JPS63109067A - Recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a recorder capable of achieving stabler transfer recording on a recording material, by recording images on the recording material by using a transfer recording medium having a transfer recording layer the transfer characteristics of which are varied by application of a plurality of kinds of energy thereto. CONSTITUTION:A transfer recording medium 1 comprises a transfer recording layer 1b which has the property of forming an image when being supplied with both thermal energy and optical energy, which layer is adhered to a sheet- shaped base 1a. Formed image-forming elements are adhered to the base 1a by an adhesive 1f to constitute the transfer recording medium 1. A surface- scraping means 14 is provided between a recording part 3 and a transferring part 4. The surface-scraping means 14 comprises a contact member 14a which makes contact with the recording layer 1b and a vibrating means 14b for vibrating the member 14a. The transfer recording medium 1 is sequentially paid out from a payout roll 2, and light and heat are applied to the recording layer 1b of the medium 1 at the recording part 3, whereby an image is formed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Field of Industrial Application> The present invention relates to a recording device that can be used in printers, copying machines, facsimile machines, and the like.

<Prior Art> In recent years, with the rapid development of the information industry, various information processing systems have been developed, and recording devices suitable for each information processing system have also been developed.

One of the above recording devices is a thermal transfer recording device.
-Yes. In this method, recording is performed on a recording paper using an ink ribbon made by coating a ribbon-shaped support with a heat-melt ink made by dispersing a colorant in a heat-melt binder.

That is, the ink ribbons are stacked so that their heat-melting ink layers are in contact with the recording paper, the acid ink ribbon and the recording paper are conveyed between a heating end and a platen, and heat is applied from the support side of the ink ribbon. This device records an ink image on the recording paper in response to the heat application by applying pulse-like heat using a head that corresponds to the image signal, and by pressing the two together and transferring the molten ink to the recording paper. be.

The above recording apparatus has been widely used in recent years because it is small and lightweight, makes no noise, and can record on plain paper.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> However, conventional thermal transfer recording devices are not without problems.

The reason is that in conventional thermal transfer recording devices, the transfer recording performance, that is, the image quality, is greatly affected by the surface smoothness of the recording paper.
Although good image recording can be performed on recording paper with high smoothness, there is a risk that the quality of image recording will deteriorate when recording paper with low smoothness is used.

Furthermore, when attempting to obtain a multicolor image with a conventional thermal transfer recording device, it is necessary to repeat transfer to overlap the colors. For this purpose, it is necessary to provide multiple thermal heads or to make complicated movements such as stopping and reversing the recording paper, which not only makes color misalignment unavoidable, but also makes the entire device large and complicated. There is a problem with this.

<Means for solving the problem> Therefore, the applicant used a photothermally sensitive polymer material, and when thermal energy and light energy were applied, the reaction of the polymer rapidly progressed and the transfer characteristics were irreversible. changed,
We proposed a recording device that forms an image based on the difference in characteristics according to both signals and transfers it to a recording medium (Japanese Patent Application No. 6).
0-150597).

According to this recording device, it is possible to record high-quality images even on recording media with low surface smoothness, and when applied to multicolor recording, it is possible to make complex movements on the recording medium. This allows you to obtain multicolor images without any problems.

The present invention further develops the recording device, and includes:
It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording device that can further stabilize transfer recording onto a recording medium.

The means for this purpose are two devices that record an image on a recording medium using a transfer recording medium having a transfer recording layer whose transfer characteristics change when multiple types of energy are applied. a recording section having a conveying means for conveying, an applying means for applying a plurality of types of energy to a transfer recording medium provided along a path of the transfer recording medium conveyed by the conveying means, and the transfer recording medium. a contact member in contact with the transfer recording layer of the medium and held so as to be able to vibrate; a vibration means for vibrating the contact member; and a transfer member for transferring the image formed on the transfer recording medium in the recording section to the recording medium. It is characterized by having a part.

According to the above means, when the transfer recording medium and the recording medium are set in the apparatus and recording is performed, multiple types of energy are applied to the transfer recording medium in the recording section to form an image, and the image is The image is transferred to the recording medium in the transfer section.

Further, when a contact member is brought into contact with the transfer recording layer on which an image has been formed in the recording section and vibrated, a thin layer of the surface of the transfer recording layer a is removed, and the image is easily transferred to the recording medium. , stable image recording is performed.

<Example> Next, an embodiment of the present invention to which the above means is applied will be described.

