JPH0434520A - Recording medium and recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate recording of high-density image information, etc., by applying a high polymer/liquid crystal composite film formed by dispersing a liquid crystal into a high-polymer material onto a substrate having a low light reflectivity so as to form the above recording medium. CONSTITUTION:The recording medium 1 is constituted by applying the high polymer/liquid crystal composite file 4 on the substrate 2 having the low- reflectivity layer 3. The low-reflectivity layer 3 is formed by applying high- density ink of black, blue, green, red, etc., on the substrate 2. Plastic materials, such as polycarbonate and PET, are adequate as the material of the substrate 2. A prescribed electrode 7 is pressed to the base of the substrate 2 of the recording medium 1 and a power source is connected between this electrode 7 and a transparent conductive film 5, by which an electric field is impressed to the high polymer/liquid crystal composite film 4 to unify the arrangement of the liquid crystal and to make the film transparent. A heat sensitive head 8 is then put from the transparent conductive film 5 side to heat the recording medium according to information. The character information, etc., are recorded on the recording medium 1 in this way.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a recording medium that can store image information repeatedly by thermal recording and electric charge erasing, or electric charge recording and thermal erasing, and a method for recording image information on this recording medium. The present invention relates to a recording device for recording.

[Conventional technology]

Among information media, various means for obtaining hard copies from electrical information have been proposed and put into practical use. Among these, direct thermal recording has been adopted in facsimile machines and has shown great growth in recent years. This is because (1) the recording method is extremely simple compared to other methods, and solid-state scanning is possible using a line-type thermal head.

■Primary color development that does not require processes such as development and fixing, and there are no consumables other than recording paper.

In addition to the advantages of the device, (1) the color density is sufficiently high and the whiteness of the background is high, so images with good contrast can be obtained.

■The image has not been fixed or is sufficiently durable for general storage.

- Due to recent technological advances in increasing sensitivity, the total recording energy can be fully competitive with other recording methods, and it can also cope with high-speed recording to some extent.

This is because it has many advantages as a recording paper.

On the other hand, in addition to the thermal transfer recording paper used in such thermal transfer recording systems, recording media for recording image information as a latent charge image have also recently been developed, such as Japanese Patent Application No. 1-152853 and Japanese Patent Application No. 1-1999. It has been introduced in the specification of No. 153761, etc., and is being put into practical use. The basic structure of such a recording medium is that at least a photoconductive layer and an information recording medium such as a light modulation layer are placed facing each other or stacked, and an electrode layer is provided on the outside of both layers (on the opposite side to the facing surface). The structure is as follows. To record information such as an image on such a recording medium, first, image information is projected onto a photoconductive layer. As a result, the electrical resistance value of each portion of the photoconductive layer changes depending on the intensity (brightness/darkness) of the information light.

Due to this change in resistance value, the electric field intensity distribution generated by the bipolar electrode layer also changes in approximately inverse proportion to the changed resistance value. Further, the state (orientation, etc.) of the recording medium changes depending on the difference in the electric field strength distribution. By maintaining this state change, information is recorded on the recording medium.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

In the above-mentioned conventional recording medium, when -degree thermosensitive recording or printing with ink or the like is performed, erasing is impossible. Although there are methods such as cutting the recorded recording medium and removing the ink and restoring its shape, this is quite a laborious process, and in the past, it was extremely difficult to reuse the recording medium. .

[Means to solve the problem]

The present invention forms a polymer-liquid crystal composite film in which liquid crystal is dispersed in a polymer material by coating it on a substrate with low light reflectance.
Alternatively, a recording medium formed by forming a transparent conductive film on a polymer-liquid crystal composite film, or further coating the surface with a material that is solid at room temperature and becomes a slippery material at the recording temperature. The above problem has been solved by providing a recording device that records using such a recording medium.

[For production]

A polymer-liquid crystal composite film in which liquid crystals are dispersed in a polymer material is used as a recording medium. First, an electric field is applied to the recording medium so that the liquid crystals are aligned in a certain direction, preventing diffuse reflection of light and creating a transparent state. Then, heat is applied to the recording medium according to the information, and the arrangement of the liquid crystals is disturbed only in the heated areas, causing diffuse reflection of light, resulting in a cloudy state. Information is recorded using this principle.In contrast to the above method, heat is first applied to the recording medium to make it cloudy, and then an electric field is applied according to the information to make the information recording area transparent. It is also possible to do so.

[Example of real square set]

Specific embodiments of the recording medium and recording apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1. FIGS. 1A to 1C are enlarged sectional views showing the configuration of each embodiment of the recording medium 1, and in the following figures, the same components are given the same numbers. Hereinafter, the recording medium of the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1(^) shows an example in which a recording medium 1 is constructed by coating a polymer-liquid crystal composite film 4 on a base 2 having a low reflectance layer 3. The low reflectance layer 3 is black and blue.

It is formed by applying high concentration ink, such as green or red, onto the substrate 2.

