JPH05169791A - Recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enhance washing capacity by constituting a recording apparatus of a recording body having a surface whose sweepback contact angle lowers in the case of the contact with a liquid in a heating state, the heating means thereof, a contact material supply means, a residual ink removing means, washing means thereof and an image removing means. CONSTITUTION:For example, the surface of a recording body is constituted of a material containing an org. compound having the surface self-orientation function of a hydrophobic group so that the sweepback contact angle thereof lowers in the case of the contact with a liquid in a heating state, whereas the recording material coming into contact with the recording body to form a latent image is formed from a liquid, vapor or a material becoming a liquid or vapor at the temp. starting the lowering of the sweepback contact angle of the recording body. After the formation of a latent image and transfer, the latent image is erased under heating. Subsequently, the residual ink on the recording body is adsorbed by a porous cleaner 8 and the cleaner 8 is passed through a washing solution container 15, a squeeze roller 10, an ink dissolving or swelling agent container 16 and a squeeze roller 11 to be cleaned.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a novel recording device,
Specifically, the surface of the recording material having a specific surface is selectively and reversibly formed to have an area having a receding contact angle corresponding to the heating temperature, and a coloring material (latent image) is formed in this area (latent image). A device useful for a recording method in which a recording material solution or a dispersion liquid containing a developer is supplied to visualize (develop) the image, and this is transferred or contacted to plain paper in good condition ..

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An offset printing method using a lithographic printing plate is a typical means for dividing a surface into a liquid adhesive area and a non-liquid adhesive area for use in image formation. However, in this offset printing method, it is inevitable that the apparatus becomes large in size by incorporating the plate making process from the original plate and the printing process from the printing plate (printing plate) into one device. For example, even in a relatively small office offset plate making printing machine, in many cases, the plate making apparatus and the printing apparatus are separate.

In order to eliminate such a defect of the offset printing method, a liquid adhesive area and a non-liquid adhesive area can be formed according to image information, and can be repeatedly used (reversible Recording methods and devices have been proposed. Some of them are as follows. (1) Aqueous development method After applying a charge to the hydrophobic photoconductor layer from the outside, it is exposed to form a pattern having a hydrophobic portion and a hydrophilic portion on the surface of the photoconductor layer, and only the hydrophilic portion is formed. Aqueous developer is attached and transferred to paper (Japanese Patent Publication No. 40-18992, Japanese Patent Publication No. 40-18993)
(Japanese Patent Publication No. 44-9512, JP-A No. 63-264392, etc.). (2) Method utilizing photochemical reaction of photochromic material The layer containing materials such as spiropyran and azo dye is irradiated with ultraviolet rays, and these photochromic compounds are hydrophilized by photochemical reaction [for example, "Polymer Papers", No. 37 Volume 4
No., 287 (1980)]. (3) Method utilizing the action of internal biasing force The amorphous state and the crystalline state are formed by physical change,
Forming areas where liquid ink is attached / not attached (Japanese Patent Publication No. 54-41)
No. 902).

According to the method (1), after the water-based ink is transferred onto paper or the like, the hydrophilic portion is erased by the charge removal, and another image information can be recorded. That is, one original plate (photoconductor) can be repeatedly used. However, since this method is based on the electrophotographic process, charging → exposure →
It requires a long process of development → transfer → static elimination, and has the drawbacks that it is difficult to downsize the device, reduce the cost, and make it maintenance-free. According to the method (2), the hydrophilicity and the hydrophobicity can be freely and reversibly controlled by selectively changing the irradiation of ultraviolet rays and visible light, but the reaction time is very long because of poor quantum efficiency. However, the recording speed is slow and the stability is lacking, and it is the fact that it has not reached the practical level yet. Further, according to the method of (3), the information recording member used there is stable after recording,
Before recording, there is a possibility that the physical structure may change due to the temperature change, so that there is a problem in storage stability.
In addition to this, since a means for applying a heat pulse and then quenching is adopted for erasing the recorded information pattern, there is a disadvantage that repeated image formation cannot imitate complexity.

