JPS6227761A - Recorder for ion current electrostatic recording system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent an electric current generated from an ion generator from being flowed to a recording member to obtain images of high SN ratio and high contrast by arranging a shielding electrode in a part where a pair of electrodes of an ion current control head are not arranged except the part of a through-hole. CONSTITUTION:An ion current control head 4 is so arranged that a shielding electrode 46 is close to a recording member 1 and a through-hole 41 coincides with the contacting position between a roll 22 and the recording member 1. An ion generator 5 is provided with a corona wire 50 which coincides with the position of the through-hole 41 of the ion current control head 4 and a casing 51 which surrounds the corona wire 50 together with the ion current control head 4. Since the shielding electrode 46 which covers all of the surface except the through-hole 41 is provided, the corona wire 50 and the recording member 1 are shielded from each other by the shielding electrode 46 of a conductor even in parts where leads 44 and 45 are not arranged in parts where electrodes 42 and 43 are not arranged. Thus, the AC generated from the corona wire 50 is flowed to the earth through the shielding electrode 46 but is not flowed to the recording member 1 and the roll 22.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Technical Field The present invention relates to a recording device such as a copying machine, a printer or a profiler used as an output bag of an information processing system, and in particular, the present invention relates to a recording device such as a copying machine or a printer or a profiler used as an output bag of an information processing system. The present invention relates to an ion flow electrostatic recording device that forms images.

Conventional technology In the case of the so-called ion projection recording method in which images are recorded by controlling the ion flow for each pixel, the ion flow irradiated to the intermediate medium is controlled based on the image information to be recorded, thereby reducing -1. After forming an electrostatic latent image on the intermediate medium, this electrostatic latent image is developed using a developing device using toner, and then the toner image is transferred and fixed onto a recording member such as punched paper to form a desired recorded image. It is to obtain.

In such a recording apparatus, an ion flow control head that controls the ion flow is configured to irradiate the surface of the recording member with the ion flow through small holes corresponding to pixels.

A pair of electrodes is placed on the inlet and outlet sides of a small hole (hereinafter referred to as a through hole) through which the ion flow passes, and a voltage is applied between the electrodes to selectively control the passing or blocking of the ion flow. , is configured to form a static 'ItLWr image on the recording member by controlling the voltage between the electrodes based on image information.

Incidentally, the pair of electrodes is covered with a film-like insulating member on the upper and lower sides, and is formed to be embedded within the insulating member. A plurality of through holes are usually formed in the insulating member, a pair of electrodes are formed on the insulating member around each through hole, and leads connected to these pair of electrodes are respectively formed on the insulating member. There is. Therefore, in a portion of the film where no electrode is formed to form a lead, a gap portion where no lead is formed becomes a portion where no conductor is formed.

If the corona generating power source that generates the ion current is a DC power source, the DC radio waves generated from the corona generating power source are blocked by the insulating member, so no current flows to the recording member. In the case of a power source, alternating current generated from the corona generating power source passes through the capacitance of the insulating member in the portion where the conductor is not formed and flows to the recording member.

For this reason, current flows through the recording member even in areas where there are no through holes, and this affects the electrostatic latent image formed by controlling the ion flow passing through the through holes.
There was a drawback that the N ratio deteriorated.

Purpose The present invention solves the drawbacks of the prior art, and prevents alternating current from flowing to the recording member in areas without through holes when the corona generating power source is an alternating current power source, thereby reducing the flow of ions passing through the through holes. An object of the present invention is to provide an ion flow electrostatic recording type recording device that can effectively perform control according to the present invention and obtain images with a high signal-to-noise ratio.

Structure In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes an ion flow control head means including a pair of electrodes arranged around a through hole through which ions supplied from an ion source pass, with a distance between the electrodes, and a pair of electrodes. Control power supply means applies a voltage between the electrodes based on image information to control the direction of an electric field formed in the axial direction of the through hole, and selectively controls the polarity of ions to be passed through the through hole by the electric field. In an ion flow electrostatic recording apparatus that forms an electrostatic latent image in accordance with image information by irradiating a recording member with an ion flow that has passed through one through hole, the ion flow control head means controls the ion generation source and the recording member. It is characterized by having a cutoff electrode disposed between the members in a portion where neither of the at least one pair of electrodes is disposed.

