JPS63151979A - Method and device for adhesion transfer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simplify a device and to make its maintenance easy by using a transfer sheet previously formed as a prescribed shape, winding up the transfer sheet by a transfer roll and then selectively pressing the transfer roll against a photosensitive drum and a press roll to execute the transfer of a toner image and adhesion between the transfer sheet and a supporting sheet. CONSTITUTION:While being peeled from mold releasing paper 2, the transfer sheet 1 previously formed as a prescribed shape including an adhesive face is wound up by the transfer roll 30 so that the adhesive face 1a is turned to the outside, the transfer roll 30 is moved relatively to the photosensitive drum 10 carrying a toner image on its surface and pressed against the drum 10, and while rotating both the roll 30 and the drum 10, a toner image on the drum 10 is transferred to the adhesive face of the sheet 1. Then, the roll 30 is moved relatively to the drum 10 so as to be separated from the drum and then moved relatively to the press roll and pressed against the press roll to stick the transfer sheet 1 to the supporting sheet 3. Consequently, the device can be simplified and the maintenance can be made easy.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of the Invention) The present invention relates to an adhesive transfer method and apparatus for transferring toner 4& formed on a photosensitive drum by electrophotography onto a transfer sheet having an adhesive surface. Adhesive transfer method and device that can perform good transfer and simplify transfer mechanism or illuminate a light beam modulated based on the image signal.
l′? An electronic copying machine or an electrophotographic printer that forms an electrostatic latent image by printing, develops this electrostatic latent image into a toner image, and then transfers the toner image to a support such as paper. has become a public scam.

On the other hand, various electrophotographic methods have been proposed in the past that allow continuous @tone images to be recorded with good gradation reproducibility. For example, in Japanese Patent Publication No. 49-38172 by the present applicant, an electrostatic latent image (formed on a photoconductor) is developed into a toner image using a developer, and then an adhesive (adhesive) tape is pressed onto this toner image. An electrophotographic process is disclosed in which the toner image is peeled off and the tape is then adhered to the final support.

As a method of transferring the toner image formed on a photoconductor to a support such as paper, electrostatic transfer using a corotron is widely used. The problem of poor transfer efficiency between high-density areas and low-density areas has been criticized. On the other hand, as mentioned above, the so-called adhesive transfer method, in which a toner image is transferred onto a sticky layer, has extremely high transfer effectiveness regardless of the image density. This is advantageous for recording continuous tone images. An example of an adhesive transfer device for carrying out such an adhesive transfer method is shown in FIG.

In the illustrated apparatus, a photosensitive drum 110 having a photoconductor 111 on its circumferential surface is rotated in the direction of the arrow and a toner image is formed on its circumferential surface by toner image forming means 120 disposed around the photosensitive drum 110. . This toner image forming means 12
0 is the charger 1 along the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 110.
21. Exposure section 122. Developing device 123, drum drying means 1
24. Static eliminator 125. The photosensitive drum 110 is uniformly charged by a charger 121, and an electrostatic latent image is formed by a light beam modulated according to image information in an exposure section 122. This electrostatic latent image is developed as a toner image by the developing device 123. After the 1=toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 110 in this way is dried by the drum drying means 124, it is placed on the transparent band-shaped transfer sheet 101 having an adhesive surface, which is suspended on the transfer roller 130, at the position P! To: Adhesive transfer is carried out at. This transfer sheet 101 is sent out from the sheet supply roller 131 in a state attached to a belt-shaped release Wffl 102, and is sent out from the sheet supply roller 131 while being attached to the nip roller 132A,
At the position held by 132B! ! The paper is peeled off from the release paper 102 which is wound up by the pear paper winding roller 133. The peeled transfer sheet 101 is placed on the transfer roller 1301 by rubbing the adhesive side outward. : It is suspended and moved at the same speed as the photosensitive drum 110 in contact with the photosensitive drum 110 as described above, and a toner image is transferred thereto.

The transfer sheet 101 on which the toner image has been transferred is roughly transferred to a pressure roller 140A, which is a pair of nip rollers.

