WO2007135713A1

WO2007135713A1 - Recording medium

Info

Publication number: WO2007135713A1
Application number: PCT/JP2006/310013
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hisanobu Matsuzoe
Original assignee: Fukuoka Technoken Kogyo, Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2006-05-19
Filing date: 2006-05-19
Publication date: 2007-11-29
Also published as: JPWO2007135713A1; JP3955081B2

Abstract

A recording medium in which electrodes are formed on both sides of a medium body, electrons or ions are applied to inject electric charges, a potential difference is selectively caused in a given cross position of the electrodes, an image is written or erased, alignment with the print head is not needed, a high-quality image is created, a color image can be easily created, the electrodes in the image display region can be protected, the durability is excellent, an image can be displayed without using no power supply after the image is created, energy saving is excellent, the image is prevented from distorting because of the influence of environment variation or static electricity in the winter season, and the safety of the image quality is excellent. The recording medium comprises a medium body where an image is written or erased by the action of electric charge, a lower electrode formed in a predetermined patter on the lower surface of the medium body, an upper electrode formed in a predetermined pattern on the upper surface of the medium body, a charge injecting part provided to the lower or upper electrode, and an electrode terminal formed on the upper or lower electrode.

Description

recoding media

Technical field

The present invention relates to a recording medium on which an image is written or erased in an image display region by injecting electrons and ions from a region outside the image display region to inject charges. Background art

[0002] As a recording medium generally called a digital paper, a minute ball is color-coded into two colors (for example, black and white), and an arbitrary one color is displayed by rotating the ball depending on the electrical characteristics of each color Twisted ball method, electrophoretic method in which fine powder of two colors (for example, black and white) is mixed in a fine ball, and only one color is floated and displayed due to the difference in electrical characteristics of fine powder of each color, liquid crystal plate or fine A liquid crystal system has been developed that displays the background color of the part where the shirt cover is opened by opening and closing the liquid crystal shutter of the liquid crystal block.

In addition, an electrostatic latent image can be formed in a non-contact manner on these recording media by irradiating the surface with electrons or ions to impart electric charges, so image forming methods using various ion flow type print heads. And an image forming device! Considered even after a long time! / Speak.

(Patent Document 1) states that “a reversible recording display medium having a reversible display element capable of repeatedly recording and erasing visible information, a recording means for recording visible information on the reversible recording display medium, and a recorded visible information An rewritable apparatus comprising an erasing means for erasing, wherein the recording means comprises means for forming an electrostatic charge image on a reversible recording display medium. It is disclosed.

(Patent Document 2) states that “the display medium and the writing device can be attached and detached so that they are at least close to each other at the time of writing, and the writing device applies an electric charge to the display medium in accordance with an image signal. And a writing apparatus comprising an ion gun array having a mechanism capable of relatively changing a planar positional relationship with the display medium ”.

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-85175

Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-231126 Disclosure of the invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

[0003] However, the above-mentioned conventional technology has had the following problems.

(1) The rewriting device of (Patent Document 1) is a means for forming an electrostatic charge image by controlling the ion flow by corona discharge or the like to irradiate the medium, writing by a multi-stylus, string between a mask and a corotron and The power of using the matching method, etc. To achieve high image quality and color, control of positioning with the recording medium and timing of ion irradiation, etc. requires high precision and high image quality and colorization. Had the problem of being difficult.

In addition, since the electrostatic charge image is formed by irradiating the surface of the recording medium with ions, there is a problem that the image quality is likely to be disturbed by disturbance such as static electricity and the image quality is not reliable.

(2) Since the writing device of (Patent Document 2) applies a charge to the display medium in accordance with an image signal while relatively changing the planar positional relationship between the ion gun array and the display medium, In order to achieve high image quality and color as in Patent Document 1), high precision is required for the control of the alignment of the ion gun array and the display medium and the timing of ion irradiation in the initial state. However, it has a problem that it is difficult to achieve high image quality and color.

(3) In the devices of (Patent Document 1) and (Patent Document 2), it is necessary to write an image at a desired position while relatively moving the medium and the head, so that the drive device is complicated and easy to handle. It had the problem of lacking. In addition, since the medium and the head are relatively moved, there is a problem that the head is dirty, the medium is easily scratched or dirty, and the image quality is not reliable.

(4) Recording media with TFT circuits, control ICs, etc. have been developed, but they are expensive and lack mass production and reliability. Had problems.

[0004] The present invention solves the above-described problem. Electrons are irradiated by forming electrodes on both sides of a medium body so as to sandwich the medium body on which an image can be written or erased by the action of electric charges. Thus, electric charge can be injected, and a potential difference can be selectively generated at an arbitrary crossing position of the electrodes formed on both sides of the medium body, so that an image can be written or erased. It is not necessary to align the irradiation position of the child and ions, can form a high-quality image, is easy to colorize, and the electrode is not exposed to the surface in the image display area, thus protecting the electrode. The image quality is stable because it can display images without a power source after image formation and is excellent in energy saving, and can prevent the image from being disturbed due to environmental changes or the influence of static electricity in winter. The purpose is to provide an excellent recording medium.

Means for solving the problem

In order to solve the above problems, the recording medium of the present invention has the following configuration. The recording medium according to claim 1 of the present invention includes a medium body on which an image is written and erased by the action of electric charge, a lower electrode formed in a predetermined pattern on the lower surface of the medium body, and the medium body. An upper electrode formed in a predetermined pattern on the upper surface, a charge injection part formed on the lower electrode or the upper electrode, and an electrode terminal formed on the upper electrode or the lower electrode, An image is written or erased by irradiating the injection part with electrons or ions and injecting a charge. This configuration has the following effects.

(1) A lower electrode is formed in a predetermined pattern on the lower surface of the medium body where an image is written or erased by the action of an electric charge, and an upper electrode is formed in a predetermined pattern on the upper surface. Since a charge injection part is formed on one side, a print head capable of irradiating electrons and ions is placed facing the charge injection part, and the charge injection part is selectively irradiated with electrons and ions to charge. By injecting, image writing and erasing can be performed, positioning of the print head and scanning, etc. are unnecessary, the image forming process and the mechanism of the image forming apparatus can be simplified, and the handling is excellent.

(2) Since the lower electrode and the upper electrode formed in advance in a predetermined pattern are arranged on both surfaces of the medium body, the charge is injected by the charge injection portion force formed on one of the lower electrode or the upper electrode. Then, by applying a ground or voltage application to the electrode terminal formed on the other of the lower electrode or the upper electrode, a potential difference is surely generated at the position where the lower electrode and the upper electrode intersect to form an image. The image quality is highly reliable with no image misalignment. (3) By applying a voltage of the opposite polarity to the charge injected from the charge injection section to the electrode terminal, a potential difference can be reliably generated on the front and back of the medium body at the position where the lower electrode and the upper electrode intersect. High-quality images can be formed.

(4) Since charges are held on the front and back of the medium body, images can be displayed without power after image formation, providing excellent energy savings, and that the image will be disturbed by the influence of static electricity, etc. It can be prevented and has excellent image quality stability.

(5) Since there is no need to move the print head and the recording medium relatively, it is excellent in the reliability of the image quality and the durability of the recording medium in which the print head is not easily damaged and the recording medium is hardly damaged or stained.

[0006] Here, the medium body of the recording medium only needs to form an image by the action of electric charges. Display on the medium body using a liquid crystal material such as transmissive nematic liquid crystal or smectic liquid crystal, or a twist ball method, electrophoresis method, powder transfer method, etc. that can selectively display white or black Those in which the material is enclosed are preferably used.

Color display can be performed by combining these media with color filters having the three primary colors (R, G, B) in the additive color mixing method and color reflective layers having the three primary colors (Y, M, C) in the subtractive color mixing method. it can. Also, instead of combining color filters, etc., color display is performed by arranging image display materials such as twist balls and fine particles colored in the three primary colors (Y, M, C) in the subtractive color mixing method for each display primary color. You can also. In addition, one medium body may be divided into a plurality of areas and different colors may be displayed for each area.

[0007] The pattern of the lower electrode and the upper electrode can be appropriately selected according to the type of image to be displayed. If the display image is a predetermined character or number, either the lower electrode or the upper electrode is formed by dividing it into segment units constituting the character or number, and the other is common to the image display area. A flat electrode may be used. In addition, when the lower electrode and the upper electrode are each formed in a strip shape and arranged so as to be orthogonal to each other on both sides of the medium body, an arbitrary image is selected by selecting a position where the lower electrode and the upper electrode intersect. Can be displayed. The charge injection part can be formed at the end part or in the middle of the lower electrode and the upper electrode, and may be arranged either in the image display area of the medium body or outside the image display area. When the charge injection part is arranged in the image display area, a part of the lower electrode and the upper electrode becomes the charge injection part. Further, when the charge injection portion is disposed outside the image display region, it can be formed by extending from the ends or midway of the lower electrode and the upper electrode. In particular, when the lower electrode or the upper electrode is formed in segment units, the connecting portion (extended portion) that connects the lower electrode or the upper electrode formed in segment units and the charge injection portion is a thin line. Form with. Thereby, the connection part formed in the image display area does not hinder the image display, and the predetermined characters and numbers can be displayed reliably.

[0008] By forming an electrode protective layer on the surfaces of the lower electrode and the upper electrode, the lower electrode and the upper electrode can be protected, and the adjacent electrodes can be prevented from conducting.

As a material for the electrode protective layer, synthetic resin such as glass galamide, polyimide, PET, polyamide, etc. is preferably used. After forming the lower electrode and the upper electrode on the plate or sheet by screen printing, vapor deposition, sputtering, etching, etc., the medium body is sandwiched from both sides or sequentially laminated from the lower layer to form this recording medium. Can do.

In addition, when the electrode protective layer has a resistance value of 10 ¹² Ω′cm to: ί0 ¹⁴ Ω′cm, it is possible to inject charges into the lower electrode and the upper electrode covered with the electrode protective layer. Therefore, it is not necessary to form the charge injection portion by exposing it outside the image display area.

