes provided on the recording element, and Figure 23 is a diagram of the connection electrodes. FIG. 24 is a perspective view showing another example of the connection electrode, FIG. 25 is a perspective view showing still another example of the connection electrode, and FIG. 26 is the same example. FIG. 27 is a sectional view of the main part of the same example, FIG. 28 is a perspective view of the joining member provided on the substrate, and FIG. 29 is a sectional view of the main part of the joining member. Fig. 30 is a perspective view showing another example of the joining member, Fig. 31 is a perspective view showing still another example of the joining member, and Fig. 32 is a perspective view showing a positioning bin provided on the substrate strip. , FIG. 33 is a schematic diagram showing an image recording apparatus to which the electrostatic latent image forming apparatus according to the present invention can be applied;
The figure is a sectional view showing a conventional device, and FIG. 35 is a plan view thereof. [Explanation of symbols] 10...Base 11...Recording element 26...Driving element 27...Joining member Fig. 1c: 1 Funeral diagram Fig. 10 Fig. η Fig. 11 Fig. 4 Fig. 4 Funeral diagrams Figure 13 Figure 14 Figure 11: Recording element Figure 15 Figure 18 Figure 19 Figure 22 Figure 23 Figure 24 Figure 20 Figure 21 Figure 25 Figure 26 Figure 27 Figure 28 Figure 29 District 30 Figure 31 Figure 32 Figure 33

Claims (1)

[Claims] A recording element, a base holding the recording element on one surface, and a driving means for driving the recording element, the driving means being removably attachable to the other surface of the base. An image recording apparatus comprising a joining member that connects an electrode of a driving means to a recording element in a energized manner.