JPH0768804A - Recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To contrive to make a recording high-quality or an improvement in durability of a recording device by preventing a principal part of the device from being deteriorated by heating by high-temperature at the time of recording, by a method wherein a heating medium which is heated by imparting heat to a recording material is formed of a high molecular material whose weight reduction at a specific temperature does not exceed a specific value. CONSTITUTION:Recorded paper 50 is supplied to a space between a plane base 4 and head part (recording part) 10. Then in the head part 10, after solid and powdery sublimating dyes 12 within a solid dye holding tank 11 are melted (liquefaction) by a heater 16, the liquid sublimating dyes 12' are supplied to glass beads 22 within an evaporation hole 17a in evaporation part 17 by a fixed quantity by making use of a capillarity of liquid dye holding tank 15. On the one hand, laser beams L generated by semiconductor laser chip 18 is converted into heat by a beam and heat converting body 21. Hereby, the liquid sublimating dyes 12' are evaporated and transferred to an image receiving layer 50a of the recorded paper 50. On this occasion, the beam and heat converting body 21 is formed of a high molecular material whose weight reduction at 350 deg.C is not exceeding 1% per hour.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording device, and more particularly to a thermal recording device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an object to be transferred such as a recording paper and a thermal transfer recording medium such as an ink sheet are superposed and selectively heated according to an image signal by using a heating means such as a thermal head or a laser beam. A thermal transfer recording method is widely used in which an image is recorded by transferring a dye from a thermal transfer recording medium to a transfer target by heating the recording material to a recording medium.

Among them, the so-called sublimation type thermal transfer recording method using a thermal diffusion dye such as a sublimation dye as a dye to be transferred has a small recording device, is easy to maintain, and has immediacy.
In addition, gradation can be obtained in the recorded image depending on the heating energy, and high-quality images comparable to silver salt color photographs can be obtained.In recent years, hard copy of images from video cameras, televisions, computer graphics, etc. It is attracting attention as a technology for doing this. In particular, the method using laser light is particularly in the spotlight because of the possibility of high resolution and energy saving.

The photothermal conversion layer conventionally used in the thermal transfer system using light is a photothermal conversion layer in which an appropriate amount of a light absorber such as carbon fine particles is dispersed in an appropriate polymer material serving as a binder. Is applied to a substrate such as a polyester film to a thickness of about 1 μm.

However, in the above photothermal conversion layer, the binder resin and the supporting film are partially thermally decomposed due to the high heat generated by the light irradiation, and a part of the photothermal converter and the binder resin is transferred together with the dye. Therefore, there is a problem that the quality of the recording result is deteriorated. Further, due to the above decomposition, the transfer member cannot be repeatedly used, and the ink sheet used as the transfer member cannot be reused and becomes a waste, which is not preferable in terms of environmental problems.

Even in the case of a recording system in which a thermal head is used and transfer is performed by directly utilizing the generated heat, the above-mentioned problem similarly occurs because the support film of the ink sheet is heated to a high temperature during recording.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and prevents deterioration of the components of the apparatus due to high temperature heating during recording, enables repeated use and is excellent in durability. It is also an object of the present invention to provide a recording apparatus that guarantees high-quality recording results.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has a heat medium for applying heat generated by a heating source to a recording material to heat the recording material, and transfers the recording material to a recording medium by the heating. The present invention relates to a recording device, which is used for thermal recording, in which at least a part of the heat medium is composed of a polymer material whose weight loss at 350 ° C. is 1% or less per hour.

The above numerical values define the standard of the allowable limit of deterioration of the heat medium.

In the present invention, light can be used as the heating source.

Further, in the present invention, there is provided a conversion and / or transfer member for converting the energy of the heating source into heat or for transferring this heat, and this member has a polymer material (for example, polyimide, aramid, etc.) having the above-mentioned properties. It is desirable to use a heat-resistant resin such as aromatic or epoxy.

[0012]

EXAMPLES Examples of the present invention will be described below.

First, an example will be described in which laser light is used as a heating source and recording is performed without bringing the apparatus and the recording medium into contact with each other.

Prior to the description of a specific embodiment, an outline of this recording method will be described with reference to FIG.

The semiconductor laser 18 is located above the photothermal conversion layer 21, and the recording paper 50 is located below the same. Recording paper 50
Has a dyeing resin layer (image receiving layer) 50a formed on the upper surface of the base paper 50b. The photothermal conversion section 21 and the image receiving layer 50a are opposed to each other with a gap d therebetween, and the size of the gap d is 10 to 100 μm, for example 60 μm.

The dye 12 or the fused dye 12 'is supplied to the lower side of the photothermal conversion layer 21, and the laser light L from the semiconductor laser 18 is converted into heat energy by the photothermal conversion layer 21.
Alternatively, 12 'is vaporized (or sublimated), and this is transferred to the image receiving layer 50a through the gap d, and is fixed and recording is performed.

