JPH04333069A - Image recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To transfer onto a recording paper without causing turbulence to a toner image on the recording member by providing a destaticizing member in contact with a surface of a transfer roll. CONSTITUTION:On an outer periphery surface of the recording member 1, a transfer roll 4 is provided to press the recording paper 2 to the recording member 1. A cleaning blade 15 consisting of a bendable member with one side of it in contact with the recording member 1 is provided. A supporting body 14 is provided to support the cleaning blade 15. Furthermore, the brush-like destaticizing member 25 is installed to come into contact with the surface of the transfer roll 4. Then, the recording member 1 and the destaticizing blade for the recording member 9 are electrically connected by this destaticizing member 25 making them equal in potential. Therefore, the transfer roll 4 is destaticized by the destaticizing member 25, and the toner on the recording member 1 is transferred onto the recording paper 2 without generating any out-of-focus image.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Application Field] The present invention uses conductive toner to
The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus that forms a toner image on a recording member and transfers the toner image onto recording paper using a roller.

0002

[Prior Art] Conventionally, a cylindrical recording member and a recording electrode consisting of a plurality of recording electrode needles are arranged on the member at a small distance, and an area (recording area) constituted by the recording member and the tip of the recording electrode. By supplying conductive magnetic toner to the recording electrode needle, aligning the toner with a magnetic field generating means to form a conductive path between the recording electrode needle and the recording member, and applying a recording voltage to the recording electrode needle according to the image signal, the toner is 2. Description of the Related Art Among image recording apparatuses that form visible images, there is known an apparatus in which toner on a recording member is transferred onto recording paper using a transfer roller provided to press the toner against the recording member. Such an image recording apparatus is described in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-260351.

0003

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the above-mentioned prior art, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-260351, the pressing force of the transfer roller,
There is no description of the material. In order to obtain high transfer efficiency using the roller transfer method, it is necessary to press the roller with a high pressing force of 5N or more per 1 mm2. Therefore, it is necessary to select a roller material that has high hardness to prevent the roller from deforming and expanding the contact area due to pressure, and which does not damage the recording member due to pressure. A metal roller coated with a stress-absorbing plastic coating is preferred as disclosed in the publication. However, the plastic coated roller has the disadvantage that the toner is not transferred onto the recording paper with good reproducibility and the image is blurred because it is charged at low humidity and the toner is subjected to electrostatic force.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an image recording apparatus in which the toner on a recording member is transferred onto recording paper with good reproducibility by removing the charge on the transfer roller, and the image quality is high and there is no blur.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a recording electrode in which a plurality of electrode needles are arranged perpendicularly to the moving direction of a recording member, and a recording electrode that moves with a minute gap between the recording electrode and the recording member. The recording member, a hopper that deposits conductive magnetic toner on the upstream side in the moving direction of the recording electrode, and a drive that applies a voltage corresponding to an image to be recorded to the recording electrode to charge the toner portion in contact with the recording member. A circuit, a magnetic field generating means for supplying a magnetic field to the minute gap, and a static eliminating member were provided so as to be in contact with the surface of the transfer roller that was pressed against the recording member.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention also provides a recording electrode in which a plurality of electrode needles are arranged perpendicularly to the moving direction of the recording member, and a recording member that moves with a minute gap provided between the recording electrode and the recording member. , a hopper for depositing magnetic toner on the upstream side of the recording electrode in the moving direction; a drive circuit for applying a voltage corresponding to an image to be recorded to the recording electrode to charge a toner portion in contact with the recording member; A magnetic field generating means for supplying a magnetic field to the gap, and a transfer roller whose surface is conductive and which is pressed against the recording member are electrically connected so as to have the same potential as the recording member.

[0007]

[Operation] The transfer roller pressed against the recording member is
The toner is charged due to friction with the recording paper, but the charge is eliminated by the charge eliminating member in contact with the surface, and the toner on the recording member is transferred onto the recording paper without blurring.