Hereinafter, a detailed explanation will be given based on one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows a configuration diagram of an embodiment of a recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

On the wood flow side, the present invention is applied to a recording device configured to directly form an electrostatic latent image on plain paper or the like and simultaneously develop it into a toner image.
It has a basic configuration in which a developing section 2 and an ion flow control section 3 are disposed facing each other with the development section 2 and the ion flow control section 3 sandwiched therebetween.

The developing section 2 includes a cylindrical magnet 20, a cylindrical roller 22 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. It is formed. The roller 22 is made of a metal cylinder or the like, with a sleeve of conductive silicone rubber (for example, about 105 Ω cm) attached to the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder.
It is adapted to be rotated in the direction of arrow A by means not shown.

The ion flow control unit 3 includes an ion flow control controller 4, an ion generator 5, a recording power source 8. Bias power supply 7, ion generation power supply 8
It is formed by including. The ion flow control head 4 is omitted in FIG. 1, but as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a through hole 41 is provided in a film-like insulating member 40.
A pair of electrodes 42.43 are buried in the insulating member 40 around each through hole 41 at a predetermined distance, and leads 44.45 are connected to the pair of electrodes 42.43, respectively. , leads 44 and 45 are connected to a driver (not shown) through portions buried within the insulating member 40, respectively. Furthermore, a cutoff electrode 46 is buried uniformly within the insulating member 40 except for the through hole 41. The cutoff electrode 46 is placed and maintained at a predetermined distance from the pair of electrodes 42 and 43.

The ion flow control rod 4 is arranged so that the cutoff electrode 46 is close to the recording member 1 and the through hole 41 thereof is aligned with the contact (or closest approach) position between the roller 22 and the recording member 1. The ion generator 5 is connected to the through hole 4 of the ion flow control head 4.
a corona wire 50 provided to match the ones digit t;
The casing 51 is provided to surround the corona wire 50 together with the ion flow control head 4 .

The recording power source 6 is a binary (H) based on image information.

L) level voltage is output, and electrode 4
It is connected between the lead 45 of No. 3 and the ground air. The L level of this output voltage is normally set to O, and the H level is set to a positive voltage higher than the output voltage of the bias power supply 7. The bias power supply 7 applies a positive DC bias to the electrodes 42 and 46, and connects the lead 44 of the electrode 42 and the electrode 4B.
It is connected to earth energy. The corona generating power source 8 is connected between the corona wire 50 and the casing (ground level) 51, and is an AC high voltage power source.

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

@1 In Figure 1, high resistance component magnetic toner (hereinafter simply referred to as toner) 10 is supplied to a toner pool formed by a roller 22 and a doctor blade 24 as the roller 22 rotates. 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 conveyed to a recording section close to the recording member 1 as the roller 22 rotates. Further, the recording member 1 is transported in the direction of arrow B by a transport means (not shown) in accordance with the rotation of the roller 22.

On the other hand, in the ion generator 5, corona discharge occurs between the corona wire 50 and the casing 51, and positive and negative ions are diffused into the casing 51. At this time, the electrodes 42 and 43 of the ion flow control head 4 are operated as shown in FIG. 15 in FIG. 4 or FIG.゛Voltage is applied. That is, the potential of the electrode 43 is varied up and down based on the image information with the potential of the electrode 42 as a reference.

When the electrode 43 is at the L level, an electric field is formed in the through hole 41 in the direction from the electrode 42 to the electrode 43 as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 41 and illuminates the back surface of the recording member 1. Conversely, when the electrode 43 is at H level, the direction of the electric field formed inside the through hole 41 is in the opposite direction, as shown by the dashed line in FIG.
Only positive polarity ions are irradiated onto the back surface of the recording member l.

In this way, when the back surface of the recording member 1 is irradiated with ions of polarity according to the image information, toner is applied only to the surface of the recording member 1 in the area irradiated with ions of the opposite polarity to the polarity of the toner layer 12. One layer 12 is transferred, and a toner image 14 corresponding to the image information is directly formed on the surface of the recording member 1.

However, as shown in FIG. 6, in the case where the cutoff electrode 46 that covers the entire surface other than the through hole 41 is not provided, the portion where the electrodes 42 and 43 are not provided and the leads 44 and 45 are not provided. is corona wire 50
Since the space between the corona wire 50 and the recording member 1 is not isolated by a conductor and is only shielded by the film-like insulating member 40, when the current generated from the corona wire 50 is alternating current, the electrostatic charge of the insulating member 40 is The liquid passes through the 8th cylinder and flows to the recording member 1 and the roller 22.

As shown in FIG. 6, when no electrode is provided, the equivalent resistance from the corona wire 50 to the casing 51 is Rc, the equivalent resistance from the corona wire 50 to the electrodes 42 and 43 is Ra, and the equivalent capacitance between the electrodes 42 and 43. If Cf is the equivalent resistance of the recording member 1, and RL is the equivalent resistance of the recording member 1, then the equivalent circuit showing the current flowing through the portion of the insulating member 40 that is not interrupted by the conductor is:! S71; It becomes as shown in W.

As this equivalent circuit shows, '1ffl R generated by the corona generating power source 8 flows from the casing 51 to the ground through the equivalent resistance Rc from the corona wire 50 to the casing 51, and in parallel with this, the corona wire 5
Equivalent resistance Ra from 0 to electrodes 42 and 43, electrode 4
Equivalent capacitance between 2 and 43 (capacitance of insulating member 40)
Cf, equivalent resistance R of recording member 1 (including roller 22)
J'I through L! ! Flowing through the air.

Therefore, as can be seen from this equivalent circuit, the alternating current generated by the corona generating type 11A8 is transmitted to the electrodes 42 and 43.
Since it can pass through the equivalent capacitance (capacitance of the insulating member 40) Cf between the corona wires 50 and the electrodes 42 and 43, the alternating current generated by the corona generating power source 8 is It flows to the earth through the equivalent capacitance (electrostatic capacitance tY of the insulating member 40) Cf between them and the equivalent resistance RL of the recording member 1 (including the roller 22).

In this way, the alternating current generated from the corona wire 50 passes through the capacitance of the insulating member 40 and flows to the recording member 1 and the roller 22.

Therefore, since current flows through the recording member 1 in areas other than the through holes 41, the SN ratio of the image formed by controlling the ion flow passing through the through holes 41 deteriorates.

In contrast, in the present embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a cutoff electrode 46 is provided that covers the entire surface other than the through hole 41, so that the lead 44 is And also in the part where 45 is not placed,
The corona wire 50 and the recording member l are cut off by a cutoff electrode 46 which is a conductor.

Therefore, the alternating current generated from the corona wire 50 flows to the earth through this cutoff electrode 46, and does not pass through the capacitance Cf of the insulating member 40 and flow to the recording member l and roller 22.

An equivalent circuit in the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 is shown in FIG.
shows the equivalent resistance up to.

As this equivalent circuit shows, the power generated by the corona generating power source 8 flows from the casing 51 to the ground through the equivalent resistance Rc from the corona wire 50 to the casing 51, and in parallel, from the corona wire 50 to the ground. [
Flows into the earth through the equivalent resistance Ra up to the poles 42 and 43, the equivalent capacitance between the electrodes 42 and 43 (capacitance of the insulating member 4°) Cf, and further flows in parallel from the corona wire 50 in the through hole 41. It flows to the ground through the equivalent resistance Rh up to the hole 41 and the equivalent resistance RL of the recording member 1 (including the roller 22).

Therefore, as can be seen from this equivalent circuit, since the alternating current generated by the corona generation 7tt 17.8 can pass through the equivalent capacitance (capacitance of the insulating member 4o) Cf between the electrodes 42 and 43, the corona generation Most of the alternating current generated by the power source 8 is transmitted from the corona wire 50 to 'i
The corona wire 5 flows into the ground through the equivalent resistance Ra up to the electrodes 42 and 43 and the equivalent capacitance (capacitance of the insulating member 40) Cf between the electrodes 42 and 43, and the corona wire 5 at the through hole 41 section.
The current flowing through the equivalent resistance Rb from 0 to the through hole 41 and the equivalent resistance RL of the recording member 1 (including the roller 22) is small.

In this way, the alternating current generated from the corona wire 50 is transmitted through the through hole 4.
In parts other than 1, the flow passes through the electrode 46 and does not flow into the recording member 1, and in the through hole 41 part, the recording member l
The current flowing through is also small.

Therefore, since almost no current flows through the recording member 1, the S of the image formed by controlling the ion flow passing through the through hole 41 is
N ratio improves.

Note that the electrode 46 covers the entire surface other than the through hole 41 as in this embodiment, and the electrode 46 covers the entire surface other than the through hole 41 as shown in FIG.
Alternatively, it may be provided so as to cover only the portion where 43 is not arranged.The one shown in Fig. 9 is a time division (group selection)
The arrangement of the electrodes for driving is shown, and the electrode 42 is connected to a plurality of electrodes 4.
0g disconnection main electrode 4B electrode 42 arranged corresponding to 3
Similarly, it is arranged corresponding to a plurality of electrodes 43, and as shown in FIG. 1, it is arranged to be offset from the electrode 42 by the gap and width d between the electrodes 42 in the plane direction of the electrode 42. In this way, the lead 4 is
If the cutoff electrode 46 is provided in the portion where the arrangement δ of 4.45 is not made to cut off the connection between the corona wire 50 and the recording member 1, it is possible to prevent alternating current from flowing from the corona wire 50 into the recording member 1. Therefore, all surfaces of the insulating member 40 may be configured to be blocked by either the electrodes 42, 43 or the blocking electrode 46.

Further, a plurality of cutoff electrodes 46 may be provided to prevent passage of AC.

Effects According to the present invention, since the cutoff electrode is arranged in the part other than the through hole where the pair of electrodes of the ion flow control head is not arranged, the current generated from the ion generator is not applied to the recording member. It is possible to prevent the image from flowing, thereby making it possible to obtain a high-contrast image with a high signal-to-noise ratio.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an embodiment of an ion flow electrostatic recording apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the ion flow control head shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. ■-■ line sectional view in the figure, Figures 4 and 5
The figure is an operating state diagram for explaining the operation of the ion flow control head section of the embodiment shown in FIG. The equivalent circuit diagram which shows the flow of alternating current from the ion generator in the recording device of FIG. FIG. 8 is an equivalent circuit diagram showing the flow of alternating current from the ion generator in FIG. 1, and FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view of the ion flow control head section of another embodiment of the present invention. Explanation of symbols outside the main parts 14. Recording member 29. , developing section 306. Ion flow control section 410. Ion flow control head 606. Recording power source 728. Bias power supply 821. Corona generating power source 40, insulating member 41, through hole 42, 43. Electrodes 44, 45. Lead 41, Cutoff electrode 50, Corona wire

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Ion flow control head means including a pair of electrodes arranged at a distance around a through hole through which ions supplied from an ion source pass; and an image between the pair of electrodes. control power supply means for controlling the direction of an electric field formed in the axial direction of the through hole by applying a voltage based on the information, and selectively controlling the polarity of the ions to be passed through the through hole by the electric field; An ion flow electrostatic recording type recording device that irradiates a recording member with an ion flow that has passed through the through hole to form an electrostatic latent image according to the image information, wherein the ion flow control head means comprises: 2. An ion flow electrostatic recording apparatus comprising a cutoff electrode disposed between the ion source and the recording member at least in a portion where neither of the pair of electrodes is disposed. 2. In the apparatus according to claim 1, roller means for holding toner charged to one polarity is disposed on the other surface of the recording member at a position where the ion stream is irradiated. A recording device using an ion current electrostatic recording method.