JPH04270664A - Image recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a small size image recorder by controlling increase of an installment area which paper relates to in the image recorder having a control electrode. CONSTITUTION:A medium P housed in a cassette 41 is arranged above a recording part 1. Since the recording part and a paper feed part come to be on a same area by this structure, a light weighted small size recorder of a small installment area is obtained.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus that records images by directly controlling toner flow.

0002

[Prior Art] Conventionally, powder colored particles such as a toner stream are uniformly charged and then controlled by an electric field using a control electrode with an aperture electrode and a back electrode disposed behind a support to output an image. An image recording device has been proposed. This type of device has been reported, for example, in US Pat. No. 3,689,935.

[0003] Utilizing this method, the inventor has developed an image recording device. A cross-sectional view of the device is shown in FIG. The apparatus 19 is composed of a recording section 1 and a heat fixing section 2, and an insertion opening 17, an ejection opening 18, and a paper cassette 30 are arranged on the side.

0004

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the image recording device shown in FIG. 1, the storage cut for the support, which is the image receptor, is placed on the side of the device, so the area of the device as a whole is large. . That is, although the main body of the recording apparatus is small, the paper cassette inserted by the user occupies a large area, resulting in a problem that the installation area of the apparatus becomes large.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a compact and high-performance image recording device.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems] To achieve this object, the image recording device of the present invention is composed of a carrier, a control electrode, and a back electrode. The carrier supports electrically charged powder. The control electrode includes an opening provided below and adjacent to the carrier. The back electrode faces the control electrode with a support serving as an image receptor interposed therebetween. Further, the support body is housed inside the device.

[0007]

[Operation] With the image recording apparatus of the present invention having the above structure, the paper is stored inside the apparatus without protruding outside the apparatus, and is placed at the same location as the recording section. Therefore, a compact image recording device with a small installation area can be provided.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment embodying the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, the image recording apparatus includes a recording section 1.
, a heat fixing section 2 , and a paper feeding unit 40 . A take-out port 18 is provided on the side of the image recording device. The paper feeding unit 40 includes the recording section 1 and
It is arranged above the heat fixing section 2. The medium P passes through the recording section 1 from the paper feeding unit 40, an image is recorded thereon, and is further fixed at the heat fixing section 2, after which the medium P passes through the ejection port 18.
is output from.

The paper feeding unit 40 includes a medium P serving as an image receptor, a cassette 41 that stores the medium P, and a delivery roller 42.
It is composed of a conveyance guide 43. The medium P may be anything that outputs an image, such as plain paper or OHP film. The delivery roller 42 can kick out the medium P.

[0011] The recording section 1 is arranged below the paper feeding unit 40. The recording unit 1 includes a rotatable brush roller 3
, an aperture electrode 9, and a counter electrode 12. Around the brush roller 3, a supply roller 4 and a layer thickness regulating member 11 are arranged according to the rotating direction of the brush roller 3.
and the scraping member 10 are respectively attached to the brush roller 3,
provided in contact. The brush roller 3 is connected to ground. Furthermore, the supply roller 4 is covered by a toner case K. Toner T is stored inside this toner case K.

The aperture electrode 9 is provided above the brush roller 3. The aperture electrode 9 is composed of a large number of apertures 5, an insulating layer 6, a reference electrode layer 7, and a large number of control electrode layers 8. The apertures 5 are opened in the insulating layer 6 and arranged in a line. Further, the reference electrode layer 7 is provided on the brush roller 3 side of the insulating layer 6. Furthermore, the control electrode layer 8
are independently provided on the upper surface of the insulating layer 6 and around the aperture 5. The reference electrode layer 7 has a minus (
-), the plurality of control electrode layers 8 are connected to a plurality of signal sources S, respectively.

Furthermore, a vibrating means 20 is arranged on the surface of the reference electrode layer 7. The vibrating means 20 is mainly composed of a piezoelectric material. The piezoelectric body may be a piezoelectric ceramic material such as PZT, or a polymeric piezoelectric material such as polyvinylidene fluoride. A plurality of the vibration excitation means 20 are arranged on the surface of the control electrode in order to apply appropriate vibration to the aperture electrode 9. Furthermore, the conducting wire is connected to a power source (not shown) that supplies electric power.

Further, the counter electrode 12 is provided on the opposite side of the brush roller 3 with the aperture electrode 9 in between, with a certain space between the aperture electrode 9 and the brush roller 3 . The medium P sent out from the paper feeding unit 40 and sent via the guide 15 and the pair of auxiliary rollers 16 passes 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 by the medium P.

The heat fixing section 2 is composed of a heat roller 13 having a heat source and a press roller 14. and,
The heat roller 13 and the press roller 14 are arranged so that the medium P can pass between them.

Next, the operation of the toner jet recording apparatus of the present invention will be explained using the same figure. The medium P in the paper feed cassette 41 is started to be conveyed by the delivery roller 42 . The medium P is guided by the conveyance guide 43 and reaches the recording section 1 . In the recording unit 1, the toner T is supplied by the supply roller 4.
is supplied to the brush roller 3. At this time, the toner T contacts and rubs against the supply roller 4 and the brush roller 3, and is charged, for example, positively (+). The positively (+) charged toner T is carried by the brush roller 3. Then, the layer thickness regulating member 11 scrapes off the toner T supplied to the brush roller 3 in excess. As a result, a uniform toner layer is formed on the brush roller 3.

[0017] Then, near the aperture electrode 9,
The brush roller 3 is scratched by the scraping member 10. When the brush returns to its original position due to its elasticity, an appropriate amount of toner T carried on the brush jumps up. As a result, the toner T forms a cloud and is supplied to the aperture electrode 9.

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 by the voltage applied from the signal source S to the control electrode layer 8 of the aperture electrode 9. The toner flow is modulated by the signal source S at the aperture electrode 9 and recorded on the medium P. That is, the positive (+) modulated by the negative (-) power supply E2 connected to the counter electrode
) The charged toner T flies toward the counter electrode. This toner T is then attracted to the medium P guided by the guide 15 and the pair of auxiliary rollers 16 .

Thereafter, the medium P is conveyed to the heat fixing section 2. At this location, the image on the medium P is fixed by being brought into pressure contact with the heat roller 13 and the press roller 14. Since this fixing method is a general method, detailed explanation will be omitted. And finally,
The medium P on which the image has been formed is conveyed to the take-out port 18 via the guide 15 and taken out.

[0020] Through such a process, the present image recording device can perform printing, but since the medium P is arranged above the recording section, the device can be made smaller while maintaining the same functional performance. can. Therefore, the user can use the device without having to worry about where to install it.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and can be modified without departing from the spirit thereof. That is, the purpose of the present invention is to reduce the size of the apparatus by storing the medium inside the apparatus and arranging it on the same surface as the recording unit. In this embodiment, the medium is placed at the top, but the medium may be placed at the bottom of the recording section. Further, in this embodiment, the medium is fed, but the recording head may be moved to perform recording.

[0022]

As is clear from the above description, with the image recording apparatus of the present invention, the paper does not protrude outside the apparatus, but is housed inside the apparatus, and is placed at the same location as the recording section. Therefore, a compact image recording device with a small installation area can be provided.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the configuration of a conventional image recording device.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the configuration of an image recording apparatus according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Recording Department 3 Brush roller 9 Aperture electrode 12 Counter electrode 40 Paper feeding device P Medium

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A carrier carrying charged powder, a control electrode provided adjacently below the carrier and having an opening, and a support serving as an image receptor sandwiched between the control electrode and the control electrode. An image recording device comprising rear electrodes facing each other, wherein the support body is housed inside the device.