JPH06115120A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a resolving characteristic to be improved by carrying out stably sticking of a resin particulate by a method wherein a stable quality image can be formed easily at a low cost, and a sufficient liquid phase is formed between a heating face and an image carrier. CONSTITUTION:A system of an image forming device is obtained as follows; under a state wherein a liquid repellent image carrier 7 is brought into contact with image forming liquid 2 in which a resin particulate is dispersed in a dispersion medium, or the image forming liquid in which the resin particulate is dispersed in the dispersion medium to contain a color material, or the image forming liquid in which the resin particulate containing the color material is dispersed in the dispersion medium, the image carrier 7 or the image forming liquid is selectively heated and/or pressurized by a heating and/or pressurizing means according to an image signal; and thereby the resin particulate is stuck to the surface of the image carrier. Further, an image forming liquid supply part 30A or a pressurizing member 3 which is arranged at a position opposed to a heating member 1 used as the heating means or the heating member 1 via the image carrier 7, is vibrated according to the image signal.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus,
More specifically, the present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that forms an image by providing an image area made of resin particles on the surface of a specific image carrier.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Office offset printing has been widely used as a means for obtaining a small number of copies. And the printing plate used here is generally
It was prepared by plate making from PS plate, electrofax plate making using electrophotography, and the like. However,
In the above, the laser light source is required, the apparatus becomes complicated, and some plate forming process is required in the process of forming the final printing plate. On the other hand, in the above, for example, Zn
It is necessary to perform a complicated plate-making process such as using an O ₂ paper, forming an electrostatic image on the O ₂ paper, then developing with toner, and further applying a hydrophilic treatment.

As a means for eliminating the complexity of the plate making process, a sheet-shaped ink sheet is brought into close contact with a printing plate material, and the ink layer is selectively thermally transferred to the printing plate material to prepare a printing plate. (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 54-143303)
JP-A-63-60752, JP-A-2-21724
No. 7, etc.) or using an ink whose adhesiveness changes with a change in pH (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-16).
No. 6959) is proposed. However, according to the above-mentioned means, since the printing plate material is supplied in the form of a sheet, the portion that has been used once cannot be used repeatedly, and therefore the printing plate material is wasteful and the cost becomes high. However, the above-mentioned means has a drawback that the recording speed cannot be increased because a high-adhesive ink is used as the plate-making ink.

In addition to the above, a recording method in which a powdery heat-meltable ink is adhered to a base material by heating to form an image, and the image is transferred to a recording paper by heating / pressing (JP-A-62-62). No. 279966), and a recording method in which an ink whose viscosity increases by heating is selectively heated in a state of being brought into contact with an ink-repellent substrate so that liquid ink is attached and the image is transferred to a recording paper. (JP-A-3-227255 and JP-A-4-45955) have been proposed. However, with the recording method in (1), the ink is a powder and it is difficult to handle because it is easily scattered, and (2) static electricity easily attaches the powder ink to the non-image area of the base material, causing scumming. There are problems such as being easy. Also,
The recording method of (1) requires unevenness on the surface of the image carrier, which makes cleaning difficult and the image becomes dirty, (2)
A relatively long heating time is required to increase the viscosity by evaporating the solvent, and (3) A relatively long heating time is required to increase the viscosity using a material whose solubility decreases by heating. , (4) It is necessary to perform gentle heating in order to cause thermal gelation at a low heating temperature with a material whose solubility is reduced by thermal gelation, and it is necessary to heat for a long time. There is.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel image forming apparatus which eliminates the inconveniences and drawbacks described above and which can form an image easily and at low cost.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 provides an image-forming liquid in which resin particles are dispersed in a dispersion medium, or resin particles are dispersed in a dispersion medium to contain a coloring material. Image forming liquid or an image forming liquid in which fine resin particles containing a coloring material are dispersed in a dispersion medium, and the liquid repellent image bearing member in contact with each other It is an apparatus of a system in which resin fine particles are adhered to the surface of the image carrier by selectively heating and / or pressurizing by heating and / or pressurizing means according to an information signal, and a heating member used in the heating means or It is characterized in that the image forming liquid supply unit or the pressure member arranged at a position facing the heating member with the image carrier interposed therebetween is vibrated in accordance with the image information signal.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the vibration frequency and the amplitude of the heating member, the image forming liquid supply member, and the pressurizing unit are changed according to the image information signal. It is characterized by

The invention of claim 3 relates to claim 1 and claim 2.
The image forming apparatus described above is characterized in that it is provided with a configuration in which a gap between the image bearing member and a heating member facing the image bearing member is changed according to an image information signal.

The invention of claim 4 relates to claim 1 and claim 2.
In the image forming apparatus according to the third aspect, energy is supplied to the heating section of the heating member at least when the heating section is closest to the image carrier.

[0010]

[Function] As a result of research and study on the image forming method, the present inventors have found that resin fine particles (for example,
By applying heat and / or pressure while the image forming liquid in which the resin colloid particles are dispersed is in contact with the image carrier, the adhesive force between the resin particles and between the resin particles and the surface of the image carrier is increased. It was confirmed that the image was formed with an increase. It is considered that the cause of this increase in the adhered amount is as follows. (1) The heating makes the dispersion of the resin fine particles unstable, and the resin fine particles aggregate or stick together. The dispersion stability of the resin particles is determined by the balance between the electric repulsive force due to the charging of the resin particles and the attractive force due to the London-Van der Waals force acting between the molecules. The resin particles are charged by the ions in the dispersion medium, but when heated, the movement of the ions becomes vigorous and the ion concentration near the resin particles decreases. Then, the charge amount of the resin particles is reduced and the electric repulsive force acting between the resin particles is weakened, so that the resin particles are aggregated. (2) The resin fine particles are pressed or adhered to each other by applying pressure. The adhesion of the resin particles is increased by the above two phenomena occurring independently or simultaneously. In order to perform such adhesion, a dispersion liquid of resin fine particles (for example, resin colloid particles or resin fine particles having a particle diameter of 0.01 to 10 μm), not a solution resin, It was found that the resin colloid is excellent (it is known that the use of a liquid in which fine resin particles are dispersed instead of a solution of a resin is a conventional technique (JP-A-3-227255, JP-A-4-459).
No. 55) is different). In order to utilize the phenomenon of (2), it is preferable to use a resin having a glass transition point or a softening point lower than the recording temperature as the resin used for the resin fine particles.

From the above, for example, as shown in FIG. 17, the image forming liquid in which the resin fine particles 9 are dispersed in the dispersion medium is brought into contact with the image carrying member 7, and the image carrying member 7 is brought into contact therewith. Alternatively, the image forming liquid can be formed by selectively heating and / or pressurizing the image forming liquid by the heating means or the pressurizing means in accordance with the image information signal so that the resin fine particles 9 adhere to the image carrier. Therefore, with this image forming method,
An image forming apparatus that can easily perform image recording at low cost can be realized. When an image forming liquid containing resin particles dispersed in a dispersion medium containing a coloring material, or a dispersion medium containing resin particles containing a coloring material dispersed in a dispersion medium is used, image formation is performed simultaneously with image formation ( Development) can be performed.