By arranging the color filter, power mirror reflection layer, colored twist ball, and display primary colors of fine particles in a striped manner to correspond to the arrangement of either the lower electrode or the upper electrode, there is no color misregistration. A quality color image can be obtained.

By disposing the electrode terminal in an area outside the image display area of the medium main body, the electrode terminal can be inserted into a connector such as an image forming apparatus, and can be easily connected to the lower electrode or the upper electrode via the electrode terminal. Therefore, selective grounding and voltage application to the lower electrode or the upper electrode can be reliably performed, and the handleability is excellent.

Note that the print head for forming an image on the recording medium is not limited to a wire electrode or a needle electrode as long as it can selectively irradiate electrons or ions to the charge injection portion. A device that generates a corona discharge by applying a voltage, and heats the electrodes to release thermoelectrons. A heating discharge type print head (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-326756 or WO2005Z05629) that controls the voltage applied to the electrode and the temperature of the electrode to irradiate electrons and ions can be used.

In addition, electron emission devices used for SED (surface electric field display), electron emission devices used for FED (field emission display), and carbon nanotube FED using carbon nanotubes for the electron emission part can also be used. . In these cases, if the voltage of the anode electrode is high, charges can be injected into the charge injection portion by the emitted electrons and the ionized substance even in a vacuum. At this time, the charge injection portion functions as an anode electrode, but the anode voltage is applied to the electrode formed on the opposite surface via the medium body.

[0010] The invention according to claim 2 is the recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the medium side voltage control is connected to the electrode terminal and controls grounding or voltage application to the lower electrode or the upper electrode. It is possible to have a configuration equipped with an IC.

With this configuration, in addition to the operation of claim 1, the following operation is provided.

(1) Connect to the electrode terminal to control grounding or voltage application to the lower electrode or upper electrode. By providing a medium-side voltage control IC, selectively grounding or lowering to the lower electrode or upper electrode based on image data. Voltage application can be performed, and the injection of charge into the charge injection part and the grounding or voltage application timing to the lower electrode or the upper electrode can be easily synchronized, so that the handling is excellent.

Here, the medium-side voltage control IC may be any one that can selectively perform grounding or voltage application to the lower electrode or the upper electrode based on the image data.

[0011] The invention according to claim 3 is the recording medium according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the charge injection portion is disposed in an area outside the image display area of the medium body. have.

With this configuration, in addition to the operation of the first or second aspect, the following operation is provided. (1) Since the charge injection unit is disposed in an area outside the image display area of the medium body, it is possible to inject charges from an area outside the image display area to perform image writing and erasing. The image display area of the main body can be used effectively. Here, since a print head for writing and erasing images can be arranged in an area outside the image display area, the image can always be displayed in the entire image display area, and the recording medium can be displayed as an image. It can be suitably used as a display unit of the apparatus.

[0012] The recording medium according to claim 4 of the present invention includes a medium body on which an image is written and erased by the action of electric charge, a lower electrode formed in a predetermined pattern on the lower surface of the medium body, and A charge injection part connected to the lower electrode, comprising: an upper electrode formed in a predetermined pattern on the upper surface of the medium body; and at least one charge injection part formed on each of the lower electrode and the upper electrode In addition, the charge injection portion connected to the upper electrode is irradiated with ions having opposite polarities, and charges are injected to write or erase the image.

With this configuration, in addition to the operations (4) and (5) of claim 1, the following operations are provided.

(1) The lower electrode is formed in a predetermined pattern on the lower surface of the medium body where the image is written or erased by the action of electric charge, and the upper electrode is formed in the predetermined pattern on the upper surface. Since one or more charge injection portions are formed in each of the above, a print head capable of irradiating negative or positive ions is arranged to face the charge injection portion, and the charge injection portion connected to the lower electrode and Images can be written or erased by selectively irradiating ions of opposite polarity to the charge injection section connected to the upper electrode, thereby positioning and scanning the print head. Etc. is unnecessary, and the process of image formation can be simplified and the productivity is excellent.

(2) Since the lower electrode and the upper electrode formed in a predetermined pattern are arranged on both sides of the medium body! //, the reverse of the charge injection part formed at least one for each of the lower electrode and the upper electrode. By injecting polar charges, an image can be formed by reliably generating a potential difference at the position where the lower electrode and the upper electrode intersect, and image quality can be reliably prevented from being misaligned. Excellent.

Here, this recording medium is the same as claim 1 except that charge injection portions are formed in both the lower electrode and the upper electrode, and no electrode terminals are formed.

The extraction position of one or more charge injection portions connected to each of the lower electrode and the upper electrode can be arbitrarily selected. One for each of the lower and upper electrodes When two charge injection portions are provided, two charge injection portions can be arranged in series or in parallel on one side of the medium body, or can be arranged one on each of two orthogonal sides or two opposite sides.

When charge injection portions are provided on both ends of the lower electrode and the upper electrode, a total of four charge injection portions can be arranged in any combination at any one or more of one side to four sides of the medium body. For example, one may be arranged on one side, or two may be arranged in series or in parallel on two orthogonal sides or two opposite sides. In particular, it is preferable to place one on each side because of excellent heat dissipation.

When two charge injection portions are provided for the lower electrode and the upper electrode, respectively, one of the charge injection portions should be selected for injecting charges for each of the lower electrode and the upper electrode. Therefore, it can be used without worrying about the orientation of the recording medium, and is excellent in handleability and versatility.

The invention according to claim 5 is the recording medium according to claim 4, wherein the charge injection force is arranged in a region outside the image display region of the medium body. Speak. With this configuration, in addition to the operation of the fourth aspect, the following operation is provided.

(1) Since the charge injection part is disposed in an area outside the image display area of the medium body, the image display area of the medium body can be used effectively, and the entire process of writing and erasing the image can be performed. It can be performed from outside the image display area, the structure of the image forming apparatus can be simplified, and the handleability is excellent.

[0015] The invention according to claim 6 is the recording medium according to claim 4, wherein at least one or more charge injection portions connected to the lower electrode and at least one or more connected to the upper electrode. The charge injection portions are arranged in series or in parallel at least at one or more of one side to four sides on the outer peripheral side of the medium body.

With this configuration, in addition to the operation of the fourth aspect, the following operation is provided.

(1) At least one or more charge injection parts connected to the lower electrode and at least one or more charge injection parts connected to the upper electrode Force in series or parallel to at least one of the one to four sides on the outer peripheral side of the medium body The print head that injects charges into each charge injection section is gathered on the outer periphery of the medium body according to the arrangement of the charge injection sections. They can be arranged in series or in parallel, so that the compactness of the image forming apparatus can be achieved.

[0016] The invention according to claim 7 is the recording medium according to claim 3 or 5, wherein the charge injection portion has an electron emission portion corresponding to at least one of the lower electrode and the upper electrode. It has a configuration including a discharge electrode disposed opposite to the discharge electrode and a discharge control voltage input terminal connected to the discharge electrode.

With this configuration, the following actions are taken in addition to the actions of the third or fifth aspect.

(1) Since it has a discharge electrode that has an electron emission site corresponding to at least one of the lower electrode and the upper electrode and is disposed opposite to the charge injection portion, a discharge control voltage is applied to the discharge electrode, and the heating means By selectively heating the discharge electrode, electrons and ions can be irradiated from the discharge electrode to the charge injection portion, and charges can be injected.

(2) Since the discharge electrode having the electron emission portion corresponding to at least one of the lower electrode and the upper electrode is formed in advance integrally with the medium body so as to face the charge injection portion, the image forming apparatus includes a heating unit. Therefore, the image forming apparatus can be reduced in size and the mechanism can be simplified, and the handling is excellent.

(3) Since it has a discharge control voltage input terminal connected to the discharge electrode, the discharge control voltage can be easily applied to the discharge electrode of the image forming apparatus, and it is excellent in handling and performance.

[0017] Here, the discharge control voltage refers to a voltage range in which discharge does not occur between the discharge electrode and the charge injection portion only by the potential difference, but discharge occurs by heating the discharge electrode. Further, the discharge here means that electrons are emitted from the discharge electrode. When the discharge space formed by separating the discharge electrode and the charge injection part is an atmosphere capable of generating ions such as the atmosphere, the emitted electrons ionize oxygen and nitrogen, which are then injected into the charge of the medium body. The charge can be efficiently injected with a large amount of ions. Various waveforms can be selected as a discharge control voltage to be applied to the discharge electrode. A triangular wave, a rectangular wave, a trapezoidal wave, a sinusoidal wave, etc. can be used alone or in combination. AC voltage can be superimposed. For example, in the discharge control voltage application process, when only an AC voltage is applied to the discharge electrode, positive and negative ions are generated. So, negative To select only ON, a negative DC voltage is superimposed on the AC voltage, and to select only positive ions, a positive DC voltage superimposed on the AC voltage is applied to the discharge electrode.

[0018] By disposing a spacer between the discharge electrode and the charge injection portion, a discharge space can be formed between the charge injection portion and the discharge electrode. The spacer can be formed of a photoresist or the like as long as it can hold the discharge electrode while keeping the gap between the charge injection portion and the discharge electrode substantially constant. The spacer may be arranged on the outer periphery of the charge injection part so as to form one common discharge space between the charge injection part and the discharge electrode, and the lower electrode is provided between the charge injection part and the discharge electrode. Alternatively, it may be arranged so as to be divided into a plurality of discharge spaces corresponding to the pattern of the upper electrode.

In the case where the charge injection portion and the discharge electrode are formed only on one of the lower electrode and the upper electrode and the electrode terminal is formed on the other, grounding or voltage application to the electrode terminal is performed together with the charge injection from the discharge electrode. By making the polarity of the voltage applied to the electrode terminal opposite to the polarity of the discharge control voltage applied to the discharge electrode, a potential difference is reliably generated at the position where the lower electrode and the upper electrode intersect (overlap), and the image is displayed. Can be formed.

When the charge injection part and the discharge electrode are formed on both the lower electrode and the upper electrode, the discharge control voltage applied to each of the discharge electrodes is changed to a voltage that generates charges of opposite polarities. Since positive ions are emitted from the electrode and negative ions are emitted from the other discharge electrode, charges of opposite polarity can be injected into the lower electrode and the upper electrode, and the lower electrode and the upper electrode cross (overlap) the position. An image can be formed by generating a potential difference with certainty.

[0019] As a heating means for heating the discharge electrode, a method of irradiating laser light, a method of irradiating infrared rays, or the like is preferably used. As a method for irradiating laser light, the same laser scanner unit as in the conventional electrophotographic method can be used. In combination with a polygon mirror or galvanometer mirror in the laser irradiation part, only the laser light is scanned with respect to the discharge electrode. For example, a device that serially scans the laser irradiation portion itself with respect to the discharge electrode is preferably used. In addition, laser light or infrared light may be condensed with an optical fiber or a condensing lens and irradiated to the discharge electrode. In particular, when an optical fiber array in which a large number of optical fibers are arranged with high density and high accuracy is used, a laser is simultaneously applied to multiple electron emission sites. Light and infrared rays can be selectively irradiated, and high-speed recording is possible.

[0020] The invention according to claim 8 is the recording medium according to claim 7, wherein the discharge electrode protective layer covers the discharge electrode, and the discharge electrode protective layer corresponds to the electron emission site. And a discharge electrode heating section arranged in this manner.

With this configuration, in addition to the operation of the seventh aspect, the following operation is provided.

(1) Since the discharge electrode protective layer is provided on the discharge electrode, the discharge electrode to which a voltage is applied and the discharge electrode heating part can be reliably insulated, and the discharge electrode heating part and the discharge electrode protection are protected. The heat generated by the discharge electrode heating unit can be efficiently transferred to the discharge electrode by bringing the layers into close contact with each other, and any electron emission site corresponding to the discharge electrode heating unit can be selectively heated to generate a discharge. it can.

(2) Since the discharge electrode heating part for selectively heating the discharge electrode together with the discharge electrode is formed integrally with the medium body, the irradiation position accuracy of electrons and ions can be improved, and high definition An image can be formed.

(3) Since the medium body has the discharge electrode heating section, the image forming apparatus does not need to be provided with a heating means, and the image forming apparatus can be downsized and the mechanism can be simplified, and the handling is excellent.

[0021] Here, the material of the discharge electrode protective layer has insulating properties and heat resistance that can withstand the heating by the discharge electrode heating section, and heat transferability that can transmit the heat generated by the discharge electrode heating section to the discharge electrode. What has is used suitably. Specifically, glass, polyimide, aromatic polyamide, polyphenylene oxide, polybenzimidazole, polyphenylene quinoxaline, polyarylate, polyetherimide, polyether sulfone, polyphenylene sulfide, polyether ether ketone, aramide, etc. These synthetic resins are preferably used. As the discharge electrode heating section, a heating resistor formed of TaSiO, RuO or the like is preferable.

twenty two

Appropriately used. In addition, by covering the discharge electrode heating part with a heating part protective layer, the discharge electrode heating part can be reliably prevented from being damaged, and the discharge electrode heating part can be prevented from touching directly, Excellent handling and safety. As the material for the heating part protective layer, the same material as the above-mentioned discharge electrode protective layer is preferably used.

[0022] The invention according to claim 9 is the recording medium according to claim 8, wherein the discharge electrode is added. A heating control IC that controls heating of the discharge electrode by the discharge electrode heating unit, connected to a heat unit;

With this configuration, in addition to the operation of the eighth aspect, the following operation is provided.

(1) Connected to the discharge electrode heating unit to control the heating of the discharge electrode by the discharge electrode heating unit, by providing a heating control IC, selectively heat any electron emission site of the discharge electrode based on image data It can be handled and is excellent in properties.

Here, the heating control IC can be any one that can selectively heat the discharge electrode based on the image data! ,.

[0023] The invention according to claim 10 is the recording medium according to claim 3 or 5, wherein the recording medium includes a resistance layer formed on a surface of the charge injection portion.

(1) By forming a resistance layer on the surface of the charge injection portion, it is possible to prevent the upper electrode and the lower electrode from being attached and deteriorated, and to prevent deterioration of the charge injection portion and improve durability.

Here, the thickness of the resistance layer is 10 / zm to: LOO / zm and the resistance value is 10 ¹² Ω ·. By setting it to about πι to 10 ¹⁴ Ω-cm, it is possible to selectively inject charges selectively to arbitrary positions of the upper electrode and the lower electrode even when the charge injection portion is covered with the resistance layer.

[0024] The invention according to claim 11 is the recording medium according to any one of claims 1 to 10, comprising a medium heating layer laminated on the medium body. ! / Speak. With this configuration, the following operations are provided in addition to the operation of any one of claims 1 to 10.

(1) By having a medium heating layer laminated on the medium body, when the image display material enclosed in the medium body is of a type that erases images by heating, a heater or the like is used in the image forming apparatus. The image can be easily and surely erased without providing any special image erasing means, the mechanism of the image forming apparatus can be simplified, and the handling property is excellent.

[0025] Here, as the medium heating layer, PTC (POSITIVE

TEMPERATURE COEFFICIENT: Positive temperature coefficient) A resistor that has a heating resistor such as a resistor and a power supply electrode for supplying power to the heating resistor is suitable. Used.

The shape and arrangement of the power supply electrodes can be selected as appropriate.However, when the power supply electrodes are formed in a comb shape and alternately arranged opposite to each other, the region where the power supply electrodes are formed can be uniformly heated. Excellent exothermic temperature uniformity.

In addition, when a PTC resistor is used, it is possible to easily control the temperature to a predetermined temperature required for erasing without the need to provide a temperature detection element such as a thermistor or a temperature control circuit. It is also possible to use a heating resistor that is provided with a temperature control circuit other than the PTC resistor.

[0026] The invention according to claim 12 is the recording medium according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein an electrode short-circuit portion that short-circuits between the lower electrode and the upper electrode. It has the composition provided with.

With this configuration, the following operation is provided in addition to the operation of any one of claims 1 to 11.

(1) Short-circuit between the lower electrode and the upper electrode formed on both sides of the medium body. By having an electrode short-circuit section, the image display material sealed in the medium body maintains the potential difference between the upper and lower electrodes. When the image is displayed only in the state where it is displayed, the image can be erased easily and reliably in a short time simply by short-circuiting the lower electrode and the upper electrode at the electrode short-circuit portion. There is no need to provide special image erasing means in the apparatus, the mechanism of the image forming apparatus can be simplified, and the handling and / or performance is excellent.

[0027] Here, a recording medium using an image display material of a type in which an image is held only when a voltage is applied to the upper and lower electrodes, as in some liquid crystal material methods, powder movement methods, and the like. In this case, the charge is held in the upper and lower electrodes of the image display portion by the charge injection. For this reason, the image can be erased by short-circuiting the lower electrode and the upper electrode as necessary at the electrode short-circuit portion. For example, as the electrode short-circuit portion, one that mechanically switches the presence / absence of contact with the common short-circuit electrode is preferably used.

[0028] The invention according to claim 13 is the recording medium according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the lower electrode and the electrode protective layer covering the upper electrode, And an image protective layer covered with the electrode protective layer.

With this configuration, in addition to the operation of any one of claims 1 to 12, the following operation is performed. For use.

(1) By having an electrode protective layer that covers the lower electrode and the upper electrode, and an image protective layer that is covered by the electrode protective layer, at least the image display area of the medium body is covered with the image protective layer from both sides. It is possible to hold the displayed image for a long period of time by preventing the disturbance of the formed image that is difficult to be affected by the external charge after the image is formed. Excellent.

[0029] Here, the image protection layer has a resistance value lower than 10 ⁵ Ω'cm as long as it can prevent the disturbance of the image by blocking the action of charges such as static electricity. A transparent electrode such as a resistance layer or ITO is preferably used. When the image protective layer is formed of a transparent electrode such as ITO, the surface may be further covered with an insulating protective film.

If the surface of the medium body is covered with an image protective layer, the image cannot be formed if the surface of the medium body is covered with an image protective layer. In the case of injecting charges from the region, an image can be formed by reliably injecting charges into the lower electrode and the upper electrode regardless of the image protection layer and generating a potential difference between the front and back of the medium body.

[0030] The invention according to claim 14 is the recording medium according to claim 13, wherein the recording medium is provided with a conductive portion that electrically connects the image protection layers on both sides. The

With this configuration, in addition to the operation of the thirteenth aspect, the following operation is provided.

(1) By electrically connecting the image protection layers on both sides at the conducting part, it is possible to prevent any one of the image protection layers from becoming a high potential and reliably prevent image distortion. .

[0031] The invention according to claim 15 is the recording medium according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the lower electrode or the upper electrode has a strip shape in a row direction of the medium body. The upper electrode or the lower electrode is formed by being divided into strips in the column direction of the medium body.

With this configuration, the following operation is provided in addition to the operation of any one of claims 1 to 14.

(1) The lower electrode and upper electrode are each formed in a strip shape, and both sides of the medium body By arranging them in a matrix so as to be orthogonal to each other, an arbitrary image can be displayed by selecting a position where the lower electrode and the upper electrode cross each other, which is excellent in versatility.

[0032] The invention according to claim 16 is the recording medium according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein either one of the lower electrode and the upper electrode is used as a unit of segment of the display image. It is formed by being divided into two parts.

(1) By forming the lower electrode or the upper electrode by dividing it into segment units, the lower electrode or the upper electrode can be selected by segment unit, and predetermined characters and numbers can be displayed easily. Easy to control, handle and excel in performance.

[0033] The invention according to claim 17 is the recording medium according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein at least one of the lower electrode and the upper electrode! /. Either one of them is formed transparent, and a color filter or a color reflection layer is laminated on the medium body.

With this configuration, the following operations are provided in addition to the operation of any one of claims 1 to 16.

