JPH02145376A - Printing and recording method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce influence of adherence of dusts, refuse, etc., and to always hold a desirable contact state with a print recording head by cleaning the surface of an ink recording medium by a cleaning roll having an adhesive surface. CONSTITUTION:When an ink recording medium 2 is conveyed to a printing unit, it is brought into contact with a cleaning roll 3 having an adhesive surface, foreign matters such as dusts, refuse, etc. adhered to the surface of the medium 2 are transferred to the surface of the roll 3 to be cleaned. The matters transferred to the surface of the roll are removed by a removing blade 4, and gathered to a refuse collection box 5. Then, an image electric signal is applied by a print recording head 1, a heat generator layer 21 is heated in response to the image electric signal to melt or sublimate a heat fusible ink layer or a heat sublimable ink layer 22, thereby transferring it to a transfer sheet 6.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a print recording method for converting an image electrical signal into thermal energy and transferring an ink image to a transfer material.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Conventionally, thermal printing recording methods, such as medium-sized thermal printing recording methods, have been used as printing recording methods in which an image is formed by converting an image electrical signal into thermal energy, melting an ink layer with the thermal energy, and transferring the ink layer to transfer paper. A signal current is applied from the ink support side through a needle electrode into a print recording medium in which a heating element layer and a return circuit are provided on a resistive ink support, creating a current circuit in the ink recording medium to generate heat and ink. A method of thermally melting transfer as a spot (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 56-935
(see Publication No. 85), or an electric current recording method, for example, a print recording head with a recording electrode and a return electrode on one surface is pressed against an ink recording medium having a heat generating layer, and electrical signals are emitted from needle-like electrodes. The heating element layer generates heat in the applied part,
A method is used in which the ink in that area is melted and transferred to transfer paper (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 171666/1983).

Problems to be Solved by the Invention In these methods, electrical contact is made between the needle-like electrode and the surface of the ink recording medium through sliding contact, but the sliding causes vibration and causes some discharge phenomena. It can happen. Therefore, (1) dust or dirt in the atmosphere tends to electrostatically adhere to the surface of the ink recording medium; (2) when powder ink is used, the powder ink scatters inside the device and the surface of the ink recording medium (3) Since the ink recording medium rotates, abrasion powder is likely to be generated due to friction at the contact area.For this reason, foreign matter such as dust and dirt may easily adhere to the surface of the ink recording medium. adhere to.

These foreign substances, such as dust and dirt, can cause various problems when the print recording head is brought into pressure contact with the ink recording medium during print recording as described above, such as unstable current flow from the print recording head. This causes a problem in that a good contact condition cannot be maintained and print quality deteriorates.

Air blow cleaning methods and brush cleaning methods can be used to remove foreign substances such as dust and dirt, but these methods require a large space, are expensive, and do not have sufficient cleaning efficiency. Not.

By the way, since there are polymeric materials, thin film metals, ceramic materials, etc. on the surface of ink recording media, in order to remove foreign substances such as dust and dirt, it is necessary to abrade the materials present on the surface. It is required to use a cleaning method with low pressure and high cleaning efficiency to prevent the amount from increasing.

The present invention was made in view of the above-mentioned actual situation in the conventional technology, and it is an object of the present invention to reduce as much as possible the influence of adhesion of foreign matter such as dust and dirt when a print recording head is brought into pressure contact with an ink recording medium. The purpose is to

That is, an object of the present invention is that the recording electrode of the print recording head is
It is an object of the present invention to provide a print recording method that can always maintain a good contact state with an ink recording medium.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a print recording method capable of obtaining recorded images of high resolution and high quality.

Means and Effects for Solving the Problems The above-mentioned object of the present invention is to produce image electrical signals by pressing a print recording head against an ink recording medium having at least a heat generating layer and a heat-melting ink layer or a heat-sublimation dye ink layer. In the print recording method, which involves applying an image signal to transfer a heat-fusible ink layer or a heat-sublimation dye ink layer onto a transfer material in response to an image electrical signal, the print-recording head is brought into pressure contact with the ink recording medium. This is achieved by first cleaning the surface of the ink recording medium using a cleaning roll having an adhesive surface.

In the present invention, the surface of the cleaning roll preferably has a low surface energy with a critical surface tension of 35 dynes/cm or less.

Next, the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram for explaining an embodiment of the print recording method of the present invention.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a print recording head, which is configured to slide on the surface of an ink recording medium 2 and apply an image electrical signal. The ink recording medium 2 has an anisotropic conductive layer 21 , a heating element layer 22 , a return electrode layer 23 , an ink peeling layer 24 , and a heat-melting ink layer or a heat-sublimation dye ink layer 25 . 3 is a cleaning roll with a sticky surface;
It is arranged so as to rotate in contact with the surface of the ink recording medium. A detachment blade 4 is pressed against the surface of the cleaning roll to collect detached foreign matter into a dust collection box 5. Reference numeral 6 denotes a transfer paper, which is pressed against the heat-melting ink layer of the ink recording medium by an elastic platen roll 7. Further, reference numeral 8 denotes a back side backup roll that presses the back side provided at a position facing the cleaning roll 3.

The ink recording medium 2 is conveyed to the printing section by a driving means (not shown), but comes into contact with a cleaning roll 3 having an adhesive surface disposed in front of the printing section, and adheres to the surface of the ink recording medium. Foreign matter such as dust and dirt is transferred to the surface of the cleaning roll and cleaned. The foreign matter that has migrated to the surface of the cleaning roll is removed from the surface of the cleaning roll by the detachment blade 4 and collected in the dust collection box 5. Next, the ink recording medium is processed by the print recording head 1 at the printing section where the image electrical signal is transmitted. The heating element layer 21 generates heat in response to the image electric signal, and the heat-melting ink layer or heat-sublimation dye ink layer 22 in that area is melted or sublimated and transferred onto the transfer paper 6.

The cleaning roll used in the present invention is made of a material having rubber-like viscoelasticity at least on the surface, and preferably has a rubber hardness in the range of 15 to 60°.
Preferably, the surface has a critical surface tension of 35 dynes/(2) or less.

The material constituting the surface of the cleaning roll is 0.
Elastic materials whose temperature range from ℃ to 40℃ is between the glass transition point and the melting point are used, and typical examples include silicone-based elastomer-containing fluorine-containing urethane rubber, which exhibits rubber elasticity at room temperature. I can list what I have.

In the present invention, foreign substances such as dust and dirt that adhere to the surface of the cleaning roll due to adhesive force may be removed from the surface by a removal blade that is in pressure contact with the surface.
Since foreign substances such as dust and dirt that adhere to the surface of the cleaning roll are often made of thermoplastic resin such as powdered ink, as shown in Figure 2, a rotatable heating metal is placed in pressure contact with the cleaning roll surface. It is preferable to use a cleaning bar such as a bar, in which case the cleaning bar has a surface with a critical surface tension of 40 dynes/min or more and is preferably heated to 130° C. or higher. This is because when such a cleaning bar is brought into pressure contact with the cleaning roll surface, the thermoplastic resin in the attached foreign matter liquefies and is easily transferred from the cleaning roll surface to the cleaning bar, causing the cleaning roll surface to become Regenerate to a clean state.

In that case, dirt other than the thermoplastic resin will also be absorbed into the thermoplastic resin and will be cleaned at the same time.

In FIG. 2, the cleaning roll 3 has an adhesive layer 10 on its surface, and a rotatable heating metal bar 11 containing a heating heater 12 is provided in pressure contact with the surface. Reference numeral 9 indicates foreign matter, and reference numeral 13 indicates a metal blade for removing foreign matter that has migrated to the surface of the heating metal bar, and the detached foreign matter is collected in a garbage collection box 5.

The cleaning roll used in the present invention has a diameter of 2
A diameter in the range of 0 to 200 mm is preferable. If the diameter is too large, the entire device will become bulky, which is undesirable. If the diameter is too small, when a cleaning bar is used,
Heat dissipation becomes impossible, the temperature of the cleaning roll itself increases, and the ability to collect foreign matter decreases.

Further, in the present invention, the surface of the cleaning roll is
A critical surface tension of 35 dynes/ai1 or less is preferred, and a range of 18 to 30 dynes/clI is particularly preferred; when the critical surface tension is higher than 30 dynes/■,
The cleaning ability when using a cleaning bar decreases, and especially when the value exceeds 35 dynes/(2), the cleaning ability decreases significantly. In addition, the critical surface tension is 18 dynes/cm
When the ink recording medium is transported at a high speed, the cleaning roll is also rotated at a high speed, but when the cleaning roll is rotated, there is a possibility that the rubber constituting the adhesive layer will be scattered around.

Next, the ink recording medium used in the present invention will be explained.

A typical layer structure of the ink recording medium of the present invention includes an anisotropic conductive layer, a heating element layer, a return path pole layer, an ink peeling layer, and a heat-melting ink layer or a heat-sublimation dye ink layer.

