JPH11123816A - Fixing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fixing device that requires no accuracy in preparing and mounting a reflector and improves the fixing capability of ink to a recording medium by making an efficient use of heat from a heating source. SOLUTION: A recording medium P on which recording is completed is passed by a halogen lamp 9 by a paper guide 10 with a predetermined space provided therebetween so that the recording medium P can directly receive light emitted from the halogen lamp 9 on a wide area thereof so as to be heated. This obviate the necessity of a complicated and space-consuming reflector for reflecting light from the halogen lamp 9 toward the recording medium P, resulting in reduction in costs for preparing and mounting such a reflector.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fixing device which is provided in an image forming apparatus such as a printer and fixes the hot-melt ink ejected by a recording means on a recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a fixing device provided in an image forming apparatus such as a printer and the like, a heat-fusible ink jetted onto a recording medium by a recording means is thermally fixed on the recording medium to form a fixed image. 2. Description of the Related Art A non-contact type fixing device that fixes an ink to a recording medium by heating a portion of the recording medium onto which ink is ejected by radiant energy from a halogen lamp is known. FIG. 4 shows a main configuration of an image recording apparatus provided with the fixing device. This fixing device 1
In 00, a fixing device 21 including a halogen lamp 9 and a reflector 17 is provided at a position downstream of the position where the recording head 5 ejects ink on the recording medium P conveyed by the platen roller 2 in the conveying direction of the recording medium P. And the halogen lamp 9 on the recording medium P after the ink has been ejected.
The recording medium P is heated by irradiating the radiant energy from the light reflected by the reflector 17 so that the ink is melted and fixed to the recording medium P.

[0003]

However, according to the conventional fixing device as described above, in order to reflect the radiant energy of the halogen lamp 9 and collect the radiant energy on the ink jetting surface of the recording medium P, the reflector 17 is operated by a halogen lamp. It must be formed in a predetermined shape in consideration of the direction in which light from the lamp 9 is reflected, for example, in a substantially semicircular shape, an elliptical shape, a parabolic shape, or the like. Furthermore, in order to irradiate the recording medium P with light from the halogen lamp 9 with as little loss as possible, the reflector 17 is required to have a high reflectance.
Therefore, there is a problem that the cost is increased. Further, in order for the reflected light of the halogen lamp 9 by the reflector 17 to be focused on the recording medium P, the mounting position of the reflector 17 also requires accuracy.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and does not require precision in the manufacture and installation of the reflector, and more efficiently uses the heat from the heating source. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a fixing device in which the fixing property of ink on a recording medium is improved.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, a fixing device according to the present invention is provided in an image forming apparatus such as a printer, and transfers a hot-melt ink jetted by a recording unit onto a recording medium. A fixing device, which is located downstream of the recording position of the recording unit in the transport direction of the recording medium and extends in the width direction of the recording medium, and the recording device fixes the ink on the recording medium. A heating source for heating the entire area in the width direction of the medium, guide means for guiding the recording medium such that the recording medium is conveyed so as to be spaced from the heating source and to surround the heating source; and Transport means for transporting the recording medium along the guide means such that the surface of the recording medium on which the ink has been ejected faces the heating source.

[0006] In the above configuration, the recording medium on which recording has been completed has its ink ejected surface directed to the heating source side.
Since the recording medium passes so as to surround the heating source, the recording medium can directly receive the heat generated by the heating source in a wide range. This makes it possible to efficiently use the heat from the heating source without requiring a reflector that reflects light or heat from the heating source, and to improve the fixability of the ink to the recording medium. In addition, since the reflector does not need to have a light reflecting function, it is not necessary to use a material having a high reflectivity, the cost is low, and the configuration and the mounting are easy.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fixing device according to the first aspect, wherein the guide means is provided at a predetermined distance from the center of the heating source and has a substantially semicircular cross section. It is configured in a shape.

In the above configuration, since the guide means is formed in a substantially semicircular shape, compared with the case of an elliptical shape, the recording medium can be accurately maintained at a constant distance from the heating source with a simple configuration and mounting. Can be conveyed, and heat can be uniformly applied to the recording medium.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fixing device according to the first or second aspect, wherein the conveying means has feed rollers upstream and downstream of the guide means, respectively. The upstream feed roller is configured to rotate faster than the downstream feed roller.

