JPH02141251A - Ink-beam control recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To correct the quantity of output ions stably extending over the overall length of a head, and to miniaturize a device by measuring the quantity of ions by utilizing a control electrode constituting the head and controlling an ion control section and an ion generating section on the basis of the measured value. CONSTITUTION:A proper correction data is stored previously in a first storage device 36 and a second storage device 46. When a picture is written, the quantity of ions is detected by an ammeter 32 through an ion-quantity detecting electrode 22 combining a control electrode, the quantity of ions detected in referred to the table of the correction data read from the second storage device 46, and ion generating voltage based on the correction data is fed to a discharge wire 16 from an ion generating voltage generator 40 and/or a control command based on the correction data is transmitted to an air force feeder 44, the proper flow rate of air is supplied and the correction of an ion generating section is controlled. The quantity of ions detected is referred to the table of the correction data read from the first storage device 36, and each control electrode 20 is supplied with control voltage based on the correction data from a generator 30, thus controlling the correction of a control section 26.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an ion flow control recording device, and more specifically, it measures the distance between ions from a head and calculates a predetermined amount of ions based on the measured value. This invention relates to an ion flow control and recording device that controls the control voltage that passes through the ion flow, the ion valve voltage that generates the amount of ions, and the like.

[Prior art 1] In general, a recording device that forms an electrostatic latent image on a recording medium.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 59-190854 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 6
An ion flow control recording device as shown in Japanese Patent No. 2-13825 is known. As shown in FIG. 3, the head used in this ion flow control recording device includes a pair of grounded conductive shields a.

A cylindrical chamber C is formed between 6 and 6, and a discharge wire d is arranged within this chamber C. A substrate f is attached to the lower end of one shield b so as to cover the shields a and b via an insulating layer e, and a slit Q is formed between the other shield a and the substrate f. Surin l-
A plurality of control electrodes are formed on the Q side surface at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction of the chamber C.

In the head configured as described above, ions are generated from above the chamber C into the chamber C by applying a high voltage from the wire power supply j to the wire d. Then, by blowing an ion flow transfer fluid (air flow) Y into the chamber C from above, the ions in the chamber C are passed through the slit q provided in communication with the chamber C, and are passed through the recording medium (Fig. (not shown). At this time, by applying a voltage according to the image signal from the control circuit i to each control electrode, the ion flow passing through the slit Q is controlled, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the recording medium. There is.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the conventional ion flow control recording device of this type, there is no correction means for changes in the amount of ions generated due to environmental conditions such as humidity, etc. There is a problem that the amount of ions varies in the longitudinal direction of the head due to uneven slit width, uneven slit length, or uneven air flow in the area where the electrode is formed.
Therefore, due to the increase/decrease and non-uniformity of the ion flow m, there are problems such as unstable image density and occurrence of unevenness.

Therefore, in order to stabilize the image density, the applicant
As shown in the figure, an ion current measurement terminal l is arranged near the recording medium, and ions ω irradiated onto the recording medium k are
A control device for an electrostatic latent image recording device includes a control unit n that measures the voltage with an ion current measuring device m and controls the discharge voltage of the discharge wire d of the head based on the measured value of the ion current measuring device m. Developed (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 134770/1983)
.

In FIG. 4, the same parts as those of the control device shown in FIG. 3 are given the same reference numerals. In addition, in Figure 14, the symbol O
is a shield, p is a back electrode on the recording medium, and q is a bias power supply.

However, although the above control device corrects the voltage applied to the ion generating section, it does not take any measures against unevenness in the longitudinal direction (main scanning direction) of the head.
Since the ion current measuring terminal 1 and the ion current 111i constant device m are arranged at the longitudinal end of the recording medium, there is a problem that the device becomes longer than the recording width and becomes larger.

This invention was made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the amount of ions is measured using the control electrode that constitutes the head, and based on this measurement value, the ion control section and the ion generation section are operated. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ion flow control recording device which can stably correct the output ion suspension over the entire length of the head by controlling the above, and which can reduce the size of the device.

[Means for Solving the Problems 1] In order to achieve the above object, the ion flow control recording device of the present invention includes an ion generation section, and allows the ions generated in the ion generation section to pass through, and also controls the ion flow according to an image signal. In this case, the ion passage section configured in the form of a slit corresponds to the ion control section, and the slit wall is equipped with a head formed by a pair of control electrodes. One of the control electrodes constitutes an ion amount detection electrode for detecting ions, and an ion amount detection means for detecting the ion amount via this ion amount detection electrode is provided. The amount of ions generated is fed back to the image data generating means, the ion generating voltage generating means, and/or the ion transporting fluid pumping means based on predetermined correction data.

In this invention, as the ion mother detection means, one that measures the current of a control electrode can be used, and in this case, the control electrode on the side that receives controlled ions is also used as an ion amount detection electrode.

The above ion amount correction data can be obtained at at least two or more levels of image density, excluding white.

