KR100325807B1 - Hybrid type imeage forming apparatus and method - Google Patents

Abstract

Integrating the inkjet printer and laser printer into one machine, color printing is performed in the inkjet printer, black printing is performed in the laser printer, the paper is transferred in the stepwise mode when printing the inkjet printer, and the speed is constant when the laser printer is printed. By feeding the mode, the image alignment error caused when the image information is recorded by the inkjet method and the toner method is selectively performed by selectively aligning the images according to the paper conveyance, and the compact and inexpensive color image recording apparatus When recording black images, high speed, high resolution, low cost per sheet, and toner cartridge life are extended.

Description

Image forming apparatus and method in which inkjet method and toner method are integrated {Hybrid type imeage forming apparatus and method}

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, an inkjet printer and a laser printer having a separate device configuration are combined in one device to selectively print an inkjet printer and a laser printer at the time of color image printing and black image printing. An image forming apparatus and method in which an inkjet method and a toner method for driving are integrated.

In general, a facsimile machine, a printer, a copier, or a multifunction device that can realize a combination of these functions through a single device are all products manufactured based on a printing function, and thus, an image forming apparatus is provided. The image forming apparatus picks up and transports the paper from the paper cassette on which the green chain paper is loaded, and forms an image by using an image forming material such as ink or toner on the paper conveyed through the image forming means. Discharge.

Such an image forming apparatus is roughly classified into an inkjet method using an ink and a toner method using a toner. The inkjet method is advantageous in small size and inexpensive type by recording using ink droplets discharged through a thin tube, and the toner method is a photosensitive member. It has the advantage that high speed and high quality can be obtained by recording using toner charged with.

At present, a laser jet printer, which is a representative example of an ink jet printer and a toner method, has a completely separate device configuration, which will be described in more detail.

1 is a side view showing the side of a general inkjet inkjet printer.

As shown in FIG. 1, the carriage 3 is connected through the motor 1 and the timing belt 2 to reciprocate along the guide shaft 6, and the nozzle of the ink head 4 fixed to the carriage 3. In (5), ink is sprayed onto the printing paper. That is, the carriage 3 prints by injecting ink through the nozzle 3 of the ink head 4 while linearly reciprocating the guide shaft 6 and feeding the paper.

Ink uses four colors: yellow, magenta, cyan and black. There are two cases in which the ink head 4 is usually bundled in four colors or two in combination with yellow, magenta, cyan and black.

In this way, one or two ink heads 4 are fixed to the carriage 3, and the carriage 3 is moved perpendicularly to the paper conveying direction along the guide shaft 6 by the timing belt 2. At this time, the paper is conveyed in a step-wise mode, because the paper must stop when the carriage 3 moves, and the paper must move while the carriage 3 is moved and stopped. . That is, inkjet printers are classified as serial printers which record images line by line.

Such an inkjet printer is advantageous in being small and inexpensive in a manner of recording using ink droplets ejected through a thin tube, but high quality recording and high resolution due to high resolution are disadvantageous. In addition, there is a disadvantage in that the cost per sheet increases because the life of the ink head is short and must be replaced frequently.

2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a laser printer which is a general toner method.

As shown in FIG. 2, the laser printer includes a laser scanning unit (LSU) 7 that scans a light source to form an image, a developer 8 that develops toner when the image forms, and an electrostatic latent image. A photosensitive drum 9 on which a latent image is generated, a transfer roller 10 for transferring the toner formed on the photosensitive drum 9 to the paper, and a fixing unit 11 for fixing the toner transferred to the paper by heat and pressure. And a charging roller (not shown) for charging the surface of the photosensitive drum 9.

In the case of color, four independent toner cartridges such as yellow, magenta, cyan and black are used. When printing in black, only black toner is used for recording. The electrophotographic method utilizes a high speed laser scanner, a highly sensitive photosensitive drum, and a developing process capable of high speed recording, thereby enabling recording while continuously conveying paper. That is, unlike an inkjet printer, the paper is classified as a page printer because the paper is printed while being transported in the constant speed mode.

