JPH02230264A - recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain the small-sized, low-cost, and durable recording device by applying a bias for assisting development using developing ink between a transparent conductive layer and a counter electrode. CONSTITUTION:When an image is recorded, the bias is applied between the transparent conductive layer 8 and counter electrode 3 by a bias power source 5 and a photosensitive body 1 is rotated clockwise and irradiated with light in a specific pattern at a specific period. Light-generated carriers are generated in the photosensitive layer 9 which is irradiated with the light to generate electrostatic latent image charges 12. Then the developing ink 11 are held in recessed parts 10a of an insulation layer 10 with the electrostatic force of the electrostatic latent image carriers 12 and charges 13 injected into the developing ink 11 nearby the recessed parts 10a with the bias, thereby forming an ink image. Then this ink image is transferred to and fixed on recording paper. Thus, the recessed parts 10a of dot units are filled with the ink 10a to form the ink image, so the spread of the image due to the surface tension of the ink formed as the image is restricted to reduce the size and cost and improve the durability.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Summary] The purpose of this invention is to realize a high-definition recording device that is compact, low cost, and has excellent durability, regarding a recording device that applies electrophotographic technology, printing technology, etc. An endless photoreceptor with a three-layer structure consisting of a conductive layer, a photoreceptor layer, and an insulating layer with minute recesses uniformly formed on the surface, and a latent image forming layer provided on the transparent conductive layer side of the photoreceptor. a light source, an ink supply means for storing conductive developing ink in which the insulating layer side of the photoreceptor is immersed at a position facing the light source, and an ink supply means disposed in the developing ink at a position facing the light source. The structure includes an electrode, and a bias power source that applies a bias between the transparent conductive layer and the counter electrode to assist development with the developing ink.

[Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to a recording device that applies electrophotographic technology, printing technology, etc.

In recent years, with the rapid development of the information industry, various information systems have been developed, and output devices (printers) suitable for these systems have been developed.
There is a growing demand for These demands include small printers that can be used on desktops and high-definition image output that allows photos, diagrams, etc. to be placed on documents.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, as this type of output device, there are various types of printers depending on the purpose, but the reality is that there is no definitive printer as there are advantages and disadvantages. By the way, recording methods are generally divided into impact methods and non-impact methods. Although the impact method has advantages such as being small, low cost, and maintenance-free, it has a problem in terms of noise. On the other hand, non-impact methods include serial methods and page methods. Although the serial method has the advantage of being small and inexpensive, the thermal transfer method has a slow recording speed, and the inkjet method has problems such as clogging. The representative page method is the electrophotographic method, which is capable of high-speed printing. Although it has advantages such as high print quality, the process is complicated, so it has currently reached its limit in terms of lowering the price and miniaturizing the device.

Among the above recording methods, the electrophotographic method is suitable for high-speed, high-definition recording. This electrophotographic method uses electrostatic charging,
It consists of the processes of exposure (latent image formation), development, transfer, and fixing. Here, it is roughly divided into two types based on the difference in development process. Powder called toner with a diameter of 5 to 20 μm is transferred to a photosensitive drum (
Dry development to form a visible image by adhering it to the electrostatic latent image area on the photoconductor), and toner particles (0.1
~0.5 μm) is dispersed and adhered to the electrostatic latent image area.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, these dry methods. The wet development method has the following drawbacks.

First, in order to achieve high-resolution recording using dry development, it is necessary to make the current toner particle size even smaller. Resolution 1
At 0 0 0 dpi, the toner particle size is set to 6μ or less,
At a resolution of 2000 dpi, the toner particle diameter is 3 μm.
It is necessary to do the following. However, there is a limit to the fineness of the powder in terms of satisfying the characteristics of the toner.