140B. - force support sheet supply roller 1
From 41, these pressure rollers 140A, 140
A support sheet 103 made of a band-shaped paper or the like is pulled out toward B, and this support sheet 103 is attached to the transfer sheet 101.
At the same time, it is passed between pressure rollers 140A and 140B and bonded to the transfer sheet 101. The transparent transfer sheets 1 are attached to each other in this way.
01 and the support sheet 103 are cut into image forming areas by a cutter 142.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the above-mentioned adhesive transfer device, the belt-shaped transfer sheet is suspended from the transfer roller while the pressure roller
Since the transfer sheet is passed between 40A and 140B, if there is a difference between the drive speed of the photosensitive drum and the drive speed of the pressure roller during transfer, the transfer sheet may be bent or stretched, causing the transfer sheet to be bent or stretched at position PI. Inconveniences occur such as the transferred image being cracked or distorted. Position P again! When the transfer is started, the leading edge of the transfer sheet is pressed against the pressure roller 140. Since the transfer sheet needs to be held between A' and 140B, there is also the disadvantage that transfer cannot be performed on the leading edge of the transfer sheet, and a part of the transfer sheet becomes WA-less. Generally speaking, since the transfer sheet is in the form of a band, it is necessary to cut it into each image forming area by adhering it to the support sheet, which requires a cutting mechanism such as a cutter, which complicates the entire device. Another problem is that the cutter tends to get dirty when cutting adhesive materials such as transfer sheets, and its maintenance is troublesome.

Therefore, the present invention can perform good transfer without causing cracks or distortions in the image, and can transfer the transfer sheet to y! ! ! It is an object of the present invention to provide an adhesive transfer method and apparatus that can simplify the configuration of the apparatus without wasting any waste.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The adhesive transfer method of the present invention involves peeling a transfer sheet, which is attached to a tilt pattern paper and is formed into a predetermined shape and has an adhesive surface, from the release paper while adhering the transfer sheet. The toner image is taken up by a transfer roller with the surface facing outward, and then this transfer roller is moved relative to a photosensitive drum carrying a toner image on its surface and is pressed against the photosensitive drum, so that both the transfer roller and the photosensitive drum are bonded together. The toner image on the photosensitive drum is transferred to the adhesive surface of the transfer sheet while rotating, and then the transfer roller is moved relative to the photosensitive drum to separate it from the photosensitive drum and to move the transfer roller relative to the pressure roller. (The transfer sheet is moved and brought into pressure contact with the pressure roller, and the transfer sheet and the transfer sheet are passed between the transfer roller and the pressure roller, and the transfer sheet is pasted to the support sheet.)

(1) The adhesive transfer device of the present invention for carrying out such a method includes a photosensitive drum, a toner image forming means for forming a toner image on the photosensitive drum, a pressure roller, and a support sheet that is conveyed toward the pressure roller. A support sheet conveying means, a peeling means for peeling off the transfer sheet attached to the release paper and formed in a predetermined shape and having a sticky surface from the release paper, and separating from both the photosensitive drum and the pusher roller. a first position, and a second position where the photosensitive drum is in pressure contact only with the photosensitive drum;
The transfer sheet is movable relative to the photosensitive drum and the pressure roller so as to assume a third position where only the pressure roller is in pressure contact with the photosensitive drum, and the transfer sheet is peeled off by the peeling means at the first position. Winding up the adhesive surface with the adhesive surface facing outward, transferring the toner image on the photosensitive drum to the adhesive surface of the transfer sheet at the second position, and transferring the toner image onto the transfer sheet at the third position. and a transfer roller for adhering the support sheet conveyed by the support sheet i-conveying means.

Note that if a heat roller is used as the pressure roller,
This is preferable because the toner image can also be fixed by the heat of the pressure roller when the transfer sheet and support sheet are attached.

(In progress) Using a transfer sheet that has been formed into a predetermined shape as described above, this transfer sheet is wound up by a transfer roller, and then the transfer roller is connected to a photosensitive drum! [l'l By selectively (Vi) contacting the pressure roller to transfer the toner image 6 and attaching the transfer sheet and the support sheet, the transfer sheet does not come into contact with the photosensitive drum and the pressure roller at the same time, and the photosensitive There is no inconvenience such as cracks in the transferred toner image due to the speed difference between the drum and the pressure roller.Furthermore, since the transfer sheet can be transferred from its edges!
! There's nothing to be proud of. Generally speaking, since the transfer sheet is pre-formed in a predetermined shape, one transfer sheet should be of a size corresponding to one image forming area, and the support sheet should also be pre-formed in the same shape. This eliminates the need for a mechanism to cut the transfer sheet to which the support sheet is attached.
It becomes possible to simplify the device and facilitate its maintenance.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an adhesive transfer device for carrying out the adhesive transfer method of the present invention.

