JPH04341880A - Image display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain an image display device capable of realizing the forming and display of a color image as a large display by an ink jet recording method with a simple construction and erasing the image in an easy manner. CONSTITUTION:An image display device is provided with a means to be recorded 1 which is movable and of an endless belt form; an ink jet recording means 4 capable of forming an image by delivering liquid ink obtained by thermally melting ink which is solid at a room temperature; means 2, 3 for moving and supporting the means to be recorded 1; and a cleaning means 7 for erasing the recording image on the means to be recorded 1.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an image display device.
Specifically, the present invention is capable of recording a large screen on a recording material using an inkjet recording means using solid-soluble ink, and relates to an image display device suitable for displaying the screen.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various image display devices have been used as display means for character and image data outputted via a computer or the like, and for image monitoring of copy-related equipment. By the way, depending on the purpose of the image display, instead of using a still image, there are cases where a high-precision image display on a large screen with low energy consumption is required, and various image display devices have been proposed to meet this demand. It has been known.

One of these methods is to form a toner image on a recording material using an electrophotographic method, as well as to form a toner image on a recording material that does not absorb ink, such as a synthetic resin film, using an inkjet recording method. It has been considered to form images on images and display them.

0004

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the case of image formation by toner image formation as described above, it is difficult to display a color image using multiple colors, and even if attempts are made to reproduce colors by mixing colors, it is difficult to reproduce the colors by mixing powder toners. The problem is that it becomes the color of the upper layer toner, and it is difficult to ideally reproduce multiple colors in a state where fixing is not performed.

[0005] In addition, although the later inkjet recording method has the theoretical possibility of color reproduction through color mixing, in the conventional method, ink droplets form polka dots on a recording material that does not absorb ink. Sometimes, gravity causes the image to sag and become distorted. Furthermore, if paper or the like with good ink absorption property is used as the recording material, it is not suitable as a board-type image display device that can be erased and reused even if recording is possible.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an image display device that can form and display a color image by inkjet recording on a large screen with a simple configuration and that can be easily erased. Our goal is to provide the following.

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a recording means that is stretched in the form of an endless belt and is movable, and an ink that is solid at room temperature and is heated and melted to form a liquid. None, an inkjet recording means capable of ejecting the liquid ink from an ink ejection port toward the recording means and forming a recorded image, and moving the recording means that has finished recording to a display position, and displaying the The apparatus is characterized by comprising a moving/holding means capable of holding the recording means in position, and a cleaning means capable of erasing the recorded image formed on the recording means.

[0008]

[Operation] According to the present invention, a recorded image is formed by ejecting liquid ink toward the recording means stretched like an endless belt by the inkjet recording means, and the formed recorded image is moved and held. The image that is formed can be moved to and held in the display position by a means, and the formed image is retained in that state by solidification of the ink, and the image that no longer needs to be displayed is erased by the cleaning means, so the recording means is moved to the recording position again, and a recorded image can be repeatedly formed on the recording means as many times as desired.

Furthermore, by providing a releasing agent thin film forming means and performing a releasing process on the cleaned recording medium, it is possible to easily erase the formed recorded image.

Furthermore, by heating and melting a plurality of solid inks of different colors in an inkjet recording device and ejecting them by a plurality of inkjet recording means to perform recording, properly mixed ink can be produced on the recording means. The droplets can be solidified to form a color image.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Examples of the present invention will be described in detail and specifically below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention. here,
Reference numeral 1 denotes an endless belt-shaped recording material stretched between rollers 2 and 3 and moved in the direction of arrow S by a driving means (not shown). As the recording material 1, a white plastic film such as polyethylene terephthalate, polyvinyl chloride, or polycarbonate, or a film coated or laminated with silicone resin or fluororesin to further improve mold release properties is suitable. . Then, a release agent such as silicone oil is applied in advance to the surface of the recording material 1 made of such a material on which recording and display will be performed, in preparation for erasing for reuse as described later. It is desirable to keep it applied.

An inkjet 4 is guided by guide rails 5 and 6 and performs recording by ejecting ink toward the moving screen 1 while moving along the stretched recording material (hereinafter referred to as a moving screen) 1. It is a means of recording. As the inkjet recording means 4, a known method is used, such as a method in which the volume of the ink chamber is changed using a piezoelectric element and ink is ejected from the ink ejection port, or a method in which ink is drawn out from the ejection port using an electric field. be able to. However, the ink used is a solid ink that remains in a solid phase at room temperature but becomes a liquid phase when heated. That is, by using such a solid ink in which dyes of various colors are mixed with paraffin, fatty acids, etc., this can be dissolved at a temperature of about 50° C. to 80° C. and ejected as a liquid ink. .

