JPS61283569A - Image recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable images to be recorded with simple construction and at a low running cost, by a system wherein a toner is applied uniformly to a recording paper, the toner is selectively fixed according to image information, and an unfixed toner removing means is provided. CONSTITUTION:The recording paper 11 fed between a sleeve 16 and a counter electrode 17 is coated uniformly with a toner 15 by operating a magnetic brush developer, is fed to the position of a fixing device 13, and heat of a thermal head 19 driven according to image information is applied to the toner 15 on the paper 11 through a film 20, whereby the toner is adhered to the paper 11. Next, the unfixed toner is removed and recovered from the paper 11 by a fur brush 22 of a recovering device 14, resulting in that an image in the fixed toner is recorded on the paper 11. Accordingly, there is no need for a high-voltage power source, and since the unfixed toner can be removed and recovered from the paper, the running cost can be reduced.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Summary] After toner is once attached to the entire surface of recording paper, it is selectively fixed according to image information, unfixed toner is removed, and the fixed toner image is converted into a recorded image. That is.

[Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to an image recording device such as a laser printer.

Non-impact printers use electrophotographic recording methods,
Thermal transfer recording methods and the like have been put into practical use.

[Conventional technology]

An image recording device using an electrophotographic recording method, for example,
As shown in the figure, a corona discharger 52, an image exposure section 53, a developer 54, a transfer corona discharger 55, a cleaner 57, and a static elimination lamp 58 are arranged around the photosensitive drum 51, and the image is transferred to the recording paper 56. A fixing device 59 is provided for fixing the toner image. The photosensitive drum 51 is rotated in the direction of the arrow, and the photosensitive drum 51 is charged by the corona discharger 52.
Image light corresponding to the recorded image is irradiated from the image exposure unit 53, and only the charged charges in the non-irradiated portion remain.
An electrostatic latent image is formed. This electrostatic latent image is transferred to the developing device 54.
Developed by adhering toner.

The recording paper 56 is connected to the photosensitive drum 51 and the transfer corona discharger 55.
When the recording paper 56 is charged by the transfer corona discharger 55, the toner image on the photosensitive drum 5I is attracted to the recording paper 56 by electrostatic force and transferred. The toner image transferred to the recording paper 56 is transferred to a fixing device 59.
is heat-fixed by

The part of the photosensitive drum 51 where the transfer has been completed is cleaned by a cleaner 57.
The remaining toner is removed by the static elimination lamp 58.
The entire surface of the photosensitive drum 51 is irradiated with electricity, and the charges on the photosensitive drum 51 are removed.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a thermal transfer recording method, in which an ink film 62 is placed between a thermal head 61 and a platen 64.
and recording paper 63, and selectively generates heat by driving the thermal head 61 according to the image information, melting the ink on the ink film 62 and attaching it to the recording paper 63, thereby transferring and fixing the ink. be.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

Conventional electrophotographic image recording apparatuses use a corona discharger, so they require a high voltage power supply and have the disadvantage of generating ozone, which has an adverse effect, as well as charging, exposure, Since the steps of development transfer, cleaning, static elimination, and fixing are required, there is a drawback that the apparatus becomes large-sized.

The image recording apparatus using the thermal transfer recording method has the advantage of having a relatively simple structure, but has the disadvantage that the running cost is high because the ink film 62 is disposable.

An object of the present invention is to enable image recording with a simple configuration and low running costs.

[Means for solving problems]

The image recording apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1. The image recording apparatus includes a toner adhering means 2 for uniformly adhering toner 5 onto a recording paper 1 using a magnetic brush developing device, etc., and a toner adhering means 2 for applying toner 5 uniformly onto a recording paper 1 using a magnetic brush developing device, etc. The apparatus is provided with a selective fixing means 3 such as a thermal head or a laser beam for fixing the toner 5, and an unfixed toner removing means 4 such as a fur brush or magnetic brush for removing unfixed toner.

[Operation] Toner 5 is uniformly adhered onto the recording paper 1 by the toner adhering means 2, and the toner 5 is selectively fixed by the selective fixing means 3 so as to form an image. Since the toner 5 is a powder, only the fixed toner is adhered to the recording paper l.

