CN100576098C - Image forming method and image processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a kind of image forming method, it comprises the application that forms electrophotographic image and fluent material.The formation step of electrophotographic image is to form image having on the recording medium of at least one transparent part.Transparent part has the surface of acceptance pattern picture.Applying step is to adhere to the opaque fluent material of one deck on the surface of the transparent part of recording medium.

Description

Image forming method and image forming apparatus

The basis and priority requirements of the present patent application are Japanese patent application JP2006-209284, filed at the Japanese patent office on 31/2006, and Japanese patent application JP2007-155736, filed at the Japanese patent office on 12/6/2007, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an image forming method and apparatus, and more particularly, to an image forming method and apparatus capable of stably forming a photographic image.

Background

In order to form a photo-like image having high gloss with a simple configuration, many attempts and efforts have been made in the development of electrophotographic image forming apparatuses and/or methods.

For example, an image forming apparatus using a conventional image forming method uses special toner particles to impart gloss to a formed image. These special toner particles contain no coloring material and are uniformly applied on a recording medium having a toner image formed by a well-known electrophotographic process. The image is then fixed in a fixing unit to form a photographic image.

One disadvantage of this method is that it is difficult to uniformly and continuously apply the particular toner particles to the image surface. Further, since toner layers having different thicknesses are formed, handling the toner layers may be a great burden on the fixing unit.

Another conventional image forming method is to use a special recording medium used with a special image forming apparatus. For example, the special recording medium has a thermoplastic resin layer on at least one surface, and the special image forming apparatus is provided with first and second fixing processes. The first fixing process uses a well-known fixing technique to fix the toner image onto the special recording medium. The special recording medium is also subjected to a second fixing process in which the fixed image is heated and pressed, and then cooled to obtain an image of uniform gloss. In particular, the second fixing process uses a belt member having a sufficiently smooth surface to reduce irregularities on the image surface.

Although this method has an advantage of enabling the image surface to have uniform gloss, it has several disadvantages of cost, structure, energy consumption, etc. because an additional fixing unit is provided in the second fixing process.

Another concern in the development of electrophotographic image forming apparatuses and/or methods relates to the storage stability of the image.

As a method of improving image stability, a conventional image forming method uses a transparent film having an adhesive coating layer. The function of the tack coat is to adhere the clear film to the image, thereby protecting the image surface from damage. However, this method does not ensure the quality of the image because the appearance of the image may be affected by the transparent film adhered to the medium having the adhesive coating.

In another conventional practice, a transparent film is also used to treat the reflective sheet material. Reflective paper is commonly used to display images, but in general, printing on reflective paper materials is difficult. In this method, an image is formed on a transparent film and then adhered to a reflective sheet so that the image is displayed on the surface of the reflective sheet.

This approach is primarily intended to overcome the difficulty of printing images on reflective sheet material. However, the use of this method, like the above-mentioned adhesive coating method, does not solve how an electrophotographic image having the appearance of a photographic image and good storage stability can be obtained.

Disclosure of Invention

This patent describes a new image forming method capable of stably forming an image having the appearance of a photographic image.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the novel image forming method includes an electrophotographic image forming step, and application of a liquid material. The step of forming an electrophotographic image is to form an image on a recording medium having at least one transparent portion. The transparent portion has a surface for receiving an image. This step is to adhere a layer of opaque liquid material on the surface of the transparent portion of the recording medium.

This patent description further describes an image forming apparatus capable of stably forming an image of the appearance of a photographic image.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the new image forming apparatus includes an electrophotographic structure and an application structure. The electronic photograph is configured to form an image on a recording medium having at least one transparent portion. The transparent portion has a surface for receiving an image. The coating structure is used for adhering a layer of opaque liquid material on the surface of the transparent part of the recording medium. Which has a number of nozzles arranged in a line.

Drawings

A full appreciation of the invention can be gained by taking the following detailed description of the invention in connection with the accompanying drawings. Wherein,

fig. 1 is a schematic view showing an image forming apparatus relating to at least one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2A is a diagram showing an example of a recording medium used by the image forming apparatus of fig. 1.

Fig. 2B is a diagram showing another example of a recording medium used in the image forming apparatus of fig. 1.

Fig. 2C is a diagram showing another example of a recording medium used in the image forming apparatus of fig. 1.