The image forming apparatus of the present invention can be applied to a printer (transfer, direct recording), a printing machine, a memory, a display device and the like. Printers include an indirect recording method in which an image is formed on an image carrier and then transferred to a recording medium such as paper, and a direct recording method in which an image is directly formed on a liquid-repellent recording medium. Further, by using the image of the resin attached on the image carrier as a printing master and repeating development and transfer, it can be used as a printing machine. Further, the image on the image carrier can be used as a display device by making it visible from the outside by opening a window in the device. Further, it can also be used as a memory by utilizing the presence or absence of resin on the image carrier. In this case, the color material may be contained, but the recorded information can be read by the difference in reflectance between the resin and the image carrier even if the color material is not added.

In the image forming apparatus described above, if the heating member is kept in contact with the image carrier, a sufficient amount of liquid will be present between the surface to be heated and the image carrier to be heated. The layer may not be secured, and the resin fine particles may not be stably attached to the image carrier when heated. The present invention also takes this problem into consideration, and it is possible to form a sufficient liquid phase between the heating surface and the image carrier to stably adhere the resin fine particles to improve the resolution characteristics. An image forming apparatus is provided.

That is, according to the present invention, between the image carrier and the heating member, or between the pressure member for pressing the image carrier against the heating member or between the image forming liquid supply unit and the image carrier. By expanding and contracting the gap, the supply of the image forming liquid is promoted and a sufficient amount of liquid layer can be formed.
Further, according to the present invention, by changing the frequency and the amplitude related to the above-mentioned vibration, it is possible to change the temperature and the pressing force of the image carrier as well as the formation state of the liquid layer according to the environmental conditions and the image information, As a result, it is possible to stabilize the adhesion of the resin fine particles in the liquid layer and control the amount of the adhesion, and it is possible to precisely control the image density.

Further, according to the present invention, by controlling the gap between the heating portion and the image carrier in accordance with the image information signal, it is possible to further finely control the formation state of the liquid layer. The image density can be optimized according to the ambient environment conditions. Further, according to the present invention, by supplying energy to the heating member in a state before and after including the time when the heating member comes closest to the image carrier and the time when the heating member comes closest to the image carrier, the image carrier of the image carrier is formed in the same dot. When heating is performed a plurality of times, the power consumption of the heating member can be reduced.

[0016]

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. First, the basic configuration of the image forming apparatus of the present invention will be described. FIG. 11 shows an example of the basic configuration of the image forming apparatus. In the figure, reference numeral 1 is a thermal head having a head surface in which minute heating elements are arranged in a direction orthogonal to the drawing, and 2 is a dispersion medium. An image forming liquid in which resin fine particles 9 are dispersed in 3 is a developing ink in which a dye material is dispersed or dissolved in the liquid, 4 is a developing roller, 5 is a transfer roller, 6 is recording paper, 7 is a drum-like image. The carrier, 8 is a cleaner. The image forming liquid 2 is shown in FIG.
Image forming liquid 2A containing a coloring material 15 as shown in (a)
Can also be used. As shown in FIG. 12A, the image forming liquid 2A containing the coloring material 15 contains the dispersion medium 1
6 contains at least resin fine particles 9 as an image forming material. FIG. 12B shows a state in which an image is formed on the surface of the image carrier 7.

When the surface of the image carrier 7 is heated by the thermal head 1 in the presence (contact) of the image forming liquid 2, the resin fine particles 9 adhere to the surface of the image carrier 7. At this time, not only the heating but also the pressurization is performed, so that the resin fine particles 9 are more stably attached, or
The adhesion between the adhered fine particles and the image carrier is improved, and the effect of increasing resistance to scratching, rubbing, and the like is produced. When the image carrier 7 is in the form of a film or a belt during the heating here, a film-shaped image carrier as shown in FIG. 13 may be used in addition to the means shown in FIG. 11 or 12 (a). The body 7 may be heated from the back side and the pressure roller 10 may be provided on the front side. Further, as shown in FIG.
The image carrier 7 is provided with an image carrier film 7'and an infrared absorbing material 19.
It is also possible to form an image by heating with infrared rays from the back side. At this time, the image carrier film 7 '
If it is thin and difficult to handle, the infrared absorbing material 19 and the image carrier film 7 ′ may be laminated on the film (supporting film) 20 that transmits infrared rays. In addition, 17 is an infrared source,
Reference numeral 18 is a lens.

In FIG. 11, after the image is formed by the fine resin particles 9 attached to the surface of the image carrier 7, the developing ink 4 is attached to the image by the developing roller 4.
Transfer to the recording paper 6. When the image forming liquid 2A containing the color material 15 is used as shown in FIG. 12 or when the image forming liquid in which the resin fine particles containing the color material are dispersed is used, the image formation and the development are performed at the same time. Therefore, the developing unit can be omitted. Further, when the same image is to be obtained by the image forming apparatus of FIG. 11, the thermal head 1 is separated from the image carrier 7 after the second time, and development is performed on the resin fine particle image adhered the first time. The ink 3 may be attached again, developed, and transferred to the recording paper 6. Further, when outputting a new image, the resin fine particle image on the image carrier 7 may be removed by the cleaner 8 and then a new image may be formed.

Here, the image forming liquid, the image bearing member and other components used in the image forming apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail. The image forming liquid 2 includes a dispersion medium 16 and resin fine particles (for example, resin colloidal particles and a particle size of 0.01 to 1).
Image forming liquid 2A containing a color material, and the other components (excluding the color material).
In addition, the color material 15 is included. Further, an image forming liquid 2B in which resin fine particles containing a coloring material are dispersed in a dispersion medium 16
Can also be used. The dispersion medium 16 may be water-based or oil-based. Examples of the material of the resin fine particles 9 include materials that are insoluble in the dispersion medium, such as acrylic resin, methacrylic resin, vinyl acetate resin, ethylene / vinyl acetate resin, and silicone resin for the aqueous dispersion medium. Examples of the dispersion medium of the system include ethylene resin and styrene resin. In addition to these resins, dispersion stabilizers, viscosity modifiers, preservatives, various surfactants and the like may be added. As the resin fine particles 9, resin colloid particles or resin fine particles having a particle diameter of 0.01 to 10 μm are preferably used. It should be noted that the particle size of the resin fine particles 9 should be the same or smaller than that of one dot of the recording pixel.

