JPH091851A - Image recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To prevent the damage of an aperture electrode and to record a clear image based on an image signal by preventing the contact of a recording sheet with the electrode at the time of conveying a recording sheet. CONSTITUTION: Many suction cups 32 are provided on the surface of a back electrode roller 30, the recording sheet P conveyed with a press roller 33 provided at the upstream side of a conveying route E from the opening of an aperture electrode 10 is retained by the cups 32 of the roller 30 to be brought into close contact with the roller 30. Accordingly, the sheet P is prevented from being brought into contact with the electrode 10 by holding a gap of 1mm from the electrode 10. The sheet P is separated from the roller 30 by a release blade 34 provided at the downstream side of the route E from the opening of the electrode 10, and conveyed along the route E.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus for recording an image by attaching charged particles passing through a plurality of charged particle passages formed in an electrode array to a recording medium, and more particularly,
The present invention relates to a recording medium that prevents contact with a charged particle passage portion.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an aperture electrode body having a large number of openings (apertures) is provided, and the driving voltage supplied to the electrodes provided in the openings is controlled so that the toner passing through the openings is used as a recording medium. Various image recording apparatuses have been proposed which are attached and recorded.

[0003] For example, the applicant of the present application has filed Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-799.
As described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 07-2007, a large number of minute openings (apertures) are formed in rows at minute intervals in the width direction of the recording medium, and around each of these many openings. An aperture electrode body having an electrode is provided, and a toner supply unit having a toner feeding roller that rotates and supplies toner while pressing the toner to a large number of openings of the aperture electrode body is provided on one side of the aperture electrode body, and On one side,
By providing a counter electrode to which a high voltage is applied and individually controlling the drive voltage supplied to each electrode of this aperture electrode body,
By transporting the recording medium along the counter electrode, the toner supplied from the toner supply unit passes through the opening and is ejected toward the counter electrode by the electrostatic attraction force of the counter electrode. An image recording apparatus has been proposed in which an image is recorded by being attached to a recording sheet and then fixed by a fixing mechanism.

[0004]

In the image recording apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-79907 proposed by the present applicant, the aperture electrode body is a thin insulating sheet made of polyimide and having a thickness of about 25 μm. A large number of openings are formed, and an electrode made of a metal foil is attached to the insulating sheet corresponding to each opening. And
The gap between these openings and the counter electrode is set to about 1 mm because the toner located in these openings is attached to the recording paper by electrostatic force.

That is, when the recording sheet is conveyed in the gap of about 1 mm for recording, since the conveying roller cannot be installed near these openings, especially the leading end portion of the recording sheet is in the conveying direction rather than the opening. Until it is delivered to the next transport roller provided on the downstream side, it hangs downward and is transported while being supported by the lower aperture electrode body, so the aperture electrode body is scratched or the control electrode is damaged. There is a problem that it is easy to do.

Further, there is a problem in that the quality of the image on the recording paper is deteriorated due to the paper dust of the recording paper adhering to the inside of the opening and the toner adhering to the recording paper contacting the aperture electrode body.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to prevent contact between an electrode array and a recording medium, prevent damage to the electrode array, and prevent an image signal from being damaged. An object is to provide an image recording device capable of recording a beautiful image based on the image recording device.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, an image recording apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention is provided with a plurality of charged particle passage portions through which charged particles pass, and the plurality of charged particle passage portions are formed. An electrode array having a control electrode corresponding to each of the charged particle passage portions, a charged particle supply means for supplying charged particles to the charged particle passage portion of the electrode array, and an electrode array opposite to the charged particle supply means. And a transport path for transporting the recording medium on the side, and the charged particles passing through the charged particle passage portion of the electrode array are attached to the recording medium transported along the transport path to record an image. The image recording apparatus is provided with a holding unit that is provided in the conveyance path and that holds the recording medium so that the recording medium is conveyed while maintaining a predetermined gap with respect to the charged particle passage portion.

An image recording apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention comprises a holding means for holding the recording medium by forming an airtight state with the recording medium.

The image recording apparatus according to the third aspect is
It is provided with a holding means composed of a suction cup.

Further, the image recording apparatus according to the fourth aspect is arranged on the opposite side of the electrode array with the recording medium sandwiched therebetween, and is a back electrode for flying the charged particles passing through the charged particle passage portion toward the recording medium. A roller and a holding means provided on a back electrode roller or a driving member that is driven together with the back electrode roller.

[0012]

In the image recording apparatus having the above-mentioned structure according to the first aspect of the present invention, the recording medium is conveyed in the conveying path on the side opposite to the charged particle supplying means with respect to the electrode array, and in the conveying path. In the holding means, the holding means holds the recording medium so that the recording medium is conveyed while maintaining a predetermined gap with respect to the charged particle passage portion, and the charged particle supply means supplies the charged particles to the charged particle passage portion of the electrode array. The charged particles are selectively passed through the plurality of charged particle passing portions, and the charged particles passing through the charged particle passing portions of the electrode array are attached to the recording medium conveyed along the conveying path to record an image.

Further, in the image recording apparatus according to the second aspect, the holding means holds the recording medium by forming an airtight state with the recording medium.

Further, in the image recording apparatus according to the third aspect, the holding means is a suction cup and holds the recording medium.

Further, in the image recording apparatus according to the fourth aspect, the back electrode roller arranged on the side opposite to the recording medium with respect to the electrode array flies the charged particles passing through the charged particle passage portion toward the recording medium. The holding means is provided on the back electrode roller or a driving member that is driven together with the back electrode roller to hold the recording medium.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In this embodiment, the movement of the toner T as charged particles supplied from the toner supply device 20 as the charged particle supply means is controlled by the aperture electrode body 10 as the electrode array.
The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus which controls an image on a recording sheet P as a recording medium to record an image.

As shown in FIG. 1, the image recording apparatus 1 basically comprises a toner supply device 20 having an aperture electrode body 10 mounted therein and a transport mechanism 40 for transporting a recording sheet P in a main body frame 2. To prepare for. Here, on the front side of the main body frame 2, there is provided a paper feed cassette CS that stores a large number of recording papers P, and on the rear side of the main body frame 2, a paper discharge table that stores the recorded and discharged recording papers P. DT is provided.

First, the toner supply device 20 will be described. In the toner case 21 having a width dimension substantially the same as the width of the recording paper P, the electrically insulating toner T having an electrical insulation property is accommodated, and the left and right sides are stored. A toner supply roller 22 and a toner transport roller 23 extending in the direction are rotatably supported respectively. The toner conveying roller 23 has a structure in which a metal such as aluminum is used as a shaft and the outer periphery thereof is covered with rubber. The toner supplying roller 22 and the toner conveying roller 23 are rollers not shown. It is rotationally driven by the drive mechanism.

By the way, one end portion of a toner regulating blade 24 having a thin plate-like elasticity is attached to the toner case 21, and its curved portion is in pressing contact with the toner conveying roller 23, and the toner supplying roller is provided. The toner regulating blade 24 regulates the amount of the toner T, which is supplied by 22 and adheres to the surface of the toner conveying roller 23, to a predetermined amount.

At the upper end of the toner case 21, an aperture electrode body 10 which is tilted in a substantially roof shape is attached so as to cover the toner case 21 and contact the upper end of the toner transport roller 23 from above. Has been.

As shown in detail in FIG. 2, the aperture electrode body 10 is oriented in the left-right direction on a base substrate made of an insulating polyimide film having a thickness of about 25 μm, at a position approximately at the center in the front-back direction. With a diameter of about 60-65 μm
The circular apertures (apertures) 11 as the charged particle passages are formed at intervals of about 127 μm, for example, about 1600 in a line. Further, a toner control electrode 12 as an annular control electrode made of a metal foil is attached to the upper surface of the outer periphery of each of the plurality of openings 11, and a thin conductive wire 13 extending from each toner control electrode 12 is provided on the base substrate. It is attached to each. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, a driving voltage of +30 V or −30 V, which corresponds to the image data, is individually supplied to each of the multiple conducting wires 13 by the driving circuit 51 via the control line L.