Fig. 2D is a diagram showing another example of a recording medium used by the image forming apparatus of fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a schematic view showing a coating portion included in the image forming apparatus of fig. 1.

Detailed Description

In describing the preferred embodiment as illustrated, specific terminology is employed for the sake of clarity. However, the disclosure of this patent specification should not be construed as limited to the specific terminology used, but rather each specific element includes all technical equivalents that operate similarly.

As shown in the drawings, the same reference numerals denote the same or corresponding components in the drawings, and particularly, fig. 1 illustrates an image forming apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The image forming apparatus 100 includes four image forming units 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1K, one scanning unit 3, one transfer unit 6, and one coating unit X.

The image forming units 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1K each include one developing device 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10K, respectively, and one photosensitive body drum 11Y, 11M, 11C, and 11K, respectively. Each of the image forming units 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1K further includes a charging roller (not shown) and a cleaning device (not shown).

Each of the developing devices 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10K includes a two-component developer (not shown), a developing roller (not shown), a screw (not shown), and a density detector (not shown). The developing roller has a rotatable sleeve on the outside and a magnet fixed inside.

The scanning unit 3 includes a light source (not shown) such as a laser diode, a polygon mirror (not shown), an f θ lens (not shown), and a mirror (not shown).

The transfer unit 6 includes a driving mechanism (not shown), a conveyance belt 9, and conveyance rollers 16Y, 16M, 16C, and 16K.

The coating unit X includes a coating device 23, a conveying roller pair 24, a secondary sheet discharge tray 25, and a controller (not shown).

Further, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a pair of registration rollers 5, a cleaning unit 19, a fixing unit 7, a primary sheet discharge tray 8, a pair of primary and secondary sheet discharge rollers 21 and 22, primary and secondary sheet feed cassettes 4a and 4b, a manual sheet feed section MF, a recording medium 20, and a toner container TC.

In addition, the image forming apparatus 100 further includes a waste toner bottle (not shown), a duplex/rotation path (not shown), power supply (not shown), and the like. These are all mounted in the space S, i.e. in the dashed line shown in fig. 1.

The toner used by the image forming apparatus 100 has four colors. Yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (B). The toner colors correspond to the image forming units 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1K, respectively, that is, yellow toner is contained in the fixing device 10Y, magenta toner is contained in the fixing device 10M, cyan toner is contained in the fixing device 10C, and black toner is contained in the fixing device 10K.

The toner combines with the magnetic carrier to form a two-component developer. Alternatively, a single-component developer may be used in an appropriate configuration.

In the image forming apparatus 100, the image forming units 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1K are aligned along the conveyor belt 9 at prescribed intervals. In this case, the photosensitive drums 11Y, 11M, 11C and 11K have rotation axes parallel to each other. The developing devices 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10K are located such that each developing roller comes into contact with the respective photosensitive drums 11Y, 11M, 11C, and 11K.

The scanner unit 3 is mounted above the image forming units 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1K. The conveying unit 6 is installed below the image forming units 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1K.

Each transfer roller pair 16Y, 16M, 16C, and 16K is mounted on the side of the conveyor belt 9 opposite to each photosensitive drum 11Y, 11M, 11C, and 11K.

The cleaning unit 19 is located where it contacts the outer surface of the conveyor belt 9. The cleaning unit 19 has a brush roller (not shown), a cleaning blade (not shown) for removing residual toner or foreign substances on the conveyor belt 9.

The fixing unit 7, a primary discharge tray 8, and a pair of primary and secondary discharge rollers 21 and 22 are adjacent to the transfer unit 6.

The primary and secondary sheet feeding cassettes 4a and 4b are located at a lower portion of the image forming apparatus and store the recording media 20 in a stacked form. The manual paper feed unit MF is located at one side of the image forming apparatus 100, and is used for 20 to manually feed a recording medium.

The image forming apparatus 100 may be mounted with, for example, a color laser printer IPSiO CX9000 manufactured by physical corporation.

The recording medium 20 may be a sheet of paper material having a prescribed length and width to facilitate handling by a conventional image forming apparatus. The width of the image corresponds to the width of the recording medium 20.

In the image forming apparatus 100, one color image is formed by superposition of four colors, which are formed by the image forming units 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1K, respectively.