The inventor of the present invention has conducted research and studies to solve the conventional drawbacks and inconveniences. As a result, a specific recording material (a recording material having a surface whose receding contact angle decreases when it is heated and brought into contact with a liquid, may be referred to as "recording material (A)" or simply "recording material" for convenience. ) And contact material (liquid, vapor or solid that becomes liquid or generates liquid or vapor at a temperature below the receding contact angle lowering start temperature referred to in the recording medium (A), for convenience `` contact material (B) '' or simply `` contact '' (Sometimes referred to as `` material ''), and by selectively heating the surface of the recording material (A) in contact with the contact material (B) or by selectively heating the surface of the recording material (A). By contacting with the contact material (B) in the state, a latent image showing a receding contact angle corresponding to the heating temperature is formed on the surface of the recording material (A), and the latent image is a recording agent solution or dispersion containing a coloring material. After visualizing with, the method of transferring this visible image to recording paper and the related equipment. Oki (West German Patent No. 40)
10275 publication). According to the method proposed here,
The formation of latent and visible images on a recording medium, the transfer of visible images to plain paper, etc., and the erasing of latent images can be performed very easily and reversibly, so that multiple copied images can be easily performed. Of course, different copied images can be continuously obtained.
However, on the other hand, if there is a recording material solution or dispersion (residual ink) that could not be completely transferred to the surface of the recording material after transfer, latent image is not erased sufficiently, causing background stains and unclear images. There is an inconvenience such as becoming.

[0006]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention further improves the apparatus using the specific recording medium (A) proposed above,
That is, the surface of the recording material (A) can be cleaned better,
(EN) Provided is a recording device capable of obtaining a high quality transferred image on plain paper.

[0007]

The recording apparatus of the present invention is provided by selectively heating the surface of the following recording material (A) in contact with the following contact material (B) or by recording material (A) Recording the recording material (B) that forms a latent image showing the receding contact angle according to the heating temperature on the surface of the recording material (A) by contacting the surface of the recording material with the contact material (B) in a selectively heated state. A means for supplying the surface of the body (A), a means for selectively heating the surface of the recording body (A) according to an image signal, a means for applying a recording agent solution or a dispersion liquid for visualizing the latent image, and recording A means for transferring the recording material adhered on the body (A) to a recording paper, a residual ink removing means for the porous body brought into contact with the recording body (A), and an image removing means,
A cleaning means for the porous body is provided. (A) A recording material having a surface which has a reduced receding contact angle when heated and brought into contact with a liquid. (B) A liquid, a vapor, or a solid that becomes a liquid or generates a liquid or a vapor at a temperature at which the receding contact angle of the recording medium (A) starts to decrease.

In the apparatus of the present invention, if a recording agent solution or a dispersion liquid (ink) such as a colored ink is used, the means for supplying the contact material (B) can be omitted, and the contact material (B) can be omitted. If a material such as a liquid ink (colored ink) is used as the material (B), the latent image is visualized at the same time as the latent image is formed, so that the means for applying the recording agent solution or the dispersion liquid can be omitted. In the device of the present invention, the latent image can be erased by heating the surface of the recording medium (A) on which the latent image is formed in the absence of the contact material (B) to reversibly form an image. Can be done.

The present invention will be described in more detail below. When the recording medium (A) used in the apparatus of the present invention is heated in contact with a liquid, its receding contact angle becomes low even after cooling, and the receding contact angle becomes high due to heating in the absence of liquid. It may be a member having a function, at least the surface of which is formed. The surface of the recording material (A) having such a function is (1) a member containing an organic compound having a surface self-alignment function of a hydrophobic group, or (2) an organic compound having a hydrophobic group and having a hydrophobic group. Is a member whose surface is oriented.