If the viscosity of the image forming liquids 2, 2A and 2B is too high, the image forming speed cannot be increased. Therefore, it is desirable that the viscosity is low. Specifically, it should be a few P (poise) or less,
It is preferably 100 cP (centipoise) or less. If the concentration of the resin fine particles 9 is too low, the adherence to the image carrier during image formation will fluctuate and the image will be deteriorated. Therefore, the concentration should be reasonably high, and specifically 5% by weight or more is preferable. However, since the viscosity of the image forming liquid increases as the concentration of the resin particles 9 increases, it is necessary to increase the concentration within the range where the viscosity does not exceed several P, more preferably 100 cP. Further, in order to suppress the time change of the concentration, a mechanism for detecting the concentration, maintaining the concentration or the like may be provided.

As the image carrier 7, it is desirable to use an ink-repellent material to which the developing ink 3 is hard to adhere. The term “ink repellency” as used herein means, when expressed by a receding contact angle with respect to the developing ink 3, the receding contact angle is 80 ° or more and the surface tension is 50 dyn / cm with respect to the developing ink having a surface tension of 50 dyn / cm or more. It means that the receding contact angle is 20 ° or more for a developing ink having a size of cm or less. More practically, the material (ink-repellent material) is soaked in the developing ink, and then, when the material is pulled up in the vertical direction at a speed of 1 mm / s or more, the material that does not adhere to the surface of the material is ink-repellent. Use as a material. For example, if the developing ink is water-based,
Examples include water-repellent materials, oil-repellent materials when oil-based, and silicone-based resins and fluorine-based resins regardless of whether the developing ink is water-based or oil-based. Silicon rubber or the like can be used as the silicon-based resin. Examples of the fluorine-based resin include PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene), FEP (tetrafluoroethylene-hexafluoropropylene copolymer), PFA (tetrafluoroethylene-perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer), ETFE ( Tetrafluoroethylene-ethylene copolymer), PCTFE (polychlorotrifluoroethylene), PVdF (polyvinylidene fluoride), EPE (tetrafluoroethylene-hexafluoropropylene-perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer) and the like can be used.

The shape of the image carrier 7 may be not only the drum shape shown in FIG. 11 but also the belt-shaped or film-shaped image carrier 7 shown in FIGS. 13 and 14. Figure 1 for drum
As shown in FIG. 5, the image carrier material 11 is provided on the drum substrate 12 made of an aluminum cylinder or the like. In the case of a belt shape, only the image carrier material 11 may be formed into a belt shape as shown in FIG. 16A, or the image carrier material may be provided on the belt-shaped substrate 13 as shown in FIG. 16B. Material 11 may be provided. The developing ink 3 may be either dye-based or pigment-based. If the resin fine particles 9 are hydrophilic, water-based ink may be used, and if the resin fine particles 9 are lipophilic, oil-based ink may be used. The cleaner 8 removes the image forming liquid 2 or the image forming liquid 2A containing a coloring material attached to the surface of the image carrier without damaging the image carrier 7.
For example, a blade such as rubber or sponge, a roller, or the like is applied.

A specific example of the image forming apparatus having the above basic structure will be shown below. FIG. 18 shows an example in which a roller made of a porous material such as sponge is used as the cleaner 8, and the other configurations are the same as those in FIG. In FIG. 19, the image carrier 7 is configured in the form of an endless belt and is rotated by a feed roller (or a pulley or the like) 14, and the pressure roller 10 is pressed against the image forming liquid 2 side.
Is provided, the thermal head 1 is arranged at an opposing position across the image carrier 7 and heating is performed from the back surface side.
Note that the other components denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 11 are similar components. FIG. 20 shows an example in which a belt-shaped image carrier 7 is used as in FIG. 19, but the thermal head 1 and the pressure roller 10 are reversed in arrangement, and an image forming liquid 2A containing a color material is used. Here is an example. Therefore, the developing ink 3 and the developing roller 4 can be omitted in the configuration of FIG. Figure 2
1 has the same configuration as that of FIG. 14, but is an example in which a supporting roller 21 is provided on the side opposite to the pressure contact roller 10 with the image carrier 7 interposed therebetween.
Pressurization by the pressing roller 10 is possible.

In FIG. 22, instead of the heating means (thermal head 1) of FIG.
FIG. 18 shows a configuration in the case of adhering to a substrate, 22 is a drive unit made of PZT, 23 is a pressure unit in which minute pressure elements are arranged, and other configurations are the same as those in FIG. In this example of the apparatus, energy is supplied from the energy supply source to the drive unit 22 in accordance with the image information signal to drive the pressurizing unit 23, and the resin fine particles in the image forming liquid 2 are attached to the image carrier 7 by pressurization. Then, an image is formed. FIG. 23 shows a structure in which resin particles are attached to the belt-shaped image carrier 7 by a pressing means instead of the heating means (thermal head 1) shown in FIG. This is an example in which a drive unit that drives each pressure element of the unit 23 is configured by a solenoid 24, a spring 28, and a ferromagnetic body 26. In this apparatus, the power source of the solenoid 24 is controlled according to the image information signal to drive the pressurizing unit 23, and the resin fine particles and the color material in the image forming liquid 2A containing the color material are pressed to apply the color material to the image carrier 7. Then, the image formation and the development are carried out. FIG. 24 shows an example in which the image forming liquid 2B having the same structure as that of FIG. 20 is used as the image forming liquid, which is composed of resin fine particles containing a coloring material and a dispersion medium.

FIG. 25 shows an example of a direct recording system in which a recording medium 27 such as an OHP sheet or recording paper is used as an image carrier.
Reference numeral 8 is a recording medium feed roller. In this apparatus, the image forming liquid 2A containing a coloring material is used to heat the thermal head 1 in accordance with an image information signal to directly form an image on the recording medium 27 by heating and pressurizing. FIG. 26
Is an example of a direct recording system in which a recording medium 27 such as an OHP sheet or recording paper is used as an image carrier, and the pressure unit 23 of a pressure unit is driven according to an image information signal to record the recording medium by the pressure system. The resin fine particles in the image forming liquid 2 are adhered onto the surface of the image forming liquid 27 to form an image, and then the image is developed with the developing ink 3.
FIG. 27 shows an example in which a container for the image forming liquid 2A containing a color material is formed flat and the feed roller 14 for the image carrier 7 is provided in the container. FIG. 28 shows an example of a direct recording system in which a recording medium 27 such as an OHP sheet or recording paper is used as an image carrier. The thermal head 1 is heated according to an image information signal, and an image is recorded on the recording medium 27 by the heating system. After the resin fine particles in the forming liquid 2 are attached to form an image, the image is developed with the developing ink 3.

