JPH068481A - Recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a recording device which can perform thermal printing at low running cost. CONSTITUTION:A recording device is composed of a light switch drum 1, a light source 11, a power source 9 and the like, and the light switch drum 1 is composed of a transparent first electrode 3, a photosensitive layer 4, a heat development resistance element layer 5, a second electrode 6 and a protective layer 7 laminated successively on a cylindrical transparent base 2, while a light source which can scan the photosensitive layer 4 through the transparent base 2 and the first electrode 3 is used as a light source 11, and voltage V is applied to the first electrode 3 by the power source 9 through a switch SW to the second grounded electrode.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording device used in facsimiles, printers, copiers and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a thermal head recording method has been mainly used as a recording method using a thermal head used in a facsimile, but in recent years, due to reasons such as preservability after recording, plain paper is used. A thermal transfer method capable of recording has been considered. In this thermal transfer recording method, a thermal head in which a heating resistor is formed on a pixel-by-pixel basis is used to heat an ink film previously coated with a heat-meltable ink on the film in accordance with a pixel signal, so that the ink film on the ink film is heated. This is a method in which a heat-soluble ink is melt-transferred onto plain paper.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a conventional thermal transfer recording apparatus. Ink film 75 is reel 7
2 is supplied between the thermal head 70 and the platen 71 via the roller 73, and wound on the reel 74. As the recording paper 76 moves in synchronization with the movement of the ink film 75 and the head 70a of the thermal head 70 selectively generates heat based on the print signal, as shown in a partially enlarged view of FIG. The hot-melt ink 77 previously applied to the surface of the ink film 75 is melted and adheres to the surface of the recording paper 76 as the printed ink 78.

In this way, recording is performed while the ink film 75 and the recording paper 76 and the thermal head 70 move relatively.

[0005]

However, in the conventional thermal transfer recording apparatus, the ink film is expensive, and the ink film that has been transferred once is usually difficult to recycle. Therefore, the thermal transfer recording apparatus itself cannot be reused. While it has an advantage that the cost is low, there is a problem that the running cost due to the use of the ink film is high.

An object of the present invention is to provide a recording apparatus capable of performing a thermal printing operation at a low running cost in order to solve the above-mentioned problems.

[0007]

According to the present invention, a transparent first electrode, a photosensitive layer, a heating resistor layer, a second electrode, and a protective layer are sequentially formed on a cylindrical transparent substrate. An optical switch drum, a light source for exposing the photosensitive layer through the transparent substrate and the first electrode, and a power source for applying a voltage between the first electrode and the second electrode are provided. It is a characteristic recording device.

Further, the present invention is characterized by comprising ink holding means for adhering ink to the surface of the optical switch drum, and a heater for heating the ink of the ink holding means.

Further, according to the present invention, an ink holding means for adhering ink to the surface of the optical switch drum, and a second light source for irradiating the photosensitive layer with light to heat the ink of the ink holding means. It is characterized by having.

The present invention is also characterized in that the first electrode of the optical switch drum has a positive potential and the second electrode has a ground potential.

[0011]

According to the present invention, on a cylindrical transparent substrate,
A transparent first electrode, a photosensitive layer, a heating resistor layer, and a second transparent electrode.
An optical switch drum on which an electrode and a protective layer are formed, a light source that exposes a photosensitive layer via a transparent substrate and a first electrode, and a power supply for applying a voltage between the first electrode and the second electrode. When the photosensitive layer is exposed with the voltage applied between the first electrode and the second electrode, the specific resistance of the exposed portion of the photosensitive layer decreases and a current flows locally,
The heating resistor layer corresponding to the exposed portion will generate heat. Therefore, a thermal printing medium such as thermal paper or ink film is conveyed at a predetermined speed while being in close contact with the optical switch drum, and the light amount distribution in the photosensitive layer is temporally and spatially modulated based on the print signal, The thermal printing operation corresponding to the print signal is performed.

Further, ink is previously applied to the surface of the optical switch drum by providing ink holding means for adhering ink to the surface of the optical switch drum and a heater for heating the ink of the ink holding means. Therefore, thermal transfer recording can be performed without using an ink film.

Further, by providing the ink holding means for adhering the ink to the surface of the optical switch drum and the second light source for irradiating the heat sensitive layer with light in order to heat the ink of the ink holding means, The ink in the vicinity of the surface of the optical switch drum can be efficiently melted and uniform ink application can be performed.

Further, since the first electrode of the optical switch drum has a positive potential and the second electrode has a ground potential,
An electric field is not generated between the second electrode and the ink holding unit, and it is possible to prevent current leakage to the ink holding unit.

