JPH05232666A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an image forming device by which the stable reproducibility of gradation can be obtained by unifomizing the coating thickness of microcapsule toner on a supporting body, whose constitution is simple and which can inexpensively form an image. CONSTITUTION:The microcapsule toner 1 which is rubbed and electrostatically charged by an electrostatic charge blade 35 is carried on a carrying roller 36. After an intermediate belt 38 is coated with the toner 1 by a trajectory electric field formed between the roller 36 and a high-voltage roller 42, the toner 1 is smoothed by a layer regulating blade 46 and the coating thickness is uniformized.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention uses microcapsules, and more specifically, microcapsules containing at least a coloring material such as a leuco dye, a colored dye or a pigment as an encapsulating material and having a mechanical strength which changes in response to light. And an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine and a printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a photosensitive medium coated with microcapsules containing a dye precursor and a photocurable substance is exposed on the basis of image information, and the microcapsules are cured to form a chemical latent image on the photosensitive medium. And then, the image receiving paper on which the color developing agent that reacts with the dye precursor to develop a color is previously coated, and the photosensitive medium are superposed and pressed, and the chemical latent image is developed by pressure to receive the image. There is known an image forming apparatus that fixes an image on paper.

As a kind of photo-curing, there is a method of obtaining a chemical latent image by photo-polymerizing and curing the microcapsules by irradiating image light with a photo-polymerization initiator and a polymerizable compound. For example, JP-A-57-179836. No. 62-150238
It is disclosed in each publication of the issue.

Further, as a method of improving the sensitivity of photopolymerization and hardening by improving the above-mentioned constitution, a photosensitive silver halide, a reducing agent and a polymerizable compound are used to form a photosensitive silver halide by irradiation of image light. There is a method of forming a latent image nucleus and then heat-polymerizing and curing it by heating to obtain a chemical latent image, which is disclosed in, for example, JP-A-61-278849 and JP-A-62-232652.

In any of the above image forming apparatuses,
Image formation was possible only on special paper having a developer layer on the surface.

Further, as another example of the image forming apparatus using the above-mentioned photosensitive medium, the present applicants use the photosensitive medium on which the chemical latent image is formed and the image receiving paper which is plain paper with the developer layer in the middle. We have devised a device that forms an image on plain paper by stacking and pressing. An image forming apparatus using a photosensitive medium carrying microcapsules containing a colored dye instead of the above dye precursor is disclosed in JP-A-62-232652.

However, in any of the above-mentioned image forming apparatuses, the photosensitive medium used is a medium in which a plastic film such as PET is used as a support, and photosensitive microcapsules are carried on the surface thereof.

This photosensitive medium is collected after use and discarded in a lump, or is cut and discarded each time an image is formed. Therefore, the support, which is not necessary for forming an image, which is originally a plastic film, is consumed, which increases the cost of consumables and the image forming cost.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present applicants made photosensitive microcapsules into a toner and applied it on a support by a known image forming process such as electrophotography,
An image forming apparatus having a configuration in which only necessary microcapsule toner is consumed is disclosed in the specification and drawings attached to the application of Japanese Patent Application No. 3-124919.

[0010]

However, in the image forming apparatus having the above-mentioned structure in which the photosensitive microcapsules are made into toner and the necessary microcapsule toner is applied onto the support, the microcapsule toner on the support is There was unevenness in the coating thickness, which caused unevenness in density in the formed image. The uneven coating of microcapsule toner is equivalent to one microcapsule toner particle (about 10
25 μm), stable gradation reproducibility cannot be achieved. This problem is a problem peculiar to the image forming apparatus configured to apply the microcapsule toner on the support as described above.

The cause of this is unevenness in the size and driving speed of each member in the structure for applying the microcapsule toner, usage history of the microcapsule toner, uneven charging property and fluidity due to changes in temperature and humidity, and the like. Be done.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is possible to obtain a uniform gradation reproducibility by making the coating thickness of the microcapsule toner on the support uniform. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus having a simple structure and a low image forming cost.

[0013]

In order to achieve this object, an image forming apparatus of the present invention comprises a coating means for coating a microcapsule toner on a support, and the micro coating on the support. A uniformizing means for uniformizing the coating thickness of the capsule toner.