FIG. 1(A) is a cross-sectional schematic explanatory diagram of the recording device, and the first
Figure (B) is a perspective explanatory view.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a transfer recording medium in the form of a long sheet, which is wound into a roll and used as a supply roll 2 in the apparatus main body M.
It is removably incorporated into the.

That is, this supply roll 2 is removably loaded onto a rotatable shaft 2a provided in the main body M of the apparatus.

Therefore, first, the leading edge of this transfer recording medium 1 is transferred to the supply roll 2.
The direction is changed by the peeling roller 5 and the guide roller 12c from between the transfer roller 4a and the pressure roller 4b through the guide roller 12a, the recording pad 3a, and the guide roller 12b, and the leading edge of the roller is changed to the winding roller 6. Winding roll 6
It is locked by means such as a gripper (not shown). Thereafter, by driving and rotating the take-up roll 6 by a known driving means, the transfer recording medium 1 is fed out in the direction of arrow a, and is sequentially wound around the circumferential surface of the take-up roll 6.

Note that during the winding, a constant back tension is applied to the supply roll 2 by, for example, a hysteresis brake (not shown), and this tension and the guide rollers 12a and 12b cause the transfer recording medium 1 to radiate toward recording. It is configured to be conveyed while being in pressure contact with 3a at a constant pressure and at a constant angle.

Next, the configuration of each of the above-mentioned parts will be individually explained.

First, as shown in FIG. 2, the transfer recording medium 1 is a transfer recording medium J which has the property of forming an image when both thermal energy and light energy are applied onto a sheet-like support la.
31b is attached.

To explain an example thereof, as shown in FIG. 2, the transfer recording layer 1b uses the components shown in Tables 1 and 2 as cores lc and 1d, and microcapsule-shaped image forming elements are formed by the following method. It forms.

Table 1 Table 2 Table 2 First, the component log shown in Tables 1 and 2 was mixed with 20 parts by weight of methylene chloride, and a surfactant with a low HLB value (both 10 or more) such as cationic or nonionic Mix gelatin Ig with 200Id of water and heat at 60°C.
8.000~10.00 by homomixer under heating. OO
Stir with Orpm to emulsify and obtain oil droplets with an average particle size of 26 tones.

Stirring was continued at 60° C. for 30 minutes, and methylene chloride was distilled off to give an average particle size of 10 pm. Add 20% of water in which gum arabic Ig was dissolved, cool slowly, then add NIl and OH (ammonia) water to adjust the pH.
II or higher to obtain a microcapsule slurry, and 1.0 ntff of a 20% gulguraldehyde aqueous solution.
Add i slowly to harden the capsule wall.

After that, solid-liquid separation was carried out using a Nutsche filter, and 35
It is dried at 110°C for 110 hours to obtain a microcapsule-shaped image forming element.

This image forming element has cores lc and l shown in Tables 1 and 2.
d is a microcapsule coated with a shell 1e, which is formed to have a particle size of 7 to 15 μm and an average particle size of 10−.

The image forming element formed as described above is adhered onto a support la using an adhesive 1f to form a transfer recording medium 1.

To explain this in more detail, the polyester adhesive Polyester-3P-1701 manufactured by Nippon Gosei Kagaku Kogyo Kippo Co., Ltd.
Adhesive 1f made by dissolving 5 cc of toluene in g
is applied onto a support 1a made of a polyethylene terephthalate film having a thickness of 6 nm.

After that, the solvent was removed by drying and the thickness was measured and was approximately 1.
It was p+1. This adhesive 1f has a glass transition point of 12
Since the temperature is 0°C, slight tack remains even at room temperature, and the image forming element formed as described above can be easily transferred to the support 1a.
It becomes possible to attach it to.

Then the pressure of about to kg/ai and about 80°C
The transfer recording medium 1 is constructed by applying thermal energy to firmly fix the image forming element on the support la.

The photoinitiator in the image forming element shown in Table 1 absorbs light in the band of graph A in the light absorption characteristics shown in FIG. The photoinitiator in the image-forming element shown in Table 2 absorbs light in the band shown in graph B in FIG. 3 to start a reaction, and the color becomes blue during image formation.

Next, the recording section 3 will be explained. The recording section 3 is composed of heating means and light irradiation means.

The heating means is an A-4 with a width Q of 2 mm and 8 dots/ls that generates heat on the surface of the recording head 3a in accordance with the image signal.
As described above, the support la side of the transfer recording medium l is pressed against the heat generating element array 3b with a predetermined pressure due to the back tension during conveyance. There is. still,
The image signal is sent to a control unit (not shown) of a facsimile, image scanner, electronic blackboard, etc. depending on the purpose.
emanates from.