Next, the transport mechanism 40 will be described with reference to FIG.

A back electrode roller 30 is arranged immediately above the aperture electrode body 10 and is rotatably supported by the body frame 2. Then, the guide plates 41 to 44
A transport path E from the paper feed cassette CS to the discharge table DT via the vicinity of the upper side of the aperture electrode body 10 is formed, and the recording paper P stored in the paper feed cassette CS is guided to the transport path E. The back electrode roller 30 is transported by the plurality of transport rollers 45 to 48 arranged in proximity to each other.
While being in contact with the lower part of the sheet, the sheet is conveyed in the conveying direction F along the conveying path E to the discharge table DT. Here, the back electrode roller 30 and the transport rollers 45 to 48 are connected to a drive motor (not shown), and the rotation thereof is controlled by the control unit 50 described later.

That is, in the transport path E, only the transport path portion corresponding to the opening 11 is located at about 1 in the aperture electrode body 10.
Although they are closest to each other with a gap of mm, they are formed in a substantially V shape in a side view so as to be separated as much as possible from the aperture electrode body 10 on the upstream side and the downstream side in the transport direction with respect to the opening 11. Then, during the conveyance, the toner T moved from the opening 11 according to the image signal is attached to the lower surface of the recording paper P. Here, the back electrode roller 30 is
A roller driving mechanism (not shown) is rotationally driven in synchronization with the conveyance of the recording paper P.

As shown in detail in FIG. 4, the back electrode roller 30 has a large number of suction cups 32 as holding means provided on the surface of an electrode roller 31 made of metal such as aluminum. Further, in FIG. 1, a pressure roller 33 is provided upstream of the opening portion 11 of the aperture electrode body 10 in the recording paper conveyance path portion so as to press the back electrode roller 30 with the recording paper P interposed therebetween. Further, a detaching blade 34 is provided on the downstream side of the opening 11 of the aperture electrode body 10 in the recording sheet conveyance path so as to contact the back electrode roller 30.

That is, the recording paper P which is transported in the transport direction F along the transport path E is moved by the pressure roller 33.
When it is pressed against the back electrode roller 30, the air between the suction cup 32 of the back electrode roller 30 and the recording paper P is expelled, and that portion is sealed and the invasion of air is eliminated (because of the airtight state). It will stick to the suction cup 32. Also, by the detaching blade 34,
The recording paper P stuck to the suction cup 32 of the rear electrode roller 30
Is peeled off, and then is conveyed along the conveyance path E.

Further, a halogen lamp is built-in in the vicinity of the transport path downstream of the opening 11 of the aperture electrode body 10 in the transport direction, and the toner T adhering to the recording paper P is heated and fixed. A roller 37 is provided, and a pressing roller 38 that presses the fixing roller 37 is provided.

Next, the control system of the image recording apparatus 1 will be briefly described with reference to FIG. 3. A high voltage of about +1 KV is constantly applied to the back electrode roller 30 by the power supply circuit E1, and a minus voltage is applied. The toner T charged on the back electrode roller 30 is attracted to the back electrode roller 30 with a large electrostatic force.

On the other hand, a drive circuit 51 is connected to the conducting wire 13 of the aperture electrode body 10 via a control line L composed of a plurality of signal lines, and the drive circuit 51 has + 30V and −30V.
A power supply circuit E2 that outputs two voltages of 30 V, and a control unit 5 including a microcomputer and the like.
0 is connected. Then, the control unit 50 outputs a drive signal corresponding to the image signal to the drive circuit 51, so that the drive circuit 51 responds to the drive signal by +
Switching the drive voltage of 30V or -30V, control line L
It is adapted to be individually supplied to each conducting wire 13 via. The control unit 50 is also connected to an external computer, communication device, or other device that sends out image signals, which is not shown. Further, the toner carrying roller 23 is always grounded.

