JPH05193135A - Recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a recording device having a simple structure and easy to control. CONSTITUTION:A light receiving section 5 having a conductive film layer 5c made of a photoconductive material formed on a transparent electrode layer 5b, an ink holding means 6 housing a liquid ink 6c and having an ink jetting section 6b arranged adjacently and oppositely to the conductive film layer of the light receiving section, and a power source E for applying direct current at least between the ink jetting section of the ink holding means and the conductive film layer of the light receiving section so as to give Coulomb force to the ink in the ink jetting section are provided. Further, a plotting record means 4 for irradiating a position in the light receiving section corresponding to the ink jetting section of the ink holding means with light beam from the transparent electrode layer corresponding to an image to be recorded and conveying means 3 and 7 for conveying a record medium 2 through the conductive film layer of the light receiving section are provided.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording apparatus for recording an image with liquid ink according to facsimile information, output information from a computer or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in the recording method using liquid ink, fine holes or nozzles communicating with a container containing the liquid ink are arranged toward a recording medium, and pin electrodes corresponding to each nozzle are independently provided. A method of ejecting ink to form an image by selectively applying a high-voltage pulse in accordance with an information signal, or through a plurality of through holes arranged in a matrix as seen in JP-B-60-40022. A column electrode for selectively introducing ink, a screen-shaped member commonly provided in the through holes of each column, an ink groove that relatively moves between the screen-shaped member, and the column electrode There is known a structure in which a voltage is selectively applied between the ink in the ink groove and the ink in accordance with an information signal to adhere the ink to the print medium on the counter electrode side.

[0003]

However, in these methods, in order to transfer ink dot by dot, a needle electrode or a column electrode corresponding to the ink transfer is required, and the structure easily causes crosstalk. However, complicated wiring, a circuit for driving individual needle electrodes or column electrodes, and the like are required.

Further, in these methods, in order to achieve high resolution, interpolating between dots is performed by a circuit called a deskew, so that the staggered arrangement of the column electrodes and needle electrodes is selectively shifted with time. I had to do something like drive. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a recording apparatus having a simple structure that does not require complicated wiring or a drive circuit.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is configured as follows. That is, according to the present invention, a light receiving portion formed by laminating an electrode layer made of a translucent conductive material and a conductive film layer made of a photoconductive material, a liquid ink, and a conductive film layer of the light receiving portion are recorded. Ink holding means having ink discharge portions that are closely opposed to each other via a medium, voltage application means that causes a potential difference between the liquid ink and the electrode layer, and an image to be recorded on the conductive film of the light receiving portion. And a recording unit that emits a corresponding light beam.

[0006]

In this structure, the recording sheet is moved by the transporting means while being in close contact with the conductive film layer in the light receiving portion, and at this time, the recording sheet is placed between the transparent electrode layer in the light receiving portion and the ink in the ink holding means. By selectively projecting the converged light beam toward the light-receiving part conductive film layer while applying a desired potential difference, the resistance of the part of the conductive film layer that receives the light beam (light-receiving point part) is changed. It disappears due to the conductive effect.

As a result, the light receiving point portion of the conductive film layer which has become a conductor has the same potential as the potential of the transparent electrode film up to the surface thereof, and the portion facing the conductive film layer in the ink discharging portion of the ink holding means. The insulation distance is shortened by the thickness of the conductive film layer, and the insulation distance is closer to the surface of the conductive film layer, that is, the surface in contact with the recording paper that is the recording medium. It will fly while being drawn into the surface of the recording medium facing the light receiving point portion. Then, the flying ink adheres to the recording medium on the surface side of the conductive film layer for recording.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 is a paper feed roller, 2 is recording paper, 3 is a feed roller, and 4 is an optical system by a semiconductor laser device, which constitutes a recording optical system. Reference numeral 5 is a light receiving portion, 6 is an ink holding portion, and 7 is a vacuum transport discharging portion.

