JPS6027981B2 - Non-impact recording method - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The present invention relates to a non-impact recording method.

A counter electrode whose surface is uniformly covered with powder toner is placed opposite the recording electrode with a predetermined gap therebetween, and a sheet-like or ribbon-like recording medium is interposed in the gap. While applying an image signal to the recording electrode, the counter electrode is moved while maintaining the size of the gap, and along with this movement, the recording body is moved to form a toner image corresponding to the image signal on the surface of the recording body. A recording method has been proposed. FIG. 1 shows an example of a device for carrying out such a recording method. Based on this device example, an outline of the above-mentioned recording method will be explained, and its problems will also be described. .

In the drawing, the recording electrode indicated by reference numeral 1 has a plate shape elongated in the direction perpendicular to the drawing, and a large number of needle-like electrodes are embedded in one end surface of the pongee width along the length direction.

The end points of these many needle electrodes are aligned in one direction at minute intervals on the one end surface, and a potential can be applied to any combination of needle electrodes depending on the image signal to be recorded. ing. Other recording electrodes that can be used include pin tubes and letter shapes.

In this example, the counter electrode 2 is formed into a drum shape, with its axial direction parallel to the length direction of the recording electrode 1, and its circumferential surface is spaced from the above-mentioned one end surface with a predetermined gap. They are provided so as to face each other in the length direction.

The counter electrode 2 is rotatable in the direction of the arrow, holds the toner T on its peripheral surface, and rotates in the direction of the arrow during recording.

The recording body S is non-conductive, and during recording, is conveyed in the direction of the arrow by a conveyance system (not shown), and becomes ready for recording when its leading end intervenes in the gap between the recording electrode and the counter electrode.

As the recording medium, ordinary plain paper, insulating film, etc. are used, and the shape is sheet-like or ribbon-like.

However, even though it is ribbon-shaped, it does not necessarily mean that its width is narrow. The powder toner T has conductivity and magnetism, and is held on the surface of the counter electrode 2 by the magnetic force of a magnet installed in the counter electrode 2 .

Although non-magnetic toner may be used as the toner, the use of magnetic toner is superior in terms of ease of supply to the counter electrode and ease of holding by the counter electrode. Furthermore, the use of conductive toner is more advantageous than the use of high-resistance toner in that it is not necessary to charge the toner during recording. In the recordable state, the back surface of the recording medium S is in contact with the end surface of the recording electrode 1 in which the needle-shaped electrode is embedded, and its surface comes into light contact with the toner T on the counter electrode 2. ing.

In this state, while applying an image signal to the recording electrode 1, the recording medium S is conveyed at a predetermined speed in the direction of the arrow, and the counter electrode 2 is rotated in the direction of the arrow in accordance with the above-mentioned distance.

Then, in the recording section, that is, in the gap between the recording electrode 1 and the counter electrode 2, an electric field that penetrates the non-conductive recording body S in the thickness direction is generated locally in accordance with the applied signal voltage. Due to the action of the electric field, a charge is injected into the toner T on the counter electrode 2 by electrostatic induction, and due to the interaction between this charge and the electric field, the toner T is selectively transferred to the recording medium according to the image signal. In this way, the recording medium S
A toner image of information is formed on the surface of.

Therefore, recording is completed by fixing this toner image on the recording medium S using an arbitrary method. As a recording electrode,
If pinchupes are used, on the back of the recording medium 2,
A charge is applied in accordance with the image signal, and the toner adheres to the recording medium 1 through electrical interaction between the charge electrostatically induced by the charge and the charge.

In this way, recording by charging the recording medium is
This is also possible when using the recording electrode 1 described above. However, such a recording method has the following problems.

First, during recording, the surface of the recording medium and the toner layer on the surface of the counter electrode come into contact, but the degree of contact varies;
This affects recording, and the image density of the recorded green image becomes non-uniform, making it difficult to obtain a high-resolution image.

Furthermore, physical contact between the surface of the recording medium and the toner layer causes significant background staining on the recorded image. This background stain can be removed to some extent by changing the conveying speed of the recording medium and the moving speed of the toner to create sliding friction between the two. It becomes difficult to obtain the image as a recorded image.

In addition, when using magnetic toner, there is a magnetic pole of a magnet for toner retention near the recording section, and after a pulsed image signal is applied, it already adheres to the surface of the recording medium and participates in image formation. A portion of the toner that is being used is pulled onto the opposing electrode due to the action of the magnetic field.

In order to prevent this, it is necessary to lengthen the application duration of the pulsed image signal in accordance with the width of the recording area, and as a result, increasing the recording speed is limited. An object of the present invention is to provide a recording method that can solve these problems.

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

FIG. 2 shows an example of an apparatus for carrying out the invention.

In order to reduce complexity, the same reference numerals as in FIG. 1 are used for items that are unlikely to be confused. In FIG. 2, the reference numeral 2 indicates a counter electrode, the reference numeral 5 indicates a toner tank, the reference numeral 60 indicates a toner dispenser tray, and the reference numeral 70 indicates a magnetic roller.

Further, numerals 3 and 8 indicate a toner supply magnet and a blade, respectively. The counter electrode 20 is made of a material having conductivity and ferromagnetism on the circumferential surface of the support sleeve 201.
For example, the bottom sleeve 202 formed in a thin-walled hollow cylinder is fixed with nickel, cobalt, iron, or an alloy thereof. On the circumferential surface of the bottom sleeve 202, a non-conducting and non-magnetic minute convex portion 2 is provided.
03-1, 203-2, . . . , 203-i, . . . are provided in a protruding manner with substantially uniform surface density.

These protrusions 203-i all have approximately the same height, but the circumferential surface of the bottom sleeve 202 is
1i is called the bottom part. The height of the convex portions 203-i and the spacing between the convex portions are from several loAm to several tenths of an inch.

The material of the convex portion 203i is synthetic resin, synthetic rubber,
Possible materials include glass and ceramics. Now, in this example,
The bottom surface further has a microscopic unevenness distribution.

The depth and pitch of the unevenness in this unevenness distribution are approximately the same as the particle size of the toner used, and are determined within a range of about 0.5 to 300 degrees depending on the average particle size of the toner. Below the counter electrode 20, a toner supply unit 6 is provided.
0, and toner T is stored in a toner tank 5 provided below this toner supply V supply roller 60. The toner T is provided with conductivity and magnetism and is a powder. Here, the fact that the toner T is dew conductive means that the toner T is 200V
/ arc means that the toner has a volume resistivity of 1070 skin or less, preferably 1 p0 skin or less.
Toner supply roller 6, magnets 6a, 6b, 6c, 6
It is a non-magnetic sleeve with a toner T inside.
is held on the sleeve by the action of the magnets 6a, 6b, 6c, and 6d, and is conveyed to the toner supply section by rotation of the sleeve.

On the other hand, a toe V roller 6 is provided at the opening of the counter electrode 20.
A toner supply magnet 3 is fixedly installed in the stereotaxic layer in the device space so as to face 0'.

The toner supply combination magnet 3 includes magnets 6a, 6b, 6c, and 6d.
Similarly, it has an elongated shape in a direction perpendicular to the drawing, is magnetized in a direction perpendicular to its length, and has one pole directed toward the toner supply roller 60 . Toner supply roller 601
As a result, the toner T conveyed to the toner supply V supply section is drawn to the circumferential surface of the counter electrode 20 by the magnetic force of the toner supply magnet 3, adheres thereto, and covers the circumferential surface.

Then, as the counter electrode 20 rotates in the direction of the arrow, it is held on the circumferential surface and transported toward the recording section. Since the bottom sleeve 202 is made of a ferromagnetic material, it is easily magnetized by the magnetic field of the magnets 3 and 6a as it passes through the toner supply section, and after leaving the area of influence of the magnets, the supplied toner T is held by the magnetic force of residual magnetization.

However, the toner T covering the surface between the counter electrodes 20 is
The magnetic force that restrains the circumferential surface is strong on the circumferential surface of the bottom sleeve, which is a ferromagnetic material, that is, on the bottom surface, and weak on the convex portion 203i, which is a non-magnetic material. Koyoru Futagawa, on the toner T transport path.
It is arranged between the toner supply section and the recording section.

The magnetic roller 70 has the same structure as the toner supply roller 60, and its circumferential surface is located close to the outer surface of the counter electrode 20 along its length.

This magnetic roller 70 is one of the features of the present invention, and has the following functions. That is,
versus.

As the counter electrode 20 rotates,
When the toner T is transported and approaches the vicinity of the magnetic roller 70 and the counter electrode 20, in addition to the magnetic force that restrains the toner T from the counter electrode 20', the toner T is also subjected to a magnetic force that pulls the toner T away from the counter electrode 20. However, the magnetic roller 70' acts accordingly.

As mentioned above, since the toner T is only loosely restrained by the convex portion 203-i on the circumferential surface of the counter electrode 20, the toner T adhering to the convex portion is completely absorbed by the magnetic roller. 701 is sucked in and captured.

In addition, a portion of the toner T that is restrained on the bottom surface of the circumferential surface is also captured by the magnetic roller. magnetic roller 7
In this way, the magnetic force of 0 is adjusted to such a level that only an appropriate amount of the toner T covering the surface of the counter electrode 20 remains on the bottom surface, and the rest is sucked and removed from the surface of the counter electrode 20. be.

In other words, the function of the magnetic roller 70 is to remove excess toner from the circumferential surface of the counter electrode.

However, the function of the magnetic roller 70 is not limited to this, and has additional important functions.

That is, the toner T left on the bottom surface of the circumferential surface of the counter electrode
When the toner particles pass close to the magnetic roller 70, the toner particles are arranged in the normal direction of the bottom surface, following the lines of magnetic force of the magnetic field of the magnetic roller 70, as shown in FIG. It will be done.

An appropriate amount of toner means that the tip of the toner arranged in this manner does not exceed the top of the convex portion 2031i. The toner T captured by the magnetic roller 70' is conveyed by the rotation of the magnetic roller 70, and is scraped off from the circumferential surface by the edge of the blade 8 that comes into pressure contact with the circumferential surface of the magnetic roller 70'. The toner is collected in the toner tank 5. The toner T from which the surplus has been removed by the magnetic roller 701 is conveyed to the recording section as the counter electrode 20 rotates, but at this time, the alignment of the toner T is preserved.

The size of the gap between the recording electrode 1 and the counter electrode 20 is set to about 30 μm to 3000 μm depending on the thickness of the recording medium S. However, needless to say, the size of the slit here is the distance between the end surface of the recording electrode 1 and the top of the convex portion 203-i located closest thereto. At this time, in the recording state, the surface of one recording electrode contacts the back surface of the recording medium S,
The surface of the recording medium S is supported by convex portions 203-i.

However, as described above, since the upper part of the layer of toner T held on the bottom surface of the recording electrode 20 does not exceed the top of the convex part 203-i, there is no space between the toner T and the recording medium S. A constant micro gap is always maintained. Therefore, the recording medium S
Physical contact between the toner T and the toner T is effectively prevented, and the inconvenience caused by the physical contact is avoided. Furthermore, when an image signal is applied to the recording electrode 1 and an electric field is locally generated, since the toner T is arrayed, an electric force is applied to the tip of the array, that is, the toner that has recently become fertilized on the recording medium S. Since the lines are concentrated and charge injection into the toner is promoted, the toner T adheres to the recording medium S very easily. That is, by this recording method, a high-resolution image with high image density can be obtained, the occurrence of background stains can be prevented, and the image density can be made uniform. Of course, since the convex portion is non-conductive and non-magnetic, it does not have any influence on the recording process. In addition, since the toner supply magnet 3 is placed at a position away from the recording section and there is no magnetic pole of a magnet with strong magnetic force near the recording section, there is no need to apply the pulse of the image signal for a long time, and the speed is high. Recording becomes possible.

That is, in the conventional recording method, the pulse application time is m
However, according to the recording method of the present invention, it is possible to record in the order of 10r seconds to 100r seconds. Note that the voltage applied as an image signal is in the range of 20 to 3000V, preferably 20 to 15V.
The range of 00V is good, and the application method may be either direct current or alternating current.

Methods for forming minute irregularities on the counter electrode by the bottom surface portion and the convex portions include a method using mechanical processing, a method using chemical corrosion processing, and a method using electrical surface treatment processing.