In each of the image forming units 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1K, the charging roller is supplied with power and a voltage, which charges the surface of the photosensitive drums 11Y, 11M, 11C, and 11K to a prescribed potential. The scanning unit 3 scans the surfaces of the respective photosensitive drums 11Y, 11M, 11C, and 11K with laser beams, and forms electrostatic latent images in accordance with image data using a polygon mirror, an f θ lens, and a mirror. Alternatively, the scanning operation may use Light Emitting Diode (LED) columns.

In each of the developing devices 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10K, the screw agitates the two-component developer contained therein. The toner density detector provides an output value to display the toner density of the two-component developer so that the toner container TC can supply sufficient toner according to the output value.

The respective photosensitive drums 11Y, 11M, 11C, and 11K rotate to send electrostatic latent images to positions opposing and facing the developing roller. Next, toner particles supplied from the developing roller adhere to the electrostatic latent image, and toner images are formed on the photosensitive drums 11Y, 11M, 11C, and 11K.

The recording medium 20 supplied from the primary and secondary paper feed cassettes 4a and 4b and the manual paper feed unit MF is sandwiched between the pair of registration rollers 5. The pair of registration rollers 5 conveys the recording medium 20, and continuously transfers the aligned toner image onto the recording medium 20.

In the process of transferring the toner image to the recording medium 20, the drive mechanism starts the transport belt 9, and the recording medium 20 is transported by the nip between each transfer roller and its corresponding photosensitive drum in the direction indicated by the arrow a. Each of the conveying rollers 16Y, 16M, 16C, and 16K is supplied with a voltage having a polarity opposite to that of the toner particles from the power source to attract each toner image from the photosensitive drums 11Y, 11M, 11C, and 11K, respectively, to adhere to the recording medium. The toner images of the four colors are superposed there, thereby forming a color image.

The recording medium 20 on which the color image is formed then reaches the fixing unit 7. In the fixing unit 7, the color image is fixed onto the recording medium 20 by heat and pressure. The fixing process may also be performed by using a belt-or roller-shaped fixing device, or using an induction heater.

In the normal mode of operation, after a color image is fixed on the recording medium 20 by the fixing unit 7, the recording medium is conveyed by the pair of primary and secondary conveying rollers 21, 22 into the sheet discharge tray 8 in the direction indicated by the arrow C.

In the operation of the high gloss mode, after the color image is fixed on the recording medium 20 by the fixing unit 7, the recording medium is conveyed to the coating unit X by the pair of primary and secondary conveying rollers 21, 22 in the direction indicated by the arrow B.

In the coating unit X, a coating device 23 coats a surface of the recording medium 20 with a liquid coating layer. The recording medium is conveyed to a secondary output tray 25 by a conveying roller 24. The operation of the coating unit X is controlled by a controller.

Referring now to fig. 2A to 2D, an example of the recording medium 20 for the high gloss mode operation is described.

In fig. 2A to 2D, an arrow D indicates a feeding direction of the recording medium 20 in the image forming apparatus 100 (referred to as a conveying direction herein). The feeding direction is vertically upward in fig. 2A to 2D.

The recording medium 20 includes an opaque portion 20a and at least one transparent portion 20 b.

For example, as shown in FIG. 2A, the opaque portion 20a may occupy more than half of the area of the recording medium 20, while the transparent portion 20b occupies a small portion. The recording medium 20 is provided by an opaque portion 20a conveyed in the feeding direction.

In addition, as shown in fig. 2B, the transparent part 20B may occupy the entire area of the recording medium 20.

In addition, as shown in fig. 2C, the opaque portion 20b and the transparent portion 20b each occupy half of the recording medium 20. In one side, the recording medium 20 is provided by an opaque portion 20a in the feeding direction, and in the other side, a transparent portion 20 b.

Also, as shown in fig. 2D, the opaque part 20a may occupy a small area of the recording medium 20, and the other part is formed of the transparent part 20 b. The recording medium 20 is provided by an opaque portion 20a conveyed in the feeding direction.

In the recording medium 20, the opaque portion 20a is formed of a sheet material of any general-purpose copy paper. The transparent part 20b is made of a transparent sheet material having a smooth surface on which an image is formed. Such as OHP film TYPE PPC-E manufactured by NBS physical light limited, OHP films PP2500 and PP2600 manufactured by sumitomo 3M limited, or a transparent film for a color laser printer manufactured by folex AG.