FIG. 29 shows an example in which an image is formed on the image carrier 7 by using a cylindrical heating / pressurizing member 29. Figure 30
22 is an example of a direct recording system using a recording medium 27 such as an OHP sheet or a recording paper as an image carrier, using the same pressing means as in FIG. 22 and using the image forming liquid 2A containing a color material. The image formation and the development are performed on the recording medium 27. FIG. 31 shows an example of a direct recording system in which a recording medium 27 such as an OHP sheet or recording paper is used as an image carrier, and the thermal head 1 and the pressure contact roller 10 are arranged at opposite positions sandwiching the recording medium 27. After the image is formed on the recording medium 27 by heating and pressurizing the resin fine particles, the developing ink 3 is formed.
Is to be developed.

Next, a concrete example of image formation by the example of the apparatus shown in FIGS. In the examples,% is based on weight. Example 1 Image forming liquid: Fluorine-containing acrylate colloidal liquid (EX
-125 (manufactured by NOK CRYVA), solid content concentration 15
%) Development ink: Water-based dye ink (7% direct dye having the chemical structure shown below, 2% ethylene glycol, balance water)

[Chemical 1] Image carrier: Silicone rubber Cleaner: Porous material Rubycell (ruby sheet (average pore size: about 10 μm), manufactured by Toyo Polymer Co., Ltd.) Device configuration: What is shown in FIG. 22 Under these conditions, the pressurizing unit 23 is changed according to the image signal. It is driven to apply a pressure of about 10 g per dot at a recording density of 180 dpi (dots / inch) at about room temperature (about 25 ° C.) to form an image on the image carrier 7, and after developing with the developing ink 3, When transferred onto the recording paper 6, good printing was obtained on the recording paper.

[Embodiment 2] The same image forming liquid 2, developing ink 3, image carrier 7, and cleaner 8 as those in Embodiment 1 are used, the heating source is the thermal head 1, and the apparatus configuration is shown in FIG. The thermal head 1 on the image carrier 7.
While applying a pressure of about 320 g per 1 cm in the line, the thermal head 1 is heated to about 120 ° C. according to the image signal to form an image on the image carrier 7, and after development with the developing ink 3, the recording paper 6 is formed. When transferred, good printing was obtained on the recording paper.

[Example 3] Image forming liquid: vinyl acetate-ethylene colloidal liquid (S-
753 (manufactured by Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd., solid content concentration 15%) Developing ink: same as in Example 1 Image carrier: Fluorine-based resin (Teflon etc.) Cleaner: same as in Example 1 Device configuration: those shown in FIG. Under the conditions, the pressure unit 23 is driven according to the image signal, and at a recording density of 180 dpi, about 10 g per dot
Is applied at about room temperature (about 25 ° C.) to form an image on the image carrier 7, and after development with the developing ink 3, the recording paper 6 is formed.
When it was transferred to, good printing was obtained on the recording paper.

[Embodiment 4] The same image forming liquid 2, developing ink 3, image carrier 7 and cleaner 8 as in Embodiment 3 are used, the heat source is the thermal head 1, and the apparatus configuration is shown in FIG. The thermal head 1 on the image carrier 7.
While applying a pressure of about 320 g per 1 cm in the line, the thermal head 1 is heated to about 120 ° C. according to the image signal to form an image on the image carrier 7, and after development with the developing ink 3, the recording paper 6 is formed. When transferred, good printing was obtained on the recording paper.

[Example 5] Image forming liquid containing a coloring material: -Vinyl acetate-ethylene-acrylic (S-920 (manufactured by Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.)) 60% -Dye (CI Direct Black 168) 10% -Ethylene glycol 20% -Water balance Image carrier: Fluorine-based resin (Teflon etc.) Cleaner: Same as in Example 1 Device configuration: As shown in Fig. 23: Under these conditions, the pressurizing unit 23 is changed according to the image signal. Driven at a recording density of 180 dpi, about 10 g per dot
An image was formed on the image carrier 7 and transferred to the recording paper 6 by applying the pressure at about room temperature (about 25 ° C.), and good printing was obtained on the recording paper.

[Embodiment 6] Image forming liquid 2 containing a coloring material
A, the image carrier 7, and the cleaner 8 are the same as those in the fifth embodiment, the heating source is the thermal head 1, and the apparatus configuration is as shown in FIG. When the thermal head 1 was heated to about 120 ° C. according to the image signal while applying a pressure of about 320 g per 1 cm to form an image on the image carrier 7 and the image was transferred to the recording paper 6, good printing was obtained on the recording paper. Was obtained.

[Example 7] Image forming liquid containing a coloring material: Silicone (SE-1980 clear (manufactured by Toray Dow Corning Silicone)) 30% Dye (CI Direct Black 168) 10% -Ethylene glycol 20% -Water balance Image carrier: Silicon rubber Cleaner: Same as in Example 1 Device configuration: What is shown in FIG. 23: Under these conditions, the pressure unit 23 is driven according to the image signal, and 180 dpi Recording density is about 10g per dot
An image was formed on the image carrier 7 and transferred to the recording paper 6 by applying the pressure at about room temperature (about 25 ° C.), and good printing was obtained on the recording paper.

[Embodiment 8] Image forming liquid 2 containing a coloring material
A, the image carrier 7, and the cleaner 8 are the same as those in the embodiment 7, the infrared laser 17 is used for heating, and the apparatus configuration is as shown in FIG. 21, and the image carrier 7 is brought into contact with a pressing roller (pressure roller) 10. While applying a pressure of about 320 g per 1 cm in one line, the infrared laser 17 radiates infrared rays according to the image signal so that the infrared absorption section 19 of the image carrier becomes about 120 ° C. When an image was formed on the carrier 7 and transferred to the recording paper 6, good printing was obtained on the recording paper.

[Example 9] Image forming liquid (oil-based ink) consisting of resin colloid containing a coloring material: -Wet toner (carbon black contained in polystyrene) 70% -n-undecane 30% Image carrier: FEP (Tetrafluoroethylene-6-fluoropropylene copolymer) Cleaner: Same as in Example 1 Device configuration: As shown in FIG. 24 Under these conditions, the thermal head 1 of the image bearing member 7 per 1 cm in one line When the thermal head 1 was heated to about 90 ° C. according to the image signal while applying a pressure of about 320 g, an image was formed on the image carrier 7 and transferred to the recording paper 6,
Good printing was obtained on the recording paper.

[Embodiment 10] The same image forming liquid 2 and developing ink 3 as those in Embodiment 1 were used, and the recording medium (commercially available OHP sheet) 27 was used with the apparatus configuration shown in FIG.
Recording was performed directly on the recording medium, and the pressure unit 23 was driven according to the image signal to apply a pressure of 10 g per dot (φ200 μm) at room temperature, and good recording was obtained on the recording medium 27.

[Embodiment 11] The same image forming liquid 2 and developing ink 3 as in Embodiment 1 are used, the heating source is the thermal head 1, and the apparatus configuration is as shown in FIG. OHP sheet) 27 is directly recorded, and the thermal head 1 is heated to about 120 ° C. according to an image signal while applying a pressure of about 320 g per 1 cm in one line to the recording medium 27 by the thermal head 1. Two
Good printing was obtained for No. 7.

