KR100561443B1 - Complex image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A composite image forming apparatus having a structure integrating a thermal printing engine for forming a color image by heat and a laser printing engine for performing monochrome printing is disclosed.

The disclosed composite image forming apparatus includes a supply unit for supplying a print medium; A transport path for transporting the print medium supplied through the supply unit; A thermal printing engine provided on a transfer path, the thermal printing engine performing color printing by applying heat to a thermal imaging printing medium having a color selected according to a heating temperature and a time to provide a color image; A laser printing engine which is provided in a transport path in which a thermal printing engine is installed, and which performs printing by an electrophotographic method on the supplied print media; A discharge unit accommodating the print medium discharged through the transfer path; and performing color printing through the thermal print engine for the thermal imaging print medium and monochromatic printing through the laser print engine for the other print media. It is characterized by being able to.

Description

Complex image forming apparatus

1 is a schematic view showing a conventional composite image forming apparatus.

2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a composite image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing a thermal imaging print medium employed in the composite image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a graph illustrating color selection according to temperature and time changes of the thermal imaging print medium of FIG. 3.

5 is an exploded perspective view showing the first and second contact control unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 and 7 are schematic views for explaining the operation of the first and second contact control unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

10.Housing 20 ... Supply Unit

31.Transmission path 40 ... Thermal printing engine

41, 45 ... thermal head 43, 47 ... support

50 ... laser printing engine 60 ... developing unit

63 ... Photosensitive media 67 ... Development roller

71 ... Optical scanning unit 73 ... Transfer unit

75 fixing roller 77 pressing roller

80 ... Exhaust unit 170 ... First contact control unit

170 '... second contact control unit 171 ... frame

173 ... Driver 174 ... Drive Gear

175 Bracket 176 Stud

177 Follower gear 178 Supporting member

179.Elastic bias member

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a composite image forming apparatus capable of printing color and monochrome images through different engines, and more particularly, to a thermal printing engine for forming color images by heat and a laser for performing monochrome printing. The present invention relates to a complex image forming apparatus having an integrated print engine.

In general, image forming apparatuses such as laser printers, ink jet printers, facsimile machines, digital copiers, etc. have a single printing engine in the apparatus, and print monochrome or color images through the printing engine. Therefore, the mono laser printer has the advantage of excellent printing quality and high speed printing in monochrome printing, but has a disadvantage in that color printing is not possible. On the other hand, inkjet printers have advantages in that color printing is possible, but print quality is low and printing speed is slow.

In view of this point, there has been conventionally disclosed a combined printing press incorporating different types of engines.

1 is a schematic diagram showing a conventional composite image forming apparatus. Referring to the drawings, the disclosed composite image forming apparatus is a composite printer having a structure integrating a laser printing engine 1 and a color inkjet printing engine 2. The image forming apparatus first and second forms different paths through the first and second picking devices 5 and 6 for picking the paper 4 fed through one paper cassette 3. The paper 4 is transported to each of the paths 7 and 8. The first and second picking devices 5 and 6 are provided to be capable of lifting in the direction of the arrow A. FIG. Therefore, when the first picking device 5 descends to perform the paper feeding function on the first path 7 with respect to the print paper, the second picking device 6 is spaced apart and is not fed to the second path 8. Do not. On the other hand, when the first and second picking devices 5 and 6 are located on the contrary, the paper is fed into the second path 8.

As described above, the conventional composite image forming apparatus configured has the advantage that the user can selectively perform monochrome high-speed printing and color printing by employing both a monochrome laser printing engine and a color inkjet printing engine.

However, since the disclosed composite image forming apparatus performs paper feeding through different paths, the configuration is complicated because a separate paper feed path and picking device must be provided, and color and monochrome printing cannot be performed on the same paper. There are disadvantages.