Such a laser printer has an advantage of obtaining high speed printing and high resolution with an electrophotographic technique using a photosensitive drum and charged toner, but has a disadvantage in that the configuration of the device is complicated, miniaturization is disadvantageous, and expensive.

The reason for not combining the advantages of the conventional inkjet printer and laser printer in one device is as follows.

First, inkjet printers and laser printers differ in paper transfer properties, that is, the inkjet printer method transfers paper at stepwise, and the laser printer method transfers at a constant speed. Therefore, the inkjet method and the toner method are transported at the same speed. There is a problem that can not be used at the same time recording.

Second, consider a case where a combination of an inkjet printer and a laser printer is simply combined to refeed an original recorded by the laser printer and rewritten by the inkjet printer. Since the degree of registration error is usually 2-3 mm, the position error of the inkjet printer and the laser printer can be expected to be up to 4-6 mm. This image registration error is so large that there is a problem that an image which is unacceptable to a user is output.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve such problems, and an object of the present invention is to integrate an inkjet printer and a laser printer into one device, so that color printing is performed in an inkjet printer, and black printing is performed in a laser printer. The present invention provides an image forming apparatus and a method in which an inkjet method and a toner method are integrated to achieve miniaturization, high speed, and high resolution.

In addition, another object of the present invention is to arrange the inkjet printer and the laser printer mechanism in sequence, the image of the inkjet method and the toner method incorporating a paper feeder for transferring the printing paper according to the paper feed speed of each printer mechanism In providing a forming apparatus.

1 is a side view showing a side of a general inkjet inkjet printer,

2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a general toner laser printer;

3 is a schematic structural diagram of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention;

4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the paper alignment / feeding drum of the present invention shown in FIG.

5 is a longitudinal sectional view of FIG. 4;

6 is a block diagram schematically showing an image forming apparatus according to the present invention;

7 is an operation flowchart for performing a printing method of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

8A, 8B and 8C are cross-sectional views sequentially showing the sheet feeding operation of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

(Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawing)

10; Control unit 20; Signal processor

50; A paper feeder driver 60; Power conversion unit

70; Position detection unit 80; Interface part

90; Paper separation unit 110; Paper feed section

120; Laser printers 130; Inkjet printer

An image forming apparatus in which the inkjet method and the toner method of the present invention are integrated to achieve the above objects includes: a signal processing unit that separates color image information and black image information among print data received from the outside; An electrophotographic printing unit for forming an electrical latent image on a photosensitive member according to the received print data, supplying toner to the latent image to form a toner image, and fixing the toner image to printing paper; An inkjet printing unit for forming an image by spraying ink in the ink cartridge onto printing paper according to the received print data; If there is color image information among the signals separated by the signal processor, the inkjet printing unit is driven to perform a color printing operation.If black image information is present among the signals separated by the signal processor, the electrophotographic printing unit is driven. A controller for performing a black print job; The printing paper is supplied to the inkjet printing unit and the electrophotographic printing unit, and the printing paper is rotated in the step-wise mode when the printing paper is supplied to the inkjet printing unit, and in the constant speed mode when the printing paper is supplied to the electrophotographic printing unit. It characterized by including a rotating paper feed unit.

In this case, it is preferable that the paper feed part is provided with a conductive elastic body, a conductive film is wound around the outer circumferential surface, and a gripper for holding the printing paper is provided at a predetermined position on the outer circumferential part.

In addition, the paper supply unit driving unit for driving the paper supply unit in the present invention described above; It is also preferable to further include a position detecting unit for performing color registration of color image printing and black image printing during rotation of the paper feed unit.

In this case, the paper feeder driver is preferably composed of a stepping motor as a driving source and a connecting gear for transmitting the driving force of the stepping motor to the paper feeder.

In addition, the position detecting unit is preferably composed of a sensor knob installed in the paper supply unit, and a position detecting sensor installed so as to correspond to the sensor knob to detect the position of the sensor knob to detect the position of the front end of the paper.