[Embodiment 12] As the image forming liquid, the image forming liquid 2A containing the same coloring material as in Embodiment 5 was used, and the recording medium (commercially available OHP sheet) 27 was formed by using the apparatus constitution shown in FIG. Direct recording is performed, and the pressure unit 2 is used according to the image signal.
When 3 was driven and a pressure of 10 g per dot (φ200 μm) was applied at room temperature, good printing was obtained on the recording medium 27.

[Embodiment 13] As the image forming liquid, the image forming liquid 2A containing the same coloring material as in Embodiment 5 was used, the heating source was the thermal head 1, and the apparatus constitution was as shown in FIG. Recording is performed directly on a commercially available OHP sheet) 27, and the recording medium 27 is recorded by the thermal head 1 in 1 of 1 line.
When the thermal head 1 was heated to about 120 ° C. according to the image signal while applying a pressure of about 320 g per cm, good printing was obtained on the recording medium 27.

[Embodiment 14] The image forming liquid 2A containing a coloring material and the same cleaner as in Embodiment 7 are used, the image carrier 7 is a fluorine resin (Teflon etc.), the heating source is the thermal head 1, and the apparatus. When the configuration is as shown in FIG. 27, the thermal head 1 is heated to about 120 ° C. according to an image signal to form an image on the image carrier 7, and the image is transferred to a recording medium (recording paper, OHP sheet, etc.). Good print was obtained.

[Embodiment 15] The same image forming liquid 2 and developing ink 3 as in Embodiment 3 are used, the heating source is the thermal head 1, the apparatus configuration is as shown in FIG. 28, and a recording medium (commercially available OHP) is used. When recording was performed directly on the sheet 27 and the thermal head 1 was heated to about 120 ° C. according to the image signal, good printing was obtained on the recording medium 27.

[Embodiment 16] The same image-forming liquid 2 as in Embodiment 1 is used, the image carrier 7 is made of a fluororesin (Teflon or the like), and the heating / pressurizing source is made of an aluminum cylinder (contact surface: φ).
2 mm) 29, the apparatus configuration is as shown in FIG. 29, and 200 g is applied to the image carrier 7 with the aluminum cylinder 29.
When heated to about 120 ° C. while applying the pressure of 2, good adhesion of resin fine particles to the image carrier 7 was obtained.

[Embodiment 17] The same image forming liquid 2 as in Embodiment 3 is used. The image carrier 7 is made of silicon rubber, the pressure source is made of an aluminum cylinder (contact surface: φ2 mm) 29, and the apparatus configuration is shown in FIG. When 1 kg of pressure was applied to the image carrier 7 by the aluminum cylinder 29, good adhesion of resin fine particles to the image carrier 7 was obtained.

The basic structure of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention and its embodiments have been described above. However, according to the above-mentioned image forming apparatus, an image is formed using a liquid image forming liquid having a low viscosity. The transfer material is not wasted, and high-speed image formation and recording can be performed at low cost. By the way, in the image forming apparatus having the above-mentioned basic structure, by the heating means, if the heating member (thermal head) is kept in contact with the image carrier, the image on the heating side and the image on the heating side are heated. In some cases, a sufficient liquid layer may not be secured between the image carrier and the carrier, and when heated, the resin fine particles may not be stably adhered to the image carrier. The present invention also takes this problem into consideration, and it is possible to form a sufficient liquid layer between the heating surface and the image carrier to stably adhere the resin fine particles to improve the resolution characteristics. An image forming apparatus is provided. That is, in the image forming apparatus of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the image forming apparatus using the heating unit (thermal head) described above, the heating member used for the heating unit or the image carrier is sandwiched to face the heating member. There is provided means for vibrating the image forming liquid supply section or the pressurizing member arranged at the position corresponding to the image information signal.

1 to 10, the details of the embodiment of the present invention will be described below. 1 to 4 show the configuration of a vibrating section applied to the image forming section in the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, and FIGS. 5 to 10 are FIGS.
6A and 6B are diagrams for explaining a method of controlling the vibrating unit in the device shown in FIG. FIG. 1 shows a case where the image carrier is formed in a drum shape. In this case, the image forming unit 30, the developing unit 40, and the transfer unit 5 are provided around the image carrier 7.
And a cleaning unit 8 are arranged respectively.

The above-mentioned image forming section 30 brings the image forming liquid 2 in which the resin fine particles are dispersed into contact with the image carrier 7 and, under the contact of the image forming liquid 2, heat and pressure are applied in accordance with the image information signal. By doing so, the resin fine particles are attached onto the image carrier 7 to form an image portion corresponding to a latent image. Therefore, the image forming section 30 is provided with an image forming liquid tank 30A containing the image forming liquid 2 in which resin particles are dispersed, and a recording layer of the image carrier 7 arranged on the image forming liquid tank 30A side. The thermal head 1 has heating surfaces facing each other.

The above-mentioned resin fine particles are, as described above,
A material that easily adheres to the image carrier 7 by heating and pressurization is used. For example, vinyl acetate resin, acrylic resin, wax, etc. are selected, and the resin fine particles to be dispersed are dispersed and stable so that the dispersibility is improved. In some cases, the agent is added, and the particle size is the same or smaller than that of one dot of the recording pixel.

On the other hand, the developing section 40 is adapted to perform the visible image processing by adhering the ink to the image area formed by the image forming section 30. Therefore, the coloring material is dispersed in the solvent liquid. Developing tank 40A containing the stored ink 3
And a developing roller 4 composed of a sponge roller, a part of which is immersed in the ink. The developing ink 3 used in the developing section 40 may be either dye-based or pigment-based as described above. When the resin fine particles are hydrophilic, water-based ink is selected, and when lipophilic, the oil-based ink is selected. . Incidentally, when the developing ink is dispersed in the image forming liquid together with the resin fine particles, the development is carried out simultaneously with the image formation by the image forming liquid, and the developing section can be omitted.
Further, even when an image forming liquid in which resin fine particles containing a coloring material are dispersed is used as a dispersion medium, development is performed at the same time as image formation by the image forming liquid, and the developing section can be omitted.

The transfer section is composed of a transfer roller 5 which faces the image carrier 7 with the recording paper 6 sandwiched therebetween, and transfers the image by pressing the recording paper 6 to a visible image on the image carrier 7. . Further, the cleaning unit 8 is made of a material capable of removing the image forming liquid or the image forming liquid containing a coloring material attached to the surface of the image carrier 1 without damaging the surface thereof. Blades and rollers made of rubber, sponge, etc. are selected.