[0014]

In the image forming apparatus of the present invention having the above construction, the coating means coats the microcapsule toner on the support, and the homogenizing means coats the microcapsule toner coated on the support. Make the coating thickness uniform.

[0015]

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

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a configuration showing an embodiment of an image forming apparatus embodying the present invention.

The microcapsule toner 1 used in the image forming apparatus 10 of the embodiment is composed of a wall material portion and a liquid component contained therein, and the liquid component cures in response to at least a predetermined wavelength. It contains a photocurable substance and a pigment as a coloring material.

Examples of the photocurable substance include polymerizable compounds such as N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone, bisphenol A diacrylate and methacrylate, tripropylene glycol diacrylate and methacrylate, polyethylene glycol diacrylate and methacrylate, penta. Examples include erythritol triacrylate and methacrylate, dipentaerythritol hexaacrylate and methacrylate, trimethylolpropane triacrylate and methacrylate, oligoester acrylate and methacrylate, and the like. In addition, these polymerizable compounds may be used alone or as a mixture of two or more kinds. Usually, these polymerizable compounds and a photopolymerization initiator are used in combination.

The photopolymerization initiator is one which is sensitive to light and initiates the polymerization of the resin. For example, benzoyl alkyl ethers such as benzophenone and benzoyl isopropyl ether, Michler's ketone, metal arene compounds,
2,4-diethylthioxanthone and the like can be mentioned.

The image forming apparatus 10 of the embodiment is an image forming apparatus 1 described in the following embodiment according to an image information signal.
A control unit 12 is provided for controlling all movable parts and light emitting parts (hereinafter, abbreviated as movable parts) in 0 to operate properly for image formation.

The control unit 12 sends a command to a driver, a switch or the like connected to the movable part or the like while monitoring the operating conditions of the movable part or the like by a sensor or the like, thereby controlling the movable part or the like. is doing.

A document supporting glass 16 is attached to the upper surface of a casing 14 of the image forming apparatus 10. The document is sandwiched between the document supporting glass 16 and the document retainer 18 and held so that the image surface faces downward.

Below the document supporting glass 16, a light source lamp 20 for illuminating the document, a solid-state image pickup device 22 for reading the reflected light from the document, and reflected light from the document on the solid-state image pickup device. An optical system 24 for forming an image and an arithmetic element 26 for converting an electric signal generated by the image light being formed on the solid-state image sensor into an image information signal.
A scanner unit 28 having a and is provided.

When a copy start button (not shown) is pressed, the scanner section 28 moves in the direction of arrow 30 by a motor (not shown) or the like in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 12 while moving the original document. The reading operation is performed, and the read image information signal is transferred to the control unit 12.

The microcapsule toner 1 is stored in the toner case 32 while being shielded from light. The supply roller 34 has a cylindrical shape with a diameter of about 10 mm and is made of urethane sponge. The charging blade 35 is
The carrying roller 36 is a nylon resin plate material having a thickness of about 1 to 2 mm, and a metal core rod having a diameter of about 25 mm is coated with a nylon resin having a thickness of about 200 to 1000 μm. The metal core rod of the carrying roller 36 is grounded.

The supply roller 34 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 1 in response to a command from the control unit 12, and the carrier roller 36 also rotates in the direction of arrow 37.

By rotating the supply roller 34, the microcapsule toner 1 is pulled out from the toner case 32, and at this time, the charging blade 35 and the microcapsule toner 1 rub and the microcapsule toner 1 is charged. ..

The intermediate belt 38 is made of a silicone sponge having excellent releasability, and is wound around a metal intermediate belt driving roller 40 and a high pressure roller 42, and the intermediate belt 38 is controlled by the control unit 12. It is driven in the direction of arrow 44 by the drive roller 40. The high-pressure roller 42 has a polarity opposite to the charging polarity of the microcapsule toner 1 in order to fly the triboelectrically charged microcapsule toner 1 from the carrying roller 36 and coat it on the intermediate belt 38. Apply a high DC voltage.

The supply roller 34 and the carrying roller 36 are always in friction with each other, and due to this friction, the charging blade 35 is provided on the surface of the carrying roller 36 charged to the opposite polarity to the microcapsule toner 1. The microcapsule toner 1 frictionally charged by is adsorbed and carried by static electricity.

