JPS59155064A - Image recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simplify the structure of an image recorder without the use of a heat-sensitive ink film by using a system in which a solid ink in an air-tight container is partly melted by heater, directed to a heating element, and injected by air pressure through the through holes of the heating element. CONSTITUTION:A solid ink 8 in an air-tight container 1 whose air tightness is kept by a packing 6 is heated by a heater 3, and the lower part of the solid ink 8 is melted and flowed into a heating element 2. The through hole of the heating element 2 is closed by solidified heat-sensitive ink, and the heating element 2 is selectively heated according to image signals, and the heat-sensitive ink in the portion is melted. The molten ink is injected onto a recording material 9 by air pressure through a flexible pipe 5 by an air pump 4 and solidified for dot recording.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus that selectively melts thermal ink using a heating element and records on a recording member such as paper using air pressure.

2. Description of the Related Art A thermal transfer method has conventionally been used as an image recording apparatus that records by thermally melting thermal ink. However, this method has drawbacks such as high running costs because it uses disposable thermal ink film, space required to process and store used thermal ink film, and restrictions on machine downsizing. be.

One way to modify this is to replace the disposable thermal ink film with an endless tape or the like, and use an ink reapplying method in which thermal ink is applied at a location away from the recording paper. This method requires a heater to melt the thermal ink, a device to apply the ink evenly, and rollers and endless tape to apply the ink, making the machine complex and requiring both cost and space. One thing was not enough. Furthermore, because the thermal ink comes into direct contact with the paper that is the recording member, paper dust adheres to the thermal ink and has an adverse effect, so it has not yet been commercialized.

The present invention has focused on this point and aims to provide an image recording device using thermal ink with a simple structure without using a thermal ink film or an ink reapplication mechanism. The details of one embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1(A) is a side view schematically showing the overall configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. The airtight container 1 usually has a plurality of heating elements 2 and a heater 6 that heat-melts the thermal ink and guides it to the heating elements 2 at the bottom, and is connected by a flexible pipe 5 to an air pump 4 that generates air pressure at the lower right side. There is. Further, the upper part of the airtight container 1 has a lid 7 which can be opened and closed via a backing 6, and a thermal ink 8 is stored inside. A recording paper 9 is placed close to the bottom of the heating element 2, and a platen 1 is placed underneath it.
0 is placed. The infrared lamp 11 is arranged so as to irradiate the recorded recording member.

FIG. 1(B) is a top view showing the relationship among the heating element, recording paper, and platen.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a set of a heater and a heating element that transport thermal ink using capillary action.

Here, the shaded area represents molten thermal ink.

Figure 3 shows a permanent magnet (instead of the air pump in Figure 1).
・Equipped with a diaphragm 12 and an electromagnetic solenoid 16, and has an air valve 14.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the heating cord and heater element. The heating element and the heater that transports the thermal ink using capillary action are made of the same material. The heating element 15 and the thermal ink at the bottom of the airtight container. The through holes 16 are vertically spaced apart for clarity. Note that the shaded portion of the heat generating/heating element 15 represents the molten thermal ink 8.

Next, the effect will be explained. In Figure 1, the thermal ink 8 is placed on the lid 7.
Open and place in airtight container 1. After that, the lid 7 is closed and the backing 6 is used to maintain airtightness.

Here, thermal ink is a colored solid ink that is made by dispersing pigments, dyes, etc. in wax or the like, and is solid at room temperature and becomes liquid when the temperature is raised.

When the heater 6 is energized by an electrode (not shown) to generate heat, the lower part of the thermal ink 8 melts, and a part of it melts into the heating element 2.
It flows to.

The heating element 2 has a through hole, and the molten thermal ink flows and closes the through hole, radiating heat and cooling, and becomes solid. Next, in general, when a pulse current is selectively applied to a plurality of heating cords 2 through electrodes (not shown) in accordance with an image signal to generate heat, the thermal ink in the corresponding portions is melted.

The heating element 2 is located on the bottom of the airtight container 1, and the air pump 4
Since the ink is pressurized through the flexible pipe 5, the molten heat-sensitive ink is injected toward the recording member 9 by air pressure, solidified, and recorded as dots. Here, the power supply to the heater 6 may be continuous power supply during recording, pulsed power supply synchronized with the power supply pulse of the heating element 20, or the like. When the molten thermal ink is injected, the heating element 2 is still in a high temperature state, so another molten thermal ink flows, blocks the through hole, and radiates heat and solidifies.

By repeating this process, characters, images, etc. are recorded in a dot configuration. Here, the heater 6 can also be constructed of two heaters with a narrow gap, as shown in heater A in FIG. 2, for example. In this case, capillary development is used to melt and
Supply of thermal ink becomes smoother. It is also conceivable to use a combination of the diaphragm 12, electromagnetic valve 16, and air valve 14 shown in FIG. 3 instead of the air pump 40 shown in FIG. 1, and apply an alternating current to the electromagnetic valve 16 to apply periodically changing air pressure.

In this case, by synchronizing the energization of the heating cord 2 and the fluctuation period of the air pressure, it becomes possible to record more reliably. Further, the heating element 2 and the heater 6 shown in FIG. 1 may be constructed of the same material as the heating element 15 shown in FIG. 4.

In this way, it is possible to record dots on the recording member, but
As shown in Figure 1 (by reheating the recording member 9 recorded with the infrared lamp 11, the recording state becomes more reliable.Also, it is natural to consider reheating by heat conduction, convection, pressure fixing, etc. instead of using radiant heat. It will be done.

If dot recording becomes possible as described above, by combining them, images such as characters and images can be recorded without using consumables such as thermal ink film (a small, lightweight image recording device with low maintenance costs can be realized. Colorization can also be easily realized by using thermal inks of a plurality of colors and the same number of devices.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1(A) is a side view schematically showing the overall configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1(B) is a top view showing the relationship between the heating element, the recording paper, and the platen, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a side view schematically showing the overall configuration of an embodiment of the method of periodically changing the air pressure; FIG. 4 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the heat generating element and heater; FIG. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of one embodiment of the device. 1...Airtight container, 2...Heating element,
6... Heater, 4... Air pump, 5... Flexible pipe, 6... Backing, 7... Lid, 8...
...Thermal ink, 9...Recording member, 10
...Platen, 11...Infrared lamp, 12...Diaphragm, 16...TA misolenoid 14...Air valve, 15...Heating/heating element, 16...Thermal ink through hole. Figure 1 (A) Figure 3 Figure 4

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) An image recording apparatus of a type that records on a recording member by selectively thermally melting thermal ink using a heating element, which includes the thermal ink and the heating element, and supplies the thermal ink to the heating element. An image recording apparatus comprising: a means for applying air pressure to the heating element; and an air pump for generating the air pressure. (2) The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the means for supplying the heat-sensitive ink to the heating element is a heater that transports the heat-sensitive ink using capillary phenomenon. (3) The image recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the heating element and the heater that transports the thermal ink using capillary action are constructed of the same member.