Therefore, when it is desired to use such a structure for copying, after the second time, the thermal head 1 is separated from the image carrier 7 and developed on the resin fine particles adhered during the first image formation. Ink 3 is attached again and developed,
It suffices to perform the transfer onto the recording paper 6, and in the case of using as a printer for forming a new image, the resin fine particle image on the image carrier 7 is removed by the cleaning unit 8 to form a new image again. Good.

On the other hand, the thermal head 1 forming the heating member in the above-mentioned image forming section 30 is provided with the pressing member 36 at the end portion on the side opposite to the heating surface side, and the pressing member 36 is attached to the recording layer of the image carrier 7. The heating surface is pressurized. That is, the pressing member 36 is the thermal head 1 in the figure.
Is provided with a cantilever-like support 36A whose lower end is integrated with a free end.
On the other hand, it has a piezoelectric body 36B for displacing the thermal head 1 in a direction in which the thermal head 1 comes into contact with and separates from it. This piezoelectric body 36B
Is adapted to be selectively set between an original state and a state of extending from this state according to a voltage application from a control unit in which a control method described later with reference to FIGS. 5 to 10 is used. As shown in FIG. 1, a bimorph type that faces the upper and lower surfaces of the support 36A or a unimorph type that faces one side is selected, and the thermal head 1 is brought into contact with or separated from the image carrier 7. The posture is set and the heating surface of the thermal head is vibrated to expand and contract the gap between the image carrier 7 and the heating surface. Further, the piezoelectric body 36B may have a structure in which the piezoelectric body 36B is directly brought into contact with and fixed to the support body 36A.

On the other hand, FIG. 2 shows a case where the image carrier 7 is formed in a belt shape. Image forming unit 3 in this case
The configuration of 0 is such that the image carrier 7 is sandwiched between the image forming liquid tank 30.
The thermal head 1 is disposed so as to face A, and the heating surface is pressed from the back side of the image carrier 7 to heat the image carrier 7 and the image forming liquid 2 from the image forming liquid tank 30A. Therefore, a pressure member 37 for pressing the image carrier 7 against the thermal head 1 is provided in the image forming liquid tank 30A.
The image carrier 7 is located in the image forming liquid tank 30A.
And a roller facing the thermal head 1. The pressure member 37 is provided with a piezoelectric body 37A on a part of its supporting portion.
Are configured by a single layer or a laminated structure arranged along the displacement direction of the pressure member 37, that is, the direction in which the pressure member 37 is moved toward and away from the image carrier 7.

Next, in the structure of the image forming unit 30 shown in FIG. 3, the thermal head 1 is arranged at a position facing the image forming liquid tank 30A with the image carrier 7 sandwiched therebetween, as in the case shown in FIG. In this case, the thermal head 1
The pressing member 38 used to press the image bearing member 7 on the heating surface of is formed with a pressing portion 38B having a convex portion facing the image bearing member 7 instead of the roller shown in FIG. It is constituted by a cantilever-like support 38A having a free end. Further, a piezoelectric body 38C is arranged on the lower side in the drawing so as to face the support body 38A of the pressure member 38, and the pressure portion 38B is attached to the image carrier 7 by displacing the free end of the support body 38A. It is designed to vibrate.

On the other hand, the image forming section 30 shown in FIG. 4 has a structure for supplying the image forming liquid 2 toward the image carrier 7 by the supply belt 30D. In this case, the thermal head 1 supplies the image forming liquid 2. Located inside the belt 30D,
It faces the image carrier 7. A pressure roller 10 for pressing the image carrier 7 against the heating surface of the thermal head 1 is arranged at a position facing the thermal head 1 with the image carrier 7 interposed therebetween. As a pressing member of the thermal head 1 to the image carrier 7 in this configuration, the thermal head 1 is pressed against the pressure roller 10 to press the image carrier 7 against the heating surface. Therefore, in the thermal head 1, the piezoelectric body 31 is arranged on the side opposite to the image carrier 7. The piezoelectric body 31 is arranged in a single layer or a laminated state along the direction in which the thermal head 1 is brought into contact with and separated from the image carrier 7.

Although not shown in the drawing, for example, a rotating member having a polygonal shape or a concave-convex shape is used as the structure for causing the vibration in the heating section or the pressing section in the image forming section. It is also possible to directly contact the member to be vibrated, that is, the heating member or the pressing member, and generate the vibration in accordance with the rotation of the rotating member.

As described above, in the image forming unit shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the heating unit for the image carrier 7 or the pressure unit for pressing the image carrier to the heating unit is vibrated to carry out image carrying. Since the liquid layer of the image forming liquid that penetrates between the body 7 and the heating unit or between the image bearing member 7 and the pressure unit expands and contracts during vibration, it is possible to promote the infiltration of the image forming liquid, and thereby a sufficient liquid can be obtained. Since it becomes possible to secure a layer, the resin fine particles contained in the image forming liquid are used as the image carrier 7.
It is possible to stabilize without adhering the adhering amount when it adheres.

On the other hand, such vibration is caused by
It is controlled by the method shown in. That is, in FIGS. 5 and 6, the case where a voltage based on a sine wave is used as the voltage applied to the piezoelectric body in the piezoelectric body control section shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, and in FIG. 7, a pulse voltage is used. Each case is shown. By the way, when the piezoelectric body is driven by the periodic wave voltage, two methods can be selected depending on whether the frequency is variable or constant,
When the frequency is constant, two methods can be selected depending on whether to change the number of pulses per dot or during the image formation for one row of the heating element of the heating unit or not.

Therefore, each case will be described in the following description. FIG. 5 shows a case where the frequency of the drive voltage of the piezoelectric body and the number of pulses when forming an image of 1 dot are not changed. In this case, the frequency is 1 dot (1 pixel) of image forming. It is determined by how many times the heating section, the image forming liquid supply section or the pressurizing section is vibrated while carrying out the step, and the moving speed of the image carrier. In this case, since the vibrating target part such as the heating part, the image forming liquid supply part or the pressurizing part constantly vibrates, the power consumption by the piezoelectric body increases, but a circuit for changing the frequency and the number of pulses is provided. Since it is not necessary, there is an advantage that the circuit configuration for vibration control becomes simple.

Regarding the supply of energy to the heating unit in this case, from the viewpoint of having the best effect for efficient adhesion of the resin fine particles, the heating unit heated per dot is used. It is necessary to consider how many times the image carrier is approached. For example, FIG. 5 (B)
Is set to vibrate 5 times per dot, but if the number of times the heated heating portion is brought close to the image carrier is 3 times, the remaining 2 times of the number of vibrations About to stop the supply of energy. By such control, the image forming liquid is supplied between the image carrier 1 and the heating unit, or between the image carrier and the pressure member, or between the image carrier and the image forming liquid supply unit. It is possible to sufficiently secure the power consumption and suppress excessive power consumption in the heating unit.