The "surface self-orienting function" referred to in (1) means that when a solid compound formed on a support or a solid formed by the compound itself is heated in the air, the hydrophobic group on the surface becomes free (to the air side). It means that it has a property of being oriented toward the surface side). This also applies to (2). Generally, in an organic compound, the hydrophobic group has a property of being easily oriented toward the hydrophobic atmosphere. This is a phenomenon that occurs because the interfacial energy at the solid-gas interface tends to decrease. Further, this phenomenon tends to occur as the molecular length of the hydrophobic group becomes longer, but this is because the mobility of the molecule upon heating increases as the molecular length becomes longer.

More specifically, the terminal has a hydrophobic group.
If it is a molecule (that is, lowering the surface energy), it will be on the air side.
It is easy to orient to the surface (free surface side). Similarly, (-CH ₂
-) The linear molecule containing n (-CH ₂ CH ₂ - has a partial planar structures), each other molecular chain is easily oriented. Further, in the molecule containing (-Ph-) n, the -Ph- portion has a planar structure, and the molecular chains are easily oriented. Note that −Ph−
Is a p-phenylene group (hereinafter the same). Particularly, a linear molecule containing an element having a high electronegativity such as fluorine has a high self-aggregating property, and the molecular chains are easily oriented.

Summarizing the results of these investigations, it is more preferable that a straight-chain molecule containing a molecule having a high self-aggregating property or a molecule having a planar structure and having a hydrophobic group at the terminal, or such a straight chain molecule is used. It can be said that the compound containing a chain molecule has a high surface self-orientation function.

As is clear from the above description, there is a relation between the surface self-alignment state and the receding contact angle, and also between the receding contact angle and the liquid adhesion. That is, the adhesion of the liquid on the solid surface occurs mainly by the tacking of the liquid on the solid surface. This tacking can be regarded as a kind of frictional force when a liquid slides on a solid surface. Therefore, the "receding contact angle" θr in the present invention includes cos θr = γ (γs-γse-πe + γf) / γev (where γ: surface tension of solid in vacuum γse: solid-liquid interfacial tension γev liquid Surface tension when is in contact with its saturated vapor πe: Equilibrium surface tension γf: Friction tension γs: Surface tension of a solid without an adsorbed layer) (Saito, Kitazaki et al. Vol. 22, No. 12, 1986). Therefore, when the value of θr decreases, the γf value increases. That is, the liquid does not easily slide on the solid surface, and as a result, the liquid adheres to the solid surface.

As can be inferred from these mutual relationships,
The liquid adhesion depends on the degree of the receding contact angle θr, and the receding contact angle θr is determined by how the member having the surface self-orienting function on the surface. Therefore, in the apparatus of the present invention, the recording material (A) necessarily has a surface self-alignment function on the surface because of the necessity of forming a desired pattern area on the surface and / or visualizing with a recording agent (ink). The member to have must be selected.

Although the relationship between the receding contact angle and the liquid adhesion property has been described so far, these matters are described in detail in the above-mentioned West German Patent Publication No. 4010275.

In the apparatus of the present invention, even if a means for contact-transferring the recording material droplets (ink droplets) formed as a visible image on the recording medium (A) to the recording paper is taken, the recording material droplets are made to fly to the recording paper or the like. A means of non-contact transfer may be taken. When the non-contact transfer means is adopted, positive or negative charges may be injected into the ink droplets, and a counter electrode having an opposite polarity may be provided on the back surface of the recording paper or the like.

The contact material (B) is basically a liquid or a vapor from the beginning, or a liquid is produced as a result at a temperature below the temperature at which the receding contact angle θr of the recording medium (A) is lowered. It is solid. The vapor here is at least on the surface of the recording material (A) or near the surface thereof, at least a part of which is condensed to form a liquid, and the liquid can wet the surface of the recording material (A). Is enough. On the other hand, the solid here is a liquid, a liquid is generated, or a vapor is generated at a temperature at which the receding contact angle θr is reduced or lower. The vapor generated from the solid is condensed on the surface of the recording medium (A) or in the vicinity thereof to generate a liquid, as in the case described above.

More specifically, the contact materials (B) are as follows.