FIG. 3 to FIG. 6 show four examples of the structure of the above-mentioned minute unevenness.

In addition, in these figures, 1 shows a side view, and 2 shows a top view. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the concavo-convex structure has a structure in which minute non-conductive and non-magnetic convex portions 7 are formed on a bottom member 6 that is conductive and ferromagnetic.

In the example shown in FIG. 4, the protrusions 7 protrude from the support 8, and the bottom section 61 is provided between the protrusions 7 on the support 8. In the example shown in FIG.

In the example shown in FIG. 5, the protrusions 71 are provided in a lattice pattern on the support 8, and the bottom members 62 are provided between the respective lattices of the protrusions 71.

In this way, the convex portion may be connected as a whole. In this case as well, since the lattice unit of the convex portions and the width of the convex portions forming the lattice are minute, the convex portions 71 are referred to as minute convex portions.
6, the convex part 72 is two-dimensionally minute thread-like, and the bottom part is two-dimensionally extremely small thread-like part village 6.
It is composed of 3.

The thread-like member 63 preferably has about 2 to 30 threads. less than,
A specific experimental example of the recording method according to the present invention will be described.

Experimental Example 1 An apparatus having the configuration shown in FIG. 2 was used.

The configuration of the uneven portion on the circumferential surface of the counter electrode 20 is as follows.
The pitch and depth of the minute irregularities on the circumferential surface of the bottom sleeve 202 formed of nickel are both about 8r.

The height and spacing of the ceramic protrusions 203-i are both approximately 50 Buddhas.

The toner T is a powder toner having conductivity and magnetism.
A material having a volume resistivity of 5×l (value in 10 V/solitary field) and an average particle size of 8 A was used. Plain paper with a thickness of 50 mm is used as the recording medium S, and an image signal is applied to the recording electrode 1. As a result of recording under the conditions of CIM ratio, applied voltage of 1200 V, and pulse duration of 301 seconds, a good recorded image with no background stain, high image density, and high resolution was obtained. Experimental Example 2 In Experimental Example 1, an image signal was recorded using a DC voltage under conditions of an applied voltage of 600 V and a pulse duration of 90 seconds, and results similar to those in Experimental Example 1 were obtained.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a non-impact recording method capable of recording at high image density and high resolution without causing background stains, and capable of high-speed recording.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing only the essential parts of an example of a conventionally known non-impact recording device, FIG. 2 is a side view showing an example of a device for carrying out the present invention, and FIGS. Figure 6 shows
FIG. 7, which is a diagram showing an example of the uneven structure on the surface of the counter electrode, is a diagram for explaining the function of the magnetic roller as a magnetic means. 1...Recording electrode, 20...Counter electrode, 20
2... Bottom sleeve, 203-1, 203-
2,.・●．・・・． ..., 203-i, ... minute convex portion, T ... conductive magnetic powder toner, S
... Recording body, 70 ... Magnetic lo-fu as a magnetic means. Rare 2 figures Rare 5 figures 4 figures Rare 5 figures Bridge 6 figures Mackerel 7 figures

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A recording electrode and a counter electrode are placed facing each other with a predetermined gap between them, a sheet-shaped or ribbon-shaped recording body is interposed in the gap, and powder toner is held on the surface of the counter electrode, While applying an image signal to the recording electrode, the surface of the counter electrode is moved while maintaining the size of the gap, and at the same time the recording body is moved to form a toner image corresponding to the image signal on the surface of the recording body. In a recording method that forms a conductive and ferromagnetic bottom surface, and a non-conductive and non-magnetic minute protrusion that protrudes at approximately the same height with respect to the bottom surface with approximately uniform areal density. A part is provided on the surface of the opposing electrode, and powdered toner having conductivity and magnetism is supplied to the opposing electrode by the magnetic force of a toner supply magnet provided at a position away from the recording part. After the surface is covered with toner, a suitable amount of the toner covering the surface is left on the bottom surface part and the rest is removed by suction using a magnetic means disposed between the toner supply section and the recording section. A non-impact recording method, comprising arranging the toner remaining on the bottom surface in the normal direction of the bottom surface, and performing recording by bringing the surface of the recording medium into contact with the convex portion in a recording section.