From a manufacturing perspective, it is difficult to create uniform particles of 6 μm or less.
Furthermore, it is difficult to obtain a uniform toner charge amount. Furthermore, if the toner is finely divided, the toner will aggregate, resulting in poor conveyance and a problem of deterioration of image quality. On the other hand, in wet development, O. 1~0.5μm
Since the toner particles are dispersed, there are no problems during development, but when the toner image formed on the drum is transferred to the recording paper, the insulating liquid soaks into the recording paper, so a heat source is required to dry it. Also, during high-speed recording, a large amount of flammable gas is generated and its odor becomes a problem. Furthermore, in order to keep the toner concentration of the developer constant, a mechanism for stirring the developer, a mechanism for forcibly supplying the developer to the developing section, etc. are required, resulting in problems such as an increase in the size of the apparatus.

As described above, it is difficult to realize a compact, low-cost, high-definition recording device using the conventional method.

An object of the present invention is to realize a high-definition recording device that is small in size, low in cost, and has excellent durability.

[Means to solve the problem]

Fig. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the principle of the present invention, in which 1 is a light absorbing body, 2
3 is a light source, 3 is a counter power source, 4 is an ink reservoir (ink supply means), and 5 is a bias power source.

The photoreceptor 1 has a three-layer structure in which a photosensitive layer 9 and an insulating layer 10 are formed on a transparent conductive layer 8, and a cylindrical one is illustrated in this figure. Microscopic recesses 10a are uniformly formed on the surface of the insulating layer 10.

The light source 2 is for forming a latent image, and is provided inside the photoreceptor 1 (on the transparent conductive layer 8 side).

The ink reservoir 4 has a light source 2 on the outside of the light trap 1 (insulation N10 side).
The surface of the photoreceptor 1 is immersed in conductive developing ink 11 stored in the ink reservoir 4 .

The counter electrode 3 has a developing ink 11 at a position facing the light source 2.
located within.

A bias power source 5 is connected to the transparent conductive layer 8 and the counter electrode 3, and applies a bias between them to aid development by the developing ink 11.

[For production]

During recording, a bias is applied to the transparent conductive layer 8 and the counter electrode 3 by the bias power source 5, and the photoreceptor 1 is
is rotated clockwise as indicated by the arrow, and light is emitted from the light source 2 in a predetermined pattern at a predetermined time. Light-irradiated light layer 9
Photogenerated carriers are generated inside, and an electrostatic latent image charge l2 is formed. Then, this electrostatic latent image charge] 2 and the insulating layer 1
Due to the electrostatic force with the injected charge 13 (opposite polarity to the electrostatic latent image charge 12) that is injected into the developing ink 11 by the bias near the recessed part 10a of 0, the developing ink 1 is injected into the recessed part 10a.
1 is retained and an ink image is formed. Thereafter, this ink image is transferred and fixed onto recording paper.

According to this method, since the developer is a liquid, there are no problems associated with using powder in the dry method as described above, and since the ink itself is a developer, the toner lubrication required in the wet method described above is eliminated. Problems such as odor and stains caused by the insulating liquid are also eliminated. Furthermore, in this method, ink images are formed by filling ink in dot-by-dot depressions, so the spread of the image due to the surface tension of the ink formed as an image is regulated, making it possible to achieve high-definition recording with a small size and low cost. A recording device can be realized.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

FIG. 2 shows a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing an outline of the structure of the recording apparatus of this example. In the figure, 6 is a light source for static elimination, 7 is a pressing roller, and 100 is a recording paper. Note that the same members as in FIG. 1 are given the same reference numerals.

The transparent conductive layer 8 of the photoconductor 1 is formed by depositing a transparent conductive material such as ITO on a transparent substrate such as glass or acrylic resin, and the photosensitive layer 9 is made of Se-based + C d S + a −
It is made of Si+organic photosensitive material. Also, the insulating layer 10
The four parts 10a of the surface are several μm ”IO Oμm,
The depth is several μm to 30 μI. As light source 2,
Devices such as semiconductor lasers, LED arrays, and liquid crystal shutters are used.

In printing, the developing ink 11 is held in the recess 10a to form an ink image as described above with reference to FIG. In this case, regarding the bias applied by the bias power supply 5, the electric field applied to the recess 10a of the insulator 1igIO fills the recess 10a with ink, but the ink does not adhere to the non-printing area. Furthermore, on the surface of the insulating layer IO,
Select or coat a material that will not adhere to the ink you use.