That is, as the liquid which is one of the contact materials (B), in addition to water, an aqueous solution containing an electrolyte, ethanol, n-
Alcohols such as butanol, polyhydric alcohols such as glycerin and ethylene glycol, polar liquids such as ketones such as methyl ethyl ketone, straight chain hydrocarbons such as n-nonane and n-octane, and cyclic hydrocarbons such as cyclohexane. , Non-polar liquids such as m-xylene and aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene. Also, a mixture of these may be used, and various dispersions and liquid inks can also be used. More desirably, polar liquids are superior.

As the vapor which is another one of the contact materials (B), in addition to water vapor, any liquid vapor of the contact material (B) can be used. In particular, organic vapor such as ethanol vapor and m-xylene vapor can be used. Examples include vapors of compounds (including those in a spray state). The temperature of this organic compound vapor needs to be lower than the melting point or softening point of the compound forming the surface of the recording material (A).

Other solids which are another material of the contact material (B) include higher fatty acids, low molecular weight polyethylene, polymer gels (polyacrylamide gel, polyvinyl alcohol gel), silica gel, compounds containing water of crystallization and the like. can give.

As a means for supplying the contact material (B), for example, a plate is provided below the recording medium (A) so that the liquid is filled so that the recording medium (A) is always in contact with the liquid in the dish, and the heating source is near the plate. Alternatively, the simplest configuration is to place it in a dish. Instead of the dish, a sponge-like porous body containing a liquid may be used. The latent image forming means using light or an electron beam is basically the same as the above configuration.

As a heating means for forming a latent image, in addition to contact heating with a heater, a thermal head, etc., an electromagnetic wave is used.
There is non-contact heating by (the light from the light source such as a laser light source and an infrared lamp is condensed by a lens).

When the transfer of one image information is completed, the surface of the recording medium (A) is heated in the absence of liquid or vapor (in air, in vacuum or in an inert gas) (heating temperature: 50-). Thirty
0 ° C, preferably 100 to 180 ° C, heating time: 1 msec to
If the latent image is erased for 10 seconds, preferably 10 milliseconds to 1 second, the recording medium (A) can be used repeatedly.

As a heating source for erasing the latent image, a contact heating source such as a heater or a thermal head or a non-contact heating source using electromagnetic waves such as a laser or an infrared lamp is desirable. The heating may be performed only on the latent image portion, but may be performed on the entire surface of the recording material (A). Rather, it is more preferable to heat the entire surface because the device structure can be simplified.

The latent image erasing means is provided at a position where the surface of the recording medium (A) is substantially cooled during the time until the latent image is formed again after heating for erasing. The heating temperature required to erase the latent image is as described above. A temperature below the point is desirable.

As the recording paper (transferred material), a transparent or opaque resin film, plain paper, synthetic paper, ink jet recording paper, type paper or the like can be used.

As the recording agent solution or dispersion liquid, a recording agent which has been used in a conventional print recording method such as a writing ink, an ink jet recording ink, a printing ink, an electrophotographic toner, etc. is used in the apparatus of the present invention. A compatible one can be selected and used.

As a more specific and preferable example of the ink, for example, the water-based ink is mainly composed of water, a wetting agent, a water-soluble ink containing a dye or water, a pigment, a polymer compound for dispersion, and a wetting agent. The water-based pigment-dispersed ink described above, an emulsion ink in which a pigment or a dye is dispersed in water using a surfactant, and the like are used.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of an apparatus provided with residual ink removing means (cleaner 8) for removing residual ink on the surface of the recording medium (A). The cleaner 8 is generally a porous body and is generally impregnated with a lubricant or an ink dissolving agent. When this cleaner becomes dirty and its cleaning ability deteriorates, it is necessary to replace the cleaner with a new one. However, if the porous body is expensive, this leads to an increase in cost, and replacement is also difficult. It is troublesome.