(1) Since at least one of the lower electrode and the upper electrode is formed transparently and a color filter or a color reflection layer is laminated on the medium body, it is necessary to color the image display material sealed in the medium body. It is excellent in productivity and can display a color image using the surface on which the transparent lower electrode or upper electrode is formed as the display surface.

[0034] Here, the display primary colors of the color filter and the color reflection layer can be arranged corresponding to the arrangement (pattern shape) of either the lower electrode or the upper electrode. As a result, a high-quality color image without color misregistration can be obtained.

As long as there are two or more primary colors for color display, a combination of colors can be selected as appropriate.

In addition, if the display colors of the color display include at least the three primary colors (R, G, B) in the additive color mixing method or the three primary colors (Y, M, C) in the subtractive color mixing method, the ability to perform full color display. You may include other colors, such as black, as needed. One pixel represents a basic display unit per display primary color. For example, if the recording medium performs full color display using the three primary colors (R, G, B) in the additive color mixing method, a total of three pixels, one pixel for each color, is the basic unit of color display.

[0035] Further, full color display can be performed by superimposing three layers of recording media having single color filters colored in the three primary colors (R, G, B) in the additive color mixing method. . This recording medium can write and erase images by injecting charge from an area outside the image display area, so that the recording media capable of displaying each color are closely attached and integrated. Is possible and excellent in handleability. At this time, by arranging the charge injection portions of the recording medium corresponding to each color so that they do not overlap! /, It is possible to write and erase images easily and reliably.

[0036] The invention according to claim 18 is the recording medium according to claim 15, wherein the image display material capable of selectively displaying any one of a plurality of display primaries is the medium body. Each of the display primary colors is arranged in a striped pattern.

With this configuration, in addition to the effect of claim 15, the following effect is obtained.

(1) Since image display materials that can selectively display any one of a plurality of display primaries are arranged in a striped pattern for each color of the display primaries on the medium body, it is easy to use reflected light. A color image can be displayed on the screen, which is excellent in productivity and handling.

[0037] Here, if the arrangement of the striped pattern of the display primary colors corresponds to one of the misalignment between the lower electrode and the upper electrode formed by dividing into strips! ! ヽ Color display is possible.

As the image display material, a reflective ball, a twist ball method, an electrophoresis method, a powder transfer method, and the like are preferably used. Color display can be performed by coloring the twist balls and fine particles of these image display materials so that any one of white or a plurality of display primary colors can be selectively displayed. As long as there are two or more display colors for color display, a combination of colors can be selected as appropriate. By arranging image display materials corresponding to each display primary color in each pixel in a striped pattern for each color, it is possible to cope with colorization. If the display primary colors for color display include at least the three primary colors (Y, M, C) in the subtractive color mixture method, the ability to perform full color display is necessary. However, other colors such as black may be included. The invention's effect

[0038] As described above, according to the recording medium of the present invention, the following advantageous effects can be obtained.

According to the invention described in claim 1, the following effects are obtained.

(1) Since the lower electrode and the upper electrode are arranged in advance in a predetermined pattern on both sides of the medium body where the image is written and erased by the action of electric charge, it is formed on either the lower electrode or the upper electrode. By injecting a charge from the charged injection part and grounding or applying a voltage to the electrode terminal formed on the other side of the lower electrode or the upper electrode, it is ensured that the lower electrode and the upper electrode cross each other. In addition, it is possible to provide a recording medium that can form an image by generating a potential difference in the image and has excellent image quality reliability that does not cause image displacement.

[0039] According to the invention described in claim 2, in addition to the effect of claim 1, the following effect is obtained.

(1) The medium side voltage control IC connected to the electrode terminal can selectively ground or apply voltage to the lower electrode or upper electrode based on the image data, and charge injection to the charge injection part In addition, it is possible to provide a recording medium excellent in handleability that can form a high-quality image by easily synchronizing the timing of grounding or voltage application to the lower electrode or the upper electrode.

[0040] According to the invention of claim 3, in addition to the effect of claim 1 or 2, the following effect is obtained.

(1) Area force outside the image display area A charge-injected image can be written and erased, and the image display area of the medium body can be used effectively. Can be provided.

[0041] According to the invention described in claim 4, the following effects are obtained.

(1) Since the lower electrode and upper electrode are arranged in advance in a predetermined pattern on both sides of the medium body where the image is written or erased by the action of charge, the print head must be positioned or scanned. Charges of opposite polarity can be injected from one or more charge injection portions formed in each of the lower electrode and the upper electrode, and the lower electrode and the upper electrode cross each other. It is possible to provide a recording medium excellent in image quality reliability capable of generating a high-quality image without positional deviation by generating a potential difference with certainty.

[0042] According to the invention of claim 5, in addition to the effect of claim 4, the following effect is obtained.

(1) Since the image writing and erasing processes can all be performed from the charge injection portion outside the image display area, the structure of the image forming apparatus can be simplified and the image display area of the medium body can be used effectively. It is possible to provide a recording medium with excellent handleability.

[0043] According to the invention described in claim 6, in addition to the effect of claim 4, the following effect is obtained.

(1) One or more charge injection portion forces formed on each of the lower electrode and the upper electrode. The outer periphery of the medium body is arranged in series or in parallel at least at one or more of one side to four sides on the outer periphery side of the medium body. To provide a recording medium with excellent handling properties that can inject charges into the charge injection section from the print heads arranged side by side in series or in parallel, and can make the image forming apparatus compact. Can do.

[0044] According to the invention of claim 7, in addition to the effect of claim 3 or 5, the following effect is obtained.

(1) Since a discharge electrode having an electron emission region corresponding to at least one of the lower electrode and the upper electrode is formed in advance integrally with the medium body so as to face the charge injection portion, a discharge control voltage is applied to the discharge electrode. By simply applying and heating the discharge electrode selectively by heating means, it is possible to inject electrons and ions to the charge injection part and reliably inject the charge into the discharge electrode without performing alignment, etc. It is possible to provide a recording medium excellent in reliability and handleability capable of forming a quality image.

[0045] According to the invention of claim 8, in addition to the effect of claim 7, the following effect is obtained.

(1) Since the discharge electrode heating part for selectively heating the discharge electrode together with the discharge electrode is formed integrally with the medium body, the irradiation position accuracy of electrons and ions can be improved, and the image quality can be improved. It is excellent in reliability, and it is necessary to provide heating means in the image forming apparatus In addition, it is possible to provide a recording medium excellent in handleability that can reduce the size of the image forming apparatus and simplify the mechanism.

According to the invention described in claim 9, in addition to the effect of claim 8, the following effect is obtained.

(1) The heating control IC connected to the discharge electrode heating section can selectively heat any electron emission site of the discharge electrode based on the image data, and easily controls the heating timing. It is possible to provide a recording medium excellent in handling and properties that can form a high-quality image.

[0047] According to the invention of claim 10, in addition to the effect of claim 3 or 5, it has the following effect.

(1) It is possible to provide a recording medium excellent in durability that can prevent the upper electrode and the lower electrode from being attached and deteriorated by the resistance layer formed on the surface of the charge injection portion.

[0048] According to the invention of claim 11, in addition to the effect of any one of claims 1 to 10, the following effect is obtained.

(1) The main body of the medium containing the image display material that erases the image by heating can be heated by the medium heating layer laminated on the main body of the medium. An image can be easily and surely erased without providing any means, and a recording medium excellent in handling and properties that can simplify the mechanism of the image forming apparatus can be provided.

[0049] According to the invention of claim 12, in addition to the effect of any one of claims 1 to 11, the following effect is obtained.

(1) When the image display material sealed in the medium body is of a type that displays an image only with the electric charges held on the upper and lower electrodes, the lower electrode formed on both sides of the medium body It is possible to erase an image easily and reliably in a short time simply by short-circuiting with the upper electrode at the electrode short-circuit portion, and an image forming apparatus mechanism that does not require special image erasing means in the image forming apparatus. It is possible to provide a recording medium with excellent handleability that can be simplified.

[0050] According to the invention of claim 13, in addition to the effect of any one of claims 1 to 12, It has the following effects.

(1) By sandwiching at least the image display area of the medium body from both sides with an image protective layer, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of disturbance over time in the formed image that is not affected by the charge from the outside. Therefore, it is possible to provide a recording medium having excellent image quality stability that can maintain a display image for a long period of time.

[0051] According to the invention of claim 14, in addition to the effect of claim 13, the following effect is obtained.

(1) Since the image protection layers on both sides are electrically connected at the conducting portion, it is possible to reliably prevent image distortion that would not occur when either image protection layer is at a high potential. It is possible to provide a recording medium having excellent image quality stability.

[0052] According to the invention described in claim 15, in addition to the effect of any one of claims 1 to 14, the following effect is obtained.

(1) The lower electrode and the upper electrode are arranged in a matrix so as to be orthogonal to each other on both sides of the medium body, so that an arbitrary image can be displayed by selecting a position where the lower electrode and the upper electrode intersect. It is possible to provide a recording medium with excellent versatility.

[0053] According to the invention of claim 16, in addition to the effect of any one of claims 1 to 14, the following effect is obtained.

(1) Easy control and easy handling of pre-determined characters and numbers by simply selecting the lower electrode or upper electrode formed in segment units and injecting charges. It is possible to provide a recording medium having excellent properties.

[0054] According to the invention described in claim 17, in addition to the effect of any one of claims 1 to 16, the following effect is obtained.

(1) Since the color filter or color reflective layer is laminated on the medium body, it is not necessary to color the image display material enclosed in the medium body, and it is excellent in productivity and a transparent lower electrode or upper electrode is provided. It is possible to provide a recording medium that can display a color image using the formed surface as a display surface and is excellent in handling and properties.

[0055] According to the invention of claim 18, in addition to the effect of claim 15, the following effect is obtained. (1) By encapsulating a colored image display material in the medium body, the structure that can easily display a color image using reflected light without using a color filter or the like is simple, productivity, handling, It is possible to provide a recording medium having excellent properties.