In addition, when the color is printed by the inkjet printing method, it takes a lot of printing time and drying time of the printing surface for high quality printing. This results in fatal damage if the print surface is not dry. In addition, there is a drawback that the print quality is remarkably degraded and discolored over time compared with the photograph.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned points, and it is possible to perform monochrome printing by an electrophotographic method and to obtain a high-quality color image at a high speed that does not discolor well with time. An object is to provide a composite image forming apparatus.

In order to achieve the above object, the composite image forming apparatus according to the present invention comprises: a supply unit for supplying a print medium; A transport path for transporting the print medium supplied through the supply unit; A thermal printing engine provided on the conveying path and configured to perform color printing by applying heat to a thermal imaging print medium having a color selected according to a heating temperature and a time to provide a color image; A laser printing engine which is provided in a printing path in which the thermal printing engine is installed, and which performs printing by an electrophotographic method on the supplied print medium; A discharge unit accommodating the print medium discharged through the transfer path; and performing color printing on the thermal imaging print medium through the thermal print engine and monochromatic printing on the other print medium through the laser print engine. Characterized in that it can be performed.

Hereinafter, a composite image forming apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a composite image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, the composite image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a housing 10, a supply unit 20 for supplying a print medium M, and a transport path 31 for transporting the supplied print medium M. FIG. ), A thermal printing engine 40 for forming a color image by heat, and a laser printing engine 50 and an ejection unit 80 for forming an image on the print medium M by an electrophotographic method. It is configured to include.

The housing 10 forms an external shape of the image forming apparatus, and the discharge unit 80 on which the discharged print medium M is mounted is provided outside. In addition, the housing 10 is detachably provided with a supply unit 20 on which the print medium M to be supplied is loaded.

The supply unit 20 includes a first supply part 21 used for the automatic supply of the print medium M, and a second supply part 25 used for the manual supply. The first supply part 21 is provided inside the housing 10, and supplies the printing medium loaded by the rotation of the first feeding roller 22. The second supply part 25 is installed outside the housing 10, and supplies the print medium M to the transfer path 31 by the rotation of the second feeding roller 26.

The transfer path 31 is provided in the housing 10, and transfers the print medium M supplied through the supply unit 20, and includes a plurality of transfer rollers 33 and 35. . The transfer path 31 is divided into only two paths supplied through the first and second supply parts 21 and 25, and the path and the discharge path contributing to image formation are a single path.

The thermal print engine 40 is provided on the transfer path 31 to perform color printing by applying heat to the thermal imaging print medium (90 in FIG. 3). Here, the thermal imaging print medium 90 is a medium in which color is selected according to heating temperature and time to provide a color image. The thermal imaging print medium 90 is different from the paper used as a conventional print medium, and has a structure as shown in FIG. 3, for example.

Referring to FIG. 3, the thermal imaging print medium M includes a transparent substrate 91, and a first image forming layer 92, a spacer 93, and a second image forming layer 94 on the substrate 91. And the upper protective layer 95 are sequentially formed. The third image forming layer 96, the reflective layer 97, and the lower protective layer 98 are sequentially formed below the substrate 91.

The first to third image forming layers 92, 94 and 96 are layers for implementing different colors, each of which is composed of a leuco dye and a developer of magenta, cyan and yellow colors. The spacer 93 is a layer for distinguishing the first image forming layer 92 from the second image forming layer 94. On the upper passivation layer 95, the first and third image forming layers 92 and 96 are provided. It is made of transparent material to see the collar formed on the

Here, the first to third image forming layers 92 and 94 and 96 are sensitive to different heating temperatures and heating times, and have characteristics as shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 4 is a graph illustrating color selection according to temperature and time changes in the thermal imaging print medium of FIG. 3.

Referring to FIG. 4, the heating temperature at which the first to third image forming layers 92, 94 and 96 can contribute to image formation by the thermal printing engine 40 is approximately 50 ° C. to 450 ° C., and a heating time. Is approximately 0.01 msec to 100 msec. Here, the ranges of the heating temperature and the heating time required to implement each of the magenta, cyan and yellow colors do not overlap each other.