On the other hand, FIG. 6 shows a case where the frequency of the piezoelectric body driving voltage and the number of pulses during image formation per dot are changed. In this case, FIG.
In the above, by changing the frequency and the number of pulses of the driving voltage of the piezoelectric body at the time of forming an image for the first dot and the frequency and the number of pulses of the driving voltage at the time of forming an image for the subsequent one dot, The size can be changed. That is, in FIG. 6, by setting 3 pulses for the first dot and setting 4 pulses for the subsequent 1 dot, since the frequency of the initial frequency is lower, For the distance of the image carrier that moves while vibrating three times, and for the distance of the image carrier that moves four times for the subsequent one dot, the first one dot becomes longer. If it is being heated, the heating time will be lengthened, and as a result, the dots will be formed larger due to the increased amount of the resin fine particles attached.

As described above, by changing not only the frequency but also the number of times of vibration during the image formation of one dot, it is possible to finely change the formed image. Further, as a method for finely changing the size of the image formed as described above, although not shown in detail, for example, the number of vibrations (the number of pulses) during the image formation of 1 dot with the frequency kept constant is A method of changing the frequency or a method of varying the frequency and not controlling the number of pulses as shown in FIG. 6 may be used.

Further, FIG. 7 shows an example in which the piezoelectric body is driven by using the pulse voltage. In this case, the pulse train is set by switching the DC voltage or by changing the frequency of the vibrator. It can be done easily by dividing the frequency. For example, in the case of switching, the frequency and the number of pulses can be easily changed depending on the switching timing and speed, which is a convenient method.

By the way, regarding the above-mentioned vibration control to the piezoelectric body, when the heating portion is driven by a sinusoidal voltage, for example, when it is desired to set the image carrier to a high temperature, FIG.
As shown in (B), the frequency of the drive voltage to the piezoelectric body and the number of pulses are increased to increase the number of vibrations corresponding to the number of times of energy supply to the heating unit, and when pulse voltage is used. When it is desired to set the image carrier to a high temperature, it is possible to maintain the ON state and continue contact with the image carrier. With such a setting, power consumption increases. Therefore, even when the pulse voltage is used, when it is desired to raise the temperature of the image carrier with low power consumption, it is preferable to increase the frequency and the number of pulses as in the case of the sinusoidal voltage.

On the other hand, in terms of improving the heating efficiency, it is possible to increase the pressure of the heating section, the image forming liquid supply section, or the pressurizing section. In this case as well, the above method can be used. However, it is more effective to increase the displacement of the piezoelectric body by increasing the amplitude of the drive voltage of the piezoelectric body than in such a method. In addition, in the vibration control of the piezoelectric body using the sine wave and the pulse voltage, in order to vibrate the heated heating portion in the pulse for one dot to adhere the resin fine particles to the image carrier. It is also possible to improve the adhesion of the resin fine particles by applying only the pulse and the heating at a temperature lower than the heating temperature without heating the heating part.

By the way, as a method for vibrating the heating part, the image forming liquid supply part or the pressurizing part by using the above-mentioned piezoelectric material, the image carrier and the vibrating part corresponding thereto can be used without changing the amplitude of vibration. There is a way to change the distance between them.
8 and 9 show an example of this case. In FIG. 8, two types of piezoelectric bodies are used, and in FIG. 9, one type of piezoelectric body is used. That is, the example shown in FIG. 8 is intended for the pressing structure of the thermal head 1 shown in FIG. 1, and in this supporting structure, it is provided for the support 36A of the pressing member 36 shown in FIG. The piezoelectric body 36B is a first piezoelectric body, and in addition to the first piezoelectric body 36B, the second piezoelectric body 32 having a single layer or a laminated structure arranged along the displacement direction of the thermal head 1 is provided. ing. Then, a voltage (V) is always applied to the first piezoelectric body 36B, a certain amount of displacement is set in advance, and the heating surface of the thermal head 1 is brought close to the image carrier 7, and this state is set. Then, the second piezoelectric body 32 is vibrated. According to such a method, as compared with the method shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the distance between the image carrier and the heating unit can be determined based on the displacement amount that brings the heating unit closer to the image carrier in advance. It is possible to selectively set the relationship of, by this, the pressure applied to the image carrier and the temperature of the image carrier set by this pressure,
It can be changed more finely.

The example shown in FIG. 9 is applied to the pressing structure of the thermal head 1 shown in FIG. 1, and the direct current component voltage V1 (or V1 ') is applied to the piezoelectric body 36B. Further, a pulse voltage is applied. Also in this case, as in the case shown in FIG. 8, the heating surface of the thermal head 1 is moved to the image carrier 7 by applying a DC partial pressure.
Since it can be brought closer to the side in advance, the pressure applied to the image carrier can be set by selectively setting the relationship between the amount of displacement and the distance between the image carrier 7 and the heating surface of the thermal head 1. Further, the temperature of the image carrier set by this pressurization can be changed more finely. That is, by setting the position of the heating surface of the thermal head 1 with respect to the image carrier 7 in advance, a gap between the heating surface facing the image carrier 1 with this position as a reference or an image forming liquid supply unit. The amount of expansion of the gap between the image carrier and the pressure member can be selected and set.
It is possible to finely adjust the pressure applied to the and the temperature at the image carrier 7.

Next, a method of supplying energy to the heating section will be described. As described in the vibration control, when n times of vibration is performed for image formation in a state where the heating unit is vibrating, the energy is supplied to the heating unit at all the number of times of vibration. Although it is possible to do so, such a thing causes an increase in power consumption in the heating unit. Therefore, in this embodiment, energy is supplied to the heating section by the following method. FIG. 10 shows the heating portion for the image carrier 7, in this case the vibration position when the heating surface of the thermal head 1 vibrates. The difference between (A) and (B) is that the image carrier 7 is different. On the other hand, it is the case where the heating surface is in contact (A) and the case where it is not in contact (B). That is, the supply of energy to the heating unit goes from the level A corresponding to the position farthest from the image carrier 1 to the level B corresponding to the position closest to or in contact with the image carrier 7. In the vibration cycle of returning to level A again, the state of level B is set to a state in which energy is supplied to the heating unit at least once or for a moment.

Therefore, for example, heating is started in the state of level A, the state of level B is reached, and the level B is changed to the level A.
The energy supply may be stopped at the moment of returning to, or the energy supply may be started during the transition from level A to level B and stopped between the return from level B to level A. Alternatively, in an extreme case, the supply of energy may be started after reaching the level B, and the supply of energy may be stopped during the state of the level B. Such energy supply setting is an example, and it goes without saying that it is not limited to this in the sense of satisfying the reduction of power consumption in the heating section and the reduction of the burden such as thermal fatigue in the heating section. Therefore, by setting such energy supply, that is, once stopping the energy supply, it is possible to reduce the power consumption and the burden on the heating unit.

