JPH0553364A - Microencapsulated toner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simply produce microcapsules not causing the deterioration of an image even when coloring matter and a photosensitive substance contained are insoluble in each other. CONSTITUTION:Each microcapsule 1 is composed of a shell 2, a photosetting substance 3 which is sensitive to light of a prescribed wavelength and cures under the light, a precursor 4 of a dye which develops a color by a reaction with a developer and a miscible org. solvent 5 which makes the substance 3 and the precursor 4 compatible with each other. The substance 3, the precursor 4 and the solvent 5 are contained in the shell 2.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a microcapsule used in an image forming apparatus or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a photosensitive sheet coated with microcapsules encapsulating a dye precursor and a photocurable substance, etc. is exposed based on image information using an exposing means, and the microcapsules are exposed based on image information. Microcapsules that are cured and then pressure-developed in a state of being brought into close contact with a support such as plain paper coated with a color developing agent that reacts with the dye precursor encapsulated in the microcapsules and are not cured. An apparatus has been put into practical use in which an image is formed by destroying a dye with a crushing roller and reacting a dye precursor flowing out from a microcapsule with a developer.

[0003]

However, in the conventional microcapsules, it was difficult to produce the microcapsules unless the dye precursor and the photocurable substance were dissolved in each other. That is, assuming that the dye precursor and the photocurable substance which are the inclusions do not dissolve in each other, the dye precursor and the photocurable substance are not uniformly contained in the microcapsule, and the dye precursor and The content ratio of the photocurable substance is different, resulting in a problem that the image is not clear. In addition, it takes a lot of time and labor to manufacture microcapsules so that the dye precursor and the photocurable substance are uniformly contained so that such a problem does not occur.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and provides a microcapsule which does not cause image deterioration even with a dye and a photosensitive substance which do not dissolve in each other and which can be easily produced. The purpose is to do.

[0005]

In order to achieve this object, the microcapsules of the present invention have a miscible organic solvent added as a third component.

[0006]

In the microcapsule of the present invention having the above structure, even if the dye and the photosensitive substance are insoluble in each other, the miscible organic solvent makes the dye and the photosensitive substance compatible with each other. Can be easily manufactured. Further, since the dye and the photosensitive substance are evenly dispersed, the deterioration of the image does not occur even when the image is formed.

[0007]

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

FIG. 1 shows an enlarged sectional view of a microcapsule embodying the present invention. The microcapsule 1 has an outer shell 2
And a liquid component inside thereof. The outer diameter of the microcapsule 1 is preferably several μm to several tens of μm. However, it is not limited to this, and even if it is 1 μm or less,
Further, it may be 100 μm or more.

As the liquid component, at least a photocurable substance 3 which cures in response to a predetermined wavelength, a dye precursor 4 which changes color by reacting with a developer or the like, the photocurable substance and the above A miscible organic solvent 5 which is compatible with the dye precursor is included.

The photocurable substance 3 includes a polymerizable compound, for example, N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone, bisphenol A diacrylate and methacrylate, tripropylene glycol diacrylate and methacrylate, polyethylene glycol diacrylate and methacrylate, Examples include pentaerythritol triacrylate and methacrylate, dipentaerythritol hexaacrylate and methacrylate, trimethylolpropane triacrylate and methacrylate, oligoester acrylate and methacrylate, and the like. Further, these polymerizable compounds may be used alone or
It may be a mixture of two or more species. 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, benzophenone, benzoylalkyl ethers such as benzoylisopropyl ether, Michler's ketone, metal arene compounds,
2,4-diethylthioxanthone and the like can be mentioned.

As the dye precursor 4, a diphenylmethane type compound, a triphenylmethane type compound, a bisphenylmethane type compound, a xanthene type compound, a thiazine type compound, a fluorane type compound, a spiropyran type compound and the like and a mixture thereof are used.