[0008] Furthermore, the conductive transfer roller provided to have the same potential as the recording member can transfer the toner on the recording member onto the recording paper without becoming electrified or blurring even in low humidity conditions.

[0009]

[Embodiment] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side view of an image recording apparatus according to the present invention.

The configuration of the embodiment will be explained below. Inside the hopper 6 is conductive magnetic toner (hereinafter abbreviated as toner) 2.
3 is accumulated and stored, and the lowest toner is in contact with the recording member 1.

The sleeve 13 is made of a hollow non-magnetic material and is rotatably supported within the hopper 6, and is rotated in the direction of arrow c in the figure by a drive mechanism (not shown).

The magnetic field generating means 12 is a permanent magnet fixed to the main body of the recording apparatus within the sleeve 13, and is, for example, a ferrite magnet YBM- manufactured by Hitachi Metals, Ltd. with a saturation magnetic flux density of approximately 0.4 T (4,000 Gauss). It is 2BD.

The recording electrode 5 includes an electrode substrate 5a made of a non-magnetic insulator, recording electrode needles 5e made of a conductor arranged in a row on the electrode substrate 5a in a direction out of the plane of the figure, and an electrode substrate 5a. An integrated circuit 5d disposed above applies a recording voltage to the recording electrode needle 5e according to the image signal, a protective member 5c made of an insulating non-magnetic material that protects the integrated circuit 5d, and a thermoelectric component fixed to the electrode substrate 5a. The heat sink 5b is made of a non-magnetic material with good properties.

The drum-shaped recording member 1 has a base, for example,
A non-magnetic conductor 1a made of an aluminum alloy or the like, the surface of which is formed of an insulator 1b made of, for example, an anodic film of aluminum or a coating film of a thermosetting resin, and a recording electrode needle 5c.
It is installed with a gap of approximately 20 to 300 μm.

The recording member 1 is rotated by a drive mechanism (not shown) in the direction of arrow b shown in the figure, which is perpendicular to the column direction of the recording electrode needles 5e.

The endless belt 3 is located on the downstream side of the recording electrode 5 in the recording direction and close to the recording electrode 5, and is run by a belt guide 20 made of a non-magnetic material and fixed to the drive roller 18 and the main body of the apparatus. A drive roller 18 is supported and tensioned without slack by a tensioner 19 and rotated by a drive mechanism (not shown).
The vehicle travels in the direction of arrow a shown in the figure.

The second magnetic field generating means 11 includes an endless belt 3
It is a permanent magnet that is fixed to the recording device body within the
For example, the ferrite magnet YBM-2BD manufactured by Hitachi Metals, Ltd. has a saturation magnetic flux density of about 0.4 T, supplies magnetic flux to the recording electrode needle 5e and the hopper 6, and is arranged with the same magnetic pole facing the magnetic field generating means 12. be done. A magnetic body 22 provided on the opposite recording electrode side of the second magnetic field generating means 11 protrudes from the magnetic field generating means 11 in a direction from the tip of the recording electrode 5 toward the recording member 1.

On the downstream side in the recording direction of the second magnetic field generating means 11, a magnetic field generating means 11 is located close to the recording member 1, is fixed to the recording apparatus main body within the endless belt 3, and has a plurality of magnetic poles in the rotating direction of the recording member 1. A non-image detoning magnet 21 is arranged. The non-image toner removal magnet 21 is a permanent magnet, for example, a ferrite magnet YBM-2BD manufactured by Hitachi Metals, Ltd. with a saturation magnetic flux density of about 0.4 T, and has at least two or more magnetic poles on the side facing the recording member 1. and supplies a magnetic field onto the recording member 1.

The toner conveying magnet 24 is fixed on the belt guide 20 along the inner circumference of the endless belt 3 from the downstream side in the recording direction of the non-image toner removing magnet 21 to near the drive roller 18. The toner conveying magnet 24 has a plurality of magnetic poles perpendicular to the running direction of the endless belt 3, and supplies magnetic flux onto the endless belt 3.

The scraper 8 has one side in contact with the endless belt 3, and the other side is fixed to the top of the recording electrode 5 by means not shown.

