JPH08197759A - Transfer recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a transfer recording apparatus achieved in the reduction of noise and the enhancement of a speed and quality by sweeping away a problem such as the drying of ink or the scattering thereof. CONSTITUTION: A transfer recording apparatus 2 is constituted of a film like ink supply element coated with hot-melt ink, an ink melting means 8 irradiating the film like ink supply element 4 with laser beam L corresponding to a printing signal to heat and melt the hot-melt ink only of a necessary part and a transfer means 12 for transferring the heated and molten ink to a recording medium 10 such as plain paper.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a transfer type recording apparatus, and more particularly to a transfer type recording apparatus utilizing the characteristics of hot melt ink.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an apparatus for recording on a recording medium such as recording paper, a thermal transfer recording apparatus and an ink jet recording apparatus have been conventionally known, and these are supported from the viewpoint of low cost.

The thermal transfer recording apparatus is widely used as a color printing means with good printing quality, but it has a drawback that the printing speed is slow because of the structure using a thermal head.

On the other hand, the ink jet recording apparatus has many advantages in printing technology such as low noise, high speed / high quality printing, color printing, etc. However, it directly ejects ink droplets to directly print a recording medium (recording paper or the like). ) Since the principle is to print by depositing ink droplets on top of it, the print quality and print dry time may change depending on the type of recording medium, and in the case of a specific recording medium, the print quality may drop extremely. It was Further, since the liquid ink is used, there is a drawback that the ink dries near the ejection port when left and does not fly.

Hot melt ink has come to be used as a means for solving the above-mentioned drawbacks of the ink jet system.

Hot-melt ink is a solid at room temperature and has the characteristic of melting when heated.
By utilizing the ink characteristics having a melting point higher than room temperature, the dependence on the type of recording medium is eliminated, and it becomes possible to easily obtain a uniform dot diameter on an unspecified recording medium.

As a technique utilizing such characteristics of the hot melt ink, there is, for example, an ink jet (bubble jet) type printing device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-111548.

[0008]

By using hot melt ink, it is possible to obtain a uniform dot diameter regardless of the type of recording medium and to improve and stabilize printing quality. Because of the use of, there are new problems. That is, since the boiling point of the hot melt ink exceeds its composition change temperature due to the solvent, direct application to the bubble jet method, which is most advantageous in the inkjet method, is based on the principle that the method obtains the discharge pressure by the bubble pressure. Because of this, it is impossible.

One of the solutions to this problem is disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-111548, in which a bubble pressure is generated by another fluid which is insoluble or sparingly soluble in the hot melt ink. The feature is that hot melt ink is ejected by a dynamic pressure source.

However, this solution focuses only on ejecting the hot melt ink in a state in which the composition does not change, and it is unavoidable from the viewpoint of ink usage. That is, not only the necessary hot melt ink but all of the ink must be heated and melted at all times, and an increase in consumption cost cannot be avoided. In addition to this, there is a concern that the ink quality may deteriorate due to repeated heating and melting. Further, even if the characteristics of the hot melt ink are used to the maximum extent, the problem of deterioration of printing quality due to ink scattering, which is a fatal drawback of the ink jet system, cannot be avoided.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a transfer type recording apparatus capable of improving the disadvantages of the conventional example and achieving high speed and high quality with low noise under the optimum use of hot melt ink. To that end.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is based on the idea that the problems such as the above-mentioned uneconomical condition and ink scattering are unavoidable as long as it is focused on applying hot melt ink to an ink jet system. The purpose of this technical idea is to heat and melt only the necessary ink by re-recognizing the advantages of a thermal transfer recording device that does not cause any problems and aiming to optimize the use of the characteristics of hot melt ink. is there.

Specifically, a film-shaped ink supply member formed by applying a hot-melt ink that is solid at room temperature on a thin base film, and a light such as a laser beam according to a print signal is applied to the film-shaped ink supply member. It is characterized by comprising: an ink melting means for irradiating the hot melt ink to heat and melt the hot melt ink; and a transfer means for transferring the heat melted ink to a recording medium.

Another feature is that the hot melt ink is laminated on the base film via a thin layer member excellent in absorption of light such as laser light.
Still another feature is that the transfer means is composed of a pair of transfer rollers.

[0015]

When a print signal is received, light such as laser light is radiated from the ink melting means to the film-shaped ink supply body in a pinpoint manner, whereby only the hot melt ink in the irradiated portion is heated and melted. . The melted hot melt ink is directly sent to the transfer means and transferred onto the recording medium. The transferred hot melt ink is solidified on the recording medium by heat dissipation, and printing is completed.