As a result, the drive circuit 51 causes +30
When the drive voltage of V is applied to the conductor 13, that is, the toner control electrode 12, an electric field from the toner control electrode 12 to the toner transport roller 23 is generated due to the potential difference between the toner control electrode 12 and the toner transport roller 23. Due to the electric field, the negatively charged toner T is subjected to an electrostatic force in the direction of high potential, passes through the opening 11 from the surface of the toner conveying roller 23 and is attracted to the toner control electrode 12, and at the same time, the rear electrode roller 30 The high voltage applied to the rear electrode roller 30 and the toner control electrode 12 causes the electrostatic force by the electric field generated between the rear electrode roller 30 and the toner control electrode 12. Then, the recording paper P is attached. However, when a voltage of −30V is applied to the toner control electrode 12, the toner T on the surface of the toner transport roller 23 is conversely opened by the electric field directed from the toner transport roller 23 to the toner control electrode 12 contrary to the above. Never pass through.

Next, the operation of attracting the recording paper P conveyed along the conveying path E to the back electrode roller 30 by the image recording apparatus 1 will be described.

The recording paper P fed from the paper feed cassette CS is transported in the transport direction F along the transport path E and is pressed against the back electrode roller 30 by the pressure roller 33, as shown in FIG. The air between the suction cup 32 of the back electrode roller 30 and the recording paper P is expelled and the portion is hermetically sealed so that the invasion of air is eliminated, so that the suction cup 32 is sucked.

That is, the recording paper P is brought into close contact with the rear electrode roller 11 and conveyed, so that the recording paper P is opened in the opening 1.
It is conveyed while contacting the lower side of the back electrode roller 30 without contacting 1. Then, the recording paper P has the opening 1
After passing through the upper part of 1, the recording paper P is peeled off and separated from the back electrode roller 30 by the separation blade 34.
Further, the recording paper P is delivered to the next fixing roller 37 and the pressing roller 38, and is further conveyed in the conveyance direction F. As a result, the recording paper P can be transported without damaging the aperture electrode body 10, particularly the toner control electrode 12. Further, the recording paper P is the aperture electrode body 1.
Since it does not contact 0, the paper dust of the recording paper P does not adhere to the inside of the opening 11.

Next, the operation of adhering the toner T to the recording paper P in accordance with the image signal to record an image will be described.

When the image signal is sent to the control unit 50 from an external device (not shown), the recording paper P is conveyed to the opening 11, and the drive signal is sent from the control unit 50 to the drive circuit 51, as described above. To be done. Next, as shown in FIG. 3, when +30 V is applied from the drive circuit 51 to the toner control electrode 12 based on the drive signal received from the control unit 50, the electric field from the toner control electrode 12 to the toner carrying roller 23 is changed. Due to this electric field, the negatively charged toner T on the surface of the toner transport roller 23 receives an electrostatic force in the direction of higher potential, passes through the opening 11 from the surface of the toner transport roller 23, and passes through the toner. Attracted to the control electrode 12.

Further, the high voltage (about +1 KV) applied to the back electrode roller 30 passes through the opening 11 via the electrostatic force due to the electric field generated between the back electrode roller 30 and the toner control electrode 12. The toner T is attracted to the rear electrode roller 30, that is, the recording paper P, jumps out, and adheres to the surface thereof. At this time, the toner T is collectively adhered in layers on the adhered surface of the recording paper P. After that, the toner T attached to the recording paper P is removed by the fixing roller 3
The fixing process is carried out by 7 and the sheet is discharged to the sheet discharge table DT. Here, since the recording paper P does not come into contact with the aperture electrode body 10, the paper dust of the recording paper P does not adhere to the openings 11, and the toner T adhered to the recording paper P is
Since the fixing process is performed in the adhered state, a beautiful image based on the image signal can be recorded.

As described in detail above, in the image recording apparatus of this embodiment, the recording paper P is brought into close contact with the rear electrode roller 11 and conveyed, so that the recording paper P does not come into contact with the opening 11. The sheet is conveyed while contacting the lower side of the back electrode roller 30. Then, after the recording paper P has passed through the upper portion of the opening 11, the recording paper P is peeled off from the back electrode roller 30 by the separating blade 34 and separated. Further, the recording paper P is delivered to the next fixing roller 37 and the pressing roller 38, and is further conveyed in the conveyance direction F.
As a result, the recording paper P can be transported without damaging the aperture electrode body 10, particularly the toner control electrode 12. Furthermore, since the recording paper P does not come into contact with the aperture electrode body 10, a clean image can be formed without the paper dust of the recording paper P adhering to the inside of the opening 11.

It should be noted that various modifications may be made based on the existing technology and the technology obvious to those skilled in the art within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention. Incidentally, the recording paper P of the toner T
It is needless to say that the present invention can be applied to various image recording devices in which the attachment to the electrode is controlled by the aperture electrode body 10.

For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a metal back electrode roller 60 is provided in place of the back electrode roller 30, and an endless belt 61 with a suction cup is provided on the outer peripheral portion thereof.
The image recording apparatus 1A may be configured to be stretched by the auxiliary rollers 62 and 63.

That is, the recording paper P fed from the paper feed cassette CSA and conveyed along the conveying path EA is attracted to the endless belt 61 having a suction cup by the pressure roller 63, and the endless belt having a suction cup is sucked. Belt 61
At the same time, it passes above the opening 11A of the aperture electrode body 10A. As a result, the same effect as in the above embodiment can be obtained. Therefore, the endless belt 61 with the suction cup corresponds to the driving member according to claim 4 of the present invention.

According to the present embodiment, the recording paper P is brought into close contact with the back electrode roller by the suction cup so as to be carried on the carrying path while keeping the gap of 1 mm from the aperture electrode body. A large number of holes may be formed in the roller, and air may be sucked from the holes by a pump to bring the recording paper into close contact with the back electrode roller.

[0043]

As described above in detail, the image recording apparatus of the present invention can prevent contact between the recording medium and the electrode array when the recording medium is conveyed, so that the electrode array is prevented from being damaged. At the same time, a beautiful image based on the image signal can be recorded.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view illustrating an internal mechanism of an image recording apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged perspective view of an aperture electrode body used in the image recording apparatus.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged side view of essential parts for explaining the adhesion of toner to recording paper of the image recording apparatus.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a back electrode roller used in the image recording apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a schematic side view illustrating an internal mechanism of an image recording apparatus according to a modified example of the invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Image Recording Device 1A Image Recording Device 10 Aperture Electrode Body 10A Aperture Electrode Body 11 Opening 11A Opening 12 Toner Control Electrode 20 Toner Supply Device 30 Back Electrode Roller 31 Electrode Roller 32 Sucker 60 Back Electrode Roller 61 Endless Belt with Sucker E Transport Path P Recording paper T Toner

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An electrode array having a plurality of charged particle passage portions through which charged particles pass and having control electrodes corresponding to each of the plurality of charged particle passage portions, and the charged particle passage of the electrode array. A charged particle supply means for supplying charged particles to the recording medium, and a transport path for transporting the recording medium on the side opposite to the charged particle supply means with respect to the electrode array. An image recording apparatus configured to record an image by attaching the passed charged particles to a recording medium conveyed along a conveying path, wherein the recording medium is provided in the conveying path, and the recording medium with respect to the charged particle passage portion. An image recording apparatus comprising: a holding unit that holds a recording medium so that the recording medium is conveyed while maintaining a predetermined gap. 2. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the holding unit holds the recording medium by forming an airtight state with the recording medium. 3. The image recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the holding unit is a suction cup. 4. A holding device, comprising: a back electrode roller, which is arranged on the opposite side of the electrode array with the recording medium sandwiched therebetween and which causes the charged particles passing through the charged particle passing portion to fly toward the recording medium. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein is provided on the back electrode roller or a driving member that is driven together with the back electrode roller.