The microcapsule toner 1 carried on the carrying roller 36 is acted on by the electric field generated between the core bar of the carrying roller 36 and the high-pressure roller 42, which are grounded, so that the intermediate belt is 38 is electrostatically applied.

The microcapsule toner 1 electrostatically applied on the intermediate belt 38 is made of metal and has a thickness of about 5 mm.
The coating thickness is made uniform by the layer regulation blade 46 of 0 μm. The layer-regulating blade 46 is slightly bent, and is pressed against the intermediate belt 38 with a weak pressure due to the elasticity of the bending, so that the coating thickness of the microcapsule toner 1 is not broken and the coating thickness is uneven. However, since a DC voltage having the same polarity as that of the microcapsule toner 1 is applied,
Can make the coating thickness uniform without adhering to the layer regulating blade 46.

The microcapsule toner 1 whose coating thickness is made uniform by the layer regulating blade 46 is exposed by the exposure source 48 controlled by the control unit 12 according to the image information read by the scanner section 28, The microcapsule toner 1 that has not been photopolymerized and cured is pressed by the pressure transfer roller 52 rotating in the direction of the arrow 50, and only the microcapsule toner 1 that has not been photopolymerized and cured is destroyed. Is carried by.

The debris of the microcapsule toner 1 remaining on the intermediate belt 38 after pressing and the microcapsule toner 1 photopolymerized and cured are cleaned by the cleaning brush 5.
It is removed by being slid by 4 and is discarded in the dust box 56.

The image receiving paper 60 stored in the image receiving paper cassette 58 is fed out by the paper feeding roller 62, and the arrow 68 is drawn by the paper guide 64 and the paper guide roller 66.
Is guided in a gap between the nip roller 70 rotating in the direction of and the compression transfer roller 52, and is nipped by the nip roller 70 and the compression transfer roller 52 to be pressed,
The inclusion containing the coloring material carried on the pressure transfer roller 52 is transferred onto the image receiving paper 60, and the image is transferred onto the image receiving paper 6
Form on 0.

The image receiving paper 60 having the formed image.
Is guided by the paper discharge roller 72 and discharged to the exit tray 74.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described in detail above, and various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. In the drawings for explaining the modified examples described below, the same members as those of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

For example, in the above embodiment, static electricity was used as the application means for the microcapsule toner.
A mechanical / chemical action other than static electricity, such as magnetism or physical adsorption, may be used.

Further, in the above embodiment, the thin blade having elasticity is used as the homogenizing means, but a roller or a columnar member having high rigidity may be used.

FIG. 2 shows a modification in which a roller is used as the uniformizing means. In the image forming apparatus 110,
The layer regulation roller 146 is made of metal and grounded, and is arranged so as to be freely rotatable by a bearing (not shown). When the intermediate belt 38 coated with the microcapsule toner 1 moves in the direction of arrow 44, the layer regulating roller 146 rotates in the direction of arrow 148 while leveling the microcapsule toner 1 on the intermediate belt 38. Go At this time, the resistance due to friction or compression that acts between the microcapsule toner 1 and the layer regulating roller 146, which move by the conveying action of the intermediate belt 38, is
Since the rotation of the layer regulation roller 146 is considerably alleviated, the rotation torque of the intermediate belt drive roller 40 can be smaller than that in the case of using a non-movable blade or a solid homogenizing member, and thus the power consumption of the entire device Can be reduced, and a further reduction in running cost can be achieved.

[0040]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the coating thickness of the microcapsule toner on the support can be made uniform, and stable gradation reproducibility can be obtained. It is possible to provide an image forming apparatus having a simple structure and having a low image forming cost.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a configuration showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a configuration showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Micro Capsule Toner 28 Scanner Section 34 Supply Roller 35 Charging Blade 36 Supporting Roller 38 Intermediate Belt 42 High Pressure Roller 46 Layer Control Blade 52 Pressing Transfer Roller 70 Nip Roller

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A microcapsule toner composed of an inclusion containing at least a coloring material such as a leuco dye, a colored dye or a pigment, and a wall member containing a resin such as a polymer as a main component is applied to a support. An image forming apparatus characterized in that the image forming apparatus is provided with a uniformizing means for making the coating thickness of the microcapsule toner coated on the support uniform.