On the other hand, in the present invention, the inertia converting means on the rotary shaft of the paper feeder is spaced apart from the paper feeder in stepwise mode to reduce the inertia of the paper feeder. It is preferable that it is further provided.

In addition, it is preferable that an encoder and a rotation angle detection sensor for controlling an accurate rotation angle in the stepwise mode to correspond to the encoder are further provided on the paper supply side.

On the other hand, in the image forming method in which the inkjet method and the toner method are integrated, the electrophotographic printing unit using the toner method and the inkjet printing unit using the inkjet method are sequentially mounted on a transport path of the same printing paper, and the electrophotographic A printing method of an image forming apparatus including a printing unit and a paper supply unit for supplying printing paper to the inkjet printing unit, the printing method comprising: when print data is transmitted from the outside, separating the transferred print data into color image information and black image information. step; Driving the inkjet printing unit when color image information exists in the print data; When the inkjet printing unit is driven, rotating the paper supply unit in a step-wise mode to supply printing paper to the inkjet printing unit to print color image information; Driving the electrophotographic printing unit if black image information exists in the print data; And when the electrophotographic printing unit is driven, rotating the paper supply unit in a constant speed mode to supply the electrophotographic printing unit to printing paper to print black image information.

In addition, it is preferable that the printing order further comprises the step of performing black image printing after color image printing.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention, Figure 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the present invention paper alignment / supply drum of Figure 3, Figure 5 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of Figure 4, A block diagram schematically showing an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

The configuration of an image forming apparatus in which an inkjet method and a toner method are integrated according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6.

As shown in Fig. 3, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention supplies the paper cassette 100 on which printing paper is loaded and the printing paper picked up on the paper cassette 100 to the image forming means when the printing paper loaded on the paper cassette 100 is picked up. A laser printer mechanism 120 for printing a photo aligning / feeding drum 110 for printing, a transfer photograph method for performing a printing operation on printing paper fed from the paper aligning / feeding drum 110, and an ink jet. By applying heat and pressure to the inkjet printer mechanism 130 for printing by the ink, the release rib 140 for separating the printing paper attached to the paper alignment / feeding drum 110 after the printing operation is completed, and the separated printing paper. It consists of a fixing unit 150 for fixing the image forming material sprayed on the printing paper in the image forming means on the printing paper. Reference numeral 171 denotes a registration roller, 172 a backup roller, and 173 denotes a registration sensor.

The laser printer mechanism 120 includes only black toner to perform black printing, and the inkjet printer mechanism 130 includes only three color inks such as yellow, magenta, and cyan to perform color printing. The mechanism 120 and the inkjet printer mechanism 130 are sequentially mounted around the paper alignment / supply drum 110 to perform an image forming operation on the printing paper supplied by the paper alignment / supply drum 110.

Looking at the configuration of the laser printer mechanism 120 to perform a black printing operation with only the black toner, the LSU 121 and the photosensitive member by the charger 124 to the image by scanning the light source according to the image information And a photosensitive drum 122 having an electrostatic latent image formed by the LSU 121 after being charged, and a developer 123 for injecting toner onto the photosensitive drum 122. At this time, the paper alignment / supply drum 110 is used as a transfer drum for transferring the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 122 to printing paper.

Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 4, the stepping motor 180 is a driving source in the paper alignment / feeding drum 110 for supplying the printing paper loaded in the paper cassette 100 to the laser printer mechanism 120 and the inkjet printer mechanism 130. ) Is connected to the connecting gears (181, 182), one side of the drum is provided with a position sensor (183) for color matching between the color image and the black and white image when the drum rotates, the position detection on the drum side The sensor knob 184 is detected by the sensor is provided.

In addition, the rotation angle detection sensor 185 for detecting the rotation angle of the drum is provided on the other side of the drum, and the encoder 186 which is detected by the rotation angle detection sensor is provided at the end of the rotation axis of the paper alignment drum. .

In addition, the inertia ring 190 is slidably installed on the rotating shaft of the drum so that the step motor 180 is spaced apart from the drum when feeding the paper at stepwise, and when the paper is fed at a constant speed, the inertia ring 190 closely adheres to the drum and increases the rotational inertia of the drum. It is. Reference numeral 200 is a bearing.