Then, when the unfixed toner is removed from the recording paper 1 by the unfixed toner removing means 4, an image with the fixed toner is formed on the recording paper 1.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of one embodiment of the present invention, in which 11 is a recording paper, 12 is a developing device for uniformly adhering toner, 1
3 is a fixing device for selectively fixing image information according to image information;
14 is a collector for removing and collecting unfixed toner from the recording paper 11; 15 is a thermofusible one-component magnetic toner; 16 is a rotatable sleeve; 17 is a counter electrode; 18 is a bias power source; 19 is a thermal 20 is a film, 2I is a platen, and 22 is a fur brush.

The recording paper 11 is conveyed in the direction of arrow A by a conveyance mechanism (not shown). In the developing device 12, the toner 15 is magnetically attracted to the surface of the sleeve 16 by a not-illustrated magnet roller within the sleeve 16. Sleeve 16
The rotation of the toner 1 is due to the rotation of the magnetic roller.
5 is conveyed on the surface of the sleeve 16, is frictionally charged with the sleeve 16, and is positively charged. A bias voltage is applied between the sleeve 16 and the counter electrode 18 from a bias power supply 18, and the toner 15 adheres to the recording paper 11 conveyed between the sleeve 16 and the counter electrode 17 by electrostatic force. That is,
The toner 15 is deposited by operation of a magnetic brush developer.

The recording paper 11, on which the toner 15 is evenly adhered and the entire surface has been developed, is transported to the position of the fixing device 13, where the film 20 is moved in the direction of arrow B and the platen is rotated in the direction of arrow C. The heat of the thermal head I9, which is sandwiched between the film 21 and the film 21 and is driven according to image information,
0 to the toner 15 on the recording paper 11. The film 20 prevents the thermal head 19 from being soiled by the toner 15 and prevents the toner 1 on the recording paper 11 from being contaminated.
It plays the role of preventing the disturbance of the recording paper 1.
It is transported at the same speed as No. 1. The toner 15 selectively heated by the thermal head 19 is melted and adhered to the recording paper 11 as shown in black.

Next, the unfixed toner is removed from the recording paper 11 and collected by the fur brush 22 of the collector 14, so that an image is recorded on the recording paper 11 using the fixed toner. The toner collected by the collecting device 14 is returned to the developing device 12 via a path not shown and is reused.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of another embodiment of the present invention, in which the same symbols as in FIG. 2 indicate the same parts, 23 is a laser light source, 24 is a polygon, and 25 is a lens.

This embodiment uses a laser light source 23, a polygon 24, and a lens 25 as the fixing device 13, and scans and selectively irradiates the toner 15 on the recording paper 11 with a laser beam according to image information. . This laser beam scanning mechanism can employ various known configurations.

When the toner 15 on the recording paper 11 is irradiated with a laser beam, the toner 15 is melted and adhered to the recording paper 11 as in the case of the thermal adhesive 19.

Then, the unfixed toner is removed from the recording paper 11 by the fur brush 22 of the collector 14 and collected.
1, an image is formed using the fixed toner.

In this embodiment, selective fixing can be performed without contacting the toner 15, so even if the surface of the recording paper 11 is uneven, fixing can be performed. Furthermore, by using toner that absorbs laser beams and easily melts, it becomes possible to record images at high speed.

The collecting device 14 is shown in which unfixed toner is removed by the fur brush 22, but since it is magnetic toner, it is magnetically attracted using a magnetic roller to remove the unfixed toner from the recording paper 11. It can also be collected by cleaning. Further, unfixed toner can be removed and collected from the recording paper 11 by blowing or inhaling air. Further, unfixed toner can also be removed by applying mechanical vibration. Alternatively, each means can be combined.

FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b) are explanatory diagrams of still another embodiment of the present invention, showing a structure in which the toner adhering means and the unfixed toner removing means are both used, 31 is a recording paper, 32 is a developing device, 33 is a fixing device, 35 is a toner, 36 is a sleeve,
37 is a counter electrode, 38 is a developing bias power source, 39 is a thermal head, 40 is a film, 41 is a platen, 42
is a changeover switch, and 43 is a recovery bias power supply.

