JPS58222856A - Magnetic ink recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a stable recording of images of a high quality by connecting a magnetic ink supply path and a magnetic ink tank with a changeover valve when no recording is done to prevent drying and concentration of the magnetic ink by a magnetic force. CONSTITUTION:A supply pipe 22 feeds a magnetic ink 20 to a recording head section 10 and one end thereof is connected to a magnetic ink tank 21 while the other end thereof to a solenoid valve 23. The solenoid valve 23 is designed to be a two-way changeover valve one end of which is connected to a constant liquid level tank 24 while the other end thereof to a subtank 25 at the position equal to or higher than a stylus 11. A tank connected to the supply pipe 22 can be changed over selectively by turning the solenoid valve 23 to ON or OFF position.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention involves holding and raising magnetic ink by magnetic force on a recording needle made of a magnetic material, and applying a Coulomb force corresponding to an image signal to the raised magnetic ink. This relates to a magnetic ink recording device that records images by flying magnetic ink onto a recording surface.It prevents the magnetic ink from drying out and condensing due to magnetic force, and maintains good image quality even after long periods of storage or suspension. The purpose is to be able to record images stably.

Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 1, a multi-needle recording unit 1 (hereinafter simply referred to as a stylus) has recording needles made of magnetic material arranged in a line.

), the stylus 1 is magnetized by the bump magnet 6 provided on the stylus 1, and a bump of magnetic ink 2 is formed on the stylus 1 by magnetic force, and an image signal voltage is applied between the stylus 1 and the back electrode 3. The apparatus that forms an image on the recording paper 4 by applying Coulomb force has the following drawbacks.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the magnetic ink 2 is in contact with the bump magnet 6 and the auxiliary magnet 6 and is constantly subjected to the action of magnetic force. Magnetic concentration (magnetic field segregation) section 2 on top and auxiliary magnet θ
' was occurring.

For this reason, the flow of the magnetic ink 2 on the bump magnet 5 was inhibited, and stable supply could not be performed as the magnetic ink 2 was consumed. Another disadvantage is that when the viscosity of the magnetic ink 2 increases due to evaporation and drying of the magnetic ink 2 and the aforementioned magnetic concentration, the magnetic ink 2 does not fly even if a Coulomb force is applied between the stylus 1 and the back electrode 3. It had

Conventionally, as a method to improve the above-mentioned drawbacks,
As shown in FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b), when recording is stopped, the ink tank 9 is raised and lowered by the motor and gear mechanism 7, and the liquid level height of the ink tank 9 from the position of the stylus 1 is recorded. By setting the liquid level to form the necessary bulges low and depositing a large amount of magnetic ink 2 on the stylus 1, the viscosity of the ink can be reduced by drying the ink on the stylus 1 and magnetically concentrating it when recording is stopped. A method has been proposed to reduce the rise, but with this configuration, it is necessary to move the ink tank 9 to a predetermined position from the time of rest to the time of recording, so it takes a long time to start recording. However, since the position of the ink tank 9 is mechanically moved up and down, the ink tank liquid level fluctuates and ripples, and the magnetic slit section made up of the bump magnet 5 and the auxiliary magnet 6 is easily cut and air gets mixed in during recording. At times, it has the disadvantage that ink cannot be supplied and recording cannot be performed.

The present invention eliminates the above-mentioned drawbacks, and allows stable high-quality images to be quickly and stably produced without hindering the supply and flight of magnetic ink when recording is performed after being left unused or after a long recording stoppage. An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 4 to 8. (゛; FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a magnetic ink recording apparatus which is an embodiment of the present invention.
The stylus 11 is composed of a magnetic material arranged to face the stylus 11, and a fixed housing 13 fixes a protrusion magnet 12 provided in contact with the surface of the stylus 11.

An auxiliary magnet 16 forming a slit portion 14 is provided at a position facing the uplift magnet 12.

Further, a part of the surface of the auxiliary magnet 16 except for the end face portion is covered with a shield plate 19. Incidentally, the uplift magnet 12 and the auxiliary magnet 16 constitute a part of the storage chamber 21 for magnetic ink 2°.

The supply pipe 22 for the magnetic ink 20 supplies the magnetic ink 20 to the recording head section 10, and one end thereof is connected to the magnetic ink storage chamber 21, and the other end is connected to the electromagnetic valve 23. The solenoid valve 23 is a three-way switching valve,
One end is connected to a constant liquid level tank 24, and the other end is connected to a sub-tank 26 provided at a position equal to or higher than the height of the stylus 11. For this reason, the solenoid valve 23
By switching to the ON-OFF state, the tank connected to the supply pipe 22 can be selectively switched.

The sub-tank 26 and the constant liquid level tank 24 are connected by a pipe 27 having a solenoid valve 26 in the middle. The ink level in the constant liquid level tank 24, which secures a predetermined head H to form the necessary ridges during recording, is always kept constant by overflowing the magnetic ink 2o supplied from the sub tank 26 through the pipe 27. There is. An air chamber 28 filled with air is provided above the sub-tank 26 to which the magnetic ink 2o is supplied from the main tank 18 by the pump 17. Furthermore, this air chamber 28
The opening 29 is always filled with magnetic ink 20 in the sub-tank 25.
It is constructed so that it is immersed inside and does not come in contact with the outside air.

The stylus 11 is connected to a voltage applying means 29 that causes the magnetic ink 2o raised at the tip of the stylus to fly onto the recording paper 16 in response to an image signal. Further, a bias voltage is applied to the power source 3 between the stylus 11 and the back electrode 30.
1 is applied.

The solenoid valve driving means 32 continuously turns the solenoid valve 23 ON-OF.
Switch to F state. The coil spring 33 applies a negative force in the direction of returning the valve.

The case body 34 is provided with an inner guide member 36 that rotates about a fulcrum shaft 35 and a sealing lid 39 that rotates in conjunction with the inner guide member 36 by link members 37 and 38. The sealing lid 39 is opened and closed by an arm 41 that is rotated by a motor 40. The coil spring 42 negatively biases the inner guide member 36 in the direction of the arrow.

Further, the side end portion of the sealing lid 39 of the case body 34 forming the ink recovery path 43 protrudes forward beyond the slit portion 14 to form an ink receiver portion 46 . A filter 44 is provided in the middle of the ink recovery path 43.

Next, the operation of this device will be explained.

When recording normally, from the main tank 18 to the pump 17
The magnetic ink 2o supplied to the sub-tank 25 by the solenoid valve 26 is sent to the constant liquid level tank 24 by the pipe 27 through the solenoid valve 26, which is opened, and is also sent to the constant liquid level tank 24 by the solenoid valve 23. The ink storage chamber 21 is filled through the supply pipe 22. At this time, since the magnetic force of the uplift magnet 12 and the auxiliary magnet 16 is acting on the opening slit portion 14 of the ink storage chamber 21, the magnetic ink 20 in the supply pipe 22 is transferred from the slit portion 14 to the tank with a constant liquid level. Head height H to the ink level of 24
It can be maintained without falling even under pressure equivalent to . For this purpose, magnetic ink 20 is supplied to the tip of the stylus 11 through the sloped surface of the bump magnet 12 to form recordable bumps as shown in FIG. At this time, the solenoid valve 23 is maintained in a state in which the sub-tank 25 and the supply pipe 22 are not directly connected (ie, in a energized state, it is negatively energized in the direction of arrow C).

When a voltage is applied between the stylus 11 and the back electrode 3o by the voltage applying means 29 in accordance with the image signal with the above-mentioned protuberance formed, the magnetic ink 2o is transferred from the tip of the stylus 11 by a Coulomb force. li'l'', and forms an image on the recording paper 15. Incidentally, as the magnetic ink 20 is consumed, it is automatically supplied onto the stylus 11 through the supply pipe 22 by magnetic force.

When recording is completed, the motor 4o is driven and the arm 41 is moved to rotate the sealing lid 39 in the direction of the arrow as shown in FIG. 8, thereby sealing the opening 45 of the case body 34. At this time, the inner guide member 36 rotates about the fulcrum shaft 36 in conjunction with the movement of the sealing lid 39, forming a flow path from the slit portion 14 to the ink recovery path 43 as shown in FIG.

