JPS63197671A - Recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To suppress electric discharge wear and tear of recording electrodes and obtain an electrothermal-type recorder free of deterioration of printing quality even in long-time use and having durability, by setting the recording electrodes at a lower potential relative to a return circuit electrode at the time of energization. CONSTITUTION:At the time of recording, a switch 20 is closed, whereby an electric current path of F.G. return circuit electrode 11 resistor layer 81 recording electrode 10 the negative side of a recording power source Ep is formed. In this case, an electric current is concentrated on a resistor layer part (part B) beneath the recording electrode 10, whereby Joule heat is generated, a part 85 of an ink layer 83 is melted, and the melted ink is transferred onto a recording material 72. At non- recording time, the switch 20 is opened, so that the current path is cut off, and recording is not conducted. Therefore, when the polarity of the recording electrode 10 is set to be negative relative to the return circuit electrode 11, namely, in a construction wherein the current flows from the return circuit electrode 11 to the recording electrode 10, electric discharge wear and tear of the recording electrode is extremely slight as compared with a construction wherein an electric current flows out from the recording electrode.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial Application Field J The present invention relates to a recording device using an electrically conductive heat-sensitive method. [Conventional technology]

As a recording device using the conventional electrical thermal transfer recording method,
"Recording material for electrical transfer" (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 19585-1985)
was there. As shown in FIG. 3, this conventional example consists of a recording medium having an ink layer and a resistance layer, a recording electrode, and a return electrode.A voltage is applied between the recording electrode and the return electrode, and the resistance layer immediately below the recording electrode is The current was concentrated and the heat generated melted the ink, forming dots on the paper. Furthermore, although it is not explicitly stated in the text, the configuration was such that current flows from the recording electrode to the return electrode.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, in the conventional example described above, during recording, electricity is applied while the recording electrode and the resistance layer move relative to each other, so discharge occurs at the interface, and the recording electrode is worn back due to discharge destruction, resulting in poor electrical contact with the resistance layer. Wake up. There was a problem in that printing quality deteriorated. The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to reduce the discharge wear of the recording FL pole, and to provide durability that does not cause deterioration of print quality even during long-term use. Our objective is to supply electrical/electrothermal recording devices with excellent printing quality. c Means for Solving the Problem J The recording device of the present invention is characterized in that the recording electrode has a lower potential than the return electrode when energized. [Example 1] Fig. 1 shows a driving method according to the present invention. 80 is a film-like recording medium. Film description#*The body is 6μm thick P
ET is used as a base layer 82, and on one side there is a resistance layer 81 in which carbon particles are dispersed in a resin and coated to a thickness of 4 to 5 μm, and on the other side there is a resistance layer 81 in which pigments are dispersed in wax and coated in a thickness of 4 to 5 μm. An ink layer 83 coated to a thickness of 3 μm is provided. 10 is a recording electrode, and 11 is a return electrode. In this embodiment, tungsten was used as the material, but it is desirable to use a conductive material that is hard and resistant to mechanical sliding wear and electrical discharge wear. Ep is a recording power source, and 20 is a switch means for connecting and disconnecting the current path between the recording electrode 10 and the recording power source EpHJJ. Is the return electrode 11 a frame ground electrode? ,G,. Further, the recording ia[ilo is connected to the negative electrode side of the recording power source Ep via the switch means 20, and the recording 1! Source E
The positive side of p is connected to the return path [same as the pole (F, G.). During recording, when the switch means 2o is closed, F. 10 → switch means 2o → a current path is formed on the negative electrode side of the recording power source Ep. At this time, the current concentrates on the resistance layer portion (3 parts) directly under the recording electrode IO, generating Joule heat, and the 85 of ink #83 part is melted and transferred to the recording medium 72. When not recording, the switch means 2o is opened, the current path is cut off, and no recording is performed. The correlation between the scanning distance and recording electrode wear (length of recording electrode worn) is shown in Figure 2. In this test, the recording voltage Ep was 15 volts, and the relative scanning speed between the film recording medium and the recording head was 60'mm per second.The amount of current flowing into the recording electrode was about 20mA.
represents the variation in the amount of wear of the recording electrode when a conventional recording device is used, that is, when the recording electrode is at a higher potential than the return electrode. Further, song #J1101 represents variations in the amount of wear of the recording electrode when the recording device according to the present invention is used, that is, when the recording electrode is at a lower potential than the return electrode. As shown in FIG. 2, the amount of wear on the recording electrode 10 is reduced to about one third compared to the conventional example. Furthermore, in both curves, the rate of change in the wear amount of the recording electrode tends to increase, but this seems to be because as the wear progresses, the contact between the resistance layer and the recording electrode gradually deteriorates and the number of discharges increases. However, the results shown in FIG. 2 show that the rate of change is also extremely small in the case of the present invention compared to the conventional example. As described above, according to the configuration of the present invention, if the polarity of the recording electrode 10 is negative with respect to the return electrode 11, that is, the current flows from the return electrode 11 to the recording electrode 10, Compared to a configuration in which current flows, discharge wear of the recording electrode is extremely reduced. Furthermore, as in this embodiment, by setting the potential of the return electrode 11 to the frame ground, there is no need to insulate the resistance layer of the film-like recording medium from the transport structure a in each transport path of the film-form recording medium. The design of the transport mechanism has become very easy. Effects of the Invention J As described above, as shown in the structure of the present invention, by setting the recording electrode at a low potential with respect to the return electrode during energization, discharge wear of the recording electrode is extremely reduced. Therefore, the problem of deterioration of print quality due to long-term printing is solved, and it is effective in realizing an electric heat-sensitive recording device with excellent print quality and durability. Furthermore, as in this embodiment, by setting the potential of the return electrode to the frame ground, there is no need to insulate the resistance layer of the film-like recording medium and the transport mechanism each time in the transport path of the film-form recording medium, and the transport Mechanism design has become much easier.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a method for driving a recording apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the results of a durability test of the recording electrode of the recording device according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a method of driving a conventional electrically conductive heat-sensitive recording device. 10...Recording electrode 11...Return electrode 20...Switch means 72...Recording medium 80...Film-like recording medium 81...Resistance layer 83...Fist... Above the ink layer 1st item 2nd fig. 3

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A film-like recording medium having an ink layer that can be activated by thermal stimulation and selectively recorded on the recording medium, a resistive layer that generates heat when energized, a recording electrode for contacting the resistive layer and energizing it, and a return path. A recording apparatus comprising a recording head comprising an electrode, a mechanism for causing the recording electrode and the return electrode to contact and scan the resistance layer, and a control means for selectively applying a voltage between the recording electrode and the return electrode, A recording device characterized in that the recording electrode has a lower potential than the return electrode when energized. (2) The recording device according to claim 1, wherein the return electrode is grounded.