In this system, since the recording dye lost during recording contains almost no binder resin, only the lost portion is flowed from the dye reservoir to the recording portion in a molten state, or continuously on an appropriate substrate. It is possible to continuously supply to the recording unit by applying the same and moving the substrate to the recording unit. Therefore, the recording body can be used many times in principle.

Further, since the recording dye layer and the recording medium do not come into contact with each other, the recording dye already transferred to the recording medium does not reversely transfer to a different recording dye layer and the image is not damaged. at the same time,
Since a small volume dye reservoir can be used to supply the recording dye, and no ink sheet (or ink ribbon) is used,
The printer device can be made smaller and lighter.

Further, since this recording system is a recording mechanism utilizing the vaporization or sublimation phenomenon of the recording dye, it is not necessary to heat the image receiving layer of the recording medium, and the ink sheet (or ink ribbon) and the recording medium are recorded. There is no need to press it against the body with high pressure. Further, since the recording material and the recording material do not come into direct contact with each other, heat fusion between the recording material and the recording material cannot occur, and even if the compatibility between the recording dye and the image receiving layer resin is small, recording is performed. It is possible. Therefore, the range of design and selection with respect to the recording dye and the image receiving layer resin is remarkably expanded.

As a heating means of this system, laser light and
A combination with a material (photothermal converter) that has absorption in the wavelength range of laser light and converts light energy into heat energy is used.

In this case, since laser light is used,
The resolution is remarkably improved, and by increasing the laser light density in the optical system, intensive heating becomes possible, the temperature reached is increased, and as a result, the thermal efficiency is improved. In particular,
By using a small multi-semiconductor laser with high energy efficiency, miniaturization, reliability, stability, low cost, long life, high speed, energy saving, and high image quality by easy modulation can be realized. However, as the heating means, a thermal head may be used instead of the laser, but in this case, a base film as a heat transfer medium can be used instead of the photothermal conversion layer 21.

Any recording dye that can be used in the recording (transfer) system as shown in FIG. 13 can be used as long as it has a vapor pressure of 1 Pascal or more in a vacuum in the range from room temperature to decomposition temperature. As such dyes, disperse dyes, oil-soluble dyes, leuco dyes, cationic dyes, oil-solubilized acid dyes,
It can be arbitrarily selected from dyes represented by oil-solubilized cationic dyes.

As the recording medium usable in this system, any recording medium can be used as long as it can receive and fix the recording dye.
As the image-receiving layer resin, polyester, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, cellulose esters, polycarbonate and the like, which have good compatibility with dyes having a high vapor pressure, can be used. However, in this method, the recording sensitivity is not governed by the compatibility between the dye and the image-receiving layer resin because there is a gap d between the dye supply body and the recording medium. Therefore, by using some kind of dye fixing means, plain paper, metal, glass, wood, ceramics and the like which are completely incompatible with ordinary recording dyes can be used.

Next, a concrete embodiment based on the principle described with reference to FIG. 13 will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a recording section (transfer section), FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a recording apparatus (thermal recording apparatus), and FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view of the recording section for explaining a recording mechanism according to this example. Is. First, the recording mechanism according to this example will be described with reference to FIGS.

In FIGS. 2 and 3, reference numeral 1 is a laser sublimation type color video printer (laser sublimation type printer), and a housing 2
On the frame chassis 2 covered with a, there are a cassette 3 for receiving the recording paper 50 and a flat base 4 for recording.

On the recording paper discharge port 2b side in the housing 2a,
A paper feed drive roller 6a that is driven by the motor 5 and the like is provided, and a pressure contact driven roller 6b that sandwiches the recording paper 50 with the paper feed drive roller 6a with a light pressure is provided. A head drive circuit board 7 on which a drive IC 80 is mounted and a DC power source 8 are provided above the cassette 3 in the housing 2a. The head drive circuit board 7 and the head portion (recording portion) 10 arranged on the plane base 4 are connected via a flexible harness 7a.

The head portion 10 is a sublimable dye 12 in the form of solid powder of yellow (Y), magenta (M) and cyan (C).
Y, 12M, and 12C (collectively indicated by reference numeral 12) solid dye storage tanks 11Y, 11M, and 11C (collectively indicated by reference numeral 11); and wear resistance made of a high-strength material located below Of the sublimable dye 12 in the form of solid powder in each of the solid dye storage tanks 11 is formed between the protective layer 13 and the head base 14 made of glass or transparent ceramics located on the upper side.
Narrow-path liquid dye storage tanks 15 that are heated and liquefied by a heater (heating element) 16 made of an electric resistor attached to the 14 side; liquefied sublimable dyes led from the respective liquid dye storage tanks 15 (Liquefied disperse dye) 12 'Each vaporizer 17 for vaporizing
Each semiconductor laser chip (laser light source) 18 that is attached to the head base 14 via a support board 19 and irradiates each vaporization section 17 with the laser light L is provided.

