JPH09300705A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer which bonds ink to a recording paper in a dot form and is extremely simple in structure. SOLUTION: An ink transfer arm 10 is obtained by laminating a conductive polymer film and an electrolyte film on a metal film and the conductive polymer film generates a volumetric change by the giving and receiving of ions between the conductive polymer and the electrolyte film by the application of voltage and the metal film is bent and deformed along with the conductive polymer film by the volumetric change. This ink transfer arm 10 is bent and deformed between an ink tray 4 and recording paper 1 to bond the ink 3 in the ink tray 4 to the tip of the ink transfer arm 10 to transfer the same to the recording paper 1.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer which prints images such as characters and figures by adhering dot-shaped ink to recording paper.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a printer for printing an image by adhering dots of ink on a recording paper to print an image, there has been known an ink jet type printer using an ink jet nozzle for ejecting ink by utilizing flexural deformation of a piezoelectric element. .

[0003]

However, the above-mentioned ink jet printer has a problem that the structure of the ink jet nozzle is complicated. The present invention
It is an object of the present invention to provide a printer having an extremely simple structure as a printer for depositing ink in a dot shape on a recording paper.

[0004]

The printer of the present invention comprises:
A linear ink transfer arm that is supported at its base end and flexibly deforms when a voltage is applied to bring the end into contact with the recording paper, and presses the end of the ink transfer arm onto the recording paper to attach ink. Since this printer flexes and deforms the ink transfer arm to press the tip of the ink transfer arm against the recording paper, the structure is extremely simple and can be obtained at low cost.

[0005]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION In the printer of the present invention, when the ink transfer arm is flexibly deformed between the ink tray and the recording paper, the ink in the ink tray is attached to the tip of the ink transfer arm. The ink can be transferred to the recording paper.

Further, the ink transfer arm is formed by laminating a conductive polymer film and an electrolyte film on a metal film, and gives and receives ions between the conductive polymer film and the electrolyte film by applying a voltage. It is desirable that the conductive polymer film be changed in volume by the volume change, and the metal film is flexibly deformed together with the conductive polymer film due to the change in volume, and the ink transfer arm can be formed into a conductive polymer film and an electrolyte film by applying voltage. Since the ions are exchanged between them to bend and deform, it is easy to miniaturize them. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the dot diameter of the ink adhered to the recording paper and perform high-definition printing.

[0007]

1 to 4 show an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a side view of a printer. This printer is
While the recording paper 1 is conveyed horizontally by the paper feed roller 2, ink is attached to the recording paper 1 in a dot shape for printing, and in this embodiment, the ink 3 is internally provided below the recording paper conveyance path. The ink tray 4 is filled with ink, and an extremely thin linear ink transfer arm 10 is provided between the ink tray 4 and the recording paper conveyance path.

The base end of the ink transfer arm 10 is supported by the drive unit 20, and the front end of the ink transfer arm 10 is applied to the recording paper 1 by applying a voltage.
It is to be brought into and out of contact with, and its configuration is as follows.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the base end portion of the ink transfer arm 10, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are the ink transfer arm 10 described above.
3A and 3B are an enlarged cross-sectional view and an enlarged plan view of a tip portion of the ink transfer arm 10. The ink transfer arm 10 includes a metal film 1 also serving as a voltage applying electrode.
1. Conductive polymer film 12 over the entire surface of
Is laminated in a fixed state, the electrolyte membrane 13 is laminated in a fixed state on the conductive polymer film 12, and the laminated film is separated on the laminated film of the conductive polymer film 12 and the electrolyte membrane 13. Electrode 14 facing the metal film 11
Is provided.

The metal film 11 is made of a metal thin plate such as gold which is electrochemically inactive in a solution which is formed extremely thin so as to have flexible bendability, and has a thickness of the ink transfer arm 10. It has a fine line shape with a width corresponding to.