Brief Description of Drawings

FIG. 1 is a partially broken schematic perspective view showing a recording medium in the first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing the medium body of the recording medium in the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view showing a recording medium in the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the main part showing an image forming method using the recording medium in the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the main part showing an image forming method using the recording medium in the second embodiment. 6] Main part schematic cross section showing image forming method using recording medium in embodiment 3 [FIG. 7] Main part schematic cross section showing image forming method using recording medium in embodiment 4 [FIG. 8] FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the main part showing the image forming method using the recording medium in the fifth embodiment. [FIG. 9] A schematic cross-sectional view of the main part showing the image forming method using the recording medium in the sixth embodiment. ) Main part schematic plan view showing the recording medium in Embodiment 7 (b) BB schematic cross-sectional view of FIG. 10 (a)

[FIG. 11] (a) Schematic plan view of the main part showing the recording medium in Embodiment 8. (b) FIG.

[FIG. 12] (a) Schematic plan view of relevant parts showing a recording medium in Embodiment 9 (b) Schematic cross-sectional view taken along line D-D in FIG. 12 (a)

Explanation of symbols

[0057] 1, la, lb, lc, Id, le, If, lg, lh

2 Media body

2a Image display material

2b color filter

3 Lower electrode

3a, 4b Charge injection part

3b resistance layer

4 Upper electrode 4a Electrode terminal

4c connection

5a, 5b Electrode protective layer

6 Medium side voltage control IC

7 Spacer

7a Discharge space

8 Discharge electrode

9 Discharge control voltage input terminal

10 Discharge electrode protective layer

11 Discharge electrode heating section

11a Heating part protective layer

12a, 12b Image protection layer

12c Conductive part

13 Insulating film

13a Connection opening

14 Medium heating layer

14a Power supply electrode

15, 15a, 15b, 15c, 15d, 15e Image forming device

16 Medium loading part

20, 20a Print head

21 Medium side voltage controller

25, 25a Discharge control voltage application section

30, 30a Caro heat means

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

(Embodiment 1)

The recording medium in Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a partially broken schematic perspective view showing a recording medium in the first embodiment. In FIG. 1, 1 is a recording medium according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, 2 is a display color that can be selectively displayed as one of the three primary colors (Y, M, C) in white and subtractive color mixing. The electrophoretic image display material 2a is placed in a striped pattern for each display primary color and enclosed, and 3 is divided in the row direction corresponding to each color of the display primary color of the medium body 2. A transparent lower electrode such as ITO of the recording medium 1 formed in a strip shape and disposed on the lower surface of the medium body 2, 3a is an area outside the image display area of the medium body 2 and is integrated with the end of the lower electrode 3 The charge injection portion 4 formed in the above, 4 is an upper electrode of the recording medium 1 that is divided in the column direction on the upper surface of the medium body 2, is formed in a strip shape, and is arranged so as to be orthogonal to the lower electrode 3, 4a The electrode terminal of the recording medium 1 formed integrally with the end of the upper electrode 4 in the area outside the image display area of the medium body 2, 5a and 5b are glass, The electrode protective layer of the recording medium 1 formed of a material such as amide, polyimide, PET, polyamide, or other synthetic resin and covered with the lower electrode 3 and the upper electrode 4, 6 is connected to the electrode terminal 4a and connected to the upper electrode 4. This is a medium-side voltage control IC for recording medium 1 that controls the voltage application.

In FIG. 1, for convenience of explanation, only the lower electrode 3 for three rows and the upper electrode 4 for four columns are shown as a part of the recording medium 1.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing the medium body of the recording medium in the first embodiment. As shown in Fig. 2, the medium body 2 is an electrophoretic image display material that can selectively display one of the three primary colors (Y, M, C) in the subtractive color mixing method with white. 2a is arranged and enclosed in a striped pattern for each display primary color.

By using the lower electrode 3 as a transparent electrode, it is possible to display an image by reflected light using the lower surface side of the medium body 2 on which the lower electrode 3 is formed as a display surface.

Note that one display primary color at the position where one row of lower electrode 3 and one column of upper electrode 4 intersect corresponds to one pixel (basic display unit) of recording medium 1, and three rows of lower electrode 3 and The three primary colors (Y, M, C) of the display primaries at the position where one row of the upper electrodes 4 intersect is the basic unit of color display on the recording medium 1.

In the present embodiment, the force of arranging two rows of image display material 2a per row of lower electrode 3 The arrangement of image display material 2a is not limited to this. Image display arranged per row The number of materials 2a can be arbitrarily selected. An image forming method using the recording medium according to Embodiment 1 configured as described above will be described.

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view showing the recording medium in the first embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a main part showing an image forming method using the recording medium in the first embodiment.

In FIG. 3, an area where the lower electrode 3 and the upper electrode 4 overlap each other is an image display area of the force medium body 2.

In FIG. 4, a cross section taken along the line A—O—A of the recording medium 1 in FIG. 3 is shown on the same plane.

In FIG. 4, 15 is an image forming apparatus that forms an image using the recording medium 1 in Embodiment 1, 16 is a medium mounting portion of the image forming apparatus 15 that mounts and holds the recording medium 1, and 20 is The print head of the image forming apparatus 15 that selectively injects charges by injecting electrons and ions to the charge injection section 3a, 21 is the print head 20 to the upper electrode 4 via the medium side voltage control IC 6. 2 is a medium-side voltage control unit of the image forming apparatus 15 that applies a voltage having a polarity opposite to the charge injected from the image forming apparatus 15.

It should be noted that the print head 20 is not limited as long as it can selectively irradiate electrons and ions, and applies a high voltage to a wire electrode or a needle electrode to generate a corona discharge. Heating discharge type print head that irradiates electrons and ions by controlling the voltage applied to the discharge electrode and the temperature of the discharge electrode (for example, JP 2003-326756 and WO 2005Z056297), SED (surface electric field display) An electron emission device used for FED (field emission display), a carbon nanotube FED using a single-bonn nanotube for the electron emission portion, and the like can be used.

[0061] In the charge injection step, the charge injection unit 3a selected from the print head 20 is irradiated with electrons and negative ions to inject negative charges, and in the medium side voltage control step, selected from the medium side voltage control unit 21 A positive voltage is applied to the electrode terminal 4a.

By performing the charge injection process and the medium side voltage control process in synchronization, the lower electrode 3 connected to the selected charge injection part 3a and the upper electrode 4 connected to the selected electrode terminal 4a are At the intersecting position, a potential difference occurs between the front and back of the medium body 2, and the image display material 2a moves according to the potential difference to form an image. Since it is possible to form an image without relatively moving the recording medium 1 and the print head 20, the recording medium 1 can be simply placed on the medium placement portion 16 of the image forming apparatus 15. A mechanism for moving the mounting portion 16 and the print head 20 is not required, and the mechanism of the image forming apparatus 15 can be simplified and compact.

In the present embodiment, a negative charge is injected into the lower electrode 3 side in the charge injection step, and a positive charge is injected into the lower electrode 3 side in the medium side voltage control step. In the medium side voltage control step, a negative voltage may be applied to the upper electrode 4 side. In the medium-side voltage control process, grounding may be performed instead of applying a voltage having the opposite polarity to the charge injected in the charge injection process.

[0062] Note that by changing the amount of charge injected in the charge injection process in accordance with the number of pixels to be displayed in one line of the image, it is possible to display an image without shading, and to ensure reliable image quality. Excellent in properties.

Also, by changing the amount of charge injected by the charge injection process for each pixel according to the density of the image data, the amount of movement of the image display material 2a can be changed, and gradation recording can be performed. Excellent high quality.

In the present embodiment, the lower electrode 3 is divided in the row direction and the upper electrode 4 is divided in the column direction and arranged in a matrix, but the lower electrode 3 is divided in the column direction and the upper electrode 4 is divided in the row direction. It may be divided. The pattern of the lower electrode 3 and the upper electrode 4 can be appropriately selected according to the type of image to be displayed, which is not limited to the present embodiment. When the image to be displayed is a predetermined character or number, the lower electrode 3 on the display surface side is formed by dividing it into segment units constituting the character or number, and the upper electrode 4 is formed in the image display area w. Use a common plate electrode!

[0063] Since the recording medium of Embodiment 1 is configured as described above, it has the following operations.

(1) A plurality of lower electrodes 3 divided in the row direction are arranged on the lower surface of the medium body 2 having an image display area w where an image is written or erased by the action of electric charge, and arranged in the column direction on the upper surface. A plurality of divided upper electrodes 4 are disposed, and charge injection portions 3a are formed at the end portions of the lower electrodes 3 in regions outside the image display region w of the medium main body 2. The print head 20 that can irradiate the electrons and ions is arranged opposite to the charge injection portion 3a, and the charge injection portion 3a is selectively irradiated with electrons and ions to inject charges, thereby allowing the image display area w to The image can be written and erased, and the positioning of the print head 20 and the scanning are not required, the image forming process and the mechanism of the image forming apparatus 15 can be simplified, and the handling is excellent.

(2) Since the lower electrode 3 and the upper electrode 4 are previously arranged in a matrix on both surfaces of the medium body 2, charges are injected from the charge injection portion 3a formed at the end of the lower electrode 3, and the upper electrode By applying a voltage to the electrode terminal 4a formed at the end of 4, an image can be formed by reliably generating a potential difference at an arbitrary position where the lower electrode 3 and the upper electrode 4 intersect, Excellent image quality reliability with no image displacement.

(3) By applying a voltage of the opposite polarity to the charge injected from the charge injection section 3a to the electrode terminal 4a, the potential difference between the front and back of the medium main body 2 is reliably ensured at the position where the lower electrode 3 and the upper electrode 4 intersect. Can be generated, and a high-quality image can be formed.

(4) Image display area of the medium body 2 Since it has the electrode terminal 4a formed at the end of the upper electrode 4 in the area outside, it can be simplified by inserting the electrode terminal 4a into a connector such as the image forming apparatus 15. In addition, electrical connection with the upper electrode 4 can be established through the electrode terminal 4a, and selective voltage application to the upper electrode 4 can be reliably performed, resulting in excellent handleability.