In addition, the control section that controls the ion generation section includes the second control section described above.
It may be an ion generation voltage generating means that reads ion amount correction data from a storage means and generates a command for the control 11I voltage based on the ion correction data, or an ion transporter that generates a command for the amount of ion transport fluid. It may be a fluid pressure feeding means, or furthermore, both of these may constitute a control section.

[Function] As described above, the ion quantity is detected from one side of the control electrode by the ion concentration detection means, and the ion quantity detected by the ion quantity detection means is corrected based on predetermined correction data. The amount of ions from the head can be corrected over the entire length of the head by generating a control voltage from the image data generation means to adjust the amount of ions, and also correcting the ion generation voltage or the flow rate of the ion transport fluid. As a result, a recorded image with even shading can be obtained. Note that when operating the ion generation voltage generation means and the ion transfer fluid pressure feeding means in combination, the ion transfer fluid is Preferably, the pumping means is activated.

[Examples] Examples of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic sectional view of the ion flow control recording device of the present invention.

In the ion flow control recording device of the present invention, a discharge wire 16 is stretched along the longitudinal direction of the chamber 14 in a cylindrical chamber 14 formed between a pair of conductive shields 10 and 12 grounded to the earth side. A pair of control N poles 20.22 with an inverted cross section are disposed on the lower surface of both shields 10.12 with an insulating layer 18 interposed therebetween on the lower end side of the chamber 14. Both control electrodes 20 and 22 in the ion passage section 24 are provided with an ion passage section 24 formed of a pair of slit walls.
A control unit 26 is configured.

In the head 28 configured as described above, one of the control electrodes 20 constituting the control section 26 has bit dividing electrodes formed along the direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper (specifically, the control electrode 20 is 64 pieces x 40 blocks total 2
．． The other control till ff74m 22 is formed in a so-called solid shape on its entire surface and also serves as an ion jet detection electrode. A control voltage generator 30 serving as an image data generating means is connected to one control electrode 20, and an ammeter 32 serving as an ion amount detecting means is connected to the control m+ electrode and ion cloth detecting electrode 22. Further, the control voltage generator 30 receives pixel information from the image data generator 34 and applies a control voltage to the control electrode 20.
Data comparing the amount of ions detected by the ammeter 32 with the reference amount of ions from the first correction data storage device 36 is input so that an appropriate control voltage can be supplied to each control electrode 20. It has become. In order to supply the control voltage to each control electrode 20 in this way, first, one or more control electrodes 20 are selected during non-recording, and the other control electrodes 20 are unselected and the ammeter 32 is turned on at that time. Measure the flowing current. Next, the same number of other control m+ electrodes 20 are selected, and the other control a electrodes 20 are not selected, and the current flowing through the ammeter 32 at that time is measured.

By repeating this operation, it is possible to measure the unevenness of the amount of ions in the slit over all control tIl electrodes 20, and this can be compared to the table of correction data stored in the first correction data storage device 3G in advance. By referring to appropriate control I] lightning voltage can be supplied to each control electrode 20.

On the other hand, the discharge wire 16 is connected through a resistor 38 to an ion generating voltage generating means 8' 40, which is an ion generating voltage generating means.
is connected. Further, an air flow passage 42 connected to a pressure supply source of an ion transport fluid (air flow), not shown, is provided above the chamber 14, and the air flow in the flow passage 42 is connected to this air flow passage 42. An air pumping device 44, which is an ion transport fluid pumping means for adjusting m, is connected. Then, the ion generation voltage generator 40 and the air pressure feeding device 4
4 is selectively inputted with data in which the amount of ions detected by the ammeter 32 is compared with the reference amount of ions from the second correction data storage device 46. In this case, the ion generation voltage is corrected by applying some fixed voltage pattern to the control voltage of the ion generation voltage generation device 40, determining the current value at that time, and adjusting the current value to the second correction data storage device 46 according to the current value. The applied voltage is corrected based on the data of the second correction data storage device 46, or the pneumatic feeding device 44 is corrected based on the data of the second correction data storage device 46, or both the ion generation voltage generating device 40 and the pneumatic feeding device 44 are corrected. to correct. Note that since only one discharge wire 16 is stretched over the entire length, there is no need to scan the control voltage.

Next, the operation will be explained. Here, the control electrodes 20 are wired in a matrix and consist of 64 electrodes x 40 blocks, a total of 2.560 electrodes, and the correction is made when applying the same voltage to all control voltages at each level within the same block. Let's explain with an example. Of course, it goes without saying that any number of lines can be corrected as one unit. Further, in this embodiment, the reference ion amount was selected from 1°1 to '05 so that five levels of image density including the white level could be obtained. However, the image density is not limited to five levels, and may be set to at least one level excluding white.

Here, obtaining ion amount correction data for correcting variations in the head 28 means that each reference ion 1J
The purpose is to obtain control voltages VH1--H9 corresponding to I101-I05 for each block. An example of the procedure for creating ion amount correction data will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 2. First, block number n=1 is set. Next, the control voltage VH from the control voltage generator 30 is set to O, and the image density is initialized by setting i=1 (steps A and B).