Here, if the dye precursor 4 is soluble in the photopolymerizable substance 3, it can be produced by a known microcapsule production method, but both are insoluble depending on the selection, and in this case, microencapsulation is extremely difficult. Becomes difficult. Therefore,
In this example, a miscible organic solvent 5 is further added.

The miscible organic solvent 5 is preferably a substance which is soluble in both the photopolymerizable substance 3 and the dye precursor 4. The miscible organic solvent 3 is preferably lipophilic if the photocurable substance 3 is lipophilic, and preferably insoluble in water.

By adding the miscible organic solvent 3, the microcapsules 1 are prepared by the atomization granulation method, in situ.
Method, interfacial polymerization method and the like.

Next, an embodiment of a full-color image forming apparatus using the microcapsules will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of an image forming apparatus 40 using the microcapsules 1.
The microcapsules 1 used in the image forming apparatus 40
It is necessary to manufacture three types of microcapsules using three types of dye precursors that react with a color developer and develop yellow, magenta, and cyan, respectively.

The image forming apparatus 40 is roughly composed of four units. That is, the microcapsule coating device 10 for coating the microcapsule 1 on the film
And the film 11 after the microcapsules 1 are applied
An exposing device 41 that exposes (hereinafter referred to as a capsule sheet 11) through a document 45 and the exposed capsule sheet 11 and a developing paper 43 to which a developing agent has been applied in advance are pressure-bonded to develop a color. It comprises a pressure developing device 47 for forming a color image on 43, and a heat fixing device 49 for giving good color to the image formed on the color developing paper 43 and for giving the image surface gloss.

The exposure device 41 is located at the uppermost part of the image forming device 40, and the heat fixing device 49 is located below it.
The microcapsule coating device 10 is provided on the left side in FIG. 2, and the pressure developing device 47 is provided substantially in the center of the image forming device 40.

The exposure device 41 includes a halogen lamp 50.
Below the halogen lamp 50, a document table 52 is provided.
Is provided. The original 45 is placed on the original table 52, and the capsule sheet 11 is exposed through the original 45. A guide roller 53 is provided on the right side of the original table 52, and the exposed capsule sheet 11 is sent to the pressure developing device 47 via the guide roller 53.

The microcapsule coating device 10 comprises an electrode roller 1 having a film 11 wound on the right side in FIG.
5, and a supply unit 13 for the microcapsules 1 is provided on the left side. The electrode roller 15 and the supply unit 13 are opposed to each other at a predetermined distance d.

The film 11 is in the form of an endless belt, and as shown in FIG. 2, an electrode roller 15 and a guide roller 53,
54 and a pressure roller 56 in the pressure developing device 47.

The supply unit 13 has a hopper 12 for storing the microcapsules 1, a carrying roller 6, and
An agitator 7 for carrying the microcapsules 1 on the carrying roller 6, and a layer adjusting blade 1 for carrying the microcapsules 1 on the carrying roller 6 with a constant thickness.
4 and. The carrier roller 6 is
It is desirable to be grounded.

On the right side of the image forming apparatus 40, there is provided a supporting body cassette 44 in which the developing paper 43 is stored, and the developing roller 43 is guided by the feed roller 18 from the upper opening of the supporting body cassette 44. It is configured to be inserted into the pressure developing device 47 in a state of being in close contact with the capsule sheet 11 via the roller 55.

The pressure developing device 47 is composed of a set of pressure rollers 56 in which pressure is applied between the rollers, and an image is formed on the color developing paper 43 here. The capsule sheet 11 that has passed through the pressure developing device 47 and the color-developed paper 43 on which the image has been formed are separated below the pressure developing device 47, and the capsule sheet 11 passes through the guide roller 54 and is broken or cured by the removing brush 42. The microcapsules 1 are removed. The removed microcapsules 1 are collected in the collection box 46. Further, the color-developed paper 43 on which the image is formed is conveyed to the thermal fixing device 49.

