JPH04105951A - Recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce a running cost by a method wherein ink viscosity of which is reduced resultant from the increase of temperature and an image carrier to hold the ink are provided, and transfer is effected on an image receiving body through selective heating as the ink is rubbed on an image carrier surface. CONSTITUTION:Through energization to a heat generating body 4a in a thermal head 4, ink 1 nipped between the thermal head 4 and a sheetform image carrier 2 is selectively heated. The rubbed off ink 1 is received in an ink tank 3 and naturally cooled to increase viscosity for reutilization. Since the ink 1 not heated is high in viscosity, a uniform ink layer responding to a shearing stress between the image carrier 2 and the thermal head 4 is formed. However, the heated ink 1 is reduced in viscosity and not durable to a shearing stress, and most of the ink is rubbed off by means of the thermal head 4. Thus, by heating the ink 1 by the thermal head 4 according to conveyance of the sheetform carrier 2, a primary ink image 10 wherein the ink 1 of a heated part is removed and the ink 1 of a non-heated part is held is formed. Further, the primary ink image 10 is brought into pressure contact with an image receiving body 5 to generate a recording image 11.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a recording apparatus that can perform contact transfer of ink and obtain recorded images at low running costs.

Conventional technology Thermal transfer sheets using pigments as coloring materials (for example, polyethylene terephthalate with a thickness of about 9 μm) (PET
) The surface of a heat-resistant substrate such as film or capacitor paper Use a hot melt material consisting of 20 parts by weight of carnauba wax, 40 parts by weight of ester wax, 10 parts by weight of mineral oil, and 10 parts by weight of other auxiliaries as a binder material. A thermal transfer sheet is known in which an ink material layer having a thickness of about 3 μm, which is made of an ink material in which 20 parts by weight of a pigment coloring material is mixed with a binder material, is formed by a hot melt coating method. Further 1. A thermal transfer recording apparatus is also known that uses these thermal transfer sheets to melt and transfer ink material onto a recording medium to obtain a recorded matter. (Y, Tokun
aga and K, Sugiyama, “Therm
al Ink-Transfer Imaging',
IEEE Trans, on Electron D
evices) Vol, ED-27, pp, 218-
2221980, ') For example, FIG. 8 shows a partial cross-sectional configuration diagram of a thermal transfer recording apparatus according to a conventional embodiment; A thermal transfer sheet 102 having an ink material layer 101 arranged thereon and a recording paper 103 are pressed into contact between a thermal head 104 and a platen 105, and a heating element 106 of the thermal head 104 is heated in response to a signal from a recording signal source. The ink material 10 selectively melted by generating heat
Generate 7. At this time, the rotation 108 of the platen 105
The recording paper 103 is sent in the direction of arrow 109 and the thermal transfer sheet 102 is sent in the direction of arrow 110, respectively, and the thermal head 1
04, the thermal transfer sheet 102 is peeled off from the image receiving paper 103, and the melted ink material 10 is deposited on the image receiving paper 103.
7 is transferred to obtain a transferred ink image 111.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, with the above-mentioned configuration (the thermal transfer sheet 10
Since some ink materials are selectively transferred from No. 2 for recording, many ink materials are discarded without being used. Therefore, there is a problem in that the running cost becomes high.In view of this problem, it is an object of the present invention to provide a recording device with low running cost.

Means for Solving the Problems The recording apparatus according to the present invention includes an ink whose viscosity decreases when the temperature is increased, an image carrier that holds this ink, and selective heating while rubbing the ink on the surface of the image carrier. The image forming apparatus includes a heating means and a transfer means for transferring the ink held on the image carrier to an image receptor.

Effect of the present invention With the above-described configuration, the heating means rubs the ink on the image carrier and heats it in accordance with the image signal. At this time, enough ink remains on the image carrier to withstand the shear stress generated between the heating means and the surface of the image carrier in the areas that are not heated. Unable to withstand the shearing stress, the ink is rubbed off by the heating means that is pressed against it, and there is almost no ink that reaches the surface of the image carrier. The ink that has been rubbed off returns to its original state (viscosity) upon cooling, so it can be reused.

Next: The ink image on the surface of the image carrier is pressed against the image receptor to form a recorded image on the image receptor. Thereafter, the ink is rubbed and supplied by the heating means again, and the above-described operation is repeated.