Next, the reference ion ff1l. 1 (Step C
). At first I. 1=101. Further, ion writing is performed by the head 28 according to the control 11 voltage VH, and the ion amount I is detected by the ammeter 32 (steps D and E).
). Note that in the flowchart of FIG. 2, steps D and E are processed by hardware, so they are processed in parallel with step C.

Reference ion ff1l. i and the detected ion ff1I are compared in a comparison circuit (not shown), and the comparison result is read into a CPU (not shown) in step F. If the two do not match, step GrCP
From tJ, a command is sent to the control 11 voltage generator 30, and after increasing the control voltage VH by 0.1v, the process returns to steps C and D. 73 i-ion detective■. i and detected ions t1
When they match, the control voltage VH at that time is stored in the ion amount correction data storage device (first correction data storage means) 36 (step H). In step I, it is determined whether all of the control 2++ voltages ■8 corresponding to the five image degrees have been obtained, and if the processing has not been completed, change the image degree by one step and return to steps C and D. (Step J).

Further, it is determined in step whether or not the processing of all blocks, that is, 40 blocks, has been completed, and if it has not been completed, processing is performed to obtain the voltage vH for the adjacent block (step).

The control voltage VH obtained as described above is stored in the ion gate correction data storage device 36 as ion amount correction data.

Next, the manner of adjusting the ion generation command and the control voltage will be explained.

◎Adjustment of ion generation command First, set all 64 blocks to OFF state (state where ions are not allowed to pass, that is, all ions in the slit are deflected to the control electrode/ion flow detection electrode 22 side), and then select 40 blocks at the same time. . This means adjusting the so-called solid white, and at this time, the value of the current flowing through the ammeter 32 is measured, and the voltage applied to the discharge wire 6 is adjusted based on the correction data.

Further, the pumping flow rate in the air pumping device 44 is adjusted in the same manner.

◎Adjustment of control voltage After adjusting the ion generation voltage above, first
With the 60 control electrodes 20 in the OFF state (state where ions do not pass), the current value of the ammeter 32 at this time (Io
) to measure. Next, only the first block is turned on, and the current value (11) at this time is measured. Then, I-11
corresponds to the output ion amount from block 1. This is the second and third. By repeating the process for 39.40 blocks, the amount of ions output from each block can be determined. Based on this result, an appropriate control voltage is applied to each block by referring to the correction data in the first correction data storage device 36.

In the ion flow control recording device of the present invention configured as described above, appropriate correction data is stored in advance in the first correction data storage device 36 and the second correction data storage device 46, and the ion flow control recording device of the present invention is When the main power of the recording apparatus is turned on, the ion generation command and the control voltage are adjusted. Then, at the time of drawing @furuomi, the amount of ions is detected by the ammeter 32 via the control electrode and ion υ detection electrode 22,
First, the detected ion amount is referred to the correction data table read from the second correction data storage device 46, and the ion generation voltage based on the correction data is applied to the discharge wire from the ion generation voltage generation device 40. 16 and/or a control command based on the correction data is sent to the air pressure feeding device 44 to supply an appropriate air flow rate, whereby correction control of the ion generating section is performed. Next, the detected ion amount is referred to the correction data table read from the first correction data storage device 36, and a control voltage based on the correction data is applied to each control II electrode 20 from the control voltage generator 30. Correction control of the control section 26 is performed by being supplied to the control section 26.

[Effects of the Invention] Since the ion flow control recording device of the present invention is configured as described above, the following effects can be obtained.

1) The amount of ions from the head is detected, and the detected amount of ions is corrected to perform correction control of the control section, and correction control of the ion generation section is performed at the same time, so it is possible to eliminate head variations over the entire length of the head. In addition to being able to correct
'a An image without unevenness can be obtained, and correction control can be performed stably over a long period of time.

2) Since one of the control electrodes constituting the control section can also be used to detect the amount of ions, it is possible to reduce the number of structural members and downsize the device.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is an 11X schematic sectional view of the ion flow control recording device of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a flowchart 1 for obtaining ion amount correction data, and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the head of a conventional ion flow control recording device. FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of another conventional ion flow control recording device. Symbol explanation 16...M electric wire 20...Control electrode 22...Control electrode and interion detection electrode 24
... Ion passing section 2G ... Control section 30 ... Control voltage generator (image data generation means) (32... Ammeter (ion amount detection means) (34...
Image data generation device (3G...first correction data storage device (40...
・Ion generation voltage generator (44...Air pressure feeding device (ion transport fluid pressure feeding device) (46)...Second correction data storage device Patent granted
Applicant Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. Agent Patent Attorney Tomohiro Nakamura (3 others) Figure 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] It consists of an ion generation section and a control section that allows the ions generated in the ion generation section to pass through and controls the ions according to an image signal. In an ion flow control recording device including a head whose walls are formed by a pair of control electrodes, one of the control electrodes constitutes an ion amount detection electrode for detecting the amount of ions, and this ion amount detection electrode An ion amount detection means for detecting the amount of ions via the ion amount detection means is provided, and an image data generation means, an ion generation voltage generation means and/or An ion flow control recording device characterized in that it feeds back to an ion transport fluid pressure feeding means.