The conductive polymer film 12 is formed, for example, by using a monomer solution prepared by mixing DBS (dodecylbenzene sulfanate) with Py (pyrrole).
Is formed by a method of forming a conductive polymer film made of a conducting polymer in which PPy (polypyrrole) is doped with DBS on the surface of the metal film 11 by electropolymerization using the metal film 11 as an electrode. There is.

Further, the electrolyte membrane 13 is formed by applying a solution of an ion conductive polymer represented by polyoxyethylene or the like on the conductive polymer membrane 12.

The interface between the conductive polymer membrane 12 and the electrolyte membrane 13 has a composition in which the components of both membranes 12 and 13 are mixed, and the composition ratio is such that the conductive polymer membrane 12 and the electrolyte membrane. It changes continuously between 13 and.

That is, the composition ratio of the conductive polymer film 12 and the electrolyte film 13 except for the interface is 100%.
However, at the interface, the composition ratio of the conductive polymer film 12 decreases as it approaches the electrolyte membrane 13, and the composition ratio of the electrolyte film 13 decreases as it approaches the conductive polymer film 12. There is.

The base end of the ink transfer arm 10 is fixed to an arm holder 21 provided in the drive unit 20 and supported by the drive unit 20, and the metal film 1 thereof is provided.
1 and the electrode 14 are the print control unit 22 in the drive unit 20.
Is connected via a lead wire.

A plurality of the ink transfer arms 10 are arranged side by side in the width direction of the recording paper 1 at closely spaced intervals and supported by the arm holder 21. The ink transfer arms 10 are respectively controlled by the print control. It is connected to the section 22.

The ink transfer arm 10 has a metal film 1 which is opposed to the conductive polymer film 12 and the electrolyte film 13.
When a pulse voltage is applied between the electrode 1 and the electrode 14, the recording paper 1 is bent and deformed in the direction of contact and separation, and the applied voltage is supplied from the print controller 22.

The drive control unit 15 controls the polarity and voltage value of the pulse voltage applied between the metal film 11 and the electrode 14, and one polarity between the metal film 11 and the electrode 14. When the voltage is applied, the amount of ions corresponding to the applied voltage value moves from the conductive polymer film 12 to the electrolyte film 13, and the volume of the conductive polymer film 12 changes due to the ion release.

When a voltage of the other polarity is applied between the metal film 11 and the electrode 14, the conductive polymer film 12 from the electrolyte film 13 is doped with an amount of ions according to the applied voltage value, and the conductivity is increased. The volume of the polymer film 12 changes contrary to that at the time of ion ejection.

The amount of change in the volume of the conductive polymer film 12 at the time of ion emission and doping corresponds to the applied voltage value, that is, the amount of ion emission and the amount of doping from the conductive polymer film 12.

Then, by giving and receiving ions between the conductive polymer film 12 and the electrolyte film 13, the conductive polymer film 1 is formed.
When the volume of 2 changes, the change in volume causes the metal film 11
Flexibly deforms together with the conductive polymer film 12, thereby flexibly deforming the ink transfer arm 10 almost entirely.

That is, the conductive polymer film 12 is
The conductive polymer film 12 expands and contracts due to the release and doping of ions due to the application of a voltage, but the conductive polymer film 12 does not expand and contract even when a voltage is applied, so the conductive polymer film 12 expands. Then, the metal film 1
1 and the conductive polymer film 12 are bent and deformed in an arc shape on the back surface side of the metal film 11, and the ink transfer arm 1 is moved in that direction.
The entire 0 flexes and deforms. When the conductive polymer film 12 contracts, the metal film 11 bends and deforms in a circular arc shape with the conductive polymer film 12 toward the surface side of the conductive polymer film 12, and the entire ink transfer arm 10 bends and deforms in that direction.

In this embodiment, the ink transfer arm 10 is provided with its surface (the surface on which the electrode 14 is formed) facing the recording paper 1. Therefore, the ink transfer arm 10 is made of a conductive polymer film. When 12 expands, it flexes and deforms toward the ink tray 4, and when the conductive polymer film 12 contracts, it flexes and deforms toward the recording paper 1.