That is, unlike the conventional thermal transfer recording method, a thermal transfer sheet is not used, and only the ink forming the ink image can be transferred to the image receptor for recording, resulting in low running costs.

Furthermore, the amount of ink removed can be varied by reducing the viscosity in response to heating, and gradation recording can be performed by controlling the amount of heating in accordance with the image signal.

Furthermore, by making the surface of the image carrier uneven, the ink can be easily retained on the image carrier, recording can be performed at a higher density, and good image quality can be obtained.

Embodiment FIG. 1 shows a partial cross-sectional configuration diagram of a recording apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and further enlarged partial views are shown in FIGS.
This is shown in c. In FIG. 1, 1 is a fluid ink whose viscosity decreases as the temperature rises. 2 is an endless sheet-like image carrier that holds ink 1. 3 is a sheet-like image carrier that is immersed in the ink 1 stored inside. An ink tank 4 supplies the ink 1 to the surface of the image carrier 2; 4 is a thermal head that selectively heats the ink 1 while rubbing it on the surface of the sheet-shaped image carrier 2; This is a pressure roller which is a transfer means for pressure-transferring the ink 1 held on the image carrier 2 onto the image receptor 5. Mari 7a
, 7b are conveyance rollers that convey the sheet-like image carrier 2 in a fixed direction.

The operation of the recording apparatus of this embodiment configured as described above will be explained below. The sheet-like image carrier 2 is conveyed in the directions of arrows 8 and 9 by the conveyance rollers 7a and 7b while being partially immersed in the ink 1 stored in the ink tank 3. At this time, the ink l adheres to the surface of the sheet-like image carrier 2. Next, the ink 1 is rubbed onto the sheet-like image carrier 2 by the thermal head 4 . At this time, the ink 1 sandwiched between the thermal head 4 and the sheet-like image carrier 2 is selectively heated by energizing the heating element 4a in the thermal head 4 (partially enlarged view C). The scraped ink 1 is received in the ink tank 3, naturally cooled, its viscosity increases, and then reused.

Unheated ink 1 (primary) Because of its high viscosity, a uniform ink layer is formed in accordance with the shear stress between the sheet-like image carrier 2 and the thermal head 4.

However, when the ink is heated, its viscosity decreases.
Most of the ink is rubbed off by the thermal head 4 because it can withstand shear stress. Therefore, by heating the ink 1 with the thermal head 4 as the sheet-like image carrier 2 is conveyed, the ink 1 in the heated part is removed, and a partial ink image 10 is formed in which the ink 1 in the non-heated part is retained. (Partial enlarged view b).

Furthermore, this second ink image 10 is pressed against the image receptor 5 to obtain a recorded image 11. This is done by pressing the image receptor 5 and part of the ink image 10 between the conveyance roller 7a and the pressure roller 6,
The image receiving paper 5 is conveyed in the direction of arrow 13 by rotation in the directions of arrows 8 and 12. In this pressurized state (see arrow 14), part of the ink 1 constituting the ink image 10 penetrates into the image receptor 5, and a large amount of the ink 1 is transferred to the image receptor 5 due to the adhesive force (partial enlarged view a). > Thereafter, the sheet-like image bearing member 2 is peeled off from the image receptor 5 to obtain the final recorded image 11. This sheet-like image bearing member 2 is endless, and is dipped in the ink 1 in the ink tank 3 again. Since the ink is uniformly formed by the thermal head 4, repeated recording can be performed using the same surface.

As described above, according to this embodiment (number-order ink image 10
Since only the ink 1 that forms the image can be transferred to the image receptor 5 for recording, running costs are low. 2 recorded image 1
No 1 is left behind, making it easy to maintain confidentiality.

In addition, the amount of ink 1 held can be controlled by the amount of heating. When the pulse width is maximum, the pulse width is "0 (non-heating)", and when you do not want to transfer ink, set it below the maximum pulse width. Pulse width modulation is used to reduce the recording density as the pulse width increases. .

Further, in the recording apparatus having the configuration shown in FIG. 1, a cleaner may be further provided to remove the ink 1 adhering to the surface (back surface) of the sheet-like image carrier 2 in contact with the conveying roller 7. When the conveyance speed increases, the ink 1 adhering to this surface may be blown off during conveyance of the sheet-like image carrier 2 and stain the recorded image 11. However, this cleaner can remove the ink 1 from the back surface of the sheet-like image carrier 2 and prevent the recorded image 11 from being stained.