On the other hand, on the transfer recording layer lb side facing the recording head 3a, two fluorescent lamps 3c and 3d, which are 20W type light irradiation means having spectral characteristics as shown in FIG. The fins are placed apart.

Furthermore, a fluorescent lamp 3c is provided only in the area directly above the heating element row of the transfer recording medium 1 that is in pressure contact with the recording head 3a.

A temporary slit 3e is provided at a distance of approximately Q.5 am from the transfer recording medium 1 so that the slit 3e is irradiated with direct light of 3d, and the width of the partition 1 is 1.2 mm.

In this embodiment, one fluorescent lamp 3c having the spectral characteristics shown in graph A of FIG.
A Wfj1 line fluorescent lamp PL205E is used, and as the other fluorescent lamp 3d having the spectral characteristics shown in graph B, a 20W fluorescent lamp FL10A70E39 manufactured by Toshiba is used.

A surface cutting means 1 is provided between the recording section 3 and the transfer section 4, which will be described later.
4 is provided. 20 The surface scraping means 14 is the transfer recording layer 1
It consists of a contact member 14a that contacts b, and a vibration means 14b that vibrates the member 14a.

In this embodiment, the contact member 14a is made of stainless steel, and as shown in FIG. 5, a sharp edge 14c is provided on the contact side, and the edge 14c is in pressure contact with the transfer record N1b and can vibrate in the pressure contact state. is attached to. The pressure contact force is given by the winding angle between the transfer recording medium 1 and the contact member 14a and the tension applied to the transfer recording medium 1, and is set to about 30 kg/am in this embodiment.

As shown in FIG.
It is configured by being attached to the end of the.

The vibration means 14b is vibrated at a resonant frequency of 30 Hz, and the contact member 14a is thereby vibrated by approximately 15° in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the transfer recording medium l, thereby recording the transfer recording J.
l) The shell le and cores lc and ld of lb are configured to be cut into thin layers.

Next, the transfer section 4 will be explained. The transfer section 4 is disposed downstream of the recording section 3 in the conveyance direction of the transfer recording medium l, and includes a transfer roller 4a that is driven to rotate in the direction of the arrow as shown in FIG. and a pressure roller 4b. The transfer roller 4a is composed of an aluminum roller whose surface is coated with silicone rubber having a hardness of 70 degrees and a thickness of 1 inch.The surface is heated to a temperature of 90 to 100" by a built-in 800W halogen heater 4c.
It is configured to be held in

The pressure roller 4b is made of an aluminum roller coated with silicone rubber having a hardness of 70 degrees to a thickness of one inch, and the pressing force with the transfer roller 4a is 6 to 1 kgf/cm by a pressure means (not shown) such as a spring. is set to .

Furthermore, recording paper 8 as a recording medium loaded in the cassette 7
is the feed roller 9. The register roller pair 10a, 10b is configured to feed the recording medium 1 to the transfer section 4 in synchronization so as to overlap the image area of the recording medium 1.

Next, the operation when recording is performed by the recording apparatus configured as described above will be explained.

In the embodiment described below, an example will be shown in which heat is applied in accordance with an image signal and light is applied uniformly.

An image is formed by driving a motor (not shown) to sequentially feed out the transfer recording medium 1 from the supply roll 2, and applying light and heat to the transfer recording layer 1b of the transfer recording medium 1 in the recording section 3 according to the image signal. be done.

That is, the transfer recording layer 1b has a property that when light and heat of a predetermined wavelength are applied, the softening point temperature increases and it is no longer transferred to the recording paper 8, so as shown in the timing chart of FIG. In addition, when recording magenta color, the heating element corresponding to magenta of the image signal in the heating element row 3b is not energized.
On the 25th, we energized the parts corresponding to the white of both signals (recording paper 8 is white), and with a delay of 5 ms, the fluorescent lamp 3 was turned on.
C is uniformly irradiated. The irradiation time at this time was 45Ill.
Let it be S.

Next, when recording blue, 50ffiS after the end of the irradiation.
After the elapse of time, that is, 100 as after the energization time, 25 seconds of current is applied to the part corresponding to the white of the image signal without energizing the heating element of the rear row of heating elements 3b corresponding to the blue of the image signal. After 5 ms, the fluorescent lamp 3d is uniformly irradiated. The irradiation time at this time was also 45 m3 as described above.