By heating for a time corresponding to a heating temperature corresponding to each color through the thermal head (41 in FIG. 2) 45 to be described later, a color image can be formed at a desired position.

Here, the thermal imaging print medium 90 is employed as one print medium of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, and does not constitute the present invention itself. Since the configuration of the thermal imaging print media 90 itself is well known to those skilled in the art, the thermal imaging print media 90 may be variously configured in addition to the configurations described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. .

Referring to FIG. 2, the thermal print engine 40 applies a predetermined temperature of heat to the thermal imaging print medium 90 having a structure as shown in FIG. 3 to form a color image by a predetermined time. 45, and support portions 43 and 47 disposed to face the thermal heads 41 and 45. 2 shows that the thermal head is composed of first and second thermal heads 41 and 45 as an example. In this case, the support part also includes first and second support parts 43 and 47 provided at positions corresponding to the first and second thermal heads 41 and 45, respectively. Each of the first and second support parts 43 and 47 supports the thermal imaging print medium 90 supplied through the transfer path 31.

The first thermal head 41 contributes to image formation with respect to the first and second image forming layers 92 and 94 in the thermal imaging print medium 90 configured as shown in FIG. By applying heat to each of the first and second image forming layers 92 and 94 under a condition as shown in FIG. 4 for a predetermined time, a color image having a predetermined color can be realized.

The second thermal head 45 contributes to image formation with respect to the third image forming layer 96 in the thermal imaging print medium 90 configured as shown in FIG. 3, as shown in FIG. 4. By applying heat to the image forming position of the third image forming layer 96 under a condition for a predetermined time, a color image can be realized.

Here, when the color image is implemented through the first and second thermal heads, a full color image including colors other than magenta, cyan, and yellow may be realized from the composition of colors obtained by each head. In addition, the image thus obtained has a photographic image quality printed on photo paper, and unlike an image obtained through an inkjet printing engine, even after touching the surface immediately after printing, the image is not damaged at all and discolors even after elapsed for a long time. This isn't easy.

The laser printing engine 50 is provided on the transfer path 31 adjacent to the thermal printing engine 40 and performs printing on the printing medium M supplied by the transfer photograph method.

The laser printing engine 50 includes a developing unit 60, an optical scanning unit 71 for forming an electrostatic latent image, a transfer unit 73 for transferring an image formed in the developing unit 60, and a print medium. A fixing unit including a fixing roller 75 and a pressure roller 77 to fix the transferred image is included.

The developing unit 60 includes a toner container 61 in which toner T of a predetermined color is accommodated therein, and an image forming unit for supplying toner T from the toner container 61 to contribute to image formation. .

The image forming unit includes a photosensitive medium 63 sensitive to the beam L scanned by the optical scanning unit 71, a charger 65 for charging the photosensitive medium 63 to a predetermined potential, and the photosensitive medium. A developing roller 67 disposed to face the 63 to develop the toner in the area where the electrostatic latent image of the photosensitive medium 63 is formed, and a supply roller to supply the toner T to the developing roller 67; 69).

The optical scanning unit 71 scans light onto the photosensitive medium 63 to form an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive medium 63. The optical scanning unit 71 may be composed of a laser scanning unit or a plurality of light emitting elements (LEDs) having a linear arrangement.

The transfer unit 73 is disposed to face the photosensitive medium 63 with the print medium transferred through the transfer path 31 interposed therebetween, and the image formed on the photosensitive medium 63 is supplied to the print medium. It acts as a warrior.

Here, the composite image forming apparatus includes a selection mode such that the laser print engine does not operate when the thermal print engine is operated, and vice versa, so that the laser print engine operates and the thermal print engine does not operate. Therefore, the printing engine can be selected according to the user's selection.