[0069]

As described above, according to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the image carrier or the image forming liquid is heated and / or pressurized under the contact of the image forming liquid in which the resin fine particles are dispersed in the dispersion medium. As a result, the resin fine particles are attached to the image carrier to form the image area corresponding to the latent image, so that high-speed image formation and recording can be performed at low cost. Further, by using an image forming liquid in which resin particles are dispersed in a dispersion medium and containing a coloring material, or an image forming liquid in which resin particles containing a coloring material are dispersed in a dispersion medium is used, it is possible to form an image at the same time as image formation by the resin particles. Imaging (development) can be performed. Therefore, the developing unit is not required, and high-speed image formation and recording can be performed at a lower cost. Furthermore, since the gap forming the liquid layer between the image carrier and the image bearing member can be expanded or contracted by vibrating the heating unit or the pressurizing unit, a sufficient liquid layer of the image forming liquid can be formed in the gap at each vibration. This can be ensured, and the resin fine particles can be stably attached to the image carrier.

Further, according to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, since the frequency and the amplitude when vibrating the heating section or the pressing section can be changed, the image carrier of the image carrier can be changed according to the environmental conditions and the image information signal. The temperature, pressure, liquid layer supply method, etc. can be adjusted, and the finer image density can be controlled by stabilizing the adhesion of the resin particles to the image carrier and controlling the adhesion amount of the resin particles.

Further, according to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, by changing the gap between the heating portion and the image carrier according to the image information signal, the image can be formed according to the ambient environment condition or the image information signal. The temperature of the carrier, the pressure, the method of supplying the liquid layer, etc. can be adjusted more finely, and the stabilization of the adhesion of the resin particles to the image carrier and the control of the amount of the resin particles adhering to provide a finer image. The concentration can be controlled.

According to the present invention, the energy is supplied to the heating unit in such a manner that the energy is supplied to the heating unit when the heating unit comes closest to the image carrier. Therefore, even when the image carrier is heated a plurality of times in the same dot, the power consumption in the heating unit can be suppressed low.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing another modified example of the pressure structure used in the image forming unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a modified example of the image forming unit illustrated in FIG.

5 is a timing chart for explaining a method of controlling the vibration mechanism in the image forming unit shown in FIGS. 1 to 4. FIG.

FIG. 6 is a timing chart for explaining another control method of the vibration mechanism in the image forming unit shown in FIGS. 1 to 4.

FIG. 7 is a timing chart for explaining still another control method of the vibration mechanism in the image forming unit shown in FIGS. 1 to 4.

8A is a layout diagram schematically showing a modified example of the vibration mechanism used in the image forming unit of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 8B is a control method of the vibration mechanism shown in FIG. 8A. 3 is a timing chart for explaining the above.

9A is a layout diagram schematically showing another example of the vibration mechanism used in the image forming unit of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 9B is a control of the vibration mechanism shown in FIG. 9A. 6 is a timing chart for explaining the method.

FIG. 10 is a layout diagram showing a positional relationship between the heating unit and the image carrier regarding an energy supply method of the heating unit in the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, FIG.
(B) shows the case where the heating unit approaches, and (B) shows the case where the heating unit contacts the image carrier.

FIG. 11 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a basic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 12A is a diagram showing a state in which image formation is performed in the presence of an image forming liquid containing a color material, and FIG.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which developing ink is attached on a resin fine particle image.

FIG. 13 is a main part configuration diagram showing another example of the basic configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a main part configuration diagram showing another example of the basic configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a partially cutaway sectional view showing an example of a drum-shaped image carrier.

16 (a) and 16 (b) are partially cutaway sectional views of two examples of belt-shaped image bearing members.

17A and 17B are explanatory diagrams of forming an image on an image carrier by the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 11.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing still another configuration example of the basic configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing still another configuration example of the basic configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing only a main part of still another configuration example of the basic configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing only a main part of still another configuration example of the basic configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing still another configuration example of the basic configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing only a main part of still another configuration example of the basic configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing only a main part of still another configuration example of the basic configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing only a main part of still another configuration example of the basic configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing only a main part of another basic configuration example of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing only a main part of still another configuration example of the basic configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 28 is a diagram showing only a main part of still another configuration example of the basic configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing only a main part of still another configuration example of the basic configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 30 is a diagram showing only a main part of still another configuration example of the basic configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 31 is a diagram showing only a main part of still another configuration example of the basic configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... Heating part (thermal head etc.) 2 ... Image forming liquid 2A ... Image forming liquid containing color material 3 ... Developing ink 4 ... Developing roller 5 ... Transfer roller 6 ... -Recording paper 7, 7 '... Image carrier 8 ... Cleaner 9 ... Resin fine particles 10 ... Pressing roller (pressure roller) 14 ... Image carrier feeding roller 15 ... Color material 16 ... Dispersion medium 17 ... Infrared source 18 ... Lens 19 ... Infrared absorbing material 20 ... Support film 22 ... Drive unit 23 ... Pressing unit 24 ... Solenoid 25. ..Spring 26 ... Ferromagnetic material 28 ... Recording material feeding roller 29 ... Heating / pressurizing member 30 ... Image forming unit 30A ... Image forming liquid tank 30D ... Supply belt 31, 32, 36B, 37A, 38C ... Piezoelectric body 36, 7, 38 ... pressure member 36A, 38A ··· support 38B ··· pressurizing

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification number Reference number within the agency FI Technical display location B41M 5/26 8305-2H B41M 5/26 A (72) Inventor Yasuo Katano Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo 1-3-6, Ricoh Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hideki Tomono 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo, Ricoh Co., Ltd.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An image forming liquid in which resin particles are dispersed in a dispersion medium, an image forming liquid in which resin particles are dispersed in a dispersion medium and a coloring material is contained, or resin particles in which a coloring material is contained is dispersed in a dispersion medium. In a state where the image forming liquid and the liquid-repellent image bearing member are in contact with each other, the image bearing member or the image forming liquid is selectively heated and / or heated by a pressure unit according to an image information signal. And / or a device of a type in which resin particles are adhered to the surface of the image carrier by applying pressure, and the device is arranged at a position facing the heating member used for the heating means or the image carrier with the image carrier held in between. An image forming apparatus characterized by vibrating an image forming liquid supply unit or a pressure member existing therein according to the image information signal. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vibration frequency and amplitude of the heating member, the image forming liquid supply member and the pressurizing unit are changed according to the image information signal. Image forming apparatus. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a structure in which a gap between an image carrier and a heating member facing the image carrier is changed according to an image information signal. An image forming apparatus characterized in that 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, claim 2 or claim 3, wherein energy is supplied to the heating part when the heating part of the heating member is at least closest to the image carrier. An image forming apparatus characterized by.