In response to the blue, magenta, and white image signals as described above, the recording head 3a is controlled to form a negative image on the transfer recording layer 1b, and transfer recording is performed synchronously at a repeating cycle of 200m5/1ine. Transport medium 1.

The transfer record 1151b of the transfer recording medium 1 on which the image has been formed as described above is removed in a thin layer by the front side means 14.

That is, when the edge 14c of the contact member 14a in pressure contact with the transfer recording layer 1b is vibrated by the vibration means 14b, the shell 1e and core l on the surface of the image forming element are vibrated as shown in FIG.
The cores 1c, 1d are cut, and the cores 1c, 1d are exposed.

When the transfer recording layer 1b in the above state is pressed against the recording paper 8 in the transfer section 4 and heated, a blue and magenta two-color image is transferred onto the recording paper 8. At this time, the core l of the image forming element
Since cores c and ld are exposed as described above, the difference between cores lc and ld, which have changed transfer characteristics formed in the recording section 3, becomes more noticeable, and as a result, the quality of the image transferred to the recording paper 8 becomes worse. becomes stable.

The transfer recording medium 1 and recording paper 8 that have passed through the transfer section 4 are peeled off by a peeling roller 5, and the recording paper 8 on which an image of a desired color has been recorded is discharged onto a discharge tray 11 by a pair of discharge rollers 13a and 13b. , the transfer recording medium 1 is wound onto a take-up roll 6.

As described above, two-color recording is completed in one shot.

<Other Examples> In the above-mentioned example, in the recording section 3, light of a predetermined wavelength corresponding to a desired color is uniformly irradiated from the transfer recording i1b side of the transfer recording medium 1, and the light of a predetermined wavelength corresponding to the desired color is irradiated from the transfer recording medium 1 side. Although the configuration is such that heat is applied according to the image signal from the beginning, as another embodiment, a configuration may be adopted in which heat is uniformly applied and a predetermined light is irradiated according to the image signal.

Furthermore, if the support 1a is made of a translucent material, the support 1a can be made of a transparent material.
A configuration may be adopted in which light is irradiated from the a side and heat is applied from the transfer recording 11b side.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, light irradiation and heat application were performed with the support 1a in between, but image formation is also possible by performing both light irradiation and heat application from one side of the support 1a. .

Further, as the heating means, in addition to the method using the recording head 3a described above, a method of selectively heating using a YAG laser and a polygon mirror, etc. may be used.

Further, as the light irradiation means, the above-mentioned fluorescent lamp 3c is used.

In addition to the method using 3D, for example, a method using an LED array, a method using a xenon lamp and a filter matching the light absorption characteristics of the material, etc. can be used.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, light energy and thermal energy were applied to the transfer recording layer 1b at the same time. However, even if the optical energy and thermal energy are applied separately, the result is that both energies are applied separately. Any configuration that is given is acceptable.

Furthermore, although the above-mentioned embodiment has been explained using an example of two-color recording, as disclosed by the applicant in Japanese Patent Application No. 128814/1982, the types of colorants and photoinitiators constituting the image forming element can be changed as appropriate. By selecting a light source with a wavelength that causes the photoinitiator to react, it is possible to obtain monochromatic, multicolor (three or more), or full-color recorded images.

Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the transfer record 11 of the polymeric material containing the colorant is created by the use of light energy and thermal energy.
Although an example has been shown in which the image is transferred and recorded onto the recording paper by changing the softening point temperature of b, it is also possible to transfer and record the image depending on the difference in adhesive properties or sublimation properties to the recording paper.
Alternatively, by providing a transfer recording medium with a layer that imparts color development to the recording paper and changing the color development characteristics of the recording paper, and transferring the image formed on the transfer recording medium to the recording paper,
It may be arranged to obtain an image record.

Furthermore, the plurality of types of energy applied to the transfer recording layer 1b are not limited to the above-mentioned heat and light energy, and images may be formed using, for example, pressure energy or other types of energy.

In addition to the above-mentioned polyethylene terephthalate, for example, polyamide, polyimide, capacitor paper, cellophane paper, etc. can also be used as the material for the support 1a.

Further, as the transfer recording layer 1b, it is possible to appropriately select and use a material having properties such as rA melting property, heat softening property, or heat sublimation property.

Furthermore, the recording medium is not limited to the above-mentioned recording paper, but can be used, for example, with an overhead projector (OH
Of course, a plastic sheet for Pi can also be used.