The conveyance mechanism for the recording paper 31 is configured to reciprocate over the developing device 32 or pass twice in the same direction, and as shown in FIG. 4(a), the recording paper 31 is conveyed. However, the changeover switch 42 is connected to the developing bias power supply 38 as shown in the figure, and applies a positive bias voltage to the sleeve 36. Also, due to the rotation of the sleeve 36, the toner 3
5 is positively charged, and a voltage from the developing bias power supply 38 is applied between it and the counter electrode 37, so that the sleeve 3
The toner 35 is attached to the recording paper 31 between the recording paper 31 and the counter electrode 37 by electrostatic force. This developing device 32 is a magnetic brush developing device like the developing device 12 of the previous embodiment.

The recording paper 31 to which the toner 35 is attached is conveyed to the position of the fixing device 33 and selectively fixed by the thermal head 39 . When the image according to the image information is fixed, the conveyance direction of the recording paper 31 is reversed.

FIG. 4(b) shows a case where the conveyance direction of the recording paper 31 is reversed, and at that time, the changeover switch 42 is switched to the recovery bias power source 43. As a result, a negative voltage is applied to the sleeve 36 of the developing device 32, and the unfixed toner is attracted to the sleeve 36 by electrostatic force and collected. Therefore, an image is recorded on the discharged recording paper 31 using the fixed toner.

In this embodiment, the conveyance direction of the recording paper 31 is reversed after the fixing process is completed. However, when the cut sheet is used as the recording paper, by switching the conveyance path, the developing device 31 is redirected after the fixing process is completed. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the recording paper passes through the position, collects unfixed toner, and discharges the recording paper on which an image made of the fixed toner is recorded. Furthermore, it is also possible to perform fixing using a laser beam instead of a thermal head.

In each of the above embodiments, an insulating one-component magnetic toner is used to uniformly adhere the toner onto the recording paper by magnetic brush development, but a low-resistance one-component magnetic toner is used. In this case, there is no need to apply a bias voltage when collecting the unfixed toner, and the unfixed toner can be collected only by the magnetic force of the magnetic brush. It is also possible to use two-component toner. Furthermore, various configurations can be used as the toner adhesion means depending on the properties of the toner. For example, toner that has once been deposited on a metal roller can also be deposited onto a recording paper so as to be transferred thereto.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, the present invention has a toner adhesion means 2 such as a developing device 12.32, a selective fixing means 3 consisting of a laser light source 23, a thermal head 19, 39, etc., a collecting device 14, a developing device 32, etc. Since the apparatus is equipped with an unfixed toner removing means 4, and does not use a corona discharger, there is no need for a high voltage power source, and there is an advantage that there is no adverse effect from ozone. Furthermore, since unfixed toner can be removed and collected from the recording paper, there is an advantage of low running costs. In addition, since the steps of surface development 9 selective fixing 2 and unfixed toner removal are simple, there is an advantage that the structure of the apparatus can be simplified and miniaturization can be easily achieved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the principle of the present invention, FIGS. 2, 3, 4 (a) and 4 (b) are explanatory diagrams of different embodiments of the present invention, and FIGS. 5 and 6 are conventional diagrams. It is an explanatory diagram of an example.
3
1 is a recording paper, 2 is a toner adhesion means, 3 is a selective fixing means,
4 is an unfixed toner removing means, 5 is toner, 11 is recording paper, 12 is a developing device, 13 is a fixing device, 14 is a collection device, 15 is toner, 16 is a sleeve, 17 is a counter electrode, 18 is a bias power source, 19 is a thermal head, 20 is a film, 2
1 is a platen, 22 is a fur brush, 23 is a laser light source, 24 is a polygon, 25 is a lens, 31 is a recording paper, 32
3 is a developing device, 33 is a fixing device, 35 is a toner, 36 is a sleeve, 37 is a counter electrode, 38 is a bias power source for development, 39
is a thermal head, 40 is a film, 41 is a platen,
42 is a changeover switch, and 43 is a recovery bias power supply.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] Toner adhering means (2) for uniformly adhering toner (5) onto recording paper (1), and selecting toner (5) adhered onto the recording paper (1) according to image information. An image recording apparatus comprising: a selective fixing means (3) for fixing the toner on the recording paper (1); and an unfixed toner removing means (4) for removing unfixed toner from the recording paper (1).