The paper feed roller 1 is disposed on a paper tray 20 mounting position in which a plurality of unused recording papers 2 are stacked and accommodated,
Is in contact with the uppermost recording sheet 2 in the sheet tray 20,
The uppermost recording sheet 2 is fed out by rotating the recording sheet 2.

The recording paper 2 delivered by the paper feed roller 1 is delivered to the light receiving portion 5 side by the feed roller 3, and the light receiving portion 5
Will be sent to you. The vacuum transport discharge unit 7 discharges the recording paper 2a sent through the light receiving unit 5 to the discharge port side in the direction of arrow A in the figure, and a pair of belts is provided between the pair of rollers 7a and 7b. 7c, and an exhaust fan 7d is arranged between the stretched belts 7c to support the recording sheet 2 between the belts 7c, and the exhaust fan 7d adsorbs the recording sheet 2 to the belt 7c side to form a pair of rollers. By rotating 7a and 7b, the belt 7c is driven and sent to the discharge port side.

The recording optical system 4 comprises a semiconductor laser element 4a, a collimator lens 4b, a polygon mirror 4c, an fθ lens 4d and a reflecting mirror 4e. Among these, the semiconductor laser element 4a serves as a light source, and the laser oscillation is controlled according to the image to be recorded. Further, the polygon mirror 4c is a rotating mirror in which the peripheral surface of a polygonal columnar body is used as a reflecting mirror, and the laser beam from the semiconductor laser element 4a is applied to the mirror and rotated to rotate the laser beam to a predetermined level. This is for scanning within the range.

The collimator lens 4b is arranged between the polygon mirror 4c and the semiconductor laser element 4a, and is a lens for collimating the laser beam from the semiconductor laser element 4a.

The fθ lens 4d is a polygon mirror 4
This is a correction lens for adjusting the scanning speed of the laser beam scanned by c so as to be constant on the light-receiving surface. Since the lens is swung, the scanning speed changes depending on the scanning position. Therefore, it is a lens for correcting so that this becomes constant. The reflecting mirror 4e finally reflects the collimated laser beam and gives it to the light receiving section 5.

In the case of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the light receiving portion 5 is an elongated plate-like member, and is a support 5a made of transparent plate glass.
A transparent electrode film 5b is formed on one surface of the above, and a photoconductive film (photoconductor) 5c made of a photoconductive material is formed thereon. The surface of the light receiving unit 5 on the side of the support 5a is located on the side of the reflecting mirror 4e, and the side on which the photoconductive film 5c is formed is the side facing the recording paper.

Therefore, the recording paper 2 which is fed while being adsorbed by the vacuum transport discharge portion 7 is given a tension by cooperation with the roller 3, and the photoconductive film 5c of the light receiving portion 5 is applied.
It is sent to the discharge port side while being in contact with the surface on which the film is formed. At this time, a voltage is applied to the transparent electrode film 5b to charge the photoconductive film 5c, and then the laser beam is scanned by the recording optical system 4. While controlling the oscillation of the laser beam corresponding to the recorded image, the transparent support 5
It is possible to irradiate the transparent electrode film 5b with a light spot corresponding to the drawing content from the back surface of a and to reduce the resistance of the irradiated portion of the photoconductive film 5c irradiated with this light spot by the photoconductive action. I am doing it.

The ink holding portion 6 is arranged so as to face the light receiving portion 5 with the recording paper 2 in between, and an ink tank 6a for holding the liquid ink 6c and a slit plate 6b arranged in the ink tank 6a. It has and. 2 slit plates 6b
The plate bodies are arranged such that the plate surfaces face each other and are arranged at a narrow interval, and the plate surfaces are arranged in the ink tank 6a with the plate surfaces vertical, and the slit openings are light receiving portions. The photoconductive film 5c of No. 5 has a predetermined distance.