The opaque portion 20 may be used as a blank frame for a quick photo on which a user may write text or draw a picture. Further, by the printing process of the opaque portion 20, a printed material including characters and pictures (usable as a calendar with drawings) is created simply.

In the high gloss mode operation process, a certain area of the transparent part 20b within the recording medium 20 may be decided by a user adjusting the setting of the supply process, or by a prior login in the image forming apparatus 100.

When it is decided to create an image on the transparent part 20b, the image forming apparatus 100 forms an image, which is the inverse of the original image, on a smooth surface (referred to as a "printing surface" herein) according to the image forming process described in fig. 1. The viewer sees an image that is not inverted until the inverted image is viewed from the surface opposite the printed surface (referred to herein as the "non-printed surface"). The image thus created has a very smooth surface and adheres tightly to the recording medium 20.

Fig. 3 is a schematic view of the coating apparatus 23.

The coating process may use any of various general-purpose apparatuses or processes for coating a sheet material, such as a line-type coating apparatus (23 a in fig. 3), a spray-type coating apparatus (23 b in fig. 3), a roll-type coating apparatus (23 c in fig. 3), a sponge-type coating apparatus, an offset printing process, a screen printing process, or a gravure printing process.

The coating device 23 is preferably a linear array type coating device 23 a. The line type coating apparatus 23a includes a plurality of nozzles arranged in a line to eject an opaque liquid coating. The linear arrangement type coating apparatus 23a can coat the sheet materials of different widths by adjusting the number of nozzles.

In the coating unit X, the controller acquires data indicating the width of the transparent portion to direct the coating device 23 to selectively coat the recording medium 20, thereby avoiding the opaque liquid from being applied to a place where coating is not necessary. The opaque liquid coating applied to the recording medium 20 is fixed by an appropriate process such as cold or hot air drying, ultraviolet curing, or the like.

The opaque liquid coating serves to protect the printing surface from damage. The opaque liquid coating is preferably white in color.

The opaque liquid coating may be any material suitable for application to a recording medium, such as commonly used inks or paints. Examples of opaque liquid coatings include non-volatile paints (non-VOC paint) manufactured by Sherwin-Williams corporationElastic Filler MAX manufactured by Dainippon Paint Co., Ltd, Paint LAQUER manufactured by Kanpe Hapio Co., Ltd, Paint HIT-SPRAY manufactured by Kanpe Hapio Co., Ltd, thermosetting resin and aqueous polyurethane Paint manufactured by Nippon Paint (Nippon Paint) Co., Ltd, elastic high-gloss aqueous polyurethane Paint manufactured by Nippon Paint (Nippon Paint) Co., LtdAnd (4) coating.

By forming the reverse image on the smooth surface of the transparent part 20b, the appearance of the photo image can be easily obtained on the non-reverse image. By forming the smooth transparent part 20b on the non-printing surface, the gloss of the appearance of the photographic image can be increased.

Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. That is, the disclosure of this patent specification is not limited to the above description, within the scope of the claims.

Claims (9)

1. An image forming method characterized by:

forming an image electrophotographically on a recording medium having at least a portion of a transparent portion, the transparent portion having a surface for receiving the image thereon; and

fixing the image onto the recording medium by heating and pressurizing; and

after fixing, a coating of an opaque liquid material is provided on the surface of the transparent portion.

2. The image forming method according to claim 1, characterized in that:

the surface of the transparent portion is smooth.

3. The image forming method according to claim 1, characterized in that:

the opaque liquid material is white in color.

4. The image forming method according to claim 1, characterized in that:

the image is formed as a reverse copy of the original image.

5. An image forming apparatus, characterized in that:

an electrophotographic structure configured to form an image electrophotographically on a recording medium having at least a portion of a transparent portion, the transparent portion having a surface to receive the image thereon; and

fixing the image onto the recording medium by heating and pressurizing; and

a coating arrangement, after fixing, arranged to provide a coating of an opaque liquid material on the surface of the transparent portion, the coating arrangement having a plurality of nozzles arranged in a line.

6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that:

the surface of the transparent portion is smooth.

7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that:

the opaque liquid material is white in color.

8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that:

the image is formed as a reverse copy of the original image.

9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that:

the coating is configured to provide a coating in a field of a prescribed width corresponding to the size of the transparent portion.

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