Inside the vaporizing holes 17a of each vaporizing section 17, a transparent heat insulating layer 20 attached to the head base 14 in order from the upper side;
A photothermal conversion layer 21 that is laminated on the transparent heat insulating layer 20 and absorbs the laser light L and converts it into heat; an adhesive layer 23; and this adhesive layer 23.
Glass beads 22 'as a holding layer for holding the liquefied liquefied sublimable dye 12' laminated on the photothermal conversion layer 21 via
And; are placed.

The transparent heat insulating layer 20 is made of transparent PET resin. The light-heat conversion layer 21 is formed by forming a cobalt-nickel alloy vapor deposition film on a polyimide film having heat resistance.

The glass beads 22 'have a diameter of 5 to 10 μm. The heater 16 is for diffusing and transferring the solid powdery sublimable dye 12 to the glass beads 22 'while heating and liquefying it.

Then, the recording paper 50 in the cassette 3 of the laser sublimation color video printer 1 is separated one by one and supplied between the flat base 4 and the head portion 10 and sent to the paper feed drive roller 6a. To be

The head portion 10 includes a pair of light load applying springs 9,
9 and the recording paper 50 is sandwiched between the flat base 4 and the light load (about
It is pressed with 50g). Also, the head unit 10 has 3
A large number of semiconductor laser chips 18 for colors (Y, M, C) are juxtaposed in three columns by three pixels. The dyes of the respective colors are heated and liquefied from the liquid dye storage tanks 11 (11Y, 11M, 11C) and supplied to the vaporization units 17 in a fixed amount.

That is, the sublimable dye 12 in the form of solid powder in each solid dye storage tank 11 is heated to the melting point by the heater 16 to be melted (liquefied), and the liquid sublimation property thus obtained is obtained. The dye 12 'is quantitatively supplied to the glass beads 22' in the vaporization holes 17a of each vaporization part 17 by the capillary phenomenon of each liquid dye storage tank 15.

In this state, when one recording paper 50 is sandwiched between the paper feed drive roller 6a and the pressure contact driven roller 6b, dot signals are sent to the head section 10 for each color line by line. Laser light L generated by the semiconductor laser chip 18 is converted into heat by each photothermal conversion layer 21.

As a result, each liquefied sublimable dye 12 'held on each glass bead 22' is vaporized, and Y, M, and
The image receiving layer 50 in which the vaporizing sublimable dye 12 "of C is applied to the surface of the recording paper 50 which is sent between the flat base 4 and the protective layer 13.
A is sequentially transferred from Y to M to C, and color printing is performed.

The principle of this printing mechanism will be described with reference to FIG. When the laser light L is steeply emitted from each semiconductor laser chip 18, the laser light L passes through the head base 14 made of glass or the like and the heat-resistant light-transmitting resin material 20 and the photothermal converter.
It reaches 21 and is converted into heat corresponding to the light distribution.

Due to this heat, the heat-resistant and light-transmitting resin material 20 is
As shown exaggeratedly in FIGS. 4 (a) to 4 (c), thermal expansion abruptly occurs, and as shown in FIG. 4 (c), the recording paper 50 is applied to the liquefied sublimable dye 12 'adhered to the light heat exchanger 21. The kinetic energy that flies toward the image receiving layer 50a is applied. As a result, FIG. 4 (d)
As shown in the above, the amount of the vaporizing sublimable dye 1 proportional to the above heat
2 "will adhere to the image receiving layer 50a of the recording paper 50,
The density gradation will be obtained.

In FIG. 4 (c), φ ₁ indicates the irradiation spot diameter of the laser beam L (for example, φ ₁ = 100 μm), and FIG.
In (d), φ ₂ represents the diameter of one dot (pixel) (for example, φ ₂ = 60 to 80 μm). In this way, the Y, M, and C vaporizing sublimable dyes of the vaporizing sublimable disperse dyes 12 ″ are sent to the image receiving layer 50a of the recording paper 50 which is sent between the flat base 4 and the protective layer 13 from Y → Color printing is performed in the order of M → C.

When an aromatic polyamide is used for the heat-resistant light-transmitting resin material 20, the heat resistance of the heat-resistant light-transmitting resin material 20 can be further improved and it can withstand continuous use.

In the head portion 50, each solid dye storage tank 11
A check valve 24 is provided at each connection port 28 between the liquid dye storage tank 15 and the liquid dye storage tank 15. Furthermore, the vaporization section in each liquid dye storage tank 15
Liquefaction sublimable dye 1 on the side of the vaporizing section 17 at the position facing 17
Dye pressurizing and supplying means (for example, vibrating body) 25 for efficiently pressurizing and supplying 2 ′ are provided respectively.

The dye pressurizing and supplying means 25 is composed of, for example, a bimorph or a piezo element, and continuously supplies the dye 12 'in the direction of the arrow by its vibration, but it is not always necessary to provide the dye 12'. 'Can be supplied continuously. The check valve 24 closes the connection port 28 when the dye pressurizing and supplying means 25 is pressurized and connects the connection port during depressurization and no pressure.
It is designed to open 28.