For this reason, the apparatus of the present invention is newly provided with means for cleaning this cleaner.
Therefore, the basic idea of the present invention is based on the following three steps. (i) Add cleaner cleaning liquid (hereinafter cleaning liquid) to the cleaner. (ii) Remove the cleaning liquid from the cleaner. At this time, the ink is removed together with the cleaning liquid. (iii) Replenish necessary liquids (ink dissolving agent, lubricant, etc.).

As a concrete method of this way of thinking,
(a) (b) and (c) are mentioned.

(A) Squeeze-out method The configuration is shown in FIG. After cleaning, the used portion of the cleaner 8 is passed through the cleaning liquid container 15 to remove the cleaning liquid 12
Will be included (step (i)). This is roller 10
Squeeze out the cleaning liquid and ink (step (ii)). Next, when cleaning the cleaner 8 with the ink dissolving liquid, the ink dissolving agent 13
When cleaning is performed by adding a lubricant, the lubricant is soaked in the lubricant 13 so that the impregnated amount of the roller 11 becomes appropriate (step (iii)). When cleaning is performed without impregnating the ink dissolving agent or the lubricant 13, the container 16 or the supply device becomes unnecessary. Further, when cleaning is performed by including the ink dissolving agent, the container 16 or the supply device 18 becomes unnecessary even when the cleaning liquid and the ink dissolving agent are the same. Alternatively, a cleaning liquid or the like may be supplied to the cleaner surface as shown in FIG. 2 without using a container.

(B) Suction method The configuration is shown in FIG. After cleaning the residual ink 14 on the recording body 4, a cleaning liquid is supplied to the surface of the cleaner 8 and the cleaning liquid and the ink are removed from the cleaner by the suction device 19. Finally, an ink dissolving agent or a lubricant is supplied if necessary. In FIG. 3, suction is performed outside the cleaning roller, but suction may be performed inside. Further, the cleaner may be in the form of a belt and the rollers in FIGS. 2 and 3 may be replaced with a suction device.

(C) Blotting method The configuration is shown in FIG. After cleaning the residual ink 14 on the recording medium, the cleaning liquid is supplied to the surface of the cleaner and brought into contact with the absorbing member to remove the cleaning liquid and the ink from the cleaner. Finally, an ink dissolving agent or a lubricant is supplied if necessary. The absorbent member 20 is preferably made of a porous material such as paper or pongee and is inexpensive. The cleaner may have a belt shape as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

Next, the cleaning liquid will be described. In the case of pigment ink, the cleaning liquid may be one that dissolves the ink, for example, the same component as the solvent of the ink. In the case of dye-based ink, the following two types are possible. Those that dissolve both the solvent component and the dye component of the ink, such as the solvent component of the ink, are mentioned. The solvent component of the ink dissolves well, but the dye component hardly dissolves. For example, in the case of ink in which Spirone Black MH (manufactured by Hodogaya Chemical Co., Ltd.) is dissolved in lauric acid, n-alkane can be mentioned. The cleaning liquid may be a single component or a mixture of a plurality of components.

In the method (a) or the method (b), when the pigment ink is used or when the above-mentioned type is used as the cleaning liquid with the dye ink, the used cleaning liquid after cleaning the cleaner is recovered, and the filter etc. The washing solution can be regenerated by filtering with.

[0038]

EXAMPLES Next, the present invention will be described more specifically by way of examples.

Example 1 Recording Material: Fluorine-containing acrylate material TG702 (manufactured by Daikin Industries, Ltd.) was diluted three times with Freon TF (manufactured by Mitsui Fluorochemicals Co., Ltd.) to prepare a polyimide film (thickness: about 50).
blade coat to (μm). Then dried at 130 ° C for 30 minutes. Ink: 80% by weight aqueous solution of glycerin + direct black 19 (direct dye) Cleaner: Urethane porous material Rubicell (manufactured by Toyo Polymer Co., Ltd.) Method: Device shown in FIG. 2 Cleaning liquid: Water (type) Implementation result: latent image formation, When recording was performed in the cycle of development, transfer, cleaning, and image removal, A4 size 100
Even on the 00th sheet, almost no deterioration of the print quality such as background stain was observed.

