JPH04142952A - Image recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent clogging of an opening electrode and to obtain an image recorder which can always obtain a stable image output by providing a member to be charged to the same polarity as that of powder on a surface of a control electrode at least opposed to a carrier. CONSTITUTION:An aperture electrode 9 is composed of many apertures 5, an insulating layer 6, a reference electrode layer 7, many control electrode layers 8 and an adherence preventive layer 20. The layer 20 is disposed on the layers 7, 9. The layer 20 is formed of a member to be charged to the same polarity as that of toner T. Accordingly, even if the toner T is supplied in a cloudy state to the electrode 9, since the layer 20 is disposed on the electrode, the toner is not, even if the toner is approached, adhered. As a result, a trouble of the electrode with respect to the powder can be prevented, and a stable image output can be always obtained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus that records images by directly controlling toner flow. It also particularly relates to its electrode structure.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, after uniformly charging powder colored particles such as a toner stream,
An image recording device has been proposed that outputs an image by controlling an electric field using a control electrode including an aperture electrode and a back electrode disposed behind a support. This type of device has been reported, for example, in US Pat. No. 3,689,935.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, when recording was performed using the above-mentioned image recording apparatus, a problem occurred in that the opening electrode portion was clogged with toner. For example, 240DPI (
In order to obtain a recording density of (dots per inch), the size of the dots is at most 100 μm, so the inner diameter of the aperture electrode in the control electrode must be very small, about 50 μm, and the average particle size is about 10 μm. Toner sometimes gets stuck in the open electrode part due to environmental changes, dust, etc.

As a countermeasure to this problem, attempts have been made to use a brush-like carrier roller for cleaning, but this has not been able to achieve a sufficient effect.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an image recording device that can prevent clogging of the aperture electrode portion and always output a stable image.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve this object, the image recording device of the present invention has the following features:
a carrier supporting charged powder; a control electrode provided close to and above the carrier and having an opening 1];
The control electrode is composed of a back electrode that faces the control electrode with a support serving as an image receptor in between, and a portion that is charged to the same polarity as the powder is provided at least on the surface of the control electrode that faces the support. ing.

[Function] According to the present invention having the configuration described in item 1, since a member that is charged to the same polarity as the powder is provided at least on the surface of the control electrode facing the carrier, the charged powder is It does not come into close contact with the electrode. Therefore, troubles related to powder in the electrode part can be prevented. As a result, it becomes possible to always obtain stable image output.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example embodying the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, the configuration of the l/nerjet recording device 19 of this embodiment will be explained with reference to FIG.

The toner jet recording device 19 is roughly divided into a recording section 1 that records an image on a medium P with toner T, and a thermal fixing section 2 that fixes the image recorded with toner T on the medium P'2. Further, on the side of the toner jet recording device 19, an insertion port 17 into which the medium P is inserted, and a discharge port 18 from which the medium P having the image fixed thereon is discharged are provided.

A toner case K storing toner T is provided in the lower part of the recording section 1. Furthermore, inside the toner case, there are provided a supply roller 4 that rubs and charges the toner T and supplies the toner T by supporting it on its surface, and a supply roller 4 that is rotatably supported by the toner case K. A brush roller 3 is provided which is in contact with and is supplied with toner 'F. Further, around this brush roller 3, there is a layer thickness regulating member 11 that regulates the layer thickness of the toner T supplied to the brush roller 3, and a layer thickness regulating member 11 that scratches the brush of the brush roller 3 and is carried on the brush roller 3. Scraping parts 10 for making the toner T fly and creating a toner cloud are provided in contact with the brush rollers 3, respectively. Further, the brush roller 3 is grounded.

An aperture electrode 9 is provided on one side of the brush roller 3.

Further, on the opposite side of the brush roller 3 with the aperture electrode 9 in between, a counter electrode 12 is provided with a certain space between the aperture electrode 9 and the brush roller 3 .

The medium P enters through the insertion port 17 and is conveyed while being supported by the guide 15 and sandwiched between a pair of auxiliary rollers 16 through this space. This counter electrode 12 is connected to a power source E2 (minus (-)). By applying this voltage, the toner T that has passed through the aperture 5 of the aperture electrode 9 is moved and adsorbed onto the medium P.

Here, the aperture electrode 9 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the aperture electrode 9 of this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view.

The aperture electrode 9 includes a large number of apertures 5, an insulating layer 6,
Reference electrode layer 7, multiple control electrode layers 8, and anti-adhesion layer 2
Consists of 0. The apertures 5 are opened in the insulating layer 6 and are arranged in the - column.

The reference electrode layer 7 is provided on the brush roller 3 side of the insulating layer 6. Furthermore, the control electrode layer 8 is provided independently on the upper surface of the insulating layer 6 and around the aperture 5 .

Further, the anti-adhesion layer 20 is arranged on the surfaces of the control electrode layer 7 and the reference electrode layer 9. The anti-adhesion layer 20 is made of a member that is charged to the same polarity as the toner T. That is, if the toner T is negatively charged, Teflon or silicone-based materials are preferable, and if the toner T is positively charged, nylon or acrylic is preferable. That is, those located at the positive and negative ends on the charging array are preferable. The reference electrode layer 7 is connected to a negative (-) DC power source E1, and the multiple control electrode layers 8 are connected to multiple signal sources S, respectively.

The heat fixing unit 2 includes a heat roller 1 having a heat source (not shown).
3 and a press roller 14. The heat roller 13 and the press roller 14 are connected to the medium P.
are arranged so that they can pass through this space.

Next, the operation of the toner jet recording apparatus 19 of this embodiment will be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

The medium P inserted through the insertion port 17 is supported by the guide 15 and held between the auxiliary rollers 16 while passing through the recording unit 1.
transported to. When the support body 1) is conveyed to the recording unit 1, the supply roller 4 rotates in the direction of the arrow, and the l/ner T is rubbed against the supply roller 4 and is frictionally charged, so that the supply roller 4 is carried on the surface of The toner 1' carried on the surface of the supply roller 4 then comes into contact with the brush roller 3.

At this time, the toner 'F is further rubbed between the supply roller 4 and the brush roller 3 and is frictionally charged, for example, to be charged positively (+). The positively charged toner T moves from the surface of the supply roller 4 to the surface of the brush roller 3 and is carried thereon. Then, as the brush roller 3 rotates, the toner T held on the surface of the blank roller 3 comes into contact with the layer thickness regulating member 11, so that the excess toner T supplied to the brush roller 3 is scraped off.

As a result, a uniform toner layer is formed on the brush roller 3. As the brush roller 3 further rotates, the brush roller 3 is scratched by the scratching member 10 near the aperture electrode 9'. Then, due to the elasticity of the brush of the brush roller 3, when the brush returns to its original state, an appropriate amount of toner 'I' carried on the brush jumps up. As a result, the toner T is supplied to the aperture electrode 9 in the form of a cloud. However, since an anti-adhesion layer 20 is disposed on the electrode, toner does not adhere even if it comes close to the electrode. That is, since the adhesion prevention layer 20 is made of a material that is easily charged to the same polarity as the toner T, even if the toner T comes close to it, it will be repelled by Coulomb force and will not come into close contact with it.

The cloud of positively charged toner T is attracted to the reference electrode layer 7 connected to the negative (-) power source E1. Then, the flow of toner T is modulated depending on the voltage applied from the signal source S to the control electrode layer 8 of the aperture electrode 9. Since the brush roller 3 continues to rotate until the medium P passes the aperture electrode 9, the toner 'I' is always stably supplied. The toner flow is caused by the signal source S
Accordingly, the signal is modulated by the aperture electrode 9 and recorded on the medium P''-.

That is, the negative (-) power supply E connected to the counter electrode
The positively (+) charged toner T modulated by 2 flies toward the counter electrode. This toner T is then attracted to the medium P.

Thereafter, the medium P is conveyed to the heat fixing section 2.

Then, the toner 'I' that has landed on the medium P'' is fixed by being brought into pressure contact with the heat roller 13 and the press roller 14, and an image is recorded on the medium P. Since this fixing method is a numerical method, detailed explanation will be omitted. Finally, the medium P on which the image has been formed is conveyed to the ejection port 18 via the guide 15 and is ejected from the apparatus.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above,
Changes may be made without departing from the spirit. That is, the gist of the present invention is to provide an anti-adhesion layer on the aperture electrode surface to prevent toner from accumulating. In this example, anti-adhesion layers were provided on both sides of the electrode.

However, for example, the anti-adhesion layer may be disposed only on the reference electrode side, or may also be disposed inside the hole.

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the detailed description above, according to the present invention, at least the surface of the control electrode facing the carrier is provided with a member that is charged to the same polarity as the powder. The charged powder does not come into close contact with the control electrode. Therefore, troubles related to powder in the electrode portion can be prevented. and,
As a result, it is possible to provide an image recording apparatus that can always obtain stable image output, which is a significant industrial effect.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 3 show embodiments embodying the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an aperture electrode, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of an aperture electrode, and FIG. 3 is an image recording device. It is a schematic block diagram. In the figure, 5 is an aperture, 6 is an insulating layer, 7 is a reference electrode, 8 is a control electrode, 9 is an aperture electrode, and 2o (=1 adhesion prevention layer).

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A carrier carrying charged powder, a control electrode provided close to above the carrier and having an opening, and a support serving as an image receptor for the control electrode. An image recording device comprising back electrodes facing each other with a body in between, characterized in that a member charged to the same polarity as the powder is provided on at least the surface of the control electrode facing the carrier. Recording device.