In the same figure (B), 5i on the surface of the polymer-liquid crystal composite film 4
This is an example in which a transparent conductive film 5 such as 02 was applied. This transparent conductive film 5 allows an electric field to be uniformly applied to the entire recording medium, and has the function of preventing destruction of the recording medium due to the application of a strong electric field to a specific location.

FIG. 2C shows an example of the structure of the recording medium 1 further provided with a protective film 6 that is solid at room temperature and becomes a slippery material at the recording temperature. Protection Jul! The specific material of 6 is a heat-resistant slipping material that becomes slippery at high temperatures, such as a fluorine resin or a silicone resin, which improves the lubricity between the thermal head 8 and the recording medium 1 shown in Figure 3. It has the function of enhancing.

Plastic materials such as polycarbonate and PBT are suitable as materials for the base 2, but polymer-liquid crystal composite films 4
Plain paper may be used as long as it is sufficiently hot enough to make the liquid crystal inside cloudy.The temperature that makes the liquid crystal cloudy is usually around 110 degrees Celsius, but the surrounding area should be set at a higher temperature. Since it is necessary, it should be heat resistant to about 150°C or higher.

Note that if each layer other than the polymer-liquid crystal composite film 4 is also formed of a transparent material, it can also be used as OHP paper.

In the recording medium 1 having the above configuration, a predetermined electrode 7 is brought into contact with the bottom surface of the base 2, and a power source E is connected between the electrode 7 and the transparent conductive film 5 as shown in the second figure (the polarity may be reversed).
By connecting, an electric field is applied to the polymer-liquid crystal composite M4 to align the liquid crystal and make it transparent.Next, as shown in FIG.
By applying heat from the side and heating according to the information,
Recording of character information and the like onto the recording medium 1 is performed.

Next, regarding one embodiment of the recording device 10 of the present invention, the fourth embodiment will be described.
This will be explained with reference to the figures. The operating principle of the recording device 10 is as explained using FIGS. 2 and 3 above, and its configuration includes an erasing machine m (erasing unit 11 that makes the recording medium 1 transparent) shown in FIG. In addition to the printing I1m (printing section 12) shown in FIG. For detailed configurations other than those described above, the configuration of a conventional recording (printing) device may be used, so illustration and description thereof will be omitted here.

In the printing section 12, only the portion heated by the thermal head 8 becomes white (characters), and the other transparent portions are formed by a low reflectance layer 3 formed by applying high-density ink onto the substrate 2. The color will be .

Note that the recording medium 1 on which print 1 has been recorded in this way is
If the recording medium 1 is inserted into the erasing unit 11 and an electric field is applied as described above, it becomes transparent again (that is, the characters disappear). Repeated printing (recording) is possible.

In the above explanation, information is recorded by applying an electric field to the recording medium to make it transparent, and then applying heat according to the information to the recording medium to make it cloudy. Conversely, first heat is applied to the recording medium to make it cloudy, and then an electric field is partially applied depending on the information.
It is also possible to record information by making the information recording location transparent.

[Effects] According to the recording medium and recording device of the present invention, as shown in FIG.
Since the substrate surface has a low reflectance layer formed by applying high-concentration ink, it is possible to record high-density image information using a polymer-liquid crystal composite film, and it is possible to record high-density image information on the same recording medium. On the other hand, since it is possible to print (record) repeatedly, there is no need to dispose of recording paper that is no longer needed as in the past, and it can contribute to saving resources and solving the social problem of increasing waste. It has the following characteristics.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIGS. 1A to 1C are enlarged partial sectional views (principle configuration diagrams) showing the first to third embodiments of the recording medium of the present invention, respectively;
Fig. 2 is a principle diagram showing a method of erasing recorded information on a recording medium according to the present invention, Fig. 3 is a principle diagram showing a method of printing (recording) on a recording medium according to the present invention, and Fig. 4 is a principle diagram showing a method of printing (recording) on a recording medium according to the present invention. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a recording device of FIG. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Recording medium, 2... Substrate, 3... Low reflectance layer, 4... Polymer-liquid crystal composite film, 5... Transparent conductive film,
6... Protective film, 8... Thermal head, 10... Recording device, 11... Erasing section, 12... Printing section, 13...
・Transfer mechanism. Patent applicant: Japan Victor Co., Ltd. Representative Kunio Umiki Figure 4

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A recording medium characterized in that it is formed by coating a polymer-liquid crystal composite film in which liquid crystal is dispersed in a polymer material on a substrate with low light reflectance. (2) A transparent conductive film is formed on the polymer-liquid crystal composite film, and/or a material that is solid at room temperature and becomes a slippery material at the recording temperature is coated on the surface. A recording medium according to claim 1, characterized in that: (3) an erasing unit that erases already recorded information such as a character image recorded by applying an electric field to the recording medium according to claim 1 or 2; By including a printing section that records character information, etc. on a recording medium by applying heat from a thermal head, and a transfer mechanism that transfers the recording medium from the erasing section to the printing section, the recording medium can be A recording device characterized in that it is configured so that recording and erasing can be performed repeatedly any number of times.