The rotating blade 7 is rotated in the direction of arrow e by a drive mechanism (not shown).

On the outer periphery of the recording member 1, there are a transfer roller 4 that presses the recording paper 2 onto the recording member 1, and a cleaning blade 15 made of a flexible member that contacts the recording member 1 on one side.
A support body 14 that supports the cleaning blade 15 is provided.

The transfer roller 4 is a metal roller 4a with a plastic coating 4b applied to the surface thereof, and the plastic material is an engineering plastic such as a fluororesin or a polyacetal resin, or a polyacetal resin with a fluororesin content of several tens of percent. It is made of synthetic resin mixed with. Furthermore, a brush-shaped static eliminating member 25 is provided so as to come into contact with the surface of the transfer roller 4. Static elimination member 2
Reference numeral 5 electrically connects the recording member 1 and the recording member neutralization blade 9 so that they are at equal potential.

A blade 16 is installed within the discharge toner receiver 17 and is rotated by a drive mechanism (not shown).

A charge eliminating blade 9 is disposed downstream of the cleaning blade 15 in the recording direction with one side in contact with the recording member 1. The static eliminating blade support 10 is arranged such that the static eliminating blade 9 always contacts the recording member 1 on one side with a constant pressure in the direction in which the recording electrode needles 5e are arranged.

Toner 23 deposited in toner hopper 6
is attracted onto the sleeve 13 by the magnetic field generating means 12. The sucked toner 23 is conveyed to the tip of the recording electrode by the sleeve 13 rotating in the direction of arrow c in the figure, and is deposited on the recording member 1. Therefore, the toner 23 in the hopper 6
Regardless of the amount of toner 233, a sufficient amount of toner 23 can always be supplied to the tip of the recording electrode 5, so that changes in the amount of toner 233 deposited in the hopper 6 due to toner consumption or the arrangement of the recording electrode needles 5b can be avoided. There is no influence of variations in the amount of toner deposited in the hopper 6 in different directions, and the amount of toner 23 supplied to the tip of the recording electrode 5 is stable, resulting in high image quality. The toner conveying force generated by the rotation of the recording member 1 and the magnetic attraction force generated by the second magnetic field generating means 11 stably move the toner 23 in the recording direction from the gap between the recording electrode 5 and the recording member 1. Let it flow.

At this time, the driving integrated circuit 5d applies a recording voltage according to the image signal to the plurality of recording electrode needles 5e, selectively charges the toner 23 existing in the gap, and charges are injected. Electrostatic attraction is generated in the charged toner, which adheres to the recording member 1 and becomes image forming toner 23a.

When the non-image toner into which no charge is injected passes through the gap by two forces, the toner transport force and the magnetic attraction force, the magnetic attraction force that overcomes the gravitational field from the second magnetic field generating means 11 causes the non-image toner to move in the direction of the arrow g. It flies toward the second magnetic field generating means 11 as shown in FIG. Second magnetic field generating means 11
The non-image toner remaining on the recording member 1 after overcoming the magnetic attraction from The non-image toner is completely removed from the recording member 1 by minute vibrations caused by the magnetic field, and the non-image toner is removed by the non-image toner removing magnet 2.
Fly towards 1.

The flying non-image toner 23b is attracted onto the endless belt 3 by the magnetic force of the second magnetic field generating means 11 and the magnetic force of the non-image toner removing magnet 21, and as the endless belt 3 runs, it moves in the direction of arrow a. It is conveyed in the direction of , moved onto the scraper 8 by the scraper 8 , and collected into the hopper 6 . The toner transport magnet 24 carries the non-image toner 23
b is held on the endless belt 3 by magnetic force, and the non-image toner 23 is
prevent from falling. The rotary blade 7 rotates in the direction of arrow e to urge the non-image toner 23b to be conveyed onto the scraper 8.

The charged toner 23a forming the image is transferred onto the recording paper 2 by the pressing force of the transfer roller 4 to form an image.