As shown in FIG.
It can be formed by using the sheet-like substrate 15 and arranging a layer made of the supporting portion forming material 16 on the surface of the sheet-like substrate 15.

As the sheet-like substrate 15, for example, a resin filled material such as polyethylene terephthalate, polyimide K, polyethylene nylon, aluminum foil, or metal foil such as nickel may be used.

Supporting part forming material 16 is preferably a material that does not soften or decompose when the ink 1 is heated.For example, (L polystyrene, polyester, polyethylene, vinyl chloride resin, methacrylic resin, polycarbonate resin, butyral resin, thermoplastic resin such as fluororesin, guanamine) resin 1
Phenolic resin Unsaturated polyester resin Thermosetting resin such as polyurethane, epoxy, silicone resin 1 Silicone rubber Fluorescent urethane rubber Chloroprene rubber Nitril rubber Ethylene propylene rubber Styrene thermoplastic elastomer, polyester thermoplastic elastomer, polyurethane thermoplastic elastomer, etc. In addition, polyvinyl alcohol may contain water-based materials such as gelatin, or may be cured by excessive heating or UV T-ray irradiation.

In addition, microparticles such as calcium carbonate and silica can be added to the supporting part forming material 16 (to increase mechanical strength).

Furthermore, if the surface of the sheet-like image carrier 2 is made to exhibit rubber elasticity, when it comes into pressure contact with the image receptor 5, the convex portion is crushed according to the surface shape of the image receptor 5, thereby preventing the ink 1 from reaching the surface of the image receptor 5. The contact becomes more uniform, the ink transfers more easily, and the image quality improves.

In particular, the use of silicone rubber or fluorine rubber is particularly recommended as the material 16 for forming the IQ support portion because of its elasticity and good heat resistance.

As the image receptor 5, for example, high-quality paper, pulp-grade paper such as art-grade matte paper, synthetic paper, and films such as OHP film can be used.

Since the thermal head 4 does not react with the ink 1 when it generates heat, it is preferable that the surface in contact with the ink 1 is heat resistant and inert to the ink 1. Pressure force 1;
L 4 kg/cm2 or less, particularly preferably 2 kg/cm2 or less. If the pressing force exceeds 4 kg/cm2, the viscosity of the ink at room temperature is high (more than 50,000 mPa・s), and most of the ink 1 is rubbed off by the thermal head 4, making it impossible to increase the recording density. It is from.

Fluid ink whose viscosity decreases when heated 111 Contains a binder material, a coloring material, and a solvent that dissolves the binder material.For example, commonly used hydrophilic or lipophilic liquid inks can be used.

The viscosity of ink 1 at room temperature is 10 mPa・s or more.
Less than 50,000 mPa・s, preferably 50 mPa-8 to 10,000 mPa・s. If the viscosity is 50,000 mPa・s or more, fluidity is poor and the ink 1 is uniformly supplied near the thermal head 4. This is because it becomes difficult to do so, causing missing dots in the recorded image 11, and greatly deteriorating the image quality.

Furthermore, if the viscosity is lower than 10 mPa·s, less ink will be retained on the surface of the image carrier, making it impossible to obtain a sufficient recording density.

Therefore, the viscosity at room temperature of the ink 1 whose viscosity decreases by heating is from 50 mPa·s to 10,000 mPa's,
The pressing force of the thermal head 4 on the sheet-like image carrier 2 is 2
It is particularly recommended to keep it below kg/cm2.

It is preferable that the viscosity of the ink 1 whose viscosity decreases upon heating decrease by one order of magnitude or more while the temperature rises from room temperature to about 100°C. If it is less than one digit, the change in ink adhesion force with respect to shear stress is small, and a sufficient change in recording density cannot be obtained.

As a solvent for ink 1 (for example (-!), the solvent may be: Alcohols such as ethanol and isopropyl alcohol Wood-loving solvents containing glycols such as ethylene glycol Hydrocarbons such as toluene and cyclohexane Esters such as ethyl acetate One or more mixed solvents such as lipophilic solvents such as esters such as methyl cellosolve are used. However, wood-philic solvents with low risk of ignition or explosion are used. Water is the least dangerous and is used as the main solvent. It is preferable.