In the above construction, since the upstream feed roller of the conveying means is rotated faster than the downstream feed roller, the amount of the recording medium conveyed to the guide means by the upstream feed roller is controlled by the downstream feed roller. The amount of the recording medium conveyed from the means is larger than that of the recording medium. Can be fixed.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a fixing device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a main configuration of an image recording apparatus provided with a fixing device according to the present invention. The image recording apparatus 1 is a hot-melt image recording apparatus that heats and melts a solid-state solid hot-melt ink at normal temperature, and ejects the hot-melt hot-melt ink to perform recording. Image recording device 1
Is provided with a platen roller 2 for transporting the recording medium P and supporting it at a recording position. Press rollers 3 and 4 are arranged above and below the platen roller 2, respectively.

At a position facing the platen roller 2, an ink jet type recording head (recording means) 5 for performing recording by discharging hot melt ink melted on the recording medium P is provided. It is installed in. The carriage 6 has a position parallel to the platen roller 2.
The guide bars 7 and 8 are freely slidably moved in the horizontal and horizontal directions, and scan and move the recording medium P by using a carriage motor (not shown) as a drive source.

At a position on the side of the platen roller 2 opposite to the recording head 5, a halogen lamp for heating the recording medium P is formed in a rod shape having a length equal to the width of the recording medium P. A (heat source) 9 is provided, and a paper guide (guide means) 10 having a substantially semicircular cross section is provided at a predetermined distance from the halogen lamp 9. A paper feed roller 11 (upstream feed roller and transport means) and a paper feed roller 12 (downstream feed roller and transport means) are provided on the upstream and downstream sides of the paper guide 10 in the recording medium P transport direction, respectively. The paper feed roller 11 guides the recording medium P conveyed from the platen roller 2 and the pressing rollers 3 and 4 in the direction of the paper guide 10 together with the pressing roller 11a so that the recording medium P moves along the paper guide 10. To The paper guide 10 moves the recording medium P conveyed from the paper feed roller 11 downward around the halogen lamp 9 in the conveyance direction by one.
It is arranged so as to be turned by 80 degrees and to be guided to the paper feed roller 12. The paper feed roller 12 transports the recording medium P, which has moved along the paper guide 10, together with the pressing roller 12a, to a discharge port (not shown).

With such an arrangement, the recording medium P
Moves on the paper guide 10 while maintaining the state where the ink ejected surface faces the halogen lamp 9. The fixing device 15 is constituted by the halogen lamp 9, the paper guide 10, the paper feed rollers 11, 12, and the pressing rollers 11a, 12a. On the side of the halogen lamp 9 opposite to the paper guide 10, a plane reflector 13 for reflecting the radiant energy of the halogen lamp 9 in the direction of the paper guide 10 is provided, so that the radiant energy of the halogen lamp 9 is effectively used. It has become.

The recording operation of the image recording apparatus 1 having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a side view illustrating a configuration of a main part of the image recording apparatus 1. When the power of the image recording apparatus 1 is turned on and the solid ink contained in the ink tank in the carriage 6 is heated and melted into a liquid state, the recording head 5 ejects the ink from the selected nozzles while discharging the ink from the selected nozzle. The recording medium P is moved in parallel with the platen roller 2 by the driving force transmitted from the motor, and ejects ink onto the recording medium P set on the platen roller 2 to perform recording. When one scan is completed, the recording medium P is sent by the rotation of the platen roller 2, and the next row of the recording surface corresponds to the recording position. After the recording, the recording medium P is fed to the paper feed roller 11 and the pressing roller 11.
The sheet is guided to the sheet guide 10 by a. The recording medium P is heated by the radiation energy from the halogen lamp 9 while being transported along the paper guide 10, and the ink on the recording medium P is melted and fixed to the recording medium P. Thereafter, the recording medium P is conveyed to a sheet discharge port (not shown) by the sheet feed roller 12 and the pressing roller 12a. Here, the recording medium P
Is transported in a substantially S-shape with respect to the recording unit and the fixing unit. Due to such conveyance, the recording medium P has less curl.

Next, conveyance of the recording medium P around the halogen lamp 9 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a side view showing the configuration of the fixing device 15. As described above, the recording medium P is conveyed around the halogen lamp 9 along the paper guide 10 so that the recording medium P is moved around the halogen lamp 9 by about 230 degrees around the halogen lamp 9.
Can directly receive the radiant energy from Further, in order to increase the degree of adhesion of the recording medium P to the paper guide 10, the rotation speed of the paper feed roller 11 is set to be higher than the rotation speed of the paper feed roller 12. With this setting, the amount of the recording medium P that moves from the paper feed roller 11 to the paper guide 10 is
2, the recording medium P is larger than the amount of the recording medium P conveyed from the paper guide 10,
It will adhere to 0. In the recording medium P moving on the paper guide 10, the paper guide 10 has a semicircular shape, and the halogen lamp 9 is provided at the center of the recording medium. The entire recording medium P is uniformly heated by the halogen lamp 9.