The slit plate 6b is provided to suck up the liquid ink 6c in the ink tank 6a to the opening on the side facing the light receiving portion 5 by utilizing the capillary phenomenon. The slit width is appropriately set in consideration of the viscosity of the liquid ink.

The liquid ink 6c is insulative, and the slit plate 6b is applied with a DC voltage so as to have a ground level or negative polarity relationship with the voltage of the transparent electrode film 5b. The recording optical system 4, the light receiving unit 5, and the ink holding unit 6 form a recording head.

In such a structure, first, the recording paper 2 is fed from the paper tray 20 by the paper feed roller 1, and the feed roller 3 bites the fed recording paper 2 and stands by. Then, the feed roller 3 feeds to the light receiving section 5 at a certain predetermined timing.

When the recording paper 2 passes between the light receiving portion 5 and the ink holding portion 6, a desired voltage is applied in advance between the light receiving portion 5 and the ink holding portion 6, and at the same time, by the recording optical system 4, The light receiving unit 5 receives the laser light irradiation. The light receiving unit 5 is arranged in the direction traversing the conveyance path of the recording paper 2 and
The laser beam is controlled so as to repeatedly scan a predetermined position in the transverse direction of the conveyance path by the action of the polygon mirror 4c, so that the feeding direction of the recording paper 2 is changed. The light receiving section 5 is scanned as if the main surface of the recording paper 2 were to be scanned, with the main scanning direction and the direction transverse to the main scanning direction as the sub-scanning direction.

A predetermined voltage is applied to the transparent electrode film 5b of the light receiving portion 5, and a transparent support 5 is provided from the back surface of the light receiving portion 5.
Since the photoconductive film 5c is irradiated with the laser beam through a and the transparent electrode film 5b, the resistance of the photoconductive film 5c at the position irradiated with the laser beam becomes low.

Therefore, the photoconductive film 5c in this portion has substantially the same potential as the potential of the transparent electrode film 5b, and the distance between the slit plate 6b of the ink holding portion 6 and the opening position is equal to that of the photoconductive film 5c. The insulating liquid ink 6c that is closer to the thickness and has a potential opposite to that of the transparent electrode film 5b becomes droplets by the Coulomb force and is attracted to the photoconductive film 5c side and fly. Since there is a recording sheet between the photoconductive film 5c and the slit plate 6b, the droplets of the liquid ink 6c that have flown adhere to the recording sheet surface.

Since the laser beam is on / off controlled according to the information of the recorded image and is scanned in the sub-scanning direction, the recording paper surface is drawn by ink droplets along the sub-scanning direction to form a recorded image. can get.

In this way, the potential of the portion of the light receiving portion 5 irradiated with the laser beam moves to the surface in contact with the advancing recording paper 2 and the distance between the ink holding portion 6 and the slit plate 6b opening. Is shortened, and as a result, the Coulomb force acting on the ink is increased by that amount, the ink in the ink holding portion 6 is ejected, and an image is formed. After that, while being sucked by the vacuum transport discharge unit 7, it is conveyed to the discharge port while being conveyed by a belt.

The details of the operation for recording by ejecting the liquid ink to the recording paper side will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 2, 5 is a light receiving part, 5a is a transparent support, 5b is a transparent electrode film, and 5c is a photoconductor. Reference numeral 2 denotes a print recording medium, which is usually a recording sheet. 6 is an ink holding portion, and 6b is a slit plate. 6c is a liquid ink, and 6a is an ink tank.

E is a direct current power source, and a direct current voltage is applied from the direct current power source E between the transparent electrode layer 5b of the light receiving portion 5 and the slit plate 6b of the ink holding portion 6. LB is a laser beam with which the light receiving unit 5 is irradiated. The gap of the slit plate 6b in the ink holding portion 6 is sufficiently narrow, and the liquid ink 6 in the ink tank 6a between the upper surfaces of the slits due to the capillary phenomenon.
c is sucked up and lifted.