At this time, since the transfer roller 4 has been neutralized by the static eliminating member 25, the toner on the recording member 1 is transferred onto the recording paper 2 without blurring.

The non-transferred toner 23c remaining on the recording member 1 without being transferred is removed from the recording member 1 by the cleaning blade 15, falls to the end of the discharged toner receiver 17 due to gravity, and is further removed by the screw 16. Due to the rotation, the toner is deposited inside the discharged toner receiver 17.

The charge eliminating blade 9, which is disposed on the downstream side of the cleaning blade 15 in the recording direction with one side in contact with the recording member 1, receives charges from the charged toner 23a forming the image, and the charged toner 23a forming the image is transferred. After that, the residual potential is removed from the dielectric layer 1a of the recording member 1, which still has a residual potential, and the image toner 23a is removed from the static elimination blade support 10. It is placed so that it is in contact with the

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of an image recording apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the transfer roller 4 is composed of a metal roller 4a and a conductive plastic film 4b, and the portion of the metal roller 4 is at the same potential as the recording member 1 and the neutralizing blade 9. Therefore, the transfer roller 4 can transfer the toner image onto the recording paper 2 without disturbing the toner image on the recording member 1 during transfer without being charged.

[0036]

According to the present invention, the toner image on the recording member can be transferred onto the recording paper without being electrically charged and without disturbing the toner image on the recording member, so that a high quality image can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of another embodiment of the invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Recording member, 2... Recording paper, 3... Endless belt, 4... Transfer roller, 5... Recording electrode, 6... Hopper, 9... Static elimination blade, 11... Magnetic field generating means, 12... Magnetic field generating means, 22... Magnetic body , 23... Conductive magnetic toner, 25... Static elimination member.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A recording electrode in which a plurality of recording electrode needles are arranged in a row; a cylindrical or cylindrical recording member that rotates with a minute gap between the recording electrode; and the recording member of the recording electrode. comprising means for supplying conductive magnetic toner on the upstream side in the moving direction, magnetic field generating means provided in the arrangement direction of the recording electrodes and generating a static magnetic field, and a transfer roller provided pressed against the recording member, By applying the recording voltage to the recording electrode needle according to the image signal, the conductive magnetic toner passing through the gap is selectively charged by the movement of the recording member, and a microscopic image of the charged toner is created. An image recording apparatus in which the visible image is transferred onto a recording sheet by the transfer roller, further comprising a charge eliminating member provided in contact with a surface of the transfer roller. 2. A recording electrode in which a plurality of recording electrode needles are arranged in a row, a cylindrical or cylindrical recording member that rotates with a minute gap between the recording electrode and the recording electrode; a means for supplying conductive magnetic toner to an upstream side in a moving direction of the recording member; a magnetic field generating means provided in the arrangement direction of the recording electrodes and generating a static magnetic field; and a transfer roller provided pressed against the recording member. By applying the recording voltage to the recording electrode needle according to the image signal, the conductive magnetic toner passing through the gap is selectively charged by the movement of the recording member, and the charged toner is charged. In an image recording apparatus that obtains a visual image and transfers the visual image onto a recording sheet using the transfer roller, a static eliminating member is provided in contact with a surface of the transfer roller, and the static eliminating member has an equal potential with the recording member. An image recording device characterized by: 3. A recording electrode in which a plurality of recording electrode needles are arranged in a row, a cylindrical or cylindrical recording member that rotates with a minute gap between the recording electrode and the recording electrode; a means for supplying conductive magnetic toner to an upstream side in a moving direction of the recording member; a magnetic field generating means provided in the arrangement direction of the recording electrodes and generating a static magnetic field; and a transfer roller provided pressed against the recording member. By applying a recording voltage to the recording electrode needle according to the image signal, the conductive magnetic toner passing through the gap is selectively charged by the movement of the recording member, and the charged toner is exposed. get the image,
In an image recording device that transfers the visible image onto a recording paper using the transfer roller, the surface of the transfer roller is made of a conductive member, and the transfer roller is electrically connected to the recording member so as to have an equal potential. An image recording device characterized by: