JPS61251873A - Ion current control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a record with high image quality by disposing the plural through-holes of an ion current control head to part of the approximately concentrical cylindrical face of a roller facing the same. CONSTITUTION:The potential of an electrode 44 is waved above and below in accordance with image information on the basis of the potential of an electrode 42. An electric field in the direction from the electrode 42 toward the electrode 44 is formed in the through-holes 40 when the electrode 44 is at an L level and therefore only the ions of the negative polarity are irradiated through the holes 40 to the rear surface of a recording member 1. The direction of the electric field formed in the holes 40 is reversed and only the positive polarity ions are irradiated to the rear surface of the member 1 when the electrode 44 is conversely at an H level. A toner layer 12 is transferred only on the surface of the member 1 in the region (picture element) irradiated with the ions of the polarity reversed from the polarity of the toner layer when the ions of the polarities corresponding to the image information are irradiated to the rear of the member 1 in the above-mentioned manner. The toner image corresponding to the image information is thus directly formed on the surface of the member 1.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to an ion flow control device that controls the ion flow irradiated onto a latent image forming member, and more specifically, it is used as an output device of a copying machine or an information processing system. The present invention relates to an ion flow control device used in a recording device such as a printer or plotter.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The so-called ion projection recording method, in which images are recorded by controlling ion flow for each pixel, is itself well known. (For example, 1 Nikkei Electronics, July 1982)
(See March 5th issue, pages 139-140).

This conventional ion projection recording method controls the ion flow applied to the intermediate medium based on the image information to be recorded, forms an electrostatic latent image on the intermediate medium, and then transfers this electrostatic latent image to the toner. The toner image is developed using a developing device, and then the toner image is transferred and fixed onto a recording member such as plain paper to obtain a desired recorded image.

The ion flow control head that controls the ion flow is generally configured to irradiate the surface of the recording member with the ion flow through a small hole corresponding to a pixel. ), a pair of electrodes are placed on the inlet and outlet sides of the ion beam, and a voltage is applied between these electrodes to selectively control the passing or blocking of the ion flow, and the voltage between the electrodes is controlled based on image information. The recording member is configured to form an electrostatic latent image on the recording member.

However, in conventional recording devices, the roller that supports the intermediate medium that forms the electrostatic latent image and supplies toner is cylindrical, whereas the pair of electrodes in the ion flow control head are flat. The distance from the multiple holes provided in the electrode to the intermediate medium supported by the rollers may vary, and the current density of the ion flow passing through the holes and hitting the intermediate medium changes, resulting in a change in the image formed. There was a problem of unevenness.

1-Emperor An object of the present invention is to provide an ion flow control device for a recording device that can eliminate the drawbacks of the prior art and can obtain recording with high image quality.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is characterized in that the plurality of through holes of the ion flow control head are arranged in a part of a cylindrical surface substantially concentric with the opposing roller. Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically explained based on Examples.

FIG. 1 shows a configuration diagram of a recording device using an ion flow control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, an electrostatic latent image is directly formed on plain paper, etc., and at the same time a toner image is formed. The present invention is applied to a recording device configured to perform development, and as shown in the figure, a developing section 2 and an ion flow control section 3 are arranged with a recording member (for example, plain paper) 1 in between. They have a basic configuration in which they are placed opposite each other. The developing section 2 includes a cylindrical magnet 20, a cylindrical roller 22 loosely fitted on the outside of the magnet 20, and a doctor blade 24 whose tip is pressed against the upper outer peripheral surface of the roller 22. has been done. The roller 22 is made of metal or other cylindrical outer peripheral surface made of electrically conductive silicone rubber (for example, a volume resistivity of 105 Ω cm).
A sleeve of about 10 mm is attached thereto and is adapted to be rotated in the direction of arrow A in the figure by means not shown.

On the other hand, the ion flow control unit 3 includes an ion flow control controller 30, an ion generator 32. It is formed to include a recording power source 34, a bias power source 36, and an ion generation power source 38.

The ion flow control head 30 is formed by a pair of electrodes 42 and 44, each having a through hole 40 through which the ion flow passes, with the axes of the through holes aligned and maintained at a predetermined distance by an insulating member 4B. There is. A pair of electrodes 42 and 44 of the ion flow control rod 30 are arranged on a part of the cylindrical surface concentric with the opposing roller 22, with one electrode [42 in the illustrated case] being close to the recording member 1. It is located. The ion generator 32 includes a corona wire 48 provided in alignment with the position of the through hole 40 of the ion flow control head 30, and a corona wire 48 coupled with the ion flow control head 30.
The casing 50 is provided so as to surround the casing 50. The recording power source 34 is based on the image information.
Value (H.