In such a state, the transparent electrode film 5 of the light receiving portion 5
When the voltage applied between the slit plate 6b and the slit plate 6b is increased, the space between the slit plate 6b and the slit plate 6b becomes a capacitor and the slit plate 6b
The liquid ink 6b that has been pulled up to the upper end of and is raised is further pulled by the potential difference and rises.

The raised liquid ink 6c on the recording paper 2
After increasing the voltage of the DC power source E to the extent that does not touch, the laser beam LB is emitted from the back surface of the light receiving unit 5. Then, the photoconductor 5c in the portion irradiated with the laser beam LB light becomes conductive due to the photoconductive phenomenon only in the irradiated portion, so that the potential of the portion rises to the contact surface position of the recording paper 2. ..

Therefore, by the thickness of the photoconductor 5c,
The gap is narrowed, and a part of the raised ink in the vicinity of the gap flies off the surface tension to fly to the recording paper 2 side. Therefore, by selectively irradiating the laser beam LB and synchronously moving the recording paper 2, it is possible to record a desired pattern on the recording paper 2 with the liquid ink 6c.
Generally, according to Coulomb's law, the force acting between two charged bodies is expressed by the following equation. F = (1 / 4πε) ・ (Q1 Q2 / r ² ) (1) where F is the magnitude of Coulomb force, π is the circular constant, ε is the dielectric constant between two charged bodies, Q1 and Q2 are the charge amounts between the charged bodies, and r is between the two charged bodies. The relationship of distance is established. on the other hand,
The relationship between the potential difference V between the parallel plates, the electrostatic capacitance C, and the charges Q and -Q is given by the following equation. Q = CV (2) If the distance between the parallel plates is r, the permittivity between them is ε, and the area is A, then C = εA / r (3). Therefore, from the above formulas (1), (2) and (3), F = (ε / 4π) · (AV / r ² ) ² (4), and if the attractive force acting on the ink when there is no light irradiation is F2, then F2 = (ε / 4π) · (AV / r2 ² ) ² (5) However, r2 can be expressed as the distance from the transparent electrode to the raised ink. On the other hand, when the attractive force acting on the ink when irradiated with light is F1, the distance from the contact surface of the photoconductor to the recording paper to the raised ink is r1 and F1 = (ε / 4π) ・ (AV / r1 ² ) ² (6) If the surface tension of the ink is FS, then F2 <FS (7) should be satisfied in order to prevent the ink from flying in the absence of light irradiation. On the other hand, in order for the ink to fly when light is irradiated and the photoconductor becomes conductive, it is sufficient that F1 >> FS ... (8). Thus, (5) - (8) from (ε / 4π) · (AV / r2 2 ) <FS <<<< (ε / 4π) ・ (AV / r1 ² ) ² (9) and r1, r2, V satisfying the equation (9)
Should be set.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the recording unit of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the elongated light receiving portion 5 is arranged across the conveyance path of the recording paper 2 so as to extend over the width of the recording paper 2, and the laser beam LB is emitted by the recording optical system 4. The back surface of the light receiving unit 5 is irradiated while being scanned in the transverse direction.

The scan position is a fixed position, and the slit plate 6b is arranged so as to face the scanning line SL for the light receiving portion 5 of the laser beam LB. And
The ink on the upper surface of the slit plate 6b at the position facing the irradiation point of the laser beam LB on the scanning line SL flies by the Coulomb force and adheres to the recording paper 2 to be recorded.

According to this embodiment, since needle electrodes and column electrodes are not required as in the conventional case, complicated circuits and wirings for driving the individual electrodes can be omitted, and the problem of crosstalk also occurs. It never happens.