The heat fixing device 49 is provided with a heat source 51 which can be maintained at about 140 ° C., and the color developing paper 4 on which an image is formed.
By applying heat to 3, the fixing action of the image is performed.

Next, the operation of this apparatus will be described.

By pressing a start button (not shown) of the image forming apparatus 40, the carrying roller 6 and the agitator 7 rotate in the direction of the arrow. Then, the microcapsules 1 stored in the hopper 5 are conveyed to the vicinity of the carrying roller 6 by the agitator 7, and then shaped into a layer having a predetermined thickness by the layer regulation blade 14 and conveyed to the transfer area 17. It At this time, the microcapsule 1 is charged by contacting and rubbing with the layer regulating blade 14 and the bearing roller 6.

Turn on the power source E connected to the electrode roller 15.
Thus, an electric field is generated in the transfer area 17.
Therefore, the charged microcapsules 1 carried by the carrying roller 6 are attracted to the electrode roller 15 according to the generated electric field. At this time, since the film 11 is wound around the electrode roller 15, the microcapsule 1 is
It will be applied to the film 11. In this way, the capsule sheet 11 is manufactured and conveyed to below the exposure device 41.

When the capsule sheet 11 is conveyed below the exposure device 41, the halogen lamp 50 is turned on and the image is exposed on the capsule sheet 11 through the document 45 placed on the document table 52. The exposed capsule sheet 11 is inserted into the pressure developing device 47 via the guide roller 53. On the other hand, the developing paper 43 is also taken out from the support cassette 44 by the feed roller 18 and conveyed to the pressure developing device 47, so that the guide rollers 53, 5
At 5, the capsule sheet 11 and the color-developing paper 43 are sent to the pressure developing device 47 in a state of being overlapped with each other. After that, it is pressure-developed by the pressure roller 56, the dye precursor substance contained in the microcapsules reacts with the developer, and a color image is formed on the developer 43. The color developing paper 43 after the color image is formed by the pressure developing device 47.
The image is fixed by the heat fixing device 49, passes through the guide roller 48, and is discharged to the outside. In addition, the capsule sheet 11 that has passed through the pressure developing device 47.
Removes the hardened or destroyed microcapsules 1 with the removal brush 42.

The present invention described above is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

For example, in the present embodiment, the color-developing paper to which the color-developing agent has been applied in advance is used. However, by providing a color-developing agent coating device, an image can be formed on any support such as plain paper. It will be possible.

If a dye or pigment such as a pigment is used instead of the dye precursor, it is not necessary to use a developer or the like, so that an image can be formed on any support such as plain paper. At the same time, costs can be reduced. At this time, a miscible organic solvent may be used for the purpose of making the dispersion of the dye such as a pigment uniform.

It is also possible to use a photosoftening substance instead of the photocurable substance.

Although the brush was used to remove the hardened or destroyed microcapsules, the present invention is not limited to this, and any material capable of removing the microcapsules may be used.

[0036]

As is clear from the above description,
In the microcapsule of the present invention, even if the dye and the photosensitive substance are insoluble in each other, the miscible organic solvent makes the dye and the photosensitive substance compatible with each other, so that the microcapsule can be easily produced. .. Further, since the dye and the photosensitive substance are evenly dispersed, the deterioration of the image does not occur even when the image is formed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a microcapsule.

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of an image forming apparatus using microcapsules.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Microcapsule 2 Outer part 3 Photocurable substance 4 Dye precursor 5 Miscible organic solvent 10 Microcapsule coating device 40 Image forming device 41 Exposure device 47 Pressure developing device 49 Thermal fixing device

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification number Office reference number FI technical display location G03G 9/08 7144-2H G03G 9/08 394

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A microcapsule containing at least a pigment such as a dye precursor or the like that changes color by reacting with a dye or pigment or a developer, and at least one of the pigment and the photosensitive material. A microcapsule containing a miscible organic solvent that dissolves one as a third component.