A photosensitive drum 10 having a photoconductor 11 arranged on its circumferential surface is
It is rotated in the six directions of arrows by a driving means (not shown). Around the photosensitive drum 10, a charger 21. Exposure section? ? , wet image carrier 23. Drum drying means 24. Static eliminator 25. Cleaning roller 2
6. A toner image forming means 20 consisting of a cleaning blade 27 is arranged.

The exposure section 22 is, for example, a semiconductor laser, l-1e-N
A laser light source 22a consisting of an e-laser or the like, and a light beam (laser beam) 22 emitted from this laser light source 22a.
A light modulator 22C such as an AOM (acousto-optic modulator) that modulates the intensity of the light beam 22C, a modulation circuit 22d that drives the light modulator 22c, and a modulated light beam 221) is reflected and deflected to form a photosensitive drum. An optical deflector 22e such as a polygon mirror that scans the light beam 22b on the photosensitive drum 10 in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of rotation (six directions of arrows) of the photosensitive drum 10.
The scanning lens 22f is provided with a scanning lens 22f made of an fθ lens that focuses the beam to a uniform diameter at the top. Photosensitive drum 10
When recording an image on the drum, the drum is rotated in the six directions of the arrows and a digital image signal S0 carrying the continuous tone image is applied.
passes through the correction table 62 from the image signal supplier 61 and is sent to the /A converter 63, and the image signal @S converted into analog by the D/A converter 63 is sent to the above-mentioned modulation circuit 226.
sent to. The modulation circuit 22d drives the light modulator 22c based on the image signal Sk:l, thereby changing the light beam 22.
b is intensity-modulated in accordance with the image signal S.

As the photosensitive drum 10 rotates as described above, the photoconductor 11 moves W! It moves relative to the electric device 21 and is uniformly charged by the charger 21 at that time. The uniformly charged optical quadrupole 11 receives a light beam 22b that is deflected by the optical deflector 22e as described above! l! shot. This light beam 22b is light 1 due to Joki's surprise! The electric body 11 is scanned one-dimensionally (main scanning), and as the photosensitive drum 10 is rotated, the light beam 22b is sub-scanned, and the photoconductor 11G is then scanned two-dimensionally by the light beam 22b. be done. As mentioned earlier, this light beam 22b is the image signal S1. Therefore, on the photoconductor 11 irradiated with this light beam 22b, an electrostatic ei image of the image carried by the image signal @S is formed.

This electrostatic latent image is developed into a toner image by a wet developing device 23. This wet type developing device 23 uses a liquid developer F, which is made by dispersing fine toner particles with an electric charge in an insulating liquid.
The electrostatic latent image is developed with toner by contacting the photoconductor 11 and causing toner particles to adhere to the photoconductor 11 by electrostatic attraction.

The toner image thus formed is produced by a high-intensity light beam 2.
The portion irradiated with 2b has a lower density than the other, and the gradation of the continuous tone image carried by the image signal 3d is reproduced.

After this ms, the photosensitive drum 10 is removed from the drum drying means 24.
It is dried for 92 hours.

On the other hand, near the photosensitive drum 10, the photosensitive drum 1
0 and a heat roller 40 (described later), a second position that presses only the photosensitive drum 10, and a third position that presses only the heat roller 40 (transferable). A transfer roller 30 is disposed, and while a toner image is being formed on the photoconductor 11 as described above, this transfer roller 30 is in the first position and carries an image in advance. The transfer sheet 1, which has been formed into a suitable predetermined shape, is wound up.

The transfer sheet 1 is transparent, and as shown in FIG. 2A, a plurality of sheets are attached to a belt-shaped release paper 2 in a row, and the release paper 2 has transfer sheets on both sides thereof as shown in FIG. 2B. A stepped portion 5 having the same thickness as 1 is provided. This stepped portion 5 is to prevent the release paper 2 from becoming loose when it is wound, and this stepped portion 5 is provided with perforations 4 to allow the release paper 2 to be fed by a fixed distance. It makes it possible. The release paper 2 to which a plurality of transfer sheets 1 are attached in this way is wound around a transfer sheet supply roller 51 with the transfer sheets 1 on the outside as shown in FIG. 51 is a feeding roller 52 that is located near the transfer roller 30 and winds up the release paper 2 separated from the transfer sheet 1 by a peeling means 53 that peels off the transfer sheet 1, and rotates in the direction of arrow C. It is rotated in the direction of the arrow via rollers 54 and 55. The perforations 4 of the release paper 2 are engaged with sprockets of the feed roller 55, and as the feed roller 55 rotates, the release paper 2 is sent out by a predetermined length from the transfer sheet supply roller. The above peeling means 5
3 is a wedge-shaped support stand 5 as shown in FIG.
3a, and the release paper 2 is placed on this support stand 53a.
By conveying the transfer sheet 1 at an acute angle, the leading edge of the transfer sheet 1 is peeled off. For this reason, it is preferable that the angle θ at the tip of the support base 53a is smaller than 90''.Furthermore, the transfer roller 30 is provided with a claw portion 30a that grips the tip of the peeled transfer sheet 1. When the transfer sheet 1 is to be peeled off, the claw portion 30a is positioned near the peeling means 53, opens to the position shown in FIG. The leading edge of the sheet 1 is fixed.With the leading edge of the transfer sheet 1 fixed, the transfer roller rotates in the direction of arrow B as shown in FIG. The outer surface of the transferred transfer sheet 1 is an adhesive surface 1a.