As the front side means 14, a sharp enciphering contact member 14a was used in the above-mentioned embodiment, but as shown in FIG. It is also possible to remove a thin layer from the surface of the transfer recording layer 1b by bringing it into contact and vibrating it.

The contact member 14a may be brought into pressure contact with the transfer recording layer 1b by applying tension to the transfer recording medium 1 as in the above-mentioned embodiment, or by pressing the contact member 14a onto the support la side of the transfer recording medium 1 as shown in FIG. A rubber roller 14f may be arranged, and the contact member 14a may be pressed against the roller 14f by a spring 14e or the like with the transfer recording medium 1 interposed therebetween.

Further, as the vibration means 14b, in addition to an electrostrictive vibrator, a magnetostrictive vibrator or a voice coil type actuator motor may be vibrated by forward and reverse rotation, or a cam may be used to vibrate.

Furthermore, the direction of vibration need not be limited to the direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the transfer recording medium 1 as in the above-mentioned embodiments, but may be made to vibrate in the conveyance direction of the transfer recording medium 1 as shown in FIG. 1O.

Similarly, it is also possible to vibrate in the directions shown in FIG. 11, and in addition, FIGS. 5 and 10.

For example, by combining the vibration directions in FIG. 11, it is circular.

It may also be made to vibrate in an elliptical shape.

Next, the transfer section 4 is not limited to roller-shaped rollers like the transfer roller 4a and the pressure roller 4b, but may be of any configuration that can provide a desired pressure, such as a rotating belt.

Furthermore, if necessary, a fixing means for fixing the image on the recording medium onto which the image has been transferred by the transfer section 4 may be provided downstream of the peeling roller 5 in the conveyance direction of the recording medium.

<Effects of the Invention> As described above, the present invention sequentially performs the formation of an image on a transfer recording medium and the transfer of this image to a recording medium, so that an image can be formed even on a recording medium with a relatively low surface smoothness. can be recorded well. Furthermore, when the present invention is applied to multicolor recording, a multicolor image can be obtained without making any complicated movements on the recording medium.

In addition, before transferring the image formed on the transfer recording medium in the recording section to the recording medium, the contact member is vibrated to remove a thin layer from the surface of the transfer recording layer, so that the transferred image is transferred to the recording medium. It has the characteristics that it becomes easy to transfer images, and it becomes possible to obtain stable transferred images.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 (A) and (B) are overall schematic illustrations of one embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is an illustration of the structure of the transfer recording medium, and Figure 3 is the light absorption characteristics of the photoinitiator in the transfer recording medium. Figure 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the spectral characteristics of the light irradiation means, Figure 5 is an explanatory diagram of the contact member, Figure 6 is a timing chart for applying heat and light, and Figure 7 is a diagram showing the spectral characteristics of the light irradiation means. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of another embodiment of the contact member, FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of another embodiment showing the pressing configuration of the contact member,
FIG. 1 is a transfer recording medium, 1a is a support, 1b is a transfer recording layer,
lc and ld are the core, 1e is the shell, if is the adhesive, 2 is the supply roll, 2a is the supply roll shaft, 3 is the recording section, 3a is the recording head, 3b is the heating element array, 3c and 3d are fluorescent lamps,
3e is a slit plate, 4 is a transfer section, 4a is a transfer roller, 4
b is a pressure roller, 4c is a heater, 5 is a peeling roller, 6 is a winding roll, 7 is a cassette, 8 is a recording paper, 9 is a feeding roller, 10a, 10b are register rollers, 11 is an ejection tray, 12a, 12b and 12c are guide rollers, 13a
, 13b is a discharge roller, 14 is a front side means, 14a, 14
d is a contact member, 14b is a vibration means, 14c is an edge, 1
4e is a spring, and 14 is a rubber roller.

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A device for recording an image on a recording medium using a transfer recording medium having a transfer recording layer whose transfer characteristics change when multiple types of energy are applied, and a conveyance means for conveying the transfer recording medium. a recording section having a applying means for applying a plurality of types of energy to a transfer recording medium provided along a conveyance path of the transfer recording medium conveyed by the conveyance means; and a transfer recording of the transfer recording medium. It has a contact member that is in contact with the layer and is held so as to be able to vibrate, a vibration means that vibrates the contact member, and a transfer unit that transfers the image formed on the transfer recording medium by the recording unit to the recording medium. A recording device characterized by: (2) The recording device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of types of energy are composed of thermal energy and optical energy. (3) The recording device according to claim 1, wherein the vibrating means is constituted by an electrostrictive element.