A hydrophilic solvent is used as a binder material for ink 1, which is the main solvent (for example, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)).
, carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), methylcellulose (MC), hydroxyethylcellulose (HE
C), polyethylene glycol (PEG), hydroxypropyl cellulose, sotami alginate, polyacrylic acid, polyethylene oxide, starch, gelatin, to carrageenan, to arabic moth, guar gum, locust bean agave, xantanga, farcellan, pullulan, β-naphthalene sulfonate, formalin high condensation or a derivative thereof.

Further, as the binder material, it is also possible to use a material that dissolves in water or alcohol.

At this time, a wood-loving solvent containing many alcohols as a solvent is used.
For example, a mixed solvent of water and ethanol is recommended because it is possible to obtain a recorded image 11 with good water resistance. Ethyl cellulose is used as this binder material (for example +t).

In addition, inks using lipophilic solvents as the main solvent (more
Is it used as a binder material in general lipophilic inks? For example, resins such as styrene, polyester, acrylic, epoxy, polyamide K, polymethyl methacrylate, and polyvinyl butyral are used. At this time, as mentioned above, there is a risk of ignition or explosion.Even if synthetic paper or film is used for the image receptor 5, the fixing properties are good and it is easy to obtain recorded materials with good water resistance. can.

As colorants, suitable known pigments or dyes are used.

The ink 1 is not a completely dissolved solution, but only needs to have its viscosity reduced by heating, and a slurry ink in which pigments and undissolved binder materials are dispersed can also be used.

Furthermore, additives such as a surfactant for improving the dispersibility of the coloring material, and preservatives for mold prevention, plasticization, and oxidation prevention can also be added to the ink 1.

Go to Figure 3 The graph shows the viscosity change with respect to temperature for Ink 1 using gelatin and having each gelatin weight ratio.

Ink 1 shown in Figure 3 (using water as the solvent) and gelatin (manufactured by Nitta Gelatin Co., Ltd.) as the binder material
Contains 0wt%. As a coloring material, black direct dye (KST Black (N) pure, manufactured by Nippon Gunpowder Co., Ltd.) was used at 3 wt%. Ink 1 was created by mixing these materials and heating them to 80°C, then cooling them to room temperature (25°C).
By varying the viscosity to 30 wt%, we prototyped Ink 1 with a viscosity of 300,000 to 50,000 mPa·s at room temperature (25°C). A detailed example is shown below. Go to Figure 4. An example of the recording characteristics at that time is shown.

The horizontal axis represents the energy applied to the thermal head 4, and the vertical axis represents the optical reflection density of the recorded image 11.

The measurement was carried out using a Macbeth reflection type densitometer RD914.The pressure of the pressure roller 6 was 2 kg/cm2, and the thermal head 4 (pitch of the heating element 4a: 250 μm) was The compression force on the sheet-like image carrier 2 was approximately 500 g/am, and the conveyance speed of the image carrier was 10 cm/s. Hold the ink 1 on the rubber surface and heat it with 5 to 30 w as shown in Figure 4.
When using t% gelatin ink, gradation recording can be performed depending on the applied energy.9 However, when using L30wt% ink, 1
The applied energy of J/Cm2 will not cause ground fog.
The ink supply may not be stable during recording, resulting in occasional dot dropouts.9 When using 5wt% ink, there is no background fog (because the viscosity at room temperature is too low, the ink retention is low and the maximum When using ink 1 containing gelatin of 10wt% and 20wt%, the energy applied to the thermal head 4 continuously decreases to the paper surface density at a maximum of IJ/cm2, causing background fog and background fog. Good recorded image 1 with few missing dots
FIG. 5 shows a partial cross-sectional perspective view of three other embodiments of the sheet-like image carrier 2 used in FIG. 1.

On these sheet-like image carriers 2 (like the sheet-like substrate 15), a layer made of a material for forming a carrier portion having an uneven surface is arranged.

The surface of the sheet-like image carrier 2 is uneven compared to that shown in FIG. 1 or 2. By the way, if the sheet image bearing member 2 is smooth as shown in FIG. The constituent ink 1 flows and the image quality deteriorates. However, in this example, since the surface is uneven, ink can be easily retained and high-density recording can be performed. In other words, it has high liquidity;
It easily penetrates into the image receptor 5 (\ High density recording can be done using low viscosity ink l.