The paper sorting / feeding drum 110 is provided with a conductive elastic body 111 therein, a dielectric film 112 is wound around the outer circumferential surface of the drum, and a gripper 113 holding the paper at a predetermined position of the drum. ) Is provided.

The paper sorting / feeding drum 110 is used as a transfer roller when performing a black imaging operation using the laser printer mechanism 120. That is, the electrostatic latent image is formed by the LSU 121 in the laser printer mechanism 120, and the toner having a negative (-) pole is developed on the photosensitive drum 122 by the developing unit 123. The power converter 60 applies a predetermined positive voltage to the paper feeder 110 when the laser printer mechanism 120 performs the printing operation under the control of the controller 10 to apply the photosensitive drum 122 to the photosensitive drum 122. The developed toner image is transferred onto the printing paper wound on the paper alignment / feeding drum 110.

Such an image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. 6 as follows.

The controller 10 controls the system as a whole, and in particular, when the color image information is present in the print data transmitted from the outside, the inkjet printer mechanism 130 is driven, and when the black image information is present, the laser printer mechanism 120 is driven. Let's do it. In addition, when the inkjet printer mechanism 130 is driven, the paper supply unit 110 is rotated in the step-wise mode, and when the laser printer mechanism 120 is driven, the paper supply unit 110 is rotated in the constant speed mode so that color printing and According to the black printing, the print job is controlled in each printer mechanism.

The signal processor 20 classifies the color image information and the black image information among the print data transmitted from the computer through the interface unit 80 under the control of the control unit 10, and separates each signal into an inkjet and laser printer mechanism. To send.

The first engine unit 30 drives the inkjet printer mechanism 130 according to the color image information transmitted from the signal processing unit 20 under the control of the controller 10 to perform color printing.

The second engine unit 40 drives the laser printer mechanism 120 according to the black image information transmitted from the signal processing unit 20 under the control of the control unit 10 to perform a black printing operation.

The paper feeder driver 50 includes a step motor 180 and a connecting gear 181 and 182 to rotate the paper feeder 110 in a step-wise or constant speed mode under the control of the controller 10.

The power conversion unit 60 receives a commercial voltage (110V / 220V) for home use, converts (steps up) the voltage level required by the second engine unit 40, and then controls the second engine unit under the control of the controller 10. 40 and paper alignment / feed drum 110.

The position detecting unit 70 is a position detecting sensor 183 for detecting the sensor knob 184 formed on the drum side, and the position detecting sensor 183 inputs the same to the control unit 10 to the inkjet mechanism 130 and the laser printer. The mechanism 120 informs the position of the leading edge of the paper that determines the start point of printing when printing. It is also possible to inform the end of color printing of the inkjet printer.

The interface unit 80 is a medium connecting the computer and the image forming apparatus, and receives print data generated by the computer.

The paper separating unit 90 is a release rib 140. The paper separating unit 90 operates after finishing all printing operations by the inkjet mechanism 130 and the laser mechanism 120 under the control of the controller 10. ) To remove the printing paper attached to the guide to the fixing unit 150.

The paper supply unit 110 is a paper alignment / feed drum.

The operation of the present invention configured as described above will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, the controller 10 checks whether print data is received from the computer through the interface unit 80 (S601), and if print data is received, warms up the system (S602). ).

After warming up the system, the controller 10 transmits the received print data to the signal processor 20, and the signal processor 20 divides the transmitted print data into color image information and black image information (S603).

The control unit 10 determines whether the color image information exists in the image information divided by the signal processing unit 20 (S604).

As a result of the determination, in the case of the color printing operation, the paper supply unit driver 50 is controlled to rotate the paper supply unit 110 in the step-wise mode (S605).

At this time, the printing paper loaded in the paper cassette 100 is picked up by a pickup roller (not shown), and the registration sensor 173 detects that the paper is in a feed standby state (FIG. 8A). When the supply drum 110 is continuously rotated and the sensor knob 184 is detected by the position detecting sensor 183, printing paper is supplied to the drum side (FIG. 8B).