L) level voltage is output, and electrode 4
It is connected between 4 and earth air. The L level of this output voltage is normally set to zero, and the H level is set to a positive voltage higher than the output voltage of the bias power supply 3B. The bias power supply 3B applies a positive DC bias to the electrode 42, and is connected to the electrode 42 and the earth's atmosphere. Ion generation power source 38
is connected between the corona wire 48 and the casing 50 (installation level), and in this embodiment, an AC high voltage power source is applied.

The operation of the embodiment configured as described above will be explained next.

In FIG. 1, high resistance-component magnetic toner (hereinafter simply referred to as toner) is supplied to a toner pool formed by a roller 22 and a doctor blade 24.
As the roller 22 and doctor blade 24 rotate,
When the toner passes through the contact portion of the roller 22, it is charged to one polarity (positive polarity in the illustrated example), and a thin charged toner layer 12 is formed on the surface of the roller 22. This toner layer 12 is the roller 2
2, the through hole 4 of the ion flow control head 30
It is conveyed to the recording unit 14 close to 0. Further, the recording member 1 moves in the direction of arrow B in the figure in accordance with the rotation of the roller 22.
It is transported by a transport means (not shown).

On the other hand, in the ion generator 32, corona discharge occurs between the corona wire 48 and the casing 50, and positive and negative ions are diffused into the casing 50. At this time, the electrodes 42 and 44 of the ion flow control head 30 are connected to the electrodes 42 and 44 of FIG.
A voltage is applied as shown in the operating state diagram shown in the figure. In other words, the potential of the electrode 44 is varied up and down based on the image information with the potential of the electrode 42 as a reference. When the electrode 44 is at the L level, an electric field is formed in the through hole 40 in the direction from the electrode 42 to the electrode 44, as shown by the dashed line in FIG. The light passes through and is irradiated onto the back surface of the recording member 1. Conversely, when the electrode 44 is at the H level, the direction of the electric field formed inside the through hole 40 is in the opposite direction, as shown by the dashed line in FIG. Ru.

In this way, when the back surface of the recording member 1 is irradiated with ions of polarity according to the image information, the surface of the recording member 1 in the areas (pixels) irradiated with ions of the opposite polarity to the polarity of the toner layer is Only one toner layer 12 is transferred, and a toner image corresponding to the image information is directly formed on the surface of the recording member 1.

Here, the functions and effects of the pair of electrodes 42 and 44 of the ion flow control head 30 according to the characteristic configuration will be explained.

For comparison, a partially omitted configuration diagram of a conventional recording device having a pair of electrodes is shown in FIG. 4.The pair of electrodes 62 and 84 are formed in a planar shape with a predetermined distance maintained by an insulating member 8B. The through holes 6o are arranged in a linear position (perpendicular to the plane of the paper) where the planar electrodes B2 and 84 are closest to the roller 22 in a - row. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, the through holes 8o provided in the planar electrodes 82 and 84 may be damaged by the roller 2 due to some reason such as poor installation.
2, the distance between the plurality of linearly arranged through holes 80 and the recording member 1 wound around the roller 22 varies depending on the position of the through hole 60. As a result, the density of the ion flow passing through the through hole 60 and irradiating the recording member 1 becomes uneven.
Unevenness occurred in the electrostatic latent image formed on the recording member 1, and a high-quality image could not be obtained. On the other hand, in this embodiment, the pair of electrodes 42 and 44 of the ion flow control head 30 are
Since it is arranged on a part of the cylindrical surface concentric with the opposing roller 22, even when the through holes 40 arranged in the - row are arranged diagonally with respect to the roller 22, each through hole 40 and the recording The distance to member 1 becomes equal. Therefore, the density of the ion flow passing through the through hole 40 and irradiating the recording member 1 becomes uniform, and the electrostatic latent image formed on the recording member 1 is free from unevenness, resulting in a high-quality image.

In the above embodiment, the ion generation power source 38 uses alternating current, but direct current may also be used.In that case, ions of either positive or negative polarity are generated, and the ion flow control head The passage of the ions through the through hole 40 may be controlled by controlling the voltage applied to the electrodes 42 and 44 of the 30 electrodes.

Further, in the above embodiment, on one side of the recording member l.

A layer 12 of charged toner is supplied by a roller 22 disposed close to it, and an ion stream selectively controlled for each pixel according to the image information is irradiated onto the recording member l from the other surface, and the ion and charged toner layer 12 are irradiated onto the recording member l. Although the toner image is directly formed on the recording member 1 by using the Coulomb force,
After forming an electrostatic latent image by irradiating a dielectric belt as an intermediate medium with an ion stream, it is developed to form a toner image, and this toner image is transferred to a desired recording member and fixed. can also be applied. In that case, the same effect can be obtained by arranging the pair of electrodes on a part of the cylindrical surface concentric with the roller supporting the dielectric belt.