A sheet-like image carrier 2 (recorded image 11) having an uneven surface
In order for each pixel to be uniform, at least the amount of ink retained must be approximately uniform on the surface of the sheet-like image carrier 2. Therefore, it is preferable that each pixel corresponding to the surface of the sheet-like image carrier 2 has at least a plurality of irregularities.

In addition, the height of this convex portion is selected to be 50 μm or less, preferably 30 μm or less.
This is because if it exceeds the ink, it is difficult to heat the ink that has entered the recesses, and even if the viscosity decreases, the ink that has entered the recesses cannot be sufficiently removed, which tends to cause background fogging.

FIG. 5(a) (Yo) Irregularity-forming particles 17 having a particle size larger than the thickness h of the layer consisting only of the supporting part forming material 16 on the sheet-like substrate 15 are dispersed in the supporting part forming material 16. It consists of

The unevenness forming particles 17 (for example, inorganic material particles such as aluminum 9 silica, taluko calcium carbonate, and organic material particles such as benzoguanamine resin, fluororesin, polymethyl methacrylate, nylon, and silicone resin) can be used.

This sheet-like image carrier 2 (for example, a solvent that dissolves the carrier-forming material 16 but does not dissolve the unevenness-forming particles 17)
By dissolving and dispersing the supporting portion forming material 16 and the unevenness forming particles 17, applying the solution onto the sheet-like substrate 15, and drying it, at least a portion of the unevenness forming particles 17 can be made to protrude, thereby creating an uneven surface. Since it is only necessary to apply and cure, the sheet-like image carrier 2 can be manufactured at low cost.

FIG. 5(b) (b) Uniform unevenness is formed on the sheet-like substrate 15 by a layer consisting only of the material 16 for forming the supporting portion. After forming a uniform layer of the support part forming material 16, the support part forming material 16 is deposited on the sheet-like substrate 15 by etching the recesses or by conventional printing.
You can create patterns by forming them. Since each unevenness can be created uniformly, the ink holding power in each part is more uniform than in the structure of (a), and density unevenness is reduced, resulting in better image quality.

Further, in this embodiment, a force <=50%, which indicates a case where the opening area is smaller than 50%, can also be used.Also, this uneven shape is not limited to a rectangular shape.

FIG. 5(c) 1 & Non-uniform unevenness is formed on the sheet-like substrate 15 by a layer consisting only of the supporting portion forming material 16. As shown in FIG. This sheet-like image carrier 2 (and sheet-like substrate 15
It can be created by forming a uniform layer of the supporting part forming material 16 on top, and then scraping the surface unevenly using a sandblasting method or the like, in which fine particles are sprayed to partially scrape the surface. (a
), it can be constructed using only the supporting part forming material 16, and can be manufactured at a lower cost.

FIGS. 5(b) and 5(C) show a sheet-like substrate 15 in which uneven portions made of a supporting portion forming material 16 are formed.The sheet-like substrate 15 is made of, for example, polyethylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, etc. It is also possible to use a resin film as the sheet-like image carrier 2 by forming the shapes (b) and (c) on the surface of the substrate 15 by direct etching or sand pressing.

Further, in the configuration shown in FIG. 5, a rubber elastic layer made of the above-mentioned rubber is disposed on the sheet-like substrate 15, and an uneven surface is formed using the supporting portion forming material 16 on top of the rubber elastic layer to form a sheet-like image carrier. It can also be set to 2. In this case, the supporting part forming material 16 does not require a large degree of rubber elasticity, making it easy to select materials for each part, and the rubber elastic layer is distorted by pressure to bury the convex part. In other words, the distortion due to elasticity can be increased, and a good image can be obtained even if the image receptor 5 with low surface smoothness is used.

A detailed example of FIG. 5 of the sheet-like image carrier 2 having this uneven surface will be shown below. First, silicone rubber (SE915ρ-7, manufactured by Toray Silicone Co., Ltd.) was used as the supporting part forming material 16.
A mixed solution was prepared by mixing 100 parts by weight of alumina particles (WA #400, average diameter 40 μm, manufactured by Fujimi Abrasives Industry Co., Ltd.) into 100 parts by weight of a 0 wt% toluene solution. It was coated on polyethylene terephthalate and left to dry at room temperature to form more than 300 protrusions with a height of about 10 μm in 1 cm2.It was then heated and cured at 120°C for 1 hour to form a sheet-like image carrier 2 with a height of 1° or less. ? Q A detailed example using this sheet-like image carrier 2 (＼) using the recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is shown. FIG. 6 shows an example of its recording characteristics.

In the same device described above, the image receiving paper 5 is of commonly used PPC grade, the pressing force by the pressure roller 6 is 2 kg/cm2, and the pressing force of the thermal head 4 on the sheet-like image carrier 2 is approximately 5 kg/cm2.Q
Og/cm, image carrier conveyance speed is 10c
m/s.
Same as the figure.

Graph A is the case when the image carrier 2 with the uneven surface was used as a prototype (\Graph B is the case where the image carrier 2 with the smooth surface shown in FIG. 4 was used).

By using the same ink 1 to make the surface of the carrier uneven, the maximum recording density was increased and smooth gradation recording was achieved. Figure 7 is a partial cross section of a recording device in a second embodiment of the present invention. The figure is shown below. In Figure 7, if the numbers are the same (see Figure 1), the same numbers as in Figure 2 or Figure 5 can be used.

In FIG. 7, reference numeral 20 denotes a rotating body having a surface layer made of image bearing forming material 16. Image bearing member 21 is a coating roller that forms an ink layer 22 made of ink 1 on the surface of the image bearing member 20, which is a rotating body. It is.

The operation of the recording apparatus of this embodiment configured as described above will be explained below. First, the image carrier 20, which is a rotating body, is rotated in the direction of the arrow 23. To the same time Arrow 24
The image carrier 2 is coated by the coating roller 21 rotating in the direction
An ink layer 22 made of the ink 1 stored in the ink tank 3 is formed on the surface of the ink tank 3. By energizing the heating element 4a in the thermal head 4, which is in pressure contact with the image carrier 20, which is a rotating body,
The ink 1 constituting the ink layer 22 sandwiched between the thermal head 4 and the image carrier 20, which is a rotating body, is selectively heated.

The unheated ink 1 has a high viscosity, so depending on the shear stress between the carrier 20 and the thermal head 4,
Part of the ink 1 remains attached as an ink image 10. However, most of the heated ink 1 whose viscosity has been reduced is rubbed off due to the strong shear stress generated by the sliding movement of the thermal head 14. This rubbed off ink 1
(It is collected into ink tank 3 and reused.

Therefore, by heating the ink 1 with the thermal head 4 in accordance with the rotation of the image carrier 20, which is a rotating body, the ink 1 in the heated portion is removed and a portion of the ink image 10 is formed.

Further, the image receiving paper 5 is sandwiched between the rotating image carrier 20 and the pressure roller 6. The pressure roller rotates in the same direction as the arrow 23 (in the direction of the arrow 25), and the image receiving paper 5 is conveyed in the direction of the arrow 26. Ru. In this pressed state, when the ink 1 forming part of the ink image 10 penetrates into the image receptor 5, the ink 1 is transferred to the image receptor 5 due to the adhesive force. after that,
The image receiving paper 5 is peeled off from the surface of the image carrier 20, which is a rotating body, to obtain a final recorded image 11. Thereafter, there is an afterimage 27 due to the transfer residue, and a uniform ink layer 22 is formed again by the coating roller 21.The surface can be used repeatedly.

As described above, according to this embodiment, as in the embodiment shown in FIG.
Since only the image can be transferred to the image receptor 5 and recorded, running costs are reduced. Moreover, compared to FIG. 1, there is no sheet conveyance, the mechanism is simpler, and miniaturization is easier.

The image carrier 20i, which is a rotating body, is transferred to the surface of the substrate, which is a rotating body, with the same IQ as that formed on the sheet-like substrate 15.
It is obtained by forming the surface portion shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. 5. The base is a rotating body (for example, a cylindrical body made of a metal such as aluminum or stainless steel, a resin such as polycarbonate or polysulfone, or a cylindrical body with a cavity inside) is used.

In order to completely remove the afterimage 27 of the ink 1 remaining on the surface of the image carrier, a cleaner may be placed after the ink 1 is transferred to the image receptor 5. At this time, the paper powder included in the afterimage 27 and dirt in the air are removed, and the ink tank 3
It is possible to avoid contaminating the ink 1 inside, and the ink layer 22 can always be stably formed, resulting in a stable recorded image. Use this cleaner (for example, felt or sponge) to wipe off the ink 1 remaining on the surface by soaking it with a solvent that dissolves ink 1, or use a rubber elastic material or metal rod υ＼ to press it against the image carrier. to rub off ink 1.