In addition, when the thermal printing engine is selected by the selection mode, the transfer path 30 is supplied with a printing medium M on which an image is formed by the thermal printing engine 40. On the other hand, since the print medium M is heat sensitive, when the heat generated by the operation of the transfer unit 73 and the fixing unit of the laser print engine 50 is directly transmitted to the print medium M, the print medium M may be used. There is a fear that the image formed at (M) is deteriorated.

In consideration of this, the laser printing engine 50 includes a first contact control unit 170 for controlling contact between the fixing roller 75 and the pressure roller 77, the transfer unit 73, and the photosensitive member. And a second contact regulating unit 170 ′ for regulating contact between the media 63.

Each of the first and second contact control units 170 and 170 ′ includes a driving source 171 and a bracket 175 for providing rotational force. The bracket 175 is rotatably installed with respect to the frame 171, and the pressure roller 77 or the transfer unit 73 is rotatably installed at one side. A stud 176 is provided at a predetermined position of the frame 171 so that the bracket 175 is rotatably installed with respect to the frame 171, and a pivot center groove formed in the bracket 175 is provided with the stud 176. ) At this time, the driven gear 177 is coupled between the stud 176 and the rotation center groove. Here, the driven gear 177 is freely rotatable with respect to the stud 176, the bracket 175 is the rotational position is determined according to the rotational position of the driven gear 177.

The driving source 173 is installed in the frame 171 and provides a rotational force to the bracket 175. Here, the drive gear 174 is coupled to the rotational central axis of the drive source 173. The drive gear 174 is rotated in engagement with the driven gear 177 and transmits a driving force to the driven gear 177 at a predetermined gear ratio. Accordingly, when the driving gear 174 is rotated in a predetermined direction by the driving source 173, the driven gear 177 rotates in association with the driving gear 174. Thus, the bracket 175 is rotated about the stud 176, it is possible to lift the pressure roller 77 or the transfer unit 73 coupled to one side. Thus, a gap may be formed between the pressing roller 77 and the fixing roller (75 of FIG. 2) and between the transfer unit 73 and the photosensitive medium (63 of FIG. 2).

As such, by forming an image on the print medium M by the thermal print engine in a state where the gap is formed, it is possible to prevent the print medium M for the thermal print engine from being lost due to heat.

In addition, each of the first and second contact control units 170 and 170 ′ includes a support member 178 for rotatably supporting each of the pressure roller 77 and the transfer unit 73, and the pressure roller ( 77 and an elastic bias member 179 for elastically biasing the transfer unit 73 in one direction. The support member 178 is installed to reciprocate in the installation groove 171a provided in the frame 171, and rotatably supports the pressure roller 77 or the transfer unit 73. The elastic bias member 179 is located in the installation groove 171a, and the support member 178 is disposed in one direction, for example, the pressing roller 77 and the transfer unit 73 in the direction of the fixing roller and the photosensitive medium. Let's do it.

Therefore, when the power provided from the driving source 173 is interrupted, the fixing roller (75 in FIG. 2) and the pressure roller 77, the transfer unit 73 and the photosensitive medium (63 in FIG. 2) are respectively Make contact. Therefore, it becomes the printable mode by the laser printing engine 50. FIG.

Hereinafter, the operation of the first and second contact control units 170 and 170 ′ will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

6 shows the printing mode time by the laser printing engine 50. In this case, referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the power provided from the driving source 173 is cut off, and the bracket 175 is placed in a freely rotatable state. At this time, the support member 178 is moved in one direction by the elastic bias member 179. Therefore, the pressure roller 77 is in contact with the fixing roller 75, the transfer unit 73 is in contact with the photosensitive medium (63).

Therefore, when performing printing by the laser printing engine 50, transfer and fixation are normally performed.

7 shows the printing mode time by the thermal printing engine 40. 5 and 7, while the driving source 173 operates, a rotational driving force is transmitted to the bracket 175 through the driving gear 174 and the driven gear 177, so that the bracket 175 may work. Is rotated in the direction. Accordingly, the pressure roller 77 and the transfer unit 73 positioned on one side of the bracket 175 overcome the pressing force applied by the elastic bias member 179, and the contact is released.