Example 2 The recording material, ink and cleaning liquid are the same as in Example 1. Cleaner: Urethane porous material Rubicell (manufactured by Toyo Polymer Co., Ltd.) impregnated with water (ink dissolving agent). Method: Device shown in FIG. 4 Implementation results: Similar to Example 1, good printing was possible even on the 10000th sheet.

Example 3 The recording material, ink, cleaner and cleaning liquid are the same as in Example 2. Method: apparatus shown in FIG. 5 Implementation result: Similar to Example 1, good printing could be performed even on the 10000th sheet.

Example 4 The recording material and the cleaner are the same as in Example 1. Ink: Mixture of lauric acid and Spiron Black MH (manufactured by Hodogaya Chemical Co., Ltd.) Method: Device shown in FIG. 3 Cleaning liquid: n-tridecane (type) Implementation results: Similar to Example 1, even at 10000th sheet Good printing was possible.

Example 5 The recording material, ink and cleaning liquid are the same as in Example 4. Cleaner: Urethane porous material Rubicell (manufactured by Toyo Polymer Co., Ltd.) impregnated with n-tridecane (ink dissolving agent). Method: apparatus shown in FIG. 3 Implementation results: Similar to Example 1, good printing was possible even on the 10000th sheet.

Example 6 The recording material, ink, cleaner and cleaning liquid are the same as in Example 4. Method: apparatus shown in FIG. 5 Implementation result: Similar to Example 1, good printing could be performed even on the 10000th sheet.

[0045]

According to the recording apparatus of the present invention, by cleaning the cleaner, the life of the cleaner is extended and the number of times the cleaner is converted is reduced, so that the cost can be suppressed. A copy can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a main part of a device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing another example of the main part of the device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing still another example of the main part of the device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing still another example of the main part of the device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the necessity of cleaning the surface of the recording body after image transfer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Thermal Head 2 Ink (Recording Agent Solution or Dispersion Liquid) 3 Ink Container 4 Recording Body 5 Latent Image 6 Transfer Roller 7 Recording Paper 8 Cleaner 9 Deimage Heater 10, 11 Squeezing Roller 12 Cleaning Liquid 13 Ink Dissolvent or Lubricant 14 Remaining Ink 15 Cleaning liquid container 16 Ink dissolving agent or lubricant container 17 Cleaning liquid supply device 18 Ink dissolving agent or lubricant supply device 19 Absorption device 20 Absorption member 21 Used absorption member 22 Unused absorption member

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. The following contact material (B) is applied to the surface of the following recording medium (A).
To the heating temperature on the surface of the recording material (A) by selectively heating the surface of the recording material (A) or by contacting the surface of the recording material (A) with the contact material (B). A recording material that forms a latent image with a receding contact angle according to (B)
A means for supplying the surface of the recording material (A), a means for selectively heating the surface of the recording material (A) according to an image signal, and a means for applying a recording agent solution or a dispersion liquid for visualizing the latent image. , Recording material (A)
A means for transferring the recording material adhering to the recording paper onto the recording paper, a residual ink removing means for the porous material in contact with the recording material (A), an image removing means, and a cleaning means for the porous material are provided. A recording device characterized by the following. (A) A recording material having a surface which has a reduced receding contact angle when heated and brought into contact with a liquid. (B) A liquid, a vapor, or a solid that becomes a liquid or generates a liquid or a vapor at a temperature at which the receding contact angle of the recording medium (A) starts to decrease. 2. The use of a recording agent solution or dispersion as the contact material (B) provides a single means for supplying the contact material (B) and a means for applying the recording agent solution or dispersion. The recording device described. 3. After impregnating the porous body with a cleaning liquid,
The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning liquid is squeezed to clean the porous body. 4. After impregnating the porous body with a cleaning liquid,
The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the porous body is cleaned by sucking the cleaning liquid. 5. After impregnating the porous body with a cleaning liquid,
The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the porous body is cleaned by absorbing the cleaning liquid in another member.