Further, since the dots are formed by the light beam, it is not necessary to use a needle electrode or the like as in the conventional case, so that the configuration is extremely easy and the resolution is improved by narrowing the spot diameter of the light beam. You can

4 and 5 show another embodiment of the ink holding portion 6. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 60 is a box-shaped ink tank, and a slit window 61 is formed in the upper surface of the ink tank at a position facing the scanning line SL. Ink tank 6
The oscillator 62 is provided inside the 0.
Driving the liquid ink 6c in the ink tank 60
Is designed to be a fog (ink mist) IM.

The transparent electrode film 5b of the light receiving portion 5 and the ink tank 60
A DC voltage is applied by a DC power supply E between the two. Further, since the slit window 61 is open, a control electrode 63 is arranged beside the slit window 61 in order to prevent the ink mist IM from flowing out unnecessarily, and a negative bias is applied by the DC power source E2. Has been.

Vibration is transmitted to the vibrator 62 by an ultrasonic vibrator (not shown), the liquid ink 6c is vibrated to generate an ink mist IM, and the ink mist IM is caused to fly by Coulomb force. It is a record.

In this embodiment, since the ink mist is made to fly, the recording dot diameter can be made smaller and a high-definition image can be obtained in addition to the effect of the first embodiment described above. The effect occurs.

Further, in FIG. 5, the ink holding portion 6 is composed of an ink tank 65 having an upper opening, and a roller 66 arranged in the ink tank 65. The roller 66 is a rotating roller, and when it is rotated, the liquid ink 6c adhering to the surface of the roller 66 is drawn up. A DC voltage is applied from the DC power supply E between the light receiving unit 5 and the roller 66, and the roller 66 is arranged so that its axis matches the position of the laser beam scanning line SL of the light receiving unit 5.

The roller 66 is exposed from the liquid surface of the liquid ink 6c in the ink tank 65, and the liquid ink 6c adhering to the surface of the roller 66 is attracted to the recording paper 2 by the Coulomb force.

In this embodiment, since the ink is carried to the vicinity of the recording paper by the roller, in addition to the effect of the first embodiment described above, the gap between the recording paper and the ink liquid surface can be maintained accurately. Therefore, there is an effect that an image can be recorded with high accuracy.

FIG. 6 shows an example of the ink holding portion 6 when the present invention is applied to a color recording apparatus using a plurality of colors of ink. The figure shows an example of three colors. In this case, the ink tank 6
The inside of 8 is divided into three tanks 68a, 68b and 68c, and liquid inks of different colors are stored in the respective tanks 68a, 68b and 68c. In addition, the slit plate 6
9 has three gaps 69a, 69b, and 6 arranged close to each other.
9c is formed.

The slit plate 69 is arranged so that its upper end side faces the light receiving portion 5, and the gaps 69a, 69b and 69c suck up inks of different colors by the capillary phenomenon, and the slit plate 69 in the light receiving portion 5 is formed. Each gap 6
9a, 69b, and 69c are provided at respective positions corresponding to the respective colors, and a semiconductor laser oscillator 15 is provided for each color image drawing and recording.
Laser beams LBa, LB from a, 15b, 15c
b and LBc are irradiated while being scanned.

Polygon mirror 4 in recording optical system 4
The c, f.theta. lens 4d and the reflecting mirror 4e are commonly used for each color, and it is natural to consider the positional relationship and the recording timing so that the inks of the respective colors attracted by the Coulomb force do not interfere with each other.

With such a structure, the semiconductor laser oscillators 15a, 15 for the respective colors are used for recording the image for each color.
b and 15c are controlled to oscillate a laser beam, which is scanned by the polygon mirror 4c to cause ink of different colors to fly by the same principle as described above and adhere to the recording paper 2 to record a color image.

In this embodiment, recording means for a plurality of colors such as C (cyan), M (magenta), and Y (yellow) can be arranged in a very short section on the recording paper conveyance path. Compared with conventional color image recording devices,
The device can be made very compact. Further, since the color image can be completed by passing the recording paper once (one pass), it is not necessary to repeatedly circulate the recording paper for each color of C, M and Y to the recording unit.
The recording speed can be improved and the occurrence of color misregistration for each color can be prevented.