In the above state, the solenoid valve 26 is closed, the energization of the solenoid valve 23 is stopped, and the valve is negatively biased in the direction of the arrow by the spring 33,
When the sub-tank 25 and the supply pipe 22 are connected, the sub-tank 2 is placed at a higher position than the slit portion 14 in the height direction.
6, the slit portion 14 and the protrusion magnet 1
2. A large amount of magnetic ink 20 adheres to the stylus 11 and is held by magnetic force. Therefore, if recording is stopped in such a state, the increase in viscosity of the magnetic ink 20 due to drying can be significantly reduced. In addition, when recording is to be performed again after a recording pause, the pump 17 is driven in the state described above to forcefully blow out 2° of magnetic ink from the opening slit 14. At this time, the inner guide member 36 is configured to receive the ejected ink flow and to guide the flow in the direction of the auxiliary magnet 16. is washed by a rapidly flowing stream of magnetic ink. Therefore, even if high viscosity magnetic ink is dried or magnetically concentrated on the surface of the magnet and stylus 11, it is washed away and collected into the main tank 18 through the filter 44 of the ink recovery path 43. Ru.

After cleaning by blowing out 2 degrees of magnetic ink from the slit opening 14 for a certain period of time, the solenoid valve 26 is opened, and
The electromagnetic valve 23 is energized to connect the constant liquid level tank 24 and the ink supply pipe 22. Upon connection, a predetermined protuberance determined by the head height H is formed at the tip of the stylus 11.

Further, the motor 40 is driven to rotate the sealing lid 39 and the inner guide member 36 in the direction of arrow B, thereby opening the opening 45 of the case body 34. At this time, the bump magnet 12. Auxiliary magnet 1θ
A magnetic ink 20 that does not dry or magnetically concentrate is supplied onto the stylus 11 to form ridges, so that high-quality images can be stably recorded.

In this way, in this embodiment, the supply pipe is switched and connected to the constant liquid level tank used during recording and the sub-tank provided above the recording head section using a solenoid valve, so that the time required to transition from the recording pause state to the recording operation is shortened. In addition to Tesumu,
Since the liquid level does not fluctuate or ripple, there is no possibility that air will be sucked in through the slit opening, causing the slit to break and making it impossible to record.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to quickly and stably record high-quality images when recording is performed when the apparatus is left unused or after a long recording pause.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of the head section of a conventional magnetic inlay recording device, Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the vicinity of the tip of the head section, 4.
Figures (a) and (b) are schematic diagrams of the recording device;
The figure is a schematic configuration diagram of a magnetic ink recording device that is an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 6 is a plan view of the head section, and FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of the DD' section in FIG. 6. is C in Figure 5.
8 is a side view of the main part of the helad. 11...Stylus, 12...Elevation magnet, 20...Magnetic ink, 22...
Ink supply pipe, 23... Solenoid valve, 24...
・・・・Constant liquid level tank, 25,000 sub tank, 2
811+1@...Air chamber, 29...Voltage application means, 36...Inner guide member, 39...
・Airtight lid, 43...Recovery path, 40...
motor. Name of agent: Patent attorney Toshio Nakao and 1 other 1L
1 Figure 1 Figure 3/b) Figure 5 Figure 6 1θ Figure 7 J

Claims (1)

[Claims] a recording needle made of a magnetic material; a bump magnet provided on the recording needle; a magnetic ink supply path having an opening near the bump magnet; a first magnetic ink tank located above the first magnetic ink tank that maintains a constant liquid level and provided at a position that provides a predetermined drop to form a ridge of magnetic ink; and a first magnetic ink tank located above the first magnetic ink tank. A second magnetic ink tank whose liquid level is higher than the liquid level of the magnetic ink tank is selectively connected to the magnetic ink supply path and the first magnetic ink tank or the second magnetic ink tank. What is claimed is: 1. A magnetic ink recording device comprising: a switching valve, the switching valve connecting a magnetic ink supply path and the second magnetic ink tank during non-recording.