[0016]

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

The transfer type recording apparatus 2 includes a film-shaped ink supply member 4 and a film-shaped ink supply member 4 according to a print signal.
It is composed of an ink melting means 8 which heats and melts only a necessary portion of the ink by irradiating the laser light L on the sheet, and a transfer means 12 which transfers the heat-melted ink to a recording medium 10 such as plain paper. Reference numeral 10A indicates a guide.

As shown in FIG. 2, the film-shaped ink supply member 4 comprises a hot-melt ink 18 on a light-transmissive thin base film 14 with a thin layer member 16 excellent in absorption of light such as laser light. It has a three-layered structure coated with, and is set in the apparatus in the form of a cartridge which is processed in a roll form between the feeding roller 20 and the winding roller 22 as shown in FIG. Further, the transfer means 12 is equipped with a pair of transfer rollers 24 and 26 which are provided so that the pressing force can be adjusted to move in the vertical direction.

Next, the printing operation in the transfer type recording device 2 will be described. First, when a print signal is issued, in response to this, the laser light L is emitted from the ink melting means 8 to the film-shaped ink supply body 4 from the base film 14 side thereof. As shown in FIG. 2, this irradiation is performed on the surface of the film-shaped ink supply body 4, that is, the hot melt ink 18
The unit dot formation area A _{n in} is targeted for pinpointing.

For example, a specific unit dot formation area A ₁
When the laser light L is irradiated to the target, the irradiated laser light L passes through the base film 14 and then the thin layer member 16
Is absorbed by The absorbed laser light L is converted into heat,
This heat causes the hot melt ink 18 in the area A ₁ to be heated and melted in a limited manner.

Hot melt ink 18 melted by heating
Is sent to the transfer means 12 in that state, and is transferred onto the recording medium 10 by the pressing force between the pair of transfer rollers 24 and 26.
The transferred hot melt ink 18 solidifies on the recording medium 10 due to the heat radiation effect. This completes printing.

Here, the film-shaped ink supply body 4 may have a two-layer structure in which the hot-melt ink 18 is directly applied onto the base film 14 instead of the three-layer structure as described above. This is effective from the viewpoint of improving the precision of the limited heating and melting, and thus the resolution.
Further, the light source is not limited to the laser beam L, and the kind of the light source can be changed depending on the light absorption characteristics of the thin layer member 16. In this case, selection in consideration of matching between the light source and the thin layer member 16 is possible. is necessary.

Further, as the ink melting means 8, it is possible to use an optical system unit used in a laser beam printer, and it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost by using existing equipment.

As described above, by adopting a film-like ink supply mode and heating and melting the ink in a limited amount as necessary, the problems of the ink jet system such as ink clogging and increase in consumption cost can be eliminated. The structure can be simplified, and the usability can be improved by making the ink supply cartridge.

In the above example, each constituent element is shown in a specific shape, but the present invention is not limited to this and is appropriately designed within a range satisfying the limited heating and melting function in the film-like supply mode. It can be changed.

[0026]

As described above, according to the present invention, the ink is formed into a film, and only the necessary portion is heated and melted by being limitedly transferred, so that the ink scattering in the ink jet type ink jet method can be prevented. Needless to say, it is possible to eliminate problems such as uneconomical problems associated with heating and melting ink, and to achieve low noise, high speed, and high quality, which can greatly improve the ease of ink supply / replacement work.

Further, the film-shaped ink supply member has a laminated structure having a thin layer member excellent in absorption of light such as a laser beam, so that the limited heating and melting accuracy can be further improved, and thus printing can be performed. The quality can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing the principle of limited heating and melting of hot melt ink.

[Explanation of symbols]

 4 film-like ink supply member 8 ink melting means 10 recording medium 12 transfer means 14 base film 18 hot melt ink 16 layer member 24, 26 transfer roller L laser light (light)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A film-shaped ink supply member formed by applying a hot-melt ink, which is solid at room temperature, onto a thin base film, and irradiating the film-shaped ink supply member with light such as laser light according to a print signal. A transfer-type recording apparatus comprising: an ink melting unit that heats and melts the hot melt ink; and a transfer unit that transfers the heat-melted ink to a recording medium. 2. The transfer type recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the hot melt ink is laminated on the base film via a thin layer member having a light absorbing property such as a laser beam. . 3. The transfer type recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transfer unit is composed of a pair of transfer rollers.