FIG. 6 shows a partially omitted configuration diagram of a recording device according to another embodiment to which the present invention is applied.
0's are arranged in two columns. In this embodiment as well, even when the through holes 4o arranged in two rows are arranged diagonally with respect to the roller 22, the distances between each through hole 40 and the recording member 1 are equal. Therefore, the recording member 1 passes through the through hole 40.
The density of the ion flow applied to the recording member 1 becomes uniform, and the recording member 1
There is no unevenness in the electrostatic latent image formed, and high-quality images can be obtained.

Further, Fig. 1g7 shows a conventional example in which the through holes are arranged in two rows. In the case of such arrangement of through holes, the distance between one through hole 60 and the recording member 1 is as shown in Fig. 4. 1 row of holes 8
In order to make it equal to the case of 0, it is necessary to make the distance between the electrode 82 and the roller 22 at the closest part shorter than that shown in FIG. In this case, the distance between the electrode 62 and the roller 22 at the closest point is shorter than in the case shown in FIG. There was fear.

On the other hand, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, even when the distance between the through holes 40 and the recording member 1 is made equal to that in the case of one row of through holes,
Since the shortest distance between the electrode 42 and the roller 22 is not shorter than in the case of one row of through holes, there is no possibility that the recording member 1 and the roller 22 will come into contact with each other.

In this way, even when the distance between the through hole 40 and the recording member 1 is shortened in order to accurately control the ion flow and obtain a clear image, the distance between the electrode 42 and the roller 22 at the closest portion is Since the distance is never shorter than the distance between the hole 40 and the roller 22, a constant gap is maintained between the electrode 42 and the roller, and there is no fear that the recording member 1 and the electrode 42 will come into contact with each other.

FIG. 8 shows a partially omitted configuration diagram of another embodiment of the recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. In this embodiment, through holes are arranged in three rows. In this embodiment as well, even if the through holes 40 arranged in three rows are arranged diagonally with respect to the roller 22, the distances between each through hole 40 and the recording member l are equal. Therefore, the density of the ion flow passing through the through hole 40 and irradiating the recording member 1 becomes uniform, and the electrostatic latent image formed on the recording member 1 is free from unevenness, resulting in a high-quality image.

Further, FIG. 9 shows a conventional example in which through holes are arranged in three rows. In the case of such an arrangement of through holes, the distance between the through holes 80 and the recording member 1 is determined by the feeding distance of the recording member 1. This clearly differs depending on the position of the through hole 60 in the feeding direction, and the density of the ion flow passing through the through hole 60 and irradiating the recording member 1 is not uniform, resulting in unevenness in the electrostatic latent image formed on the recording member 1. occurred, and the image quality deteriorated. On the other hand, in this embodiment, the distances between each of the three rows of through holes 40 and the recording member 1 are equal, so the density of the ion flow becomes uniform, and a high quality image can be obtained. When a plurality of rows of through holes are provided in this manner, the distance between each through hole and the recording member is equal, and a high quality image can be obtained.

In any of the above embodiments, the corona wire 48 is
Although the one provided with one is shown, it may be provided with a plurality of pieces.

Effects According to the present invention, even when a plurality of through holes are arranged diagonally with respect to the longitudinal direction of the roller, the distance between one through hole and the recording member can be made equal.

The density of the ion flow that passes through the through holes and irradiates the recording member becomes uniform, and the electrostatic latent image formed on the recording member is free from unevenness, resulting in a high-quality image.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a recording device using an ion flow control device according to the present invention, and FIGS. 2 and 3 explain the operation of the ion flow control head section of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1. FIGS. 4 and 5 are partially omitted configuration diagrams of a conventional recording device. FIG. 6 is a partially omitted configuration diagram of another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a conventional example. FIG. 8 is a partially omitted block diagram of another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a partially omitted block diagram of a conventional recording apparatus. Explanation of symbols of main parts 1...Recording member 2...Developing section 3...Ion flow control section 22...Roller 40...Through hole 42.44...Electrode 46...Insulating member 48...Corona wire

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of through holes through which ions supplied from an ion generation source pass, and an electrode that forms an electric field in the through holes, and a voltage applied to the electrodes is controlled; By controlling the electric field formed in the through hole, the ion flow passing through the through hole is controlled, and the ion flow passing through the through hole is directed to a latent image supported by an opposing cylindrical roller. An ion flow control device for a recording device that irradiates a forming member, wherein the plurality of through holes are arranged in a part of a cylindrical surface substantially concentric with the opposing roller.