The sublimable dye 12 in the form of solid powder in each solid dye storage tank 11 is heated and liquefied by the heater 16 when the check valve 24 is opened to become a liquefied sublimable dye 12 '.
It will be stored within 15.

At the center of the vaporization hole 17a of each vaporization section 17, a heat-resistant, light-transmissive base material 20 attached to the head base 14 and having heat resistance, light transmission and heat insulation, A photothermal converter 21 that is laminated on the heat-resistant light-transmissive base material 20 and absorbs the laser light L to convert it into heat, and a liquid dye holder 22 that holds the liquefied sublimable dye 12 ′ that has been heated and liquefied by a capillary phenomenon. Beads 22 'are built in) and are arranged respectively.

The heat-resistant, light-transmitting base material 20 is, for example, 180
Made of transparent film material with heat resistance above ℃, thermal conductivity below 1W / m ° C, near infrared light transmittance above 85% (thickness 10μm), specific heat below 2J / g ℃, density below 3g / cm ^3. And
It is formed by being applied to the head base 14.

The photothermal converter 21 is made of, for example, a polyimide film, and a Ni-Co vapor deposition film may be formed on this film. Liquid dye holder 22
May be formed by directly forming a metal thin film on the photothermal conversion body 21 and processing the metal thin film into a mesh shape by etching or the like.

According to the laser sublimation color video printer 1 described above, the sublimable dye 12 in the form of solid powder in each solid dye storage tank 11 is heated to the melting point by the heater 16 and melted (liquefied). The liquefied sublimable dyes 12 'are transferred by the dye pressurizing supply means 25 in the liquid dye storage tanks 15 and the capillarity causes the heat-resistant, light-transmissive base material 20 in the vaporization holes 17a of the vaporization parts 17, and the photothermal conversion. It is supplied to the body 21 and the liquid dye holder 22 at a constant rate at high speed.

When one sheet of recording paper 50 is color printed, the dot signal is applied to the head portion for each color line by line.
The laser light L sent to the semiconductor laser chip 18 and converted to heat is converted into heat by each photothermal converter 21. As a result, each of the liquefied sublimable dyes 12 ′ held in each of the liquid dye holding bodies 22 is vaporized, and the vaporized disperse dyes 12 ″ of Y, M and C are thereby sent between the flat base 4 and the protective layer 13. The transferred image is transferred to the image receiving layer 50a of the recording paper 50 in the order of Y → M → C, and color printing is performed.

When the vibrating body 25 is provided in each liquid dye storage tank 15, a suitable light pressure is applied to the liquefied disperse dye 12 'in each liquid dye storage tank 15 so that the photothermal converter 21 and the liquid dye holder 22 are applied. A fixed amount of the liquefied disperse dye 12 'can be sent out and supplied at high speed. Also, liquid dye storage tank 15 and solid dye storage tank 11
By providing the check valve 24 at the connection port 28, it is possible to reliably prevent the liquefied disperse dye 12 ′ in the liquid dye storage tank 15 from returning to the solid dye storage tank 11.

Further, by providing the heater 16 in the liquid dye storage tank 15, the liquefied disperse dye 12 'can be heated and kept in a liquefied state at all times.

Further, the heat-resistant, light-transmissive base material 20 having an increased heat resistance makes it possible to obtain a structure which can withstand continuous use. Further, by stacking the photothermal converter 21 on the heat-resistant light-transmitting base material 20, while a structure that can withstand continuous use is possible,
The thermal conductivity can be increased, and even if the light energy distribution of the laser light L is non-uniform, such as a Gaussian distribution, thermal diffusion is quickly performed in the area direction, and a uniform temperature distribution can be realized, resulting in a uniform temperature distribution. Dye transfer can be performed.

Furthermore, the light-to-heat converter 21 is provided with a liquid dye holder.
22 is laminated, in particular, this liquid dye holder 22 is formed by a metal thin film processed into a mesh shape, and by adjusting the depth and pitch thereof, an appropriate amount of liquefied disperse dye required for recording is formed.
The liquid dye holder 22 can always hold the liquid dye 12 'reliably, and the photothermal converter 21 can always vaporize an appropriate amount of the liquefied disperse dye 12' necessary for recording. An adhesive layer is formed by directly forming the liquefied dye holder 22 on the photothermal converter 21.
23 can be omitted. As a result, the excess heat capacity can be eliminated and the thermal efficiency can be improved.

According to the printer 1 described above, since the dye lost during recording contains almost no binder resin, only the lost amount is flowed from the dye reservoir to the recording portion in a molten state, or an appropriate amount is lost. Applied continuously on a substrate,
The substrate can be continuously supplied to the recording unit by moving to the recording unit. Therefore, the recording unit can be used many times in principle.

Further, since the dye layer and the recording medium do not come into contact with each other, the recording dye already transferred to the recording medium does not reversely transfer to a different recording dye layer and the image is not damaged. At the same time, a small volume dye reservoir is used for dye supply and an ink sheet is not used, so the printer device can be made smaller and lighter.

Further, since this recording system is a recording mechanism utilizing the vaporization or sublimation phenomenon of the dye, it is not necessary to heat the image receiving layer of the recording medium, and the ink sheet and the recording medium can be applied under high pressure. There is no need to press it. Since the recording medium and the recording medium do not come into direct contact, thermal fusion between the recording unit and the recording medium cannot occur in principle, and even if the compatibility between the dye and the image receiving layer resin is small. It can be recorded.
Therefore, the range of design and selection of the dye and the image-receiving layer resin is significantly expanded.

As a heating means of this system, a method of combining a laser beam and a material (photothermal converter) having an absorption ability in a region including a wavelength region of the laser beam and converting light energy into heat energy is effective. In this case, since the laser beam is used, the resolution is remarkably improved, and by increasing the laser beam density in the optical system, it becomes possible to perform intensive heating and the ultimate temperature is increased. As a result, the thermal efficiency is improved. In particular, by using a multi-semiconductor laser that is small and has high energy efficiency, miniaturization, reliability, stability, low cost, long life, high speed, energy saving, and high image quality by easy modulation can be realized.

Here, it is necessary that the above-mentioned photothermal converter 21 has the ability to absorb laser light and at the same time has sufficient heat resistance.
Therefore, as the photothermal converter of the type located outside the dye layer, a metal such as cobalt or nickel-cobalt alloy,
Carbon black, polyimide, pigments such as phthalocyanine, vapor-deposited film having high heat resistance and strength such as aramid vapor-deposited on a base film, a coating film obtained by dispersing these fine particles in a high heat-resistant binder resin and coating the above base film. is there.

Any recording dye that can be used in the method according to the present invention can be used as long as it has a vapor pressure of 1 Pascal or more in a vacuum in the range from room temperature to the decomposition temperature. Such dyes can be arbitrarily selected from dyes represented by disperse dyes, oil-soluble dyes, leuco dyes, cationic dyes, oil-solubilized acidic dyes, oil-solubilized cationic dyes and the like.

As the image-receiving layer substance usable in this method, any substance can be used as long as it can receive and fix a recording dye, but polyester and polyvinyl chloride, which have good compatibility with dyes having a high vapor pressure, can be used. , Polystyrene, cellulose esters, polycarbonate and the like can be used. However, in this method, the recording sensitivity is not governed by the compatibility between the dye and the image-receiving layer resin because there is a gap between the dye supplier (recording portion) and the recording medium. Therefore, if there is any means for fixing the dye, plain paper, metal, glass,
It is also possible to use materials that are completely incompatible with ordinary recording dyes such as wood and ceramics.

In this method, since a molten dye containing almost no binder resin is used as a recording dye, the recording dye lost during recording flows from the dye reservoir to the recording section in a molten state, or a suitable substrate. It is possible to continuously supply to the recording unit by continuously coating the above and moving the substrate to the recording unit. Therefore, the recording system is completely new.

For holding the dye, a sufficient space can be secured by using a metal film or a plastic film having slits or holes with a width of several mm, other than beads.

The recording apparatus may have the structure shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 in addition to the structure shown in FIG. In these examples as well, recording can be performed in the same manner as the above-mentioned examples.

FIG. 5 shows a head section 90 used in a laser sublimation color video printer. This head part 90
The configuration is the same as in the example of FIG. 1, but the aromatic polyamide (aramid) is attached to the head base 14 at the center of the vaporization hole 17a of each vaporization part 17 and has both heat insulation and light transmission properties. A light-heat converter 31 made of a polyimide resin is laminated on the heat-resistant light-transmitting resin material 30.

FIG. 6 shows another head unit 100 used in a laser sublimation color video printer. This head part
100 is also configured similarly to the example of FIG. 1, but an optical fiber that penetrates the head base 14 and extends to the vaporization hole 17a to guide the laser light L at the center of the vaporization hole 17a of each vaporization part 17. 40
And a photothermal converter 41 that absorbs the light of the laser light L guided from the optical fiber 40 and converts it into heat.

The optical fiber 40 is for reliably guiding the laser light L to the photothermal converter 41 without leaking it to the outside. The photothermal converter 41 may be made of a polyimide film. Further, the vaporizing holes 17a of each vaporizing section 17 are liquefied sublimable dyes.
It has a structure that supplies 12 ', and the surrounding area is heat insulating material 42
It is surrounded by.

In this way, the photothermal converter 41 is connected to the optical fiber 40.
By being laminated on the lower surface of the photothermal converter 41, it is possible to improve the heat resistance of the photothermal converter 41 for continuous use and to increase the thermal conductivity, and the light energy distribution of the laser light L is, for example, a Gaussian distribution. Even if it is non-uniform, thermal diffusion is performed quickly in the area direction, a uniform temperature distribution can be realized, and uniform transfer of dye can be performed.

The lower part of the optical fiber 40 and the photothermal converter
By covering the vaporization holes 17a of the vaporization unit 17 surrounding 41 with the heat insulating material 42, the periphery of the photothermal conversion body 41 is insulated so that heat is not released and the liquefied sublimable dye 12 'is vaporized by the photothermal conversion body 41. The rate can be improved.

In all of the above examples, laser light is emitted from above the head portion to perform recording on the recording paper located on the lower side. However, the upper and lower sides of these examples can be reversed. it can. FIG. 7 shows such a head portion.

In the head portion 110 of FIG. 7, the head base 14
Place a heater 16 on top and energize this to each solid dye storage tank
The solid dye 12 supplied from 11 is heated and melted to form a liquefied sublimable dye 12 '. A heat-resistant translucent base material 20, a photothermal conversion body 21, and a liquid dye holding body 22 are laminated on the head base 14 in this order from bottom to top.

A semiconductor laser chip 18 is located below the head base 14 so that the laser light L is applied to the liquid dye holder 22.
The liquid dye retained on the recording medium 50 is condensed and irradiated to vaporize the liquid dye, and the vapor passes through the vaporization section 17, and the dye receiving layer 50a of the recording paper 50 above.
Move to.

Others are the same as in the head portion 10 of FIG. In addition, the structure of the head unit is shown in FIG.
It goes without saying that the same structure as above (however, upside down) may be used.

The photothermal converters 21 (FIG. 1), 31 (FIG. 5), 41 (FIG. 6) are not made of polyimide, but the heat-resistant, light-transmissive base materials 20 (FIG. 1), 30 (FIG. 5), Thin film of nickel-cobalt alloy on 40 (Fig. 6) (near infrared light transmittance 0.9 or more, thickness 1 μm or less, specific heat 0.5 J / g ° C or more, thermal conductivity
20 W / m ° C. or more and a density of 20 g / cm ³ or less) is preferably formed and provided by vapor deposition or sputtering.

In this case, the area of this thin film may be limited to the recording area S of the vaporizing dye (see FIGS. 1, 5 and 6). In this way, the heat resistance of the light-heat conversion means can be improved to enable continuous use, the thickness can be reduced and the heat capacity can be suppressed to a small level, and the periphery of the light-heat conversion body can be insulated with the liquid dye. The thermal efficiency can be increased.

Further, the solid dye may be made into a liquid state and vaporized for recording, or the solid dye may be directly vaporized, that is, sublimated by heating with a laser beam for recording.

Next, in order to investigate the heat resistance of the photothermal converter according to this example, the following experiment was conducted. 8 is a schematic front view of the experimental recording device, FIG. 9 is a front view of the recording chip 32,
FIG. 10 is a plan view of the same.

A pillar 44 is provided on the base plate 43.
Brackets 45A, 45B, 45C and 45D are fixed to the brackets, and these brackets 45A, 45B, 45C and 45D have recording chips 32, lenses 37a and 37b, and semiconductor laser chips (SL).
D203) 38 is fixed with the optical axis in common. A focusing lens system 37 is composed of the lenses 37a and 37b. An XY stage is provided under the recording unit (recording chip) 32.
39 is fixed on the base plate 43, and the recording paper is placed on the XY stage 39.
50 is placed.

A transparent conductive film 33B made of indium tin oxide (ITO) is formed on the lower main surface of the glass plate 33A by vapor deposition, and the spacer 3 is formed on the transparent conductive film 33B.
A polyimide film 35A (trade name: Kapton, manufactured by DuPont) having a thickness of 4 μm and having a thickness of 4 μm is fixed by the spaces 4 and 34.

Under the polyimide film 35A, a nickel-cobalt thin film 35B having a thickness of 0.2 μm is vapor-deposited to store heat to form a photothermal conversion portion 35C. A stainless steel cover 36 having a thickness of 10 μm is attached to the lower side of the cover 36, and a dye supporting hole 36a having a diameter of 1 mm is provided at the center of the cover 36.
Are provided so as to penetrate therethrough. The distance between the cover 36 and the recording paper 50 is 10 μm.

The dye support hole 36a is filled with the dye 12 as a recording material, and a pair of electrodes 33C and 33C provided on the transparent conductive film 33B.
A voltage is applied to and the dye 12 is heated to 150 ° C. to melt it. Then, the recording paper 50 is moved at a relative speed of 10 cm / sec, the laser beam L is condensed and irradiated from the semiconductor laser chip 38 to the molten dye to vaporize the dye, and the dye is transferred to the image receiving layer on the recording paper 50. Let

For example, the wavelength of the laser beam L is 800 nm, the laser beam irradiation area for the molten dye is 20 μm × 30 μm, and the output on the surface of the recording chip 32 is 30 mW. The recording paper 50
Is a 180 μm thick synthetic paper coated with a 6 μm thick polyester image-receiving layer.

Dye transferred to the polyester image-receiving layer by continuously recording using the following dyes as a recording material by the above apparatus and heating the recording paper with a blade with a heater at 150 ° C. for 10 msec. Is diffused in the image receiving layer and completely fixed. This experimental apparatus is capable of measuring the average line diameter and optical density of the linear recording image obtained as described above.

<Experiment 1> Polyimide film 35A shown in FIG.
A 7.5 μm thick polyimide film (manufactured by Toray-Dupont Co., Ltd.) was used as the film, and a 0.2 μm thick cobalt-nickel alloy film 35B was deposited thereon by vacuum evaporation. A semiconductor laser chip (S
The laser beam L from the LD 203) 38 was narrowed down to a half width of 20 μm and irradiated with 20 mW for 30 seconds. As a result, it was observed with a radiation thermometer that the temperature reached 350 ° C at the center of the laser irradiation spot. Next, when 100 pulses were irradiated under the same conditions, deterioration of the polyimide film 35A was not recognized.

<Comparative Experiment 1> In place of the polyimide film 35A used in Experiment 1, a film of polyethylene terephthalate having the same thickness was used, and 10 pulses of laser light were irradiated under the same conditions as in Experiment 1, and a laser beam was obtained. Damage was observed near the center of the light irradiation spot.

<Experiment 2> The polyimide film 35A in Experiment 1 was used, and the cobalt-nickel alloy film 35B was used.
Instead of the above, the following thin film was formed. On the polyimide film 35A, the polyimide varnish (manufactured by Ube Minsan Co., Ltd.) was mixed with carbon fine particles in the same weight ratio, diluted with N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, and then mixed with a paint shaker for 24 hours. Was spin coated and annealed at 250 ° C for 2 hours to imidize and carbon was dispersed well 1
The coating film had a thickness of μm. When this photothermal conversion film was irradiated with 100 laser pulses under the same conditions as in Experiment 1, no change was observed in either the base film or the coating film.

<Experiment 3> The base film (polyimide film 35A) used in Experiments 1 and 2 was examined for thermal deterioration by a thermal analyzer (manufactured by Rigaku Corporation).
The weight loss when kept at 50 ℃ for 1 hour was 0.4 in the former case.
% And 0.6% for the latter.

<Comparative Experiment 2> With respect to the base film (polyethylene terephthalate film) used in Comparative Experiment 1, the same investigation as in Experiment 3 was conducted. As a result, the weight loss by holding at 350 ° C. for 1 hour was 4.8%.
Met.

From each of the above experiments, the results of Experiments 1, 2, and 3 based on the present invention were significantly improved in heat resistance as compared with the results of Comparative Experiments 1 and 2, and good records were obtained. It can be understood that it can be obtained over a long period of time.

Since polyimide has a light absorbing property,
As shown in FIG. 12, the cobalt-nickel alloy film is omitted, and as shown in FIG. 12, a photothermal conversion film consisting of a polyimide film only.
Can be 35. This is the photothermal conversion layer 21 of FIG. 1, FIG. 5 and FIG.
It can be used as 31, 41.

In the above example, the dye carrier is not used and only the dye is supplied to the recording portion, but the recording material on the base film may be supplied to the recording portion. FIG. 14 shows an example using an ink film.

The recording section 130 includes a semiconductor laser 118, a head base 114, a heat-resistant light-transmitting base material 120, and a photothermal converter 12.
The recording unit 130 faces the platen roller 63. The recording unit 130 faces the platen roller 63. An ink sheet 62 is provided between the photothermal conversion member 121 and the platen roller 63.
The recording paper 70 is sandwiched between the recording paper 70 and the recording paper 70, and travels as indicated by the arrow.

The ink sheet 62 is a flexible base film 62.
The ink layer 62a is adhered to b, and the recording paper 70 has the image receiving layer 70a similar to the above on the paper 70b. The ink layer 62a and the image receiving layer 70a are brought into contact with each other with a predetermined pressing force.

In this example, the laser light from the semiconductor laser 118 is converted into heat by the photothermal converter 121, and the ink layer 62a of the ink sheet 62 is selectively dot-heated,
The recording paper 70 is transferred to the image receiving layer 70a. Also in this example, the light-heat converter 121 uses polyimide or a polyimide vapor-deposited cobalt-nickel alloy film.

When a multi-time ink sheet that can be used a plurality of times is used, the ink portion lost due to recording can be replenished after use, so a heat-resistant polyimide is used for the base film. Is preferable from the viewpoint of ink sheet durability. Alternatively, a thin polyimide film may be laminated in addition to the base film so that the ink sheet has a three-layer structure (the same applies to the example of FIG. 16 described later).

The heat for recording may be heat converted from light such as laser light, or heat generated electrically, for example. 15 and 16 show an example in which recording is performed using a thermal head.

The recording portion 140 of FIG. 15 is composed of the heat resistant light transmissive base material 20 and the heat resistant light transmissive base material 20 of the head base 14 shown in FIG.
The thermal head 61 is placed on the upper part of the
And the liquid dye holder 122 is provided under the thermal head 61.
Is provided. Liquid dye holder 122 and recording paper 50
A vaporization portion 17 (gap d) is formed between the image receiving layer 50a and the image receiving layer 50a.

In the example shown in FIG. 15, the thermal head 61 holds the liquid dye 1 held by the liquid dye holder 122 based on the image signal.
2 ”is selectively heated in a dot shape to vaporize, and vaporize part 17
Recording is performed by shifting to the image receiving layer 50a of the recording paper 50 through the (gap d). The thermal head 61 is approximately the recording paper 70.
The line type head is fixed at a right angle to the recording paper running direction. Others are the same as in the example of FIG.

FIG. 16 shows the recording unit 130 (semiconductor laser) of FIG.
118, head base 114, heat-resistant light-transmitting base material 120,
An example is shown in which a thermal head is used instead of the photothermal conversion section 121 and the support 119. In this example, the thermal head is brought into contact with the recording paper, that is, recording is performed without providing a gap between them.

The thermal head 61 and the platen roller 63 face each other, and between them, the ink sheet 62 having the ink layer 62a on the base film 62b and the image receiving layer 70 on the paper 70b.
The recording paper 70 provided with a is sandwiched, and these are pressed against the thermal head 61 by the rotating platen roller 63 and run.

Then, the ink (recording dye) in the ink layer 62a selectively heated by the thermal head 61 is
The image is transferred to the image receiving layer 70a of the recording medium 70 in a dot shape, and thermal recording is performed. In this example, the ink sublimates and becomes a gas, or melts and becomes a liquid and transfers to the image receiving layer 70a.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, various modifications can be added to the above embodiments based on the technical idea of the present invention.

For example, the structure and shape of the recording layer and the head section may be an appropriate structure and shape other than those described above, and other appropriate materials may be used for the material of each part constituting the head section.

Further, full-color recording can be performed by using three recording dyes of magenta, yellow, and cyan, and one-color recording of mono-color or monochrome can be performed.

Further, as the energy for vaporizing or sublimating the heat-meltable recording material such as dye, other energy, for example, other electromagnetic waves or discharge using a stylus electrode can be used. .

[0104]

The recording apparatus according to the present invention has a heating medium for applying heat to the recording material to heat the recording material at 350 ° C.
Since at least a part of the heat medium is composed of a polymer material whose weight loss in 1% or less is less than 1% in 1 hour, the constituent parts of the device are prevented from being deteriorated by high temperature heating during recording. .

As a result, high quality recording results are guaranteed,
The recording apparatus can be repeatedly used over a long period of time and has excellent durability.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a recording unit of a recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the recording apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of a recording unit for explaining the recording mechanism.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a temperature change of the heat-resistant, light-transmitting resin and a dye transfer relationship with the passage of the laser light irradiation time.

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

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a recording unit of a recording apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a recording unit of a recording apparatus according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a front view of the experimental recording apparatus.

FIG. 9 is a front view of a recording chip of the experimental recording apparatus.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a recording chip of the experimental recording device.

FIG. 11 is an enlarged front view of a light-heat conversion unit of the experimental recording device.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged front view of a photothermal conversion unit according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a schematic front view of a main part of a laser sublimation printer.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of a recording unit of a recording device according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of a recording unit of a recording device according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of a recording unit of a recording device according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 18, 38, 118 ・ ・ ・ Semiconductor laser 10, 32, 90, 100, 110, 130, 140 ・ ・ ・ Recording section 11 ・ ・ ・ Solid dye storage tank 12 ・ ・ ・ Solid dye 12 '・ ・ ・ Liquid dye 12・ ・ ・ ・ ・ ・ Vapor dye 15 ・ ・ ・ Liquid dye storage tank 16 ・ ・ ・ Heating element 17 ・ ・ ・ Vaporizer 20, 30, 40, 114 ・ ・ Heat-resistant light-transmissive base material 21, 31, 35, 35C, 120・ ・ ・ Photothermal converter 22, 121, 122 ・ ・ ・ Liquid dye holder 22 '・ ・ ・ Glass beads 33B ・ ・ ・ Transparent conductive film 36 ・ ・ ・ Cover 36a ・ ・ ・ Dye holding hole 50 ・ ・ ・ Recording Paper 50a ... Image receiving layer 61 ... Thermal head 62 ... Ink sheet 62a ... Ink layer 62b ... Polyimide base film L ... Laser light d ... Gap

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification number Internal reference number FI Technical display location 9121-2H B41M 5/26 J (72) Inventor Masanori Ogata 6-7 Kitashinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo No. 35 Sony Corporation

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A heat medium for applying heat generated by a heating source to a recording material to heat the recording material, which is used for thermal recording for transferring the recording material to a recording medium by the heating,
A recording device in which at least a part of the heat medium is composed of a polymer material whose weight loss at 350 ° C. is 1% or less per hour. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the heating source is light. 3. A conversion and / or transmission member for converting the energy of a heating source into heat or for transmitting this heat, which member is made of the polymer material according to claim 1.
The device according to claim 1 or 2.