As described above, according to the fixing device 15 of the present embodiment, the halogen lamp 9 is provided downstream of the recording position of the recording head 7, and the paper guide 10 and the paper feed roller 1 are provided.
The ink jetting surface of the recording medium P is directed toward the halogen lamp 9 by the first and second pressing rollers 11a and 12a.
Since the recording medium P is made to pass around the halogen lamp 9 at a certain interval, the recording medium P is heated by directly receiving radiation energy from the halogen lamp 9 in a wide range. Thereby, the radiant energy of the halogen lamp 9 can be efficiently used for heating the recording medium P, and the fixability of the ink to the recording medium P can be improved. Since the space in which the halogen lamp 9 is housed is substantially closed by the recording medium P (paper guide 10), the plane reflector 13, and the left and right side frames (not shown), heat can be prevented from dissipating. Ink can be efficiently fixed even with a halogen lamp having a relatively small capacity.

The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, but can be variously modified. For example, in the above embodiment, the rotation speed of the paper feed roller 11 is set to be higher than the rotation speed of the paper feed roller 12 in order to increase the degree of adhesion of the recording medium P to the paper guide 10. The grip force of the roller 11 may be set to be stronger than the grip force of the paper feed roller 12. Further, in the above embodiment, the recording medium P is heated by the rod-shaped halogen lamp 9 extending in the width direction of the recording medium P. However, a plurality of spherical halogen lamps are arranged in the same length as the width of the recording medium P. In this case, the recording medium P may be heated, or may be heated using a heat source such as an infrared lamp or a heater.

[0019]

As described above, according to the fixing device of the first aspect, the recording medium is caused to pass around the heating source with the surface on which the ink is ejected facing the heating source. The recording medium can directly receive heat from a heating source in a wide range. Therefore, the heat from the heating source can be efficiently used, and the fixability of the ink to the recording medium can be improved. Further, a reflector for collecting heat from the heating source onto the recording medium is not required, and the material does not have to have a high reflectivity. Therefore, cost can be reduced, and precision is required for manufacturing and mounting the reflector and the like. Since the fixing process is not performed, the manufacturing process of the fixing device is simplified and the cost is reduced.

Further, according to the fixing device of the present invention, since the guide means has a substantially semicircular cross section, the recording medium can be accurately maintained at a constant distance from the heating source with a simple configuration. The recording medium can be conveyed, and the recording medium can be heated uniformly, so that there is no uneven fixing.

According to the fixing device of the present invention, the recording medium is brought into close contact with the guide means by rotating the upstream feed roller of the conveying means faster than the downstream feed roller, and the recording medium is heated. The distance from the source is kept more precisely constant. Thereby, the ink can be stably fixed on the recording medium.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a main configuration of an image recording apparatus provided with a fixing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a configuration of a main part of the image recording apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a side view illustrating a configuration of the fixing device.

FIG. 4 is a side view illustrating a main configuration of an image recording apparatus provided with a conventional fixing device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 image recording apparatus 5 recording head (recording means) 9 halogen lamp (heating source) 10 paper guide (guide means) 11 paper feed roller (upstream feed roller, transport means) 12 paper feed roller (downstream feed roller, transport means) 15 Fixing device

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Masafumi Suzuki 15-1 Naeshiro-cho, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya-shi Inside Brother Industries, Ltd. (72) Inventor Akira Satoru 15-1 Naeshiro-cho, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya-city Brother Industries, Ltd. (72) Inventor Yukihiro Wakasugi 15-1 Naeshiro-cho, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya Inside Brother Industries, Ltd.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus such as a printer, comprising:
In a fixing device for fixing the heat-fusible ink ejected by a recording unit on a recording medium, the fixing unit is located downstream of a recording position of the recording unit in a conveying direction of the recording medium and is extended in a width direction of the recording medium. A heating source for heating the entire width of the recording medium in order to fix the ink on the recording medium, and a recording medium conveyed so as to be spaced from the heating source and surround the heating source. Guide means for guiding the recording medium, and conveying means for conveying the recording medium along the guide means such that the surface of the recording medium onto which the ink has been ejected faces the heating source. Characteristic fixing device. 2. The fixing device according to claim 1, wherein the guide unit is provided at a predetermined interval around the heating source and has a substantially semicircular cross section. 3. The conveyance means has a feed roller on an upstream side and a downstream side of the guide means, respectively, and the upstream feed roller is configured to rotate faster than the downstream feed roller. The fixing device according to claim 1, wherein: