JPS6281658A - Recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate limitations of a recording medium and to record data on envelopes, etc., by coating a counter electrode with heat-resisting conductive material and fixing a toner image on the counter electrode while transferring it onto the recording medium by a specific heat source. CONSTITUTION:The counter electrode 15 is constituted by coating the surface of the conductive material with the heat-resisting material and contains the heat source 16. Then, a recording electrode 9 which has an opening groove 10 and a developing roll 13 are arranged below the counter electrode. When an electrode stylus couple 11 are applied with a voltage having the opposite polarity from toner particles 14 with a recording signal, the toner particles 14 fly to the counter electrode 15 through the opening groove 10 to form a toner image. This toner image is fixed while transferred to the printing medium 19 with the heat source 16 and the pressure of a backup roller 18. Consequently, the limitations of the recording medium are removed and data are easily recorded on envelopes and postcards.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a recording apparatus that uses a recording electrolyte and a counter electrode as an image forming means.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, recording electrode needles are lined up on the back side of a recording medium and a voltage is applied to the recording electrode needles corresponding to the pixel points to be recorded, and toner is transferred from a toner support placed opposite the recording electrodes through the recording medium. A recording method called powder contrastography is known in which a toner image is formed on a recording medium by depositing toner particles on the recording medium.

However, according to this recording method, when plain paper is used as a recording medium, its volume resistivity is 109 to 1012Ω.
- m, it is difficult for charge injection to occur, and since plain paper does not have a dielectric layer, the resolution is poor and the recording density cannot be increased, making it practically difficult to record on plain paper. There was a problem that recording media were limited.

As a method to solve this problem, a method using an image forming film made of a dielectric material as an intermediate recording medium was proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5
No. 6-161175. This technique will be explained below with reference to the side view of FIG.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an image forming film, which is made of an endless dielectric material.

A roller 2 serves as a driving source for transporting the image forming film 1 and holds it.

Reference numeral 3 denotes a recording electrode, which is a multi-stylus electrode having a plurality of electrode needles 3a arranged in a row, and is arranged so that its tip is in contact with the inner surface of the image forming film 1.

A developing brush 4 is installed at a position facing the recording wire 3 with the image forming film 1 interposed therebetween.

5 is paper, 6 is a corotron forming a transfer section, T is a cleaning blade for residual toner particles, and 8 is a static eliminating corotron.

According to the above configuration, by applying a voltage opposite to the electric charge of the toner particles on the developing brush 4 to the electrode needle 3a of the recording electrode 3 corresponding to the pixel to be recorded, the toner particles on the developing brush 4 are is deposited on the imaging film 1.

The toner image thus formed comes into contact with the paper 5 during the conveyance process of the image forming film 1, and is transferred onto the paper 5 by applying a voltage with a polarity opposite to the electric charge of the toner particles using the corotron 6.

Thereafter, the toner particles remaining on the image forming film 1 are collected by the cleaning blade 7, and finally, the charge added to the image forming film 1 in the corotron 6 is neutralized by the static eliminating corotron 8, and the image forming film 1 is prepared for the next process. Become.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, the above-mentioned recording device requires a corotron to transfer the toner particles to the paper and a corotron to neutralize the electrical charge after the transfer, making the device expensive and requiring poor maintenance. There is also the issue of ozone countermeasures.

In addition, since toner particles are transferred to paper using electrostatic force, about 20 to 30% of toner particles remain on the image forming film, and it is necessary to remove the remaining toner particles with a cleaning blade or the like. There is a problem in that it is necessary to periodically dispose of the collected toner particles or return them to the developing machine.

Further, in the case where the transfer process is performed using electrostatic force, there is a problem that transfer defects may occur due to wrinkles, waving, etc. of the paper.

[Means for solving problems]

a toner carrier that holds and transports charged toner particles;
In a recording device that uses a recording electrode that separates and flies toner particles from the toner carrier and a counter electrode as image forming means, the counter electrode has a conductive material on the surface of which is coated with a material that is heat resistant and non-adhesive to toner particles. It is characterized in that a heat source for heating the surface of the electrode is provided inside or near the outside of the counter electrode.

[Effect]

According to the above configuration, a toner image is directly formed on the opposite electrode by the recording electrode, and after being heated and melted by a heat source, the toner image can be transferred onto the recording medium on its circumference and fixed at the same time.

〔Example〕

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

FIG. 1 is a side view showing the first embodiment, and in the figure,
Reference numeral 9 denotes a recording electrode, which has an opening groove 10 having a length corresponding to the print area width in the width direction, and a plurality of electrode needle pairs 11 facing each other are provided along this opening groove 10. A voltage can be selectively applied to each electrode needle pair 11 by a signal voltage generator 12.

A developing roll 13 conveys toner particles 14 near the opening groove 10, and the toner particles 14 are charged to the same polarity by means such as frictional charging. Further, the developing roll 13 is grounded to prevent printing fog.

A counter electrode 15 is disposed facing the developing roll 13 and the recording electrode 9 with a predetermined distance therebetween, and is rotated by a drive source (not shown). This counter electrode 15 is a hollow roller made of a conductive material with high thermal conductivity such as aluminum, and toner particles 1 are arranged on the outer periphery of the roller.
4 is coated with a material that is non-adhesive and has excellent heat resistance, such as polytetrafluoroethylene, and a heat source 16 is provided inside. Note that this heat source may be provided near the outside of the counter electrode 15.

17 is a high-voltage power supply unit for applying a predetermined voltage to the counter electrode 15, and its polarity is determined by the developing roll 13.
It is of opposite polarity to the charge of the toner particles 14 above.

Reference numeral 18 denotes a backup roller, which is supported so as to be in pressure contact with the counter electrode 15 at a predetermined pressure.
Rotates with 5.

19 is a printing medium, 20 is a separation claw, and the above-mentioned counter electrode 1
The print medium 19 that has passed through the pressure contact point between the counter electrode 15 and the backup roller 18 is separated from the counter electrode 15. 21 is also a separation claw, and its tip abuts against the backup roller 18 in the same manner as described above, and separates the printing medium 19 from the backup roller 18.

22 is a first cleaning member for removing toner particles remaining on the counter electrode 15, and 23 is a second cleaning member for removing toner particles adhering to the backup roller 18.

The operation of the above configuration will be explained below.

In the non-printing state, a voltage of the same polarity as the toner particles 14 on the developing roll 13 is applied to the electrode needle pair 11, so that the toner particles 14 on the developing roll 13 pass through the opening grooves 10 of the recording electrode 9. This prevents it from flying toward the counter electrode 15.

Therefore, depending on the recording signal, the corresponding electrode needle pair 11
When a voltage having a polarity opposite to that of the toner particles 14 on the developing roll 13 is applied to the toner particles 14, the toner particles 14 fly towards the opposing electrode 15 through the opening groove 10 where the electrode needle pair 11 is located and adhere thereto.

The toner image thus formed is conveyed to the pressure contact point with the backup roller 18 by the rotation of the counter electrode 15.

On the other hand, the printing medium 19, which is conveyed by a power source (not shown) toward the pressure contact point between the counter electrode 15 and the backup roller 18, is sandwiched between the pressure contact point together with the toner image on the counter electrode 15. Here, the toner image is melted by a heat source 16 provided inside the counter electrode 15, and is transferred and fixed onto a printing medium 19 under pressure from a backup roller 18 at the same time.

The print medium 19 printed after passing through the pressure contact point is separated by the separation claw 20
or 21, and is separated from the counter electrode 15 or the backup roller 18 and discharged.

Next, a second embodiment will be described according to the side view of FIG.

This embodiment is a variation of the toner particle flying means of the first embodiment, and in the figure, 25 is a developing sleeve that transports and charges magnetic toner particles 26 and is made of a non-magnetic material. , a voltage of the same polarity and potential as that of the counter electrode 15 is applied, and a magnetic roller 27 is rotatably provided therein.

Reference numeral 28 denotes a recording electrode, the tip of which is exposed at one end on the outer periphery of the developing sleeve 25, and a plurality of electrode needles 29 are arranged in a row so as to be located near the counter electrode 15. A voltage is selectively applied to the electrode needles 29 of the electrode needles 29. The structures of these ponds are the same as in the first embodiment.

According to the above configuration, in the non-printing state, a voltage having the same polarity and the same potential as the developing sleeve 25 is applied to the electrode needle 29. This prevents the toner particles 26 on the developing sleeve 25 from flying toward the counter electrode 15.

Next, in this state, when the recording signal is used to ground the corresponding electrode needle 29 or apply a voltage of opposite polarity to the developing sleeve 25, an electric field is generated between the electrode needle 29 and the counter electrode 15, and the upper surface of the developing sleeve 25 is generated. During the transportation process, the charged magnetic toner particles 26 fly toward the counter electrode 15 in an electric field due to electrostatic force and adhere thereto. The subsequent operation is similar to that of the first embodiment, and the counter electrode 1 is placed on the printing medium 19.
The toner image formed on 5 is transferred and fixed.

Note that the magnetic toner particles 26 that are not used for development are collected in the developing device.

Next, a third embodiment will be described according to the side view of FIG.

This is also a variation of the flight means of the toner particles from the first embodiment, and in the figure, 30 is a developing roll that conveys the toner particles 31, and the toner particles 31 are charged by frictional charging or the like. There is.

Reference numeral 32 denotes an electrode roll, which selectively adsorbs toner particles 31 of the same polarity as the developing roll 30. A predetermined voltage is applied to the roll by a power source 33, and the roll is rotated by a drive source (not shown).

Reference numeral 34 denotes an endlessly wound insulating film made of a dielectric material, which is wound along the outer periphery of the electrode roll 32, and is disposed close to the layer of toner particles 31 on the developing roll 30. At the same time, they are arranged at a predetermined distance from the counter electrode 15 by guide rollers 35.

Reference numeral 36 denotes a recording electrode, which is disposed so as to face the counter electrode 15 via the insulating film 34, the tip of which is in contact with the inner surface of the insulating film 34, and electrode needles 37 are arranged in a row. It is. These other structures are the same as those of the first embodiment. In this embodiment, the counter electrode 15 can be used by applying a bias voltage to prevent printing fog, or by grounding it depending on the conditions.

According to the above configuration, first, by electrostatically attracting the charged toner particles 31 on the developing roll 30 by the electrode roll 32, the toner particles 31 are attached to the outer periphery of the insulating film 34.
Form one layer. This layer of toner particles 31 is resistant to forces such as Van der Waals force other than electrostatic force on the insulating film 3.
4 and transported to the vicinity of the counter electrode 15.

Here, when a voltage of the same polarity as the toner particles 31 on the insulating film 34 is applied to the electrode needle 37 using a recording signal,
The toner particles 31 are repelled by the electric field generated between the electrode needle 37 and the counter electrode 15, fly toward the counter electrode 15, and adhere to the counter electrode 15, thereby forming a toner image. Thereafter, the toner image formed on the counter electrode 15 is transferred and fixed onto the print medium 19 in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention described in detail above, a heat source is provided within or near the outside of the counter electrode, and the toner image formed on the counter electrode is transferred onto the recording medium and fixed simultaneously on the circumference of the counter electrode. , it is possible to remove the influence of the volume resistivity of the recording medium on printing, and therefore there are no restrictions on the recording medium, making it possible to record on envelopes, postcards, etc., for example.

In addition, in order to prolong the melting time of the toner particles, the temperature of the heat source can be lowered than the temperature of the heat roll used in general electrophotographic recording methods, etc.
Good transfer efficiency can be obtained. Further, by lowering the temperature, it becomes possible to stop the recording medium at the toner particle fixing section, and as a result, there is an effect that the feeding speed of the recording medium can be changed.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a side view showing the first embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a side view showing the second embodiment, Fig. 3 is a side view showing the third embodiment, and Fig. 4 is a side view showing the prior art. FIG. 9... Recording electrode 11... Electrode needle pair 13... Developing roll 15... Counter electrode 16... Heat source 18
...Backup roller 19...Print medium 25
...Developing sleeve 2T...Magnetic roller 28...
・Recording electrode 30...Developing roller 32...Electrode roll 34...Insulating film 36...Recording electrode patent Applicant: Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. agent Patent attorney Takashi Kanakura Second aspect of the present invention 1 Side view of the embodiment 1 I Side view wrinkles of the second embodiment of the invention 2 B Side view of the third embodiment of the invention 3 Side view of the rounded conventional example 4

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A recording device having as an image forming means a toner carrier for holding and transporting charged toner particles, and a recording electrode and a counter electrode for separating and flying the charged toner particles from the toner carrier, The counter electrode is made of a conductive material with thermal conductivity, its surface is coated with a material that is heat resistant and non-adhesive to toner particles, and a heat source for heating this surface is provided within the counter electrode. Alternatively, a recording device is provided near the outside, and is characterized in that a toner image is directly formed on a counter electrode by the recording electrode, and after the toner image is heated and melted, the toner image is transferred and simultaneously fixed onto a recording medium on its circumference. 2. A recording apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that a backup roller is provided opposite the counter electrode to transfer and fix the toner image on the counter electrode onto a recording medium at the same time.