Although this technology is not shown in the drawings since it is well known, the inkjet recording means 4 includes a heater for heating and maintaining the entire path from the ink tank holding the ink to the ink ejection port above the melting point of the ink. A temperature control circuit is provided. In addition, a plurality of ink ejection ports are arranged vertically at positions facing the movable screen 1 of the recording means 4, and the recording means 4 is capable of ejecting ink of different colors to enable color recording. As such, it is desirable to use a recording head having a plurality of ink ejection orifices fixed in parallel in a plurality of moving directions. Further, a plurality of sets of such recording means 4 are arranged along the moving direction, and the recording width on the movable screen 1 is divided and recorded by simultaneous movement of each recording means 4, thereby improving the recording speed. is also possible.

Furthermore, in order to improve the recording speed, an ink tank (not shown) integrated with the recording means 4 is made smaller, and ink is automatically supplied to the ink tank from the outside. It can also be configured. In addition,
The ink at this time may be in the form of pellets, granules, or rods.

When the recording means 4 moves and scans along the guide rails 5 and 6 to record a width corresponding to the length of the ink ejection port array, the movable screen 1 is moved by the recording width by a driving means (not shown). The sheet is fed in the direction of arrow S, and the same recording is repeated in the next scan. The recorded image thus obtained may be viewed from the direction of arrow A, but if it is to be displayed so that it can be viewed from the direction of arrow B on the back side, the recorded image made by the recording means 4 may be viewed from the top and bottom. Needless to say, it can be configured in any manner.

Now, as described above, the moving screen 1
The recorded image formed on the screen can be displayed at the display position as described above, and when it is no longer necessary to display it, it can be moved past the rubber blade 7 provided as a wiping means by rotating the movable screen 1. At this time, the image formed by ink is erased. Further, 8 is a mold release treatment means using, for example, felt impregnated with silicone oil as a mold release agent. The movable screen 1, from which the image has been erased by the wiping means 7, is pressed against the felt 8, which is the mold release means, during its movement, so that a mold release process can be obtained in preparation for the next recording. Reference numeral 9 is an ink receiver provided around the rubber blade 7 and the felt 8, which protects the surrounding area from being contaminated during each process, and is removable so that it can be used to check the amount of ink that has been removed and the felt 8. It is replaced as appropriate or periodically depending on the degree of dirt on the mold release agent or consumption of the mold release agent. The release processing means may be provided with a silicone oil supply device such as that used as a fixing device in an electrophotographic device or the like. In this way, it is also possible to lengthen the replacement cycle of the felt 8.

[0018] Then, the image can be recorded on recording paper using the image display device configured as described above. In that case, move the rubber blade 7 and felt 8 to screen 1.
A release means may be provided so that the contact state can be released. Furthermore, if a recording paper is pasted on the display surface indicated by arrow A, the recording operation will not be performed until the pasted recording paper is rotated to the back side, that is, until the movable screen 1 is moved half a circle. It is also possible to set a mode in which the printer is kept in a print standby state or in which the rubber blade or felt is automatically retracted as described above as the print mode.

Furthermore, in the embodiments described above, an ink that remains completely solid at room temperature is used, but the ink that can be applied is not limited to this, and the recorded image formed on the moving screen 1 can be It is also possible to use a high viscosity oil ink that has a viscosity that does not run off, which is related to the amount of ink adhesion, but which is normally maintained at a viscosity of about 10,000 centipoise or higher.

[0020]

As explained above, according to the present invention, the recording means is stretched in the form of an endless belt and is movable, and the ink, which is solid at room temperature, is heated and melted into a liquid state. An inkjet recording means capable of ejecting liquid ink from an ink ejection port toward the recording means and forming a recorded image, and moving the recording means after recording to a display position and holding the recording means at the display position. Since it is equipped with a movable/holding means that can move and hold, and a cleaning means that can erase the recorded image formed on the recording means, it is possible to record and display still images with high precision and large screen color. Furthermore, the recorded image can be easily erased, and the recording material can now be used repeatedly for image display.

Furthermore, it is also possible to record on a recording paper held on a recording material and then remove the recording paper for storage.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view schematically showing an example of the configuration of an image display device of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Recorded material (moving screen) 2,3 Roller 4 Inkjet recording means 5, 6 Guide rail 7 Rubber blade (wiping means) 8 Felt (mold release treatment means) 9 Ink receiver

Claims (3)

[Claims] Claims: 1. A movable recording means stretched in the form of an endless belt, heating and melting ink that is solid at room temperature into a liquid state, and transferring the liquid ink from an ink discharge port to the recording means. an inkjet recording means capable of ejecting toward the target to form a recorded image; a moving/holding means capable of moving the recorded means after recording to a display position and holding the recording means at the display position; 1. An image display device comprising a cleaning means capable of erasing a recorded image formed on the image display device. 2. The image display device according to claim 1, further comprising means for forming a thin film of a release agent on the recording means on the downstream side of the cleaning means. 3. The inkjet recording means has separate ink ejection means for heating and melting solid inks of a plurality of different colors to form a liquid, and ejecting ink of each color from an ink ejection port. 3. The image display device according to claim 1, wherein the image display device is capable of forming a recorded image.