In the present invention, the light-receiving portion has a fixed-position structure in each of the above embodiments, but may have a cylindrical shape and rotate in synchronization with the recording paper. .. Further, in the case of the fixed structure, if the same place is continuously irradiated with the laser beam, the photoconductor 5c
If there is deterioration of, the scanning position is periodically moved slightly, or the recording paper conveyance position with respect to the light receiving unit is moved regularly to change the laser beam irradiation position.
The irradiation position of the laser beam may be adjusted so as not to be biased to the same position.

Further, in order to increase the capillary phenomenon that occurs in the slit plate 6b shown in FIG. 2, a bundle of water-absorbent fibers or thin tubes may be used, or a voltage may be applied between the slit plates 6b. You may try to help the phenomenon.

Further, in the voltage applied by the DC power source E shown in FIG. 2, by providing the AC component applying means ACU and adding the AC component, the size of the flying ink droplet can be changed. Although the resolution and the density can be controlled, the size of the flying ink droplet can be changed by adding an AC pulse corresponding to the timing of laser light irradiation.

Further, the vibrator 62 of the embodiment of FIG. 4 is added to the ink holding portion 6 of the embodiment of FIG. 2 to vibrate so that the ink liquid surface in the slit vibrates in a longitudinal direction in a standing wave. Then, if the excitation vibration is controlled so that the ink is ejected from the peak portion of the standing wave, the diameter of the ejected ink droplet can be made smaller than that when the standing wave is not generated. Images can be obtained. On the contrary, if the size of the peak of the standing wave is increased, the ink diameter can be intentionally increased.

[0050]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention,
A voltage is applied between the light-receiving part where the photoconductor layer is formed on the transparent electrode and the ink holding part provided opposite to the light-receiving part, and the insulation distance is shortened by the light emitted from the back surface of the transparent electrode. By increasing the coulomb force at that portion and causing the ink to fly by the coulomb force at that position, the ink is made to adhere to the recording medium conveyed between the light receiving portion and the ink holding portion, and image formation recording is performed. Therefore, the structure is simple, the control is easy, the wiring and the like are easy, and the cost and the size can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the overall configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a drawing recording unit in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a drawing recording unit in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another configuration of a drawing recording unit.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another configuration of a drawing recording unit.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a color drawing recording unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Paper feed roller, 2 ... Recording paper, 3 ... Feed roller, 4 ...
Recording optical system by semiconductor laser device, 4a, 15a-1
5c ... Semiconductor laser element, 4b ... Collimator lens, 4
c ... Polygon mirror, 4d ... f.theta. lens, 4e ... Reflecting mirror, 5 ... Light receiving part, 5a ... Support, 5b ... Transparent electrode film, 5
c ... Photoconductive layer (photoconductor), 6 ... Ink holding portion, 6a, 65, 68 ... Ink tank, 6b ... Slit plate,
6c ... Liquid ink, 7 ... Vacuum transport discharge part, 7a, 7b ... Roller, 7c ... Belt, 7d ... Exhaust fan, 20 ... Paper tray, 61 ... Slit window, 62 ... Transducer, 63 ... Control electrode, 66 ... Rollers, 68a-68c
... Tank, 69a to 69c ... Gap, E, E2 ... DC power supply, I
M ... Ink mist, ACU ... AC component applying means, LB,
LBa, LBc ... Laser beam.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A light receiving part formed by laminating an electrode layer made of a translucent conductive material and a conductive film layer made of a photoconductive material, and containing a liquid ink, and recording with the conductive film layer of the light receiving part. Ink holding means having ink discharge portions that are closely opposed to each other via a medium, voltage application means that causes a potential difference between the liquid ink and the electrode layer, and an image to be recorded on the conductive film of the light receiving portion. A recording apparatus comprising: a recording unit that emits a corresponding light beam.