The printing paper supplied is to hold the gripper 113 of the drum 110 to fix the front end of the printing paper. In this case, the surface of the drum is a state in which the dielectric film 112 of the surface is charged by the charger 160. As a result, adsorption force is generated on the surface of the drum, and the printing paper is wound in a state of being in close contact with each other.

The control unit 10 transmits the color image information separated by the signal processing unit 20 to the inkjet mechanism 130 when the paper supply unit 110 to which printing paper is attached starts to rotate in the step-wise mode (S606). The inkjet mechanism 130 is controlled according to the transmitted color image information to perform a printing operation (S607). At this time, the printing start time starts after a time when the end of the paper fixed by the gripper 113 reaches the lower end of the inkjet mechanism 130 from the time when the sensor knob 184 is detected by the position sensor 183.

The control unit 10 pauses the rotation of the paper supply unit 110 when the printing paper attached to the paper supply unit 110 reaches the line where the color image is recorded, and the inkjet mechanism 130 is equipped with ink. By moving the carriage, ink of the color corresponding to the position where the color image is printed is ejected through the nozzle. When the injection of ink on one line is completed, the control unit 10 again performs the color printing operation while rotating the paper feed unit 110 in the step-wise mode.

The control unit 10 checks whether the sensor knob 184 provided in the paper supply unit 110 is detected by the position sensor 183 while performing a color printing operation through the above process (S608).

When the sensor knob 184 is detected by the position sensor 183, since the paper alignment / supply drum 110 is rotated once and the printing of the color image information is completed, the control unit 10 prints the color image information. Rotating the sheet alignment / supply drum 110 is attached to the paper at a constant speed (S609). Here, if the sensor knob 184 is not detected by the position sensor 183, since the drum is not rotated once, it indicates that the inkjet printer mechanism 130 is performing color printing.

When the sensor knob 184 is detected by the position sensor 183, the controller 10 controls the power converter 60 to control the components of the laser printer mechanism 120 and the paper alignment / feed drum 110. A predetermined positive voltage is applied (S610).

When the sheet alignment / supply drum 110 rotates in the constant speed mode, the controller 10 transmits the black image information divided by the signal processor 20 to the second engine 40 (S611), and the second engine unit. 40 controls the laser printer mechanism 120 according to the transmitted black image information to perform a print job (S612). That is, when the sheet alignment / supply drum 110 rotates at a constant speed, the control unit 10 controls the second engine unit 40 to apply a predetermined voltage to each component of the laser printer mechanism 120 to provide a black image. Perform print jobs based on information.

At this time, the inertia ring 190 is slid to the paper alignment / supply drum 110 for uniform constant rotation.

Accordingly, the LSU 121 scans a light source according to the black image information to form an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 122, and the black toner supplied from the developer 123 is applied to the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 122. To form a visible image. At this time, the toner on the photosensitive drum 122 has a negative polarity, 0V (ground voltage) is applied to the photosensitive drum 122, and a predetermined positive voltage is applied to the paper alignment / supply drum 110. The visible image on which the toner is applied to the drum 122 is transferred onto printing paper.

When the printing operation according to the black image information is completed by the above process, the controller 10 drives the release rib 140 to separate the leading end of the printing paper which is wound around the paper alignment / feeding drum 110 and moved from the drum. After transmitting to the fuser 150 (S613), the fuser 150 is fixed to the ink and toner printed on the transferred printing paper with heat and pressure, and then dried, and discharged to the outside (S614).

On the other hand, in step 604 (S604) of determining whether the received print data is color printing in which the color image information exists in the image information divided by the signal processing unit 20, if it is black printing in which the color image information does not exist, the paper cassette is used. After holding the tip of the picked-up paper by the gripper 113 of the paper alignment / feeding drum 110 to fix the printing paper, the control unit 10 rotates the paper alignment / feeding drum 110 at a constant speed. Branch to).