(5) By providing the medium side voltage control IC 6 that is connected to the electrode terminal 4a and controls the voltage application to the upper electrode 4, it is possible to selectively apply the voltage to the upper electrode 4 based on the image data. The timing of charge injection to the charge injection portion 3a and voltage application to the upper electrode 4 can be easily synchronized, and the handling is excellent.

(6) Since the electric charges are held on the front and back of the medium main body 2, the image can be displayed without a power source after the image is formed, and the energy saving property is excellent.

(7) Since the image display material 2a capable of selectively displaying any one of a plurality of display primaries is arranged in a striped pattern for each color of the display primaries on the medium body 2, As a result, color images can be displayed easily and the productivity and handling are excellent.

(8) Since it is not necessary to move the print head 20 and the recording medium 1 relatively, the print head 20 and the recording medium 1 are less likely to be scratched or damaged. Excellent durability of 1.

[Embodiment 2]

A recording medium according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the thing similar to Embodiment 1, and description is abbreviate | omitted. FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the relevant part showing the image forming method using the recording medium in the second embodiment.

In FIG. 5, the recording medium la in the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that a charge injection portion 4b is formed at the end of the upper electrode 4 instead of the electrode terminal 4a. .

In addition, the image forming method using the recording medium in the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the image forming apparatus 15a has another print head 20a instead of the medium-side voltage control unit 21. Instead of applying a voltage to the upper electrode 4 via the medium-side voltage control IC 6, a print head 20a that is spaced from and opposed to the charge injection part 4b is selected for the charge injection part 4b. In other words, positive ions are irradiated to inject charges.

In the charge injection process, charges having opposite polarities are injected into the two charge injection portions 3a and 4b, so that the lower electrode 3 connected to the selected charge injection portion 3a and the selected charge injection At the position where the upper electrode 4 connected to the portion 4b intersects, a potential difference is generated between the front and back of the medium body 2, and the image display material 2a moves according to the potential difference to form an image.

Since the recording medium of the second embodiment is configured as described above, in addition to the same operations as (6) to (8) of the first embodiment, it has the following operations.

(1) The lower electrode 3 divided in the row direction is arranged on the lower surface of the medium body 2 having the image display area w where the image is written and erased by the action of electric charge, and divided in the column direction on the upper surface. Since the upper electrode 4 is disposed and the charge injection portions 3a and 4b are formed at the ends of the lower electrode 3 and the upper electrode 4 in the region outside the image display region w of the medium main body 2, respectively. Alternatively, print heads 20 and 20a capable of irradiating positive ions are arranged so as to face the charge injection portions 3a and 4b, and ions of opposite polarity are selectively irradiated to the charge injection portions 3a and 4b. Write and erase images in the image display area w by injecting charges This eliminates the need for positioning and scanning of the print heads 20 and 20a, simplifies the image forming process and the mechanism of the image forming apparatus 15, and improves productivity.

(2) Since the lower electrode 3 and the upper electrode 4 are previously arranged in a matrix on both surfaces of the medium body 2, two charge injection portions 3a formed at the ends of the lower electrode 3 and the upper electrode 4 respectively. , 4b can inject a charge of opposite polarity, so that a potential difference can be reliably generated at the position where the lower electrode 3 and the upper electrode 4 intersect, and an image misalignment can occur. Excellent image quality reliability.

[0066] (Embodiment 3)

A recording medium according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the same components as those in the first or second embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted. FIG. is there.

In FIG. 6, the recording medium lb in the third embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the top surfaces of the charge injection portion 3a and the electrode protective layer 5a are surrounded by the photoresist or the like so as to surround the outer periphery of all the charge injection portions 3a. Space 7a formed between the charge injection portion 3a and the discharge electrode 8 described later, and the charge injection portion 3a installed on the spacer 7 and separated from the charge injection portion 3a. The discharge electrode 8 is disposed opposite to the discharge electrode 8 and the discharge control voltage input terminal 9 is connected to the discharge electrode 8.

The spacer 7 may be any as long as it can hold the discharge electrode 8 while keeping the gap between the charge injection portion 3a and the discharge electrode 8 substantially constant. The spacer 7 is not arranged so as to form one common discharge space 7a between the plurality of charge injection portions 3a and the discharge electrode 8, but between each charge injection portion 3a and the discharge electrode 8. It may be arranged so as to be divided into discharge spaces 7a in units of rows.

In the present embodiment, a force for forming a discharge electrode 8 having a plurality of electron emission sites corresponding to each charge injection portion 3a into a single rectangular plate, for example, one end of a plurality of electron emission portions Can be connected to each other with a common electrode to form a comb shape, or both ends of a plurality of electron emission sites can be connected to each other with a common electrode to form a ladder shape (for example, WO2005 / 05629 7). The discharge electrode 8 formed in a flat plate shape such as a rectangular shape or a square shape is a common electrode except for the electron emission portion.

[0068] The image forming method using the recording medium in the third embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the charge injection process is performed by the discharge control voltage application unit 25 of the image forming apparatus 15b for inputting the discharge control voltage. A discharge control voltage applying step of applying a discharge control voltage to the discharge electrode 8 via the terminal 9, a discharge electrode heating step of selectively heating the electron emission site of the discharge electrode 8 by the heating means 30 of the image forming apparatus 15b, And a medium side voltage control step of applying a positive voltage to the electrode terminal 4a selected from the medium side voltage control unit 21 of the image forming apparatus 15b.

By heating the electron emission site of the discharge electrode 8 corresponding to the selected charge injection portion 3a by the discharge electrode heating process in a state where the discharge control voltage is applied to the discharge electrode 8 by the discharge control voltage application process, A discharge occurs between the charge injection part 3a and the discharge electrode 8, and the electrons emitted from the electron emission site force ionize oxygen and nitrogen in the discharge space 7a and reach them to the charge injection part 3a. The charge can be efficiently injected with a large amount of ions.

The discharge electrode heating step and the medium side voltage control step are performed in synchronization, so that the lower electrode 3 connected to the selected charge injection portion 3a and the upper electrode 4 connected to the selected electrode terminal 4a A potential difference is generated between the front and back of the medium body 2 at a position where the crossing points, and the image display material 2a moves according to the potential difference to form an image.

[0069] As the heating means 30, a method of irradiating laser light or a method of irradiating infrared rays was used. Specifically, a laser scanner unit similar to the conventional electrophotographic method was used as the laser irradiation method. In this embodiment, a polygon mirror or a galvanometer mirror is combined with the laser irradiation unit to scan only the laser beam with respect to the discharge electrode 8, but the laser irradiation unit itself is serially scanned with respect to the discharge electrode 8. Things can be used as well. Further, laser light or infrared light may be condensed with an optical fiber or a condensing lens and irradiated to the discharge electrode 8. In particular, when an optical fiber array in which a large number of optical fibers are arranged with high density and high accuracy is used, laser light and infrared rays can be selectively irradiated to a plurality of electron emission sites simultaneously. High speed recording is possible. In addition, when a black paint containing carbon or the like is applied to the heating means 30 side of the discharge electrode 8 or chromium is vapor deposited, a heat absorption layer is formed. It can be absorbed and transmitted to the discharge electrode 8, and the heating efficiency of the discharge electrode 8 is excellent.

If the surface of the discharge electrode 8 is covered with a discharge electrode protection layer made of the same material as the electrode protection layers 5a and 5b, the discharge electrode 8 can be protected to prevent damage, and the durability of the discharge electrode 8 Excellent in properties. A contact-type thermal head may be used as another heating means. In that case, a line head or a serial head may be scanned.

[0070] Since the recording medium of Embodiment 3 is configured as described above, in addition to the same operations as (5) to (7) of Embodiment 1, the following operations are provided.

(1) Since the discharge electrode 8 having the electron emission portion corresponding to the lower electrode 3 and disposed opposite to the charge injection portion 3a is provided, a discharge control voltage is applied to the discharge electrode 8, and the image forming apparatus 15b By selectively heating the discharge electrode 8 by the heating means 30, electrons and ions can be irradiated from the discharge electrode 8 to the charge injection portion 3a, and charges can be injected.

(2) Since the discharge electrode 8 having the electron emission portion corresponding to the lower electrode 3 is formed in advance integrally with the medium body 2 so as to face the charge injection portion 3a, the image forming apparatus 15b includes a heating unit 30. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the size of the image forming apparatus 15b and simplify the mechanism, and it is easy to handle.

(3) Since the discharge control voltage input terminal 9 connected to the discharge electrode 8 is provided, the discharge control voltage can be easily applied to the discharge electrode 8 from the image forming apparatus 15b, and the handleability is excellent.

[Embodiment 4]

A recording medium according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The same reference numerals are given to the same components as in the first to third embodiments, and the description thereof is omitted. FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view showing an image forming method using the recording medium in the fourth embodiment. FIG.

In FIG. 7, the recording medium lc in the fourth embodiment is different from the third embodiment in that the charge injection part 4b formed at the end of the upper electrode 4 is also on the charge injection part 3a side. The spacer 7, the discharge space 7 a, the discharge electrode 8, and the discharge control voltage input terminal 9 are provided.

[0072] The image forming method using the recording medium in the fourth embodiment is different from that in the third embodiment in that a charge injection process force is applied to input a discharge control voltage by the discharge control voltage application units 25 and 25a of the image forming apparatus 15c. The discharge control voltage application process for applying a discharge control voltage to each of the two discharge electrodes 8 via the terminal 9 and the electron emission sites of the two discharge electrodes 8 are selected by the heating means 30 and 30a of the image forming apparatus 15c. A discharge electrode heating step for heating the discharge control voltage, and the polarities of the discharge control voltages applied to the two discharge electrodes 8 in the discharge control voltage application step are opposite to each other. The heating means 30a is the same as the heating means 30.