The flexural deformation characteristics of the ink transfer arm 10 differ depending on the physical properties of the conductive polymer film 12.
For example, in the case where the conductive polymer film 12 has a physical property of expanding by ion emission and contracting by ion doping, the direction of the ink tray 4 when the voltage of the polarity for releasing the ion from the conductive polymer film 12 is applied. When the voltage of the opposite polarity is applied, the flexure deforms toward the recording paper 1.

When the conductive polymer film 12 has a physical property of contracting due to ion emission and expanding due to ion doping, recording is performed when a voltage having a polarity for releasing ions from the conductive polymer film 12 is applied. It is bent and deformed in the direction of the paper 1, and when the voltage of the opposite polarity is applied, it is bent and deformed in the direction of the ink tray 4.

The efficiency of ion transfer between the conductive polymer membrane 12 and the electrolyte membrane 13 depends on the membrane 1 of both membranes.
Although it depends on the state of the interface between the electrodes 2 and 13, as described above, the interface has a composition in which the components of both the films 12 and 13 are mixed, and the composition ratio is set to the conductive polymer film 12 and the electrolyte film 13. By continuously changing the voltage between the conductive polymer film 12 and the electrolyte film 13, ions can be smoothly transferred between the conductive polymer film 12 and the electrolyte film 13, and the ink transfer arm 10 responds to the voltage application. Flexibly deforms.

Further, in this embodiment, the electrolyte membrane 13 is used.
And the electrode 14 formed on the surface of the ink transfer arm 1
A slit opening to one side of 0 and a slit opening to the other side are formed in a meandering pattern alternately provided at appropriate intervals, and the electrolyte membrane 13 and the electrode 14 resist the bending deformation of the ink transfer arm 10. To a lesser degree.

However, when the amount of flexural deformation required for the ink transfer arm 10 is small, the resistances of the electrolyte membrane 13 and the electrode 14 against the flexural deformation are not a problem, so these are formed as a single film. Good.

Further, even if the flexural deformation amount required for the ink transfer arm 10 is large, if the electrolyte membrane 13 has elasticity, it is not necessary to form the electrolyte membrane 13 in a meandering shape. In the case of an electrode having elasticity such as conductive rubber or an ultrathin thin film electrode, the electrode 14
Does not have to be formed in a meandering shape.

Further, the tip of the ink transfer arm 10 prevents the ink from directly contacting the metal film 11, the conductive polymer 12, the electrolyte film 13 and the electrode 14, so that the coating resin 15 having excellent ink adhesion is provided. Is covered with. The coating resin 15 may be omitted.

In the printer of this embodiment, by applying a voltage to the ink transfer arm 10, the ink tray 4 and the recording paper 1 are
When the ink transfer arm 10 is flexibly deformed in the direction of the ink tray 4, the ink is adhered to the recording paper 1 in a dot shape for printing by flexing and deforming the ink transfer arm 10. When the tip of the recording paper 1 is inserted into the ink 3 in the ink tray 4 and the ink is attached to the tip of the ink transfer arm 10, the ink transfer arm 10 is bent and deformed in the direction of the recording paper 1. The ink adhered to the tip of the ink transfer arm 10 is transferred to the recording paper 1 by being pressed by.

In this case, since the plurality of ink transfer arms 10 are arranged side by side in the width direction of the recording paper 1 at close intervals, the transfer of the recording paper 1 is synchronized with each ink transfer arm 10 and the ink tray 4. By flexurally deforming the recording paper 1, a large number of dot-shaped inks can be printed on the recording paper 1 line by line.