Since inkjet printing is not performed at this time, a black image is printed while maintaining a high speed laser printing speed.

Therefore, a compact and inexpensive color image recording apparatus and a high speed and high resolution black image recording apparatus are possible.

As described above, in the detailed description of the present invention, specific embodiments have been described, but various modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be defined by the claims below and equivalents thereof.

As described above, the image forming apparatus having the inkjet method and the toner method and the method according to the present invention firstly, by selectively controlling the conveying speed of the paper using the paper feeder, image information by the inkjet method and the toner method It can solve the image registration error that occurs when recording the image, about 30-50㎛, secondly, it is possible to have a small size and low cost color image recording device. Third, it has the advantage of high cost, high resolution and low cost per chapter even when recording black image. Has

Claims (9)

A signal processor for dividing the color image information and the black image information from the print data received from the outside; An electrophotographic printing unit for forming an electrical latent image on a photosensitive member according to the received print data, supplying toner to the latent image to form a toner image, and fixing the toner image to printing paper; An inkjet printing unit for forming an image by spraying ink in the ink cartridge onto printing paper according to the received print data; If there is color image information among the signals separated by the signal processor, the inkjet printing unit is driven to perform a color printing operation.If black image information is present among the signals separated by the signal processor, the electrophotographic printing unit is driven. A controller for performing a black print job; The printing paper is supplied to the inkjet printing unit and the electrophotographic printing unit, and the printing paper is rotated in the step-wise mode when the printing paper is supplied to the inkjet printing unit, and in the constant speed mode when the printing paper is supplied to the electrophotographic printing unit. An image forming apparatus incorporating an inkjet method and a toner method, comprising a rotating paper feeder. The method of claim 1, The paper feed unit is provided with a conductive elastic body therein, a conductive film is wound around the outer peripheral surface, the ink jet method and the toner method of the paper alignment / supply drum which is provided with a gripper for holding the printing paper at a predetermined position on the outer peripheral portion Forming device. The method of claim 1, A paper feeder driver for driving the paper feeder; An image forming apparatus incorporating an inkjet method and a toner method, characterized by further comprising a position detecting unit for performing color matching between color image printing and black image printing when the paper feed unit rotates. The method of claim 3, wherein And an inkjet method and a toner method, each of which comprises a stepping motor serving as a driving source, and a connection gear for transmitting a driving force of the stepping motor to the paper feeding part. The method of claim 3, wherein The position detecting unit is composed of a sensor knob installed in the paper supply unit and a position detecting sensor which is installed to correspond to the sensor knob to detect the position of the sensor knob and detects the position of the paper. Forming device. The method of claim 1, The inkjet method further includes an inertia conversion means on the rotation axis of the paper supply unit, the inertia converting means being spaced apart from the paper supply unit in stepwise mode to reduce the inertia of the paper supply unit, and in the constant speed mode, the inertia converting means is in close contact with the paper supply unit to increase the inertia of the paper supply unit. An image forming apparatus in which a toner system is integrated. The method of claim 1, And an inkjet method and a toner method in which an encoder and a rotation angle detection sensor for controlling an accurate rotation angle in the stepwise mode are further installed on the paper supply side to correspond to the encoder. An electrophotographic printing unit using a toner method and an inkjet printing unit using an inkjet method are sequentially mounted on a transport path of the same printing paper, and include a paper feeder supplying printing paper to the electrophotographic printing unit and the inkjet printing unit. In the image forming method of the image forming apparatus: When print data is transmitted from the outside, dividing the transmitted print data into color image information and black image information; Driving the inkjet printing unit when color image information exists in the print data; When the inkjet printing unit is driven, rotating the paper supply unit in a step-wise mode to supply printing paper to the inkjet printing unit to print color image information; Driving the electrophotographic printing unit if black image information exists in the print data; And, when the electrophotographic printing unit is driven, rotating the paper supply unit in a constant speed mode to supply the electrophotographic printing unit to printing paper to print black image information. Image forming method. The method of claim 8, And performing a black image printing after the color image printing in the printing order.