When the ink image visualized in this manner is moved to section A, the ink image is transferred and fixed onto the recording paper 100 which is pressed against the photoreceptor 1 by the pressing roller rough.

According to this method, as described above in connection with FIG.
Small size. A recording device capable of high-definition recording at low cost can be realized.

In this example, during the transfer and fixing, the charge removal is simultaneously performed by light irradiation from the light source 6 for charge removal (for erasing latent image charges), so that the transfer efficiency is improved.

FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing an outline of the structure of the recording apparatus of this example, and in the figure, reference numeral 21 denotes an intermediate recording body whose surface is elastic;
22 is a pressing roller. Note that the same reference numerals are used for the same members as in FIGS. 1 and 2.

When forming an image, similarly to the previous example, the photoconductor 1 is rotated clockwise and a bias is applied between the transparent conductive layer 8 and the counter electrode 3 by the bias power source 5. In this state, when light source 2 emits light corresponding to the image signal at a predetermined time,
Photogenerated carriers are generated inside the photoreceptor layer 9 that is irradiated with light, and electrostatic latent image charges are formed corresponding to the polarity of the bias. On the other hand, on the side of the developing ink 11, a charge having a polarity opposite to that of the electrostatic latent image charge is injected, and the electrostatic force of both charges causes the recess 10
Developing ink is attracted to a and an ink image is formed. Regarding the bias applied by the bias power supply 5, the electric field applied to the recesses 10a of the insulating layer 10 fills the recesses 10a with ink, but the ink does not adhere to non-printing areas. Furthermore, the surface of the insulating layer 10 is coated or selected with a material to which the ink used does not adhere.

When the ink image visualized in this way moves to the area A, the ink image is transferred to the surface of the intermediate recording medium 22, and is transferred and fixed onto the recording paper lOO. At least the surface of the intermediate recording body 22 is elastic, and this surface is coated or selected with a material that repels the ink used. For example, when using aqueous ink, a ta aqueous material such as silicone rubber is used on the surface of the intermediate recording body 22.

In this way, since the surface of the intermediate recording body 22 in contact with the insulating layer 10 has elasticity, abrasion of the recesses 10a is prevented, and even if the surface of the recording body is rough, the intermediate recording body 22
20 surface is in close contact with this, and good transfer is achieved.

Therefore, it is possible to realize a high-definition recording device that is small in size, low in cost, and has excellent durability. Note that a light source 6 for charge removal facing the intermediate recording medium 22 is provided inside the light absorbing body 1, and the transfer. If static electricity is removed at the same time by beam radiation from the light source 6 during fixing, the transfer efficiency will be improved.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize a high-definition recording device that is small in size, low in cost, and has excellent durability.

[BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS] Fig. 1 is a diagram explaining the principle of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a side view showing an outline of the structure of a recording device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 3 is a diagram explaining the principle of the present invention. 2 is a side view showing an outline of the structure of the recording apparatus of the embodiment, in which l is a photoreceptor, 2 is a light source, 4 is an ink supply means, 7 and 22 are pressing rollers, 8 is a transparent conductive layer, and 9 is a photosensitive layer. , 10 is an insulating layer, 10a is a recessed portion, 11 is a conductive developing ink, 21 is an intermediate recording member, 12 is an electrostatic latent image charge, and 13 is an injected charge.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A three-layered endless photoreceptor ( 1); a light source (2) for forming a latent image provided on the transparent conductive layer (8) side of the photoreceptor (1); and a light source (2) for forming a latent image provided on the photoreceptor (1) at a position facing the light source (2). conductive developing ink (11) into which the insulating layer (10) side is immersed;
), and an ink supply means (4) for storing the developing ink (11) at a position facing the light source (2).
) and a counter electrode (3) disposed in the transparent conductive layer (
8) and the developing ink (11) between the counter electrode (3)
1. A recording apparatus comprising: a bias power source (5) for applying a bias to aid development by