[0073] In the state where discharge control voltages having opposite polarities are applied to the two discharge electrodes 8 by the discharge control voltage application process, the discharge electrode heating process corresponds to the charge injection portions 3a and 4b selected by the discharge electrode heating process. By heating the electron emission sites of the discharge electrode 8, discharges are generated between the charge injection part 3a and the discharge electrode 8 and between the charge injection part 4b and the discharge electrode 8, respectively. Thus, negative ions are irradiated from the discharge electrode 8 to which the negative discharge control voltage is applied, and positive ions are applied to the charge injection part 4b from the discharge electrode 8 to which the positive discharge control voltage is applied. Irradiated.

The discharge electrode heating process is performed synchronously between the two discharge electrodes 8, thereby connecting the lower electrode 3 connected to the selected charge injection part 3a and the selected charge injection part 4b. A potential difference is generated between the front and back of the medium body 2 at a position where the upper electrodes 4 intersect with each other, and the image display material 2a moves according to the potential difference to form an image.

Since the recording medium of the fourth embodiment is configured as described above, in addition to the actions (6) and (7) of the first embodiment, the recording medium has the following actions.

(1) The lower electrode 3 divided in the row direction is arranged on the lower surface of the medium body 2 having the image display area w where the image is written and erased by the action of electric charge, and the upper surface is divided in the column direction. The split upper electrode 4 is disposed, and charge injection portions 3a and 4b are formed at the ends of the lower electrode 3 and the upper electrode 4 in the region outside the image display region w of the medium body 2, respectively. And discharge electrodes 8 each having an electron emission portion corresponding to each of the upper electrodes 4 and disposed opposite to the charge injection portions 3a and 4b, the discharge control voltages having opposite polarities to each other. Is applied, and each discharge electrode 8 is selectively heated by the heating means 30 and 30a, whereby ions of opposite polarity are selectively irradiated from the respective discharge electrodes 8 to the charge injection portions 3a and 4b. Thus, charge can be injected, and an image can be written or erased in the image display area w.

(3) Since the discharge electrode 8 having electron emission sites corresponding to the lower electrode 3 and the upper electrode 4 is formed in advance with the medium body 2 so as to face the charge injection portions 3a and 4b, image formation is performed. Only the heating means 30 and 30a need be provided in the device 15c, so that the image forming device 15c can be downsized and the mechanism can be simplified.

(4) Since it has a discharge control voltage input terminal 9 connected to each discharge electrode 8, it is possible to easily apply a discharge control voltage to each discharge electrode 8 from the image forming apparatus 15c, and handling is easy. Excellent.

(Embodiment 5)

A recording medium according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that components similar to those in the first to fourth embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a main part showing an image forming method using a recording medium in the fifth embodiment. is there.

In FIG. 8, the recording medium Id in the fifth embodiment is different from the third embodiment in that the discharge electrode protective layer 10 covering the discharge electrode 8 and the discharge electrode protective layer 10 The discharge electrode heating unit 11 disposed corresponding to the electron emission site and the heating unit protective layer 1 la covered with the discharge electrode heating unit 11 are provided.

The material of the discharge electrode protective layer 10 has insulating properties and heat resistance that can withstand the heating by the discharge electrode heating section 11 and heat transfer that can transfer the heat generated by the discharge electrode heating section 11 to the discharge electrode 8. Preferably used. Specifically, glass, polyimide, aromatic polyamide, polyphenylene oxide, polybenzimidazole, polyphenylene quinoxaline, polyarylate, polyetherimide, polyethersulfone, polyphenylene sulfide, polyetheretherketone, aramid, etc. The synthetic resin and the like were used.

Further, as the discharge electrode heating unit 11, a heating resistor formed of TaSiO, RuO or the like is used.

twenty two

Using. The material of the heating part protective layer 11a is the same as that of the discharge electrode protective layer 10.

[0076] The image forming method using the recording medium in the fifth embodiment is different from the third embodiment in that the image forming apparatus 15d does not include the heating means 30, and the discharge electrode heating process in the charge injection process is different. Instead of the heating means 30, the discharge electrode calorie heating part 11 formed integrally with the medium body 2 is used.

[0077] Since the recording medium of the fifth embodiment is configured as described above, in addition to the same operations as in (5) to (7) of the first embodiment and (3) of the third embodiment, It has the effect of.

(1) Since the discharge electrode protective layer 10 is provided so as to cover the discharge electrode 8, the discharge electrode 8 to which a voltage is applied and the discharge electrode heating unit 11 can be reliably insulated, and the discharge electrode calorie heat can be obtained. The heat generated by the discharge electrode heating unit 11 can be efficiently transferred to the discharge electrode 8 by bringing the part 11 and the discharge electrode protective layer 10 into close contact, and any electron emission site corresponding to the discharge electrode heating unit 11 can be selected. Can be heated to generate a discharge.

(2) Since the discharge electrode heating part 11 for selectively heating the discharge electrode 8 together with the discharge electrode 8 is formed integrally with the medium body 2, it is possible to improve the irradiation position accuracy of electrons and ions. And a high-definition image can be formed.

(3) Since the medium body 2 has the discharge electrode heating unit 11, the image forming apparatus 15d need not be provided with the heating means 30, and the image forming apparatus 15d can be downsized and the mechanism can be simplified and handled. Excellent in properties.

(4) The discharge electrode heating unit 11 is covered with the heating unit protective layer 1 la, so that the discharge electrode The heating unit 11 can be reliably prevented from being damaged, and the discharge electrode heating unit 11 can be prevented from being touched directly, and the handling and safety are excellent.

[0078] (Embodiment 6)

A recording medium according to Embodiment 6 of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that components similar to those in the first to fifth embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a main part showing an image forming method using a recording medium in the sixth embodiment. is there.

In FIG. 9, the recording medium le in the sixth embodiment is different from the fourth embodiment in that the charge injection part 4b formed at the end of the upper electrode 4 is also on the charge injection part 3a side. A discharge electrode protective layer 10 laid over the discharge electrode 8, and a discharge electrode heating layer 11 disposed on the discharge electrode protective layer 10 corresponding to the electron emission site of the discharge electrode 8. is there. The image forming method using the recording medium in the sixth embodiment is different from the fourth embodiment in that the image forming apparatus 15e does not include the heating means 30 and 30a, and the discharge electrode heating process of the charge injection process is different. Instead of the heating means 30 and 30a, the discharge electrode heating unit 11 formed integrally with the medium body 2 is used.

The recording medium of the sixth embodiment is configured as described above, and thus has the same operation as that of the fourth embodiment (2), (4) and the fifth embodiment.

In Embodiments 1 to 6, the force used to describe the image display material 2a of the medium body 2 using the micro force psel type electrophoresis method is not limited to the micro capsule type, and horizontal type or vertical type electrophoresis. A scheme can also be used.

In addition to the electrophoretic method, the image display material 2a also uses an image display material such as a twist ball method and a powder transfer method that can selectively display any one of a plurality of display primary colors. be able to.

Furthermore, image display materials such as a liquid crystal system using a liquid crystal material such as a transmissive nematic liquid crystal or a smectic liquid crystal, a twist ball system capable of selectively displaying white or black, and a powder movement system can also be used. In that case, color display can be performed by combining with a color filter or a color reflection layer. In the recording media 1 to le of Embodiments 1 to 6, since the electric charge is held on the front and back of the medium body 2, the liquid crystal material whose alignment direction changes only when an electric field is applied is used as an image. Even when used as a display material, an image can be displayed without a power source, and the range of selection of the image display material can be expanded.

[0080] (Embodiment 7)

A recording medium according to Embodiment 7 of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the thing similar to Embodiment 2, and description is abbreviate | omitted. FIG. 10 (a) is a schematic plan view showing a main part of the recording medium in the seventh embodiment, and FIG. 10 (b) is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. 10 (a).

In FIG. 10, the recording medium If in the seventh embodiment is different from the second embodiment in that instead of enclosing the color displayable image display material 2a colored in the display primary color in the medium main body 2, Enclose image display materials that can be displayed in black and white, such as liquid crystal systems that use liquid crystal materials such as nematic liquid crystals and smectic liquid crystals, or twist ball systems that can selectively display white or black, electrophoresis systems, and powder transfer systems. The combination of the color filters 2b in which the three primary colors (R, G, B) in the additive color mixing method are arranged in a striped pattern, and the point that the resistance layer 3b is formed on the surface of the charge injection portion 3a, A substantially L-shaped charge injection portion 4b is formed so as to extend orthogonally from the end of the upper electrode 4, and together with the charge injection portion 3a formed by extending the lower electrode 3, one side of the medium body If And the electrode holder The image protective layers 12a and 12b are covered on the surfaces of the protective layers 5a and 5b, and they are electrically connected by the conductive portion 12c.

[0081] The thickness of the resistive layer 3b is set to 10 m to 100 m, and the resistance is set to about 10 ¹² Ω 'cm: ί0 ¹⁴ Ω' cm. Therefore, even when the charge injection portion 3a is covered with the resistive layer 3b, As a result, we were able to inject charges from the print head 20 by irradiating electrons and ions. The resistance layer 3b can be formed on the surface of the charge injection portion 4b in the same manner.

As the image protection layers 12a and 12b, a transparent electrode made of ITO is covered with a protection film, and by connecting them with a conductive portion 12c, one of the image protection layers 12a and 12b has a high potential. To prevent it. Image display area Since the charge can be injected from the charge injection parts 3a and 4b outside the image display area, images can be formed even with the image protection layers 12a and 12b. Can do.

The image protection layers 12a and 12b may have any resistance value lower than 10 ⁵ Ω 'cm, as long as the image protection layers 12a and 12b can prevent the disturbance of the image by blocking the action of electric charges such as static electricity. It may be formed of a resistance layer.

Since the image forming method using the recording medium in the seventh embodiment is the same as that in the second embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

Note that the recording medium If of the seventh embodiment is provided with a discharge electrode 8 facing the charge injection portions 3a and 4b to have the same configuration as that of the third and fourth embodiments, and further, the discharge electrode heating portion 11 It is possible to provide the same configuration as in the fifth and sixth embodiments.