[0015]

1 is a sectional view showing a recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The recording device is composed of an optical switch drum 1, a light source 11, a power source 9, and the like. The optical switch drum 1 is formed on a cylindrical transparent substrate 2 made of glass or the like in order by vapor deposition or spattering. A transparent first film made of indium tin oxide (ITO) or Al thin film having a thickness of 0.5 μm to 3 μm formed by tunning or the like.
Electrode 3 and plasma CVD (Plasma Chemical Vapor Deposition
position) etc. to a thickness of 0.1 μm to 2 μm, preferably about 1 μm, and a photosensitive layer 4 made of amorphous silicon or selenium-based semiconductor material, and a thickness of 200 Å to 0.5 μm, preferably by vapor deposition or spattering. Is tantalum nitride TaN _x formed to about 1000Å
And a heating resistor layer 5 made of, for example, and having a thickness of 0.5 μm to 2 μm, preferably about 1 by vapor deposition or sputtering.
The second electrode 6 made of Al, Cu or the like having a thickness of μm
And a thickness of 3 μm to 8 by vapor deposition or spattering.
and a protective layer 7 made of silicon nitride Si ₃ N ₄ or the like having a thickness of μm.

As the light source 11, a light source capable of optically scanning the photosensitive layer 4 via the transparent substrate 2 and the first electrode 3 is used. For example, an LED in which a large number of LED (light emitting diode) elements are linearly arranged. An LED head including an array and a fiber lens, a laser scanning optical system in which a laser and a scanning mirror are combined, and the like are used.

The power source 9 applies a voltage V to the first electrode 3 via the switch SW with respect to the grounded second electrode 6.

FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of the recording apparatus shown in FIG. In the area other than the recording area of the optical switch drum 1, the brushes 9a and 9b connected to the power source 9 come into contact with the first electrode 3 and the second electrode 6 so as to be exposed. A mechanism is adopted in which the voltage application between the first electrode 3 and the second electrode 6 is not interrupted even by the rotation of 1 in the CW direction.

Next, the principle of printing operation of the recording apparatus constructed as above will be described with reference to the partial sectional view of FIG. Recording paper 31 such as thermal paper or ink film 31
Is conveyed while contacting the area exposed by the light source 11 by the rotation of the platen 30, and the light source 1
The light modulated from No. 1 based on the print signal is applied to the photosensitive layer 4 through the transparent substrate 2 and the transparent first electrode 3. A voltage V is applied between the first electrode 3 and the second electrode 6, and the photosensitive layer 4 in the exposed portion indicated by the double hatched line in FIG. When the specific resistance changes from high resistance to low resistance, a current flows through the exposed portion toward the heating resistor layer 5, and Joule heat is generated in the hatched region in FIG. The Joule heat generated in the heating resistor layer 5 conducts through the protective layer 7 and heats the recording paper 31. On the other hand, since the photosensitive layer 4 in the region where the light from the light source 11 is not irradiated is in a high resistance state, almost no current flows, and the Joule heat generated is also small. In this way, the recording paper 31 is selectively heated in accordance with the light modulation. The sensitivity characteristic shown in FIG. 4 is merely an example.
In general, a photosensitive layer having steeper sensitivity characteristics has a better contrast ratio of a recorded image, and a preferable result can be obtained.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a recording apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. The recording apparatus includes an optical switch drum 1 shown in FIG. 1 and a photosensitive layer 4 of the optical switch drum 1.
The light source 11 for exposing the light, a power source (not shown) for applying a voltage between the first electrode 3 and the second electrode 6 of the optical switch drum 1, and the ink 20 on the surface of the optical switch drum 1. An ink tank 24 as an ink holding means for adhering the ink, a heater 25 for heating the ink 20 in the ink tank 24, a heater power supply 26 for supplying electric power to the heater 25, a recording paper 31 on the optical switch drum 1. It is composed of a platen 30 and the like for closely contacting with each other. The principle of printing operation in the present embodiment is the same as that described above, and therefore its explanation is omitted, except that ink is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the optical switch drum 1.

The ink 20 heated by the heater 25 and melted is present in the ink tank 24.
As the heat transfer ink, a heat-meltable ink used in a general heat transfer ink film or the like, for example, an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer and a pigment such as carbon black dispersed in a wax having a melting point of about 70 ° C. is used. By rotating in the CW direction while the outer peripheral surface of the optical switch drum 1 is in contact with the ink 20, the fluid ink 20 adheres to the surface of the protective layer 7 of the optical switch drum 1 with a uniform film thickness, and a predetermined thickness is obtained. Ink 21 solidified by heat dissipation after the passage of time
Is formed.

Along with the rotation of the optical switch drum 1, the recording paper 31 is conveyed while being brought into close contact with the optical switch drum 1 by the rotation of the platen 30, and the ink 21 positioned in the exposure area of the light source 11 is heated by the heating resistor. Ink 22 that has been melted and softened again by Joule heat in layer 5
Is formed and adheres to the recording paper 31 as the printed ink 23.

Ink 21 remaining on the optical switch drum 1
Is soaked in the ink 20 in the ink tank 24 and becomes liquid again, and the ink 21 reduced by the adhesion to the recording paper 31 is replenished by the adhesion of the ink 20. On the surface of the optical switch drum 1, it is preferable to form a mesh of about 500 mesh woven with a wire made of polyamide resin, polyester resin, or the like, or foamed rubber in order to facilitate the attachment of ink. .

In this way, thermal transfer recording can be performed without using an expensive ink film. Note that minute defects such as cracks and pinholes may occur in the protective layer 7 of the optical switch drum 1, and the ink 2
If the second electrode 6 is set to a positive potential with respect to the potential of the ink 20 when impurities such as Cl ⁻ ions are included in 0, the impurities in the ink 20 are attracted to the second electrode 6 and electrode deterioration is caused. As it may occur, the second electrode 6
Is preferably set to the ground potential which is the potential of the ink 20.

FIG. 6 is a cutaway perspective view showing an example of the light source 11 used in the recording apparatus according to the present invention. Light source 11
Is an LED array A in which a plurality of LEDs are arranged in a straight line.
1 to An are arranged in a large number in a straight line, and the driving circuit D
1 by a predetermined LED based on the print signal from the outside
Is controlled, and the LED arrays A1 to A1 are controlled.
A fiber lens array 12 that linearly focuses the light emitted from An is integrally fixed.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing a recording apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. The recording apparatus in this embodiment is
The structure is similar to that of the recording apparatus shown in FIG.
5 is different in that a second light source 27 such as a halogen lamp is provided inside the optical switch drum 1.

In the ink tank 24, powdery ink 20a made of the material described in FIG. 5 is present. The outer peripheral surface of the optical switch drum 1 rotates in the CW direction while being in contact with the powdery ink 20a, and the light source 27 irradiates the heat generating resistor layer 5 in the light irradiating portion to generate heat. By heating and melting the powdery ink 20a near the surface, the fluid ink 20 adheres to the surface of the protective layer 7 of the optical switch drum 1 with a uniform film thickness. Thereafter, similarly to the above, the recording operation is performed while the recording paper 31 is conveyed at a predetermined speed by the rotation of the optical switch drum 1 and the platen 30.

Ink 21 remaining on the optical switch drum 1
Is melted again by the Joule heat generated in the heating resistor layer 5 by the light irradiation of the light source 27, and the recording paper 3
The ink 21 reduced by the adhesion to the ink 1 is replenished by the adhesion of the powdery ink 20a. As in FIG. 5, it is preferable that a mesh of about 500 mesh, foamed rubber, or the like be formed on the surface of the optical switch drum 1.

[0029]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to perform thermal transfer recording with a novel configuration that has not been available in the past, and it is possible to perform thermal printing without using an ink film whose running cost is expensive.

Further, since the supply mechanism for supplying the ink film is not required, it is possible to reduce the size of the recording apparatus as a whole.

Further, since the second electrode of the optical switch drum is at the ground potential, it is possible to prevent electrode corrosion of the optical switch drum and to provide a recording apparatus having a long life.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a recording apparatus that is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the recording apparatus of FIG.

3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the recording apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing sensitivity characteristics of a photosensitive layer used in the recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a recording apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a cutaway perspective view showing an example of a light source 11 used in the recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing a recording apparatus which is another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a conventional thermal transfer recording apparatus.

9 is a partially enlarged view of the thermal transfer recording device shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Optical Switch Drum 2 Transparent Substrate 3 First Electrode 4 Photosensitive Layer 5 Heating Resistor Layer 6 Second Electrode 7 Protective Layer 9 Power Supply 9a, 9b Brush 11 Light Source 12 Fiber Lens Array 20, 21, 22, 23 Ink 24 Ink Tank 25 heater 26 heater power supply 27 light source 30 platen 31 recording paper

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An optical switch drum in which a transparent first electrode, a photosensitive layer, a heating resistor layer, a second electrode, and a protective layer are sequentially formed on a cylindrical transparent substrate, and the transparency. A recording apparatus comprising: a light source for exposing the photosensitive layer via a substrate and a first electrode; and a power supply for applying a voltage between the first electrode and the second electrode. 2. The ink holding means for adhering ink to the surface of the optical switch drum, and the heater for heating the ink of the ink holding means are provided. Recording device. 3. An ink holding unit for adhering ink to the surface of the optical switch drum, and a second light source for irradiating the photosensitive layer with light in order to heat the ink of the ink holding unit. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 4. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first electrode of the optical switch drum has a positive potential and the second electrode has a ground potential.