The anisotropic conductive layer has the function of reducing current loss due to current conduction resistance when current is applied in the thickness direction, and also reduces heat loss and heat generation damage due to contact resistance between the needle electrode and the surface of the ink recording medium. It may be a conductive isolated pattern layer consisting of an electrode, or a layer in which a conductive path made of a conductive material such as metal powder or conductive ceramic particles is formed in an insulating material such as ceramic or synthetic resin. It may be.

In the ink recording medium of the present invention, when the anisotropic conductive layer is a layer consisting of conductive isolated patterns, it is sufficient that the heating element layer has a function as a support; In the case of a layer, the anisotropic conductive layer itself may function as a support, and a thin M heating element layer may be formed on its negative side.

The heating element layer is a layer that generates heat from the current from the anisotropic conductive layer using Joule heat to melt the ink and transfer it to the transfer material. Conductive layer made of heat-resistant resin (polyimide resin, polyimide amide resin, silicone resin, fluororesin, epoxy resin, etc.), zr02, Al2O3, 810
2 and other high-resistance materials such as Ti, AI%Ta, Cu, Au
.

The volume resistivity of a heating element layer using a thin film etc. formed using a conductive material such as Zr is 10-2 to 102
The film thickness is set in the range of Ω・■, and the film thickness is 1000 to 500.
It is preferable to set it within the range below.

Those within this range have excellent properties in terms of film deposition stability, film adhesion, etc.

The return electrode layer serves as an electrode for diffusing and refluxing the current flowing into the heating element layer, and has a volume resistivity of 10°.
It is composed of a material with a resistance of 1Ω·■ or less, and is created by vapor deposition, sputtering, or other thin film forming methods. The film thickness is preferably set in a range of 500 to 5 ρ, and particularly preferably in a range of 1000 to 2000 in terms of heat leakage and necessary conductive properties.

The ink release layer is a layer whose critical surface tension is adjusted to allow good ink transfer even at low printing energy, and is a thin film having a low surface energy function.
Basically, it has a critical surface tension lower than the surface energy of the transfer material. For example, if the transfer material is plain paper, the critical surface tension must be 40 dynes/■ or less. . Further, it is preferable that the critical surface tension of the ink release layer is lower than the surface tension of the heat-melt ink layer, since a greater effect can be obtained on the transfer phenomenon of the heat-melt ink layer. In terms of energy transfer efficiency, it is preferable to set the ink release layer as thin as possible in the range of , 500 to 6ρ. Examples of materials that can be used include thermosetting silicone resins and fluorine-containing resins.

The heat-melting ink layer is formed by dispersing a known dye or pigment such as carbon black in a thermoplastic resin having a melting point of 140° C. or lower. The thickness of the heat-melting ink layer is 1 to t.
The heat sublimation type dye ink layer is preferably set within the range of 5a, and the heat sublimation type dye ink layer is composed of a sublimation dye and a small amount of resin. As the sublimable dye, for example, an azo dye, an indoaniline dye, or a cyanivinyl dye is used.

Example Next, the present invention will be explained by examples.

Example 1 Cr layers with a thickness of 7000 μm were deposited on both sides of a conductive polyimide film with a thickness of 30 μm by vacuum evaporation.

Next, a photoresist is formed on this CrFil, and
It was dried at 0° C. for 8 minutes to form a resist film with a thickness of 1.2 μs. This resist film was exposed through a mask having a rectangular pattern of 15a square with a pitch of 20 on the entire surface, developed, and heated to harden the resist film.6 Next, it was etched using dilute hydrochloric acid in the presence of zinc particles. Then, Cr was removed from areas where there was no photoresist film. After thoroughly rinsing with water, it was placed in an acetone bath and subjected to ultrasonic waves to remove the resist film, completing the creation of an anisotropic conductive layer consisting of a conductive pattern.

Next, a thermosetting silicone resin was applied onto the Cr layer on the other side of the conductive polyimide film, and 11
Film thickness: 0.4, cured by heating and has low surface energy
An ink release layer of m was formed.

Both ends of the obtained laminated film were adhered to form an endless belt. On the ink release layer, a colored thermofusible ink layer having a thickness of 6 a and containing a thermoplastic resin having a melting point of 95° C. as a main component was provided to create an endless belt-shaped ink recording medium.

Print recording was performed using the above ink recording medium as shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, the ink recording medium 2 is conveyed to the printing section by the conveyance roll 14.
By passing between the cleaning roll 3 with an adhesive surface provided in front of the printing section and the back backup roll 8, foreign substances such as dust and dirt adhering to the surface are cleaned. The foreign matter is transferred to the heated metal bar 11 and collected in the dust collection box 5.Then, the foreign matter is transferred to the transfer paper 6 from the paper roll on the elastic platen roll 7 by the signal input from the print recording head 1. After the print recording is completed, the ink recording medium 2 is regenerated by applying powdered heat-melting ink by the powder ink supply unit 16 and then uniformizing it by the leveling unit 15, so that one printing cycle is completed. finish.

In the above case, the cleaning roll is placed at a position 20 degrees before the contact point between the print recording head and the ink recording medium.
They were arranged so that they were in pressure contact with each other at a nip of 1.511 m1. The cleaning roll has an outer diameter of 60 m + φ, is made of a silicone elastomer material with a rubber hardness of 30 degrees as an elastic body, has a wall thickness of 240 mm, and has a critical surface tension of 22 dynes/3 (according to the Zisman plot method). An unused ink recording medium is conveyed at a linear velocity of 95 m+/SeC, while a cleaning roll is equipped with a cleaning bar made of aluminum, having an outer diameter of 50 mm and a wall thickness of 211 mm.
A rotatable pipe with a heater placed in the center of the pipe was pressure-welded. The surface temperature of the cleaning bar is 1
The temperature was set at 40°C, and a foreign matter removal operation was performed.

An image electrical signal with a current amount of 24 n^ with a pulse width of 400 μs was applied to the anisotropic conductive layer using 8 stylus heads per unit, and was printed and recorded on the recording paper that was in contact with the back pressure roll.

After printing was completed, hot-melt ink was supplied to the ink transfer trace on the ink recording medium, and the colored hot-melt ink layer was leveled, temporarily fixed, and reproduced.

When the above printing cycle was continued for 15 hours, no stains appeared on the contact portion of the print recording head, and the shape of the printed dots maintained a variation in dot diameter within ±10°.

Ratio Example 1 Using the same ink recording medium as in Example 1, print recording was performed in the same manner. However, no cleaning roll was provided. When continuous printing was performed in the same manner as in Example 1, it was 3! for 15 hours! At the time of the subsequent printing operation, there was dust and powder ink attached to the periphery of the print recording head, resulting in poor electrical conduction, and the shape of the transferred dots was σ; 21ρ (average dot diameter 125a). , resulting in an uneven printed image.

Effects of the Invention As described above, the present invention cleans the surface of the ink recording medium using a cleaning roll having an adhesive surface before bringing the print recording head into pressure contact with the ink recording medium. Foreign matter such as dust and dirt can be efficiently removed without damaging the ink recording medium. Therefore, according to the present invention, the following effects are produced.

1) The reliability of contact of the print recording head to the ink recording medium is increased. 2) Since noise discharge can be controlled, the life of the ink recording medium and print recording head is extended. 3) Due to signal noise reduction, the reproducibility of printed dots is improved and high resolution and high quality images can be obtained. 4) Fluctuations in print drive pulses are reduced, the circuit life is extended, the circuit itself can be simplified, costs can be reduced, and reliability can be improved.

6) High-speed printing and recording becomes possible.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram for explaining one embodiment of the print recording method of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining another embodiment of the cleaning roll used in the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a print recording process to which the present invention is applied. 1... Print recording head, 2... Ink recording medium, 3
... Cleaning roll, 4 ... Detachment blade, 5
...Trash collection box, 6...Transfer paper, 7...Elastic platen roll, 8...Back backup roll, 9...
- Dust, 10... Adhesive layer, 11... Heating metal bar, 12... Heating heater, 13... Metal blade,
14... Conveyance roll, 15... Surface leveling unit, 16
Powder ink supply unit, 21... Anisotropic conductive layer, 22... Heat generating layer, 23... Return path electrode layer, 24...
... Ink release layer, 25 ... Heat-melting ink layer (or heat-sublimation dye ink layer). Patent applicant Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. Agent
Patent Attorney Liquid Department Copper Box Figure 1 Figure 2

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A print recording head is pressed into contact with an ink recording medium having at least a heating element layer and a heat-melting ink layer or a heat-sublimation dye ink layer to apply an image electrical signal to the transfer material to correspond to the image electrical signal. In a print recording method that involves transferring a heat-fusible ink layer or a heat-sublimation dye ink layer, the surface of the ink recording medium is coated with an adhesive surface before the print recording head is brought into pressure contact with the ink recording medium. A printing recording method characterized by cleaning using a cleaning roll having a cleaning roll. (2) The surface of the cleaning roll has a critical surface tension of 35
The print recording method according to claim 1, having a low surface energy of dynes/cm or less.