By performing printing by the thermal print engine 40 in such a state, the print medium 40 printed by the thermal print engine 40 is between the photosensitive medium 63 and the transfer unit 73 and the fixing roller. When passing between the 75 and the pressure roller 77, it can be prevented from being damaged by heat.

The composite image forming apparatus according to the present invention configured as described above includes a thermal printing engine and a laser printing engine on a single transport path inside a housing, so that a user can selectively print a single color laser on a printing paper which is a general printing medium. Or thermal color printing on the thermal imaging print medium. In addition, by supplying a print medium through a single path and disposing all different engines on the path, the supply unit, the discharge unit, and the transfer path can be commonly used. Accordingly, there is an advantage that the configuration can be simplified while performing color and monochrome printing.

In addition, by adopting a thermal printing engine, high-quality color printing such as photographs can be performed at high speed, and the image quality is not damaged even when the printing surface is touched immediately after printing, and it does not become discolored even when stored for a long time. have.

The above embodiments are merely exemplary, and various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible from those skilled in the art. Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention will be defined by the technical spirit of the invention described in the claims below.

Claims (8)

A supply unit for supplying a print medium; A transport path for transporting the print medium supplied through the supply unit; A thermal printing engine provided on the conveying path and configured to perform color printing by applying heat to a thermal imaging print medium having at least one image forming layer; A laser printing engine which is provided in a transport path in which the thermal printing engine is installed, and which performs printing by an electrophotographic method on the supplied print medium; And a discharge unit accommodating the print medium discharged through the transfer path. And color printing through a thermal print engine for a thermal imaging print medium, and monochromatic printing through a laser print engine for another print medium. The method of claim 1, wherein the thermal printing engine, A thermal head which forms a color image by applying heat of a predetermined temperature to the thermal imaging print medium for a predetermined time; And a support part disposed to face the thermal head and supporting the thermal imaging print medium. The laser printing engine of claim 1 or 2, A developing unit having a toner container in which toner of a predetermined color is received, and an image forming unit receiving toner from the toner container and contributing to image formation; An optical scanning unit which scans light into the image forming unit to form an electrostatic latent image; A transfer unit provided corresponding to the image forming unit and transferring the image formed by the image forming unit to a print medium; And a fixing unit having a fixing roller and a pressure roller to fix the transferred image onto the printing medium. The method of claim 3, wherein the image forming unit, A photosensitive medium; A charger for charging the photosensitive medium to a predetermined potential; A developing roller disposed to face the photosensitive medium, the developing roller developing the toner in a region where the electrostatic latent image of the photosensitive medium is formed; And a supply roller for supplying toner to the developing roller. The method of claim 4, wherein The laser printing engine, And a first and a second contact control unit for adjusting the contact between the fixing roller and the pressure roller and the contact between the transfer unit and the photosensitive medium, respectively. The method of claim 5, wherein each of the first and second contact control unit, A bracket installed rotatably with respect to the frame, the bracket having one side of the pressing roller or transfer unit rotatably installed thereon; It is installed on the frame, the drive source for providing a rotational force to the bracket; including, And forming a gap between the fixing roller and the pressure roller and between the transfer unit and the photosensitive medium when the image is formed on the print medium by the thermal printing engine. The method of claim 6, wherein each of the first and second contact control unit, A support member rotatably installed relative to the frame, the support member rotatably supporting each of the pressure roller and the transfer unit; It is interposed between the support member and the frame, further comprising an elastic bias member for elastically biasing the pressure roller and the transfer unit in one direction, And when the power provided from the driving source is interrupted, the fixing roller and the pressure roller, and the transfer unit and the photosensitive medium are in contact with each other. The method of claim 1, wherein the supply unit, A first supply unit supplying the printed media loaded by the rotation of the feeding roller; And a second supply unit supplying a print medium to the transfer path.

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