In addition, the resistance layer 3b can be similarly formed on the surface of the charge injection portion 3a or the charge injection portion 4b of the recording media 1 to le of Embodiments 1 to 6, and the image protection layers 12a and 12b and the conduction portion are formed.

12c can also be provided in the recording media l to le of Embodiments 1 to 6.

[0083] Since the recording medium of the seventh embodiment is configured as described above, it has the following actions in addition to the actions similar to those of the second embodiment.

(1) The two charge injection portions 3 a and 4 b formed at the ends of the lower electrode 3 and the upper electrode 4 are arranged side by side on the one side of the medium body 2, so the charge injection portions 3 a and 4 b In addition, the print heads 20 and 20a for injecting charges can be arranged in a line, so that the image forming apparatus can be compact.

(2) The resistance layer 3b formed on the surface of the charge injection part 3a can prevent the adhesion and deterioration of dirt on the charge injection part 3a and improve the durability.

(3) Since the lower electrode 3 is formed transparently and the color filter 2b is laminated on the medium body 2, the image display material enclosed in the medium body 2 does not need to be colored and is excellent in productivity and transparent. A color image can be displayed using the surface on which the lower electrode 3 is formed as a display surface.

[Embodiment 8]

A recording medium according to Embodiment 8 of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the thing similar to Embodiment 2, and description is abbreviate | omitted. FIG. 11 (a) is a schematic plan view showing a main part of the recording medium in Embodiment 8, and FIG. ) Is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. 11 (a).

In FIG. 11, the recording medium lg in the eighth embodiment is different from the second embodiment in that the charge injection portion 4b formed so as to be orthogonal to each upper electrode 4 is extended to the lower electrode 3. It is a point arranged on the side opposite to the formed charge injection part 3a. In FIG. 11, 13 is an insulating film covering the upper electrode 4, and 13a is formed on the insulating film 13 in order to connect each upper electrode 4 and the charge injection part 4b via the connection part 4c. It is a connection opening.

As compared with the recording medium If of the seventh embodiment, the recording medium 1 g itself in which the area outside the image display area w is narrow can be made compact, and is excellent in handling and performance.

Since the image forming method using the recording medium in the eighth embodiment is the same as that in the second embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

The recording medium lg of the eighth embodiment is provided with a discharge electrode 8 facing the charge injection portions 3a and 4b so as to have the same configuration as that of the third and fourth embodiments, and further, the discharge electrode heating portion 11 It is possible to provide the same configuration as in the fifth and sixth embodiments.

Since the recording medium of the eighth embodiment is configured as described above, it has the following actions in addition to the actions similar to those of the second embodiment.

(1) Since the charge injection part 3a connected to the lower electrode 3 and the charge injection part 4b connected to the upper electrode 4 are arranged symmetrically on two opposite sides on the outer peripheral side of the medium body 2, recording It can be used without worrying about the front and back of the medium If, and is excellent in handling and properties.

[0087] (Embodiment 9)

A recording medium according to Embodiment 9 of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the thing similar to Embodiment 2, and description is abbreviate | omitted. FIG. 12 (a) is a schematic plan view of a main part showing the recording medium in Embodiment 9, and FIG. 12 (b) is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. 12 (a).

In FIG. 12, the recording medium lh in the ninth embodiment is different from the second embodiment in that the charge injection part 3a and the charge injection part 4b are formed at both ends of the lower electrode 3 and the upper electrode 4, respectively. The medium heating layer 14 made of a PTC resistor is laminated on the electrode protection layer 5a side, and the power supply power is supplied to supply power to the medium heating layer 14 (PTC resistor). The pole 14a is formed!

[0088] When the image display material enclosed in the medium body 2 is of a type that erases an image by heating, the image forming apparatus can also erase the image simply and reliably simply by energizing the power supply electrode 14a. can do. The pattern of the power supply electrode 14a only needs to be able to generate heat by energizing the medium heating layer 14. Therefore, the shape and arrangement of the power supply electrode 14a are not limited to those of the present embodiment, and can be appropriately selected.

If the image display material is not a type that erases an image by heating, simply short-circuiting the lower electrode 3a and the upper electrode 4b with an electrode short-circuited portion (not shown) for a short time. You can erase the image with.

In the image forming method using the recording medium in the ninth embodiment, for each of the lower electrode 3 and the upper electrode 4, except that one charge injection portion 3a, 4b is selected and the charge is injected. Since it is the same as that of Embodiment 2, description is abbreviate | omitted.

Since the charge injection portions 3a and 4b are formed at both ends of the lower electrode 3a and the upper electrode 4b, respectively, it can be used without worrying about the direction of the recording medium lh, and it is excellent in handleability and versatility.

The recording medium lh of the ninth embodiment is provided with a discharge electrode 8 facing the charge injection portions 3a and 4b so as to have the same configuration as that of the third and fourth embodiments, and further, the discharge electrode heating portion 11 It is also possible to provide the same configuration as in the fifth and sixth embodiments.

Since the recording medium of the ninth embodiment is configured as described above, it has the following actions in addition to the actions similar to those of the second embodiment.

(1) Two charge injection portions 3a connected to both ends of the lower electrode 3 and two charge injection portions 4b connected to both ends of the upper electrode 4 are provided at four locations on the outer peripheral side of the medium body 2. Therefore, the print head 20 that injects charges into the charge injection portions 3a and 4b can be arranged on the outer peripheral side of the medium body 2 in accordance with the arrangement of the charge injection portions 3a and 4b. Excellent heat dissipation.

(2) By having the medium heating layer 14 laminated on the medium body 2, when the image display material enclosed in the medium body 2 is of a type in which the image is erased by heating, the image forming apparatus Power supply electrode without special image erasing means such as a heater 14 An image can be easily and reliably erased simply by energizing a, and the structure of the image forming apparatus can be simplified and the handling and performance are excellent.

Industrial applicability

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and by forming electrodes on both sides of the medium body so as to sandwich the medium body on which image writing and erasing can be performed by the action of charges, the electron ions are irradiated to charge. Can be selectively generated at any crossing position of the electrodes formed on both sides of the medium body, and image writing and erasing can be performed. Can be formed, and high-quality images can be formed, colorization is easy, electrodes are not exposed on the surface in the image display area, and the electrodes can be protected and have excellent durability and image formation. After that, we can provide a recording medium with excellent image quality that can display images without a power source, is excellent in energy saving, and can be prevented from being disturbed by environmental changes and static electricity in winter. Te, it is possible to spread the recording medium of an electrostatic developing method.

Claims

The scope of the claims

[1] A medium body in which an image is written or erased by the action of electric charge, a lower electrode formed in a predetermined pattern on the lower surface of the medium body, and a predetermined pattern formed on the upper surface of the medium body An upper electrode; a charge injection portion formed on the lower electrode or the upper electrode; and an electrode terminal formed on the upper electrode or the lower electrode. The charge injection portion is irradiated with electrons or ions. A recording medium in which an image is written or erased by injection of electric charges.

2. The recording medium according to claim 1, further comprising a medium-side voltage control IC that is connected to the electrode terminal and controls grounding or voltage application to the lower electrode or the upper electrode.

[3] The recording medium according to [1] or [2], wherein the charge injection portion is disposed in a region outside the image display region of the medium body.

[4] A medium body in which an image is written and erased by the action of electric charge, a lower electrode formed in a predetermined pattern on the lower surface of the medium body, and a predetermined pattern formed on the upper surface of the medium body An upper electrode; and at least one charge injection portion formed on each of the lower electrode and the upper electrode; and a charge injection portion connected to the lower electrode and a charge injection connected to the upper electrode A recording medium, in which an image is written or erased by irradiating a portion with ions of opposite polarity and injecting charges.

5. The recording medium according to claim 4, wherein the charge injection portion is disposed in a region outside the image display region of the medium body.

[6] At least one or more charge injection portions connected to the lower electrode and at least one or more charge injection portions connected to the upper electrode are at least one place on one side to four sides on the outer peripheral side of the medium body. The recording medium according to claim 4, wherein the recording medium is arranged in series or in parallel.

[7] A discharge electrode having an electron emission portion corresponding to at least one of the lower electrode or the upper electrode and disposed to face the charge injection portion, and a discharge control voltage input connected to the discharge electrode A recording medium according to claim 3 or 5, further comprising a terminal. body.

[8] A discharge electrode protective layer covering the discharge electrode, and a discharge electrode heating section disposed on the discharge electrode protective layer corresponding to the electron emission site. Item 8. The recording medium according to item 7.

9. The recording medium according to claim 8, further comprising a heating control IC that is connected to the discharge electrode heating unit and controls heating of the discharge electrode by the discharge electrode heating unit.

10. The recording medium according to claim 3, further comprising a resistance layer formed on a surface of the charge injection portion.

[11] The recording medium according to any one of [1] to [10], further comprising a medium heating layer laminated on the medium main body.

12. The recording medium according to any one of claims 1 to 11, further comprising an electrode short-circuit portion that short-circuits between the lower electrode and the upper electrode.

[13] The method according to any one of [1] to [12], further comprising: an electrode protective layer that covers the lower electrode and the upper electrode; and an image protective layer that covers the electrode protective layer. Or the recording medium described in item 1.

14. The recording medium according to claim 13, further comprising a conduction part that electrically connects the image protection layers on both sides.

[15] The lower electrode or the upper electrode is formed by being divided into strips in the row direction of the medium body, and the upper electrode or the lower electrode is divided into strips in the column direction of the medium body. The recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the recording medium is formed.

[16] The recording according to any one of [1] to [14], wherein either the lower electrode or the upper electrode is formed by being divided into segment units of a display image. Medium.

[17] In any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein at least one of the lower electrode and the upper electrode is formed to be transparent, and a color filter or a color reflection layer is laminated on the medium body. The recording medium according to any one of the above.

[18] An image display material capable of selectively displaying any one of a plurality of display primary colors is 16. The recording medium according to claim 15, wherein the recording medium is arranged in a striped pattern for each of the display primary colors.