That is, the printer is provided with a linear ink transfer arm 10 whose base end is supported and is flexibly deformed by the application of a voltage to bring the front end into contact with the recording paper, and the front end of the ink transfer arm 10 is connected to the recording paper 1. The ink is adhered by pressing it to the printer. This printer flexes and deforms the ink transfer arm 10 so that its tip comes into contact with the recording paper 1. Therefore, the structure is extremely simple and inexpensive to obtain. be able to.

Moreover, in this printer, as the ink transfer arm 10, a conductive polymer film 12 and an electrolyte film 13 are laminated on a metal film 11 and an electrode 14 is provided on the metal film 11, and a voltage is applied. The volume of the conductive polymer film 12 changes due to the exchange of ions between the conductive polymer film 12 and the electrolyte film 13, and the metal film 11 causes the conductive polymer film 12 to change in volume.
The ink transfer arm 10 is configured to flexibly deform together with the conductive polymer film 1 by applying a voltage.
Ions are exchanged between the electrolyte membrane 13 and the electrolyte membrane 13 to cause flexural deformation, which facilitates miniaturization. Therefore, the dot diameter of the ink attached to the recording paper 1 can be reduced to achieve high-definition printing. Can be done.

The ink 3 in the ink tray 4 may be impregnated in a porous material such as a sponge. By doing so, the amount of ink adhered to the tip of the ink transfer arm 10 can be reduced. It can be an appropriate amount.

In the printer of the above embodiment, the ink transfer arm 10 is flexibly deformed between the ink tray 4 and the recording paper 1 so that the ink 3 in the ink tray 4 is attached to the tip of the ink transfer arm 10. The ink is adhered and the ink is transferred onto the recording paper 1. However, the present invention is not limited to the ink transfer arm 1.
It is also applicable to a printer in which 0 is pressed against a recording paper via an ink ribbon to transfer the ink of the ink ribbon onto the recording paper.

[0037]

The printer of the present invention is provided with a linear ink transfer arm whose base end is supported and flexibly deforms when a voltage is applied to bring the front end into contact with the recording paper. The front end of the ink transfer arm is the recording paper. The structure is extremely simple because the ink is attached by pressing it to.

In the printer of the present invention, when the ink transfer arm is flexibly deformed between the ink tray and the recording paper, the ink in the ink tray is attached to the tip of the ink transfer arm and the ink is transferred to the ink cartridge. It can be transferred to recording paper.

Further, the ink transfer arm is formed by laminating a conductive polymer film and an electrolyte film on a metal film, and gives and receives ions between the conductive polymer film and the electrolyte film by applying a voltage. It is desirable that the conductive polymer film be changed in volume by the volume change, and the metal film is flexibly deformed together with the conductive polymer film due to the change in volume, and the ink transfer arm can be formed into a conductive polymer film and an electrolyte film by applying voltage. Since the ions are exchanged between them to bend and deform, it is easy to miniaturize them. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the dot diameter of the ink adhered to the recording paper and perform high-definition printing.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a printer showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a base end portion of an ink transfer arm.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the tip of the ink transfer arm.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view of the tip of the ink transfer arm.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Recording paper 4 ... Ink tray 10 ... Ink transfer arm 11 ... Metal film 12 ... Conductive polymer film 13 ... Electrolyte film 14 ... Electrode

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A printer for depositing ink in a dot shape on a recording paper, comprising a linear ink transfer arm having a base end supported and flexibly deformed by application of a voltage to bring the front end into contact with the recording paper. A printer characterized in that ink is attached by pressing the tip of an ink transfer arm against the recording paper. 2. The ink transfer arm is flexibly deformed between the ink tray and the recording paper, and the ink in the ink tray is attached to the tip to transfer the ink to the recording paper. The printer according to claim 1. 3. The ink transfer arm is formed by laminating a conductive polymer film and an electrolyte film on a metal film, and gives and receives ions between the conductive polymer film and the electrolyte film by applying a voltage. 3. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the conductive polymer film changes in volume by the volume change, and the volume change causes the metal film to bend and deform together with the conductive polymer film.