In addition, when the viscosity of the ink 1 is low, the ink 1 is impregnated in a porous material such as felt or sponge, and the porous material is supported. Ink 1 by pressing against the body surface
It is also possible to have a configuration that supplies the following.

Next, two detailed embodiments of the image carrier 20, which is a rotating body, will be shown below.

A silicone rubber layer (with a thickness of A sheet-like image carrier 2 with an uneven surface, which was prototyped in the example shown in FIG. 6 as a detailed example shown in FIG. The image bearing member 20 is a rotating body, and the ink 1 containing gelatin shown in FIG. Pressure is 3Kg/cm
The conveying speed of the image receptor 5 was approximately 10 cm/s. In both cases, recording characteristics equivalent to those shown in FIG. 6 were obtained. In this example, ζ was heated. As a means, a force using a thermal head with a heat generating element near the edge (any configuration is sufficient as long as the e-ink is rubbed against the image carrier; for example, a thermal head with a raised heat generating part can also be used. Also, heating Laser light can also be used as a means.

In addition, as a transfer means, in this embodiment, the image receptor is brought into contact with the image carrier using a pressure roller, the transferred ink is charged, and a voltage is applied between the image receptor and the image carrier.
It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the ink on the surface of the image carrier is transferred by flying to the image receptor side.

Furthermore, in the embodiments of FIGS. 1 and 7, the image receptor 5
It is also possible to arrange means for heating the ink 1 held on the image carrier again when transferring the ink to the image carrier. For example, the conveyance roller 7a or the pressure roller 6
It is a heat roller that generates heat when energized. At this time,
The viscosity of the ink also becomes low upon contact with the image receptor 5, and the ink sufficiently penetrates into the interior of the image receptor such as pulp paper, resulting in even better fixation.

Furthermore, in this embodiment ('!S) the heating means heats from the surface of the image carrier (it is also possible to heat from the base side of the image carrier).

Furthermore, in addition to the configuration described in this embodiment, for example
It is possible to create a recording device that combines the configurations of various parts, such as a recording device that has the configuration shown in FIG. 1 and is further provided with means for supplying ink using a coating roller or a porous body impregnated with ink as shown in FIG. 7. can.

As described in detail, according to the present invention ('L), only the ink that forms an ink image can be transferred and recorded on the image receptor, so the running cost is low, and its practical effects are great.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-section of a recording device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a partial cross-section of an embodiment of a sheet-like substrate used in the recording device shown in FIG. 1. A graph showing the temperature and viscosity changes of ink containing gelatin used in the embodiment, Fig. 4 is a graph showing the characteristics when using the recording device shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 5 is a sheet-like image used in the embodiment shown in Fig. 1. Partial cross-section strabismus of three other embodiments of the carrier; FIG.
- side - Characteristic diagram when using the recording device shown in the figure and the sheet-like image carrier shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional configuration diagram of a conventional recording device. 1... Ink 2... Sheet-like image not supported 3...
Ink tank 4.104...Thermal head 5
... Image receptor 6 ... Pressure roller, 7 a -, 7
b...Conveyance roller, 10...-Next ink turtle 1
1... Record A Table 15... Sheet-like group E 16.
...Supporting part forming material, 17...Irregularity forming particles, 2
0... Image carrier which is a rotating body 21... Coating roller, 22... Ink film 100... Heat resistant substrate 10
1... Ink material # 102... Thermal transfer material 103.
... Record 11 = 104 ... Thermal head, 1
05...Platen, 107...Melted ink material, 111...Transfer ink glue

Claims (5)

[Claims] (1) A fluid ink whose viscosity decreases as the temperature rises, an image carrier that holds this ink, a heating means that selectively heats the ink while rubbing the ink on the surface of the image carrier, and the image carrier and a transfer means for transferring the ink held in the ink to an image receptor. (2) The recording device according to claim 1, wherein the ink has a viscosity of 10 mPa·s or more at room temperature. (3) The recording device according to claim 1, wherein the surface of the image carrier is uneven. (4) The recording device according to claim 1 or 3, wherein the surface portion of the image carrier has rubber elasticity. (5) The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image carrier is a rotating body.