Note that if the transfer sheet 1 does not fit well on the peripheral surface of the transfer roller, a suction means for sucking the rear end portion of the transfer sheet 1 may be provided inside the transfer roller 30.

As described above, when it is detected or determined by known means that the toner-developed portion of the photosensitive drum 1G has been conveyed to just before the position facing the transfer roller 30, the transfer roller 30 moves to the position shown in FIG. As shown, it is moved in the direction of arrow G, assumes the second position, and comes into pressure contact with the photosensitive drum 10. The transfer sheet 1 on the transfer roller 30 is pressed against the photoconductor 11, and the transfer roller 30 moves in the direction of arrow A.
As the photosensitive drum 10 rotates in the direction of arrow B, the toner image T on the photoconductor 11 is transferred to the adhesive surface 1a of the transparent transfer sheet 1.

Furthermore, before the transfer of the toner image onto the transfer sheet 1 is completed, as shown in FIG. The support sheet 3 is removed from the support sheet holding tray 43 containing the support sheet 3 by the suction means 44.
One sheet is taken out and the nearby support sheet conveying roller 41A
, 41B1. : Passed. The support sheet 3 may be taken out at any time before the transfer of the toner image to the transfer sheet 1 is completed.

When almost the entire circumference of the transfer roller 30 comes into contact with the photoconductor 11 and the transfer of the toner image onto the transfer sheet 1 is completed, the transfer roller 530 is moved in the direction of the arrow as shown in FIG. The heat roller 4, which is arranged at a third position and is away from the photosensitive drum 10 and is a pressure roller,
Pressure contact with 0. Note that the transfer roller 30 is the heat roller 4.
0, the support sheet 3 is pressed against the support sheet conveying roller 41A.

41B, it is transported so that its tip is placed at the pressure contact position P2. Further, the transfer roller 30 is connected to the transfer sheet 1
The rear end (the end opposite to the claw portion 30a) is arranged at position P2. The transfer roller 30 is driven by the heat roller 40 rotating in the direction of the arrow J to reverse the force direction of the arrow B', and transfers the support sheet 3 and the transfer sheet 1 carrying the toner image.
are conveyed in the direction of the arrow 1 by the rotating heat roller 40 and transfer roller 30 as described above, and are adhered to each other. Further, during this adhesion, the toner image is fixed by the heat of the heat roller 40. Note that the reason why the transfer roller rotates in the reverse direction when performing this adhesion is to smoothly adhere the support sheet to the portion near the end of the transfer sheet fixed by the claw portion 30a, so that the end portion can be easily attached to the transfer roller. 30, and the fixing of the transfer sheet 1 to the transfer roller 30 is V.
4. For example, when the transfer sheet is carried out by the method described above, such as suctioning the entire surface of the transfer sheet, the transfer roller 30 may be rotated in the normal direction in the direction of arrow B even during adhesion. Further, fixing by heat does not necessarily have to be performed using the heat roller 40, and the heat roller may be a normal pressure roller and a heating means may be provided separately.

In this way, the transfer sheet 1 and the support sheet 3 are pasted at position @Pz, and these sheets are transferred to the carry-out roller 42.
A and 42B, the transparent transfer sheet 1 is pasted on the support sheet 3 as shown in FIG. 6, and a continuous tone image is recorded by the toner image T between these two sheets 1. A print 6 is obtained.

After the adhesive transfer of the toner image, the photoconductor 11 is neutralized by the static eliminator 25, cleaned by the cleaning roller 26I3 and the cleaning blade 27, and is ready for use in the next image recording.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the transfer sheet is formed in advance into a size suitable for carrying one image, and is cut off by the transfer roller, and the transfer and pasting are performed by moving the transfer roller. Unlike the case where the transfer sheet comes into contact with two or more driving means at the same time, there is no problem in that the toner image is disturbed due to the speed difference between the driving means. Further, since a toner image can be formed on the entire surface of each transfer sheet 1, there is no need to waste the transfer sheet.

Furthermore, since a print for one image can be obtained immediately by pasting the transfer sheet and the support sheet, a cutter or the like is not required, and the apparatus is simplified and maintenance is facilitated.

In the above embodiment, only the transfer roller is moved relative to the photosensitive drum and the heat roller, but the above movement may be performed relatively, and the transfer roller may be moved relative to the photosensitive drum and/or the heat roller. It is also possible to move. The transfer sheet may be of any size as long as it can be wound up by a transfer roller. For example, if you want to display multiple images side by side, you can display two or more images at once. It may be something that can be supported. Further, instead of making the transfer sheet transparent, the support sheet may be made transparent, and it is sufficient if at least one of the transfer sheet and the support sheet is transparent. Furthermore, the embodiments of the present invention applied to an electrophotographic printer that records continuous tone images have been described above.
The adhesive transfer method of the present invention is similarly applicable to recording or copying black and white binary images.

(Effects of the Invention) As described in detail above, according to the adhesive transfer method and apparatus of the present invention, the transfer sheet is moved only by the rotation of the photosensitive drum when transferring the toner image, so the transfer sheet is not stretched or distorted. It is possible to perform good toner transfer with a small amount of toner without causing cracks or the like. Further, since a toner image can be formed on the entire surface of the transfer sheet, the transfer sheet can be used effectively without wasting it. Furthermore, since the transfer sheet is pre-formed in a predetermined shape, if you use a support sheet that matches the size of the transfer sheet, there is no need to cut the transfer sheet and support sheet with a cutter after pasting them together. This makes it possible to simplify the process and make maintenance easier.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of an adhesive transfer device according to an embodiment of the present invention, - Fig. 2A is a plan view of a release grinder to which a transfer sheet is attached, Fig. 2B is a cross-sectional view thereof, and Fig. 3 is a first An enlarged view of the vicinity of the peeling means of the device shown in the figure, FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the above device during transfer, FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the above amount being applied, and FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the device obtained by the above device. A perspective view of a print. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a conventional adhesive transfer device. 1...Transfer sheet 1a...Adhesive surface 2
...Release paper 3...Support sheet 10.
...Photosensitive drum 11...Photoconductor 20...
・Toner image forming means 30...transfer roller 40...
・Heat rollers 41A, 41B...Support sheet conveyance roller 53...
Peeling means Fig. 28 Fig. 2B Fig. 3

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1) A transfer sheet, which is attached to a release paper and has an adhesive surface and is formed in a predetermined shape, is peeled from the release paper and the adhesive surface is turned outward using a transfer roller. The transfer roller is then moved relative to a photosensitive drum carrying a toner image on its surface to press it against the photosensitive drum, and while the transfer roller and photosensitive drum are rotating together, the transfer roller is moved onto the adhesive surface of the transfer sheet. Transferring the toner image on the photosensitive drum, and then moving the transfer roller relative to the photosensitive drum to separate it from the photosensitive drum and moving it relative to a pressure roller to press it against the pressure roller. ,
An adhesive transfer method comprising: passing a support sheet together with the transfer sheet between a transfer roller and a pressure roller and adhering the transfer sheet to the support sheet. 2) A photosensitive drum, a toner image forming means for forming a toner image on the photosensitive drum, a pressure roller, a support sheet conveyance means for conveying a support sheet toward the pressure roller, and an adhesive surface attached to a release paper. a peeling means for peeling off a transfer sheet formed in a predetermined shape from the release paper, a first sheet separating from both the photosensitive drum and the pressure roller;
, a second position where the photosensitive drum is in pressure contact with only the photosensitive drum, and a third position where the photosensitive drum is in pressure contact with only the pressure roller. At the first position, the transfer sheet peeled off by the peeling means is wound up with the adhesive surface facing outward, and at the second position, the toner image on the photosensitive drum is transferred to the adhesive surface of the transfer sheet. and the third
An adhesive transfer device comprising a transfer roller that adheres the transfer sheet on which the toner image has been transferred and the support sheet conveyed by the support sheet conveyance means at the position. 3) The adhesive transfer device according to claim 2, wherein the pressure roller is a heat roller.