JPH0453763A - Ion current control recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a compact device capable of generating ions efficiently by installing a static latent image receptor opposed to an electricity discharge space in a recording head where the first and the third electrode member are arranged alternately against the second electrode member, and applying a high voltage to an area between the first and the third electrode member as well as the first ad the second electrode members according to image information. CONSTITUTION:A recording head 1 consists of individual electrodes 3, 3... installed on an insulating substrate 2 according to image density, a discharge electrode 5 which is mounted on insulating film 4 covering the top area or the electrodes 3, 3... excepting part or their top area and forms a discharge area 6 and individual electrodes 8, 8... which form a discharge space 10 between the individual electrode and the discharge electrode 5 on the insulating film 7 formed on the discharge electrode 5 in accordance with image density. The individual electrodes 3, 3... are arranged alternately at positions opposed to the discharge spaces 6, 10. On the other hand, a dielectrics drum 15 as a static latent receptor is provided at a position where the recording head 1 is opposed to the discharge spaces 6, 10. A pulse voltage is applied to the individual electrodes 3, 3... and the individual electrodes 8, 8... using a pulse power supply 12 in accordance with image information.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an ion flow control recording device used in printers, facsimile machines, and the like.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, this type of ion flow control recording device has been disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 61-243466 and U.S. Pat. No. 4.160.2.
There are some as shown in Publication No. 57 and the like.

As shown in FIG. 7, this is a flat dielectric substrate 10.
On one side of the dielectric substrate 100, a plurality of first electrodes 101, 101, .
are provided in parallel to each other so as to intersect with the first electrodes 101, 101..., and the first electrodes 101, 101... are provided with second electrodes 102, 102,... as shown in FIG.・
・Opening for ion generation 103.103 at the position intersecting with
... to form. Then, the surface of the dielectric substrate 100 on the side of the first electrodes 101, 101... is attached to the electrostatic latent image receptor 10.
The first electrodes 101, 101...
By selectively applying an AC high voltage between the ion generation openings 103, 103, and the second electrodes 102, 102, and the second electrodes 102, 102, the dielectric substrate 10
0, and ions generated by this creeping discharge are electrostatically attached to the surface of the electrostatic latent image receptor 104 to form an electrostatic latent image according to image information. It is composed of

Further, as this type of ion flow control recording device, there is one shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 190854/1983. As shown in FIG. 9, this includes an ion generator Ill disposed near the electrostatic latent image receptor 110 and an ion flow control slit 1 disposed adjacent to the ion generator Ill.
A plurality of control electrodes 113, 113 arranged on one side of 12.
. . , and a control circuit 114 that applies a voltage according to image information to each control electrode +13, 113, .

The ion generator 111 includes a discharge wire 115 and a shield 116 surrounding the discharge wire 115.
A corona discharge is generated by applying a high voltage to the electrode, and ions are generated by this corona discharge. The ions generated by this corona discharge are discharged as a jet of ions from the ion flow control slit 112 opened at the bottom of the shield 116 by compressed air introduced from the nozzle 117 opened at the top of the shield 116. .

At this time, in the ion flow control slit 112, a large number of control electrodes 113, 113, . - A voltage according to the image information is applied by the control circuit l14.

Then, an electric field selectively formed between the control electrode 113 and the shield 116 blocks or allows the passage of the ion flow depending on the image information, thereby forming an image on the surface of the electrostatic latent image receptor 110. It is configured to form an electrostatic latent image according to information using an ion flow.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, the above conventional technology has the following problems. That is, in the case of the former ion flow control recording device, the first electrode 1 is provided on both the front and back surfaces of the dielectric substrate 100.
01.101... and the second electrode 102.102...
At the same time, the first electrodes 101, 101, and
. . ., a large number of openings 103, 103 . Also,
An opening 103 for ion generation is formed on the surface of the dielectric substrate 100.
103... are formed in a matrix, and the side on which the ion generation openings 103, 103... are formed is arranged so as to face the electrostatic latent image receptor 104, Moreover, the first electrode 101101... and the second electrode 101101...
It is necessary to attach members such as connectors around the dielectric substrate 100 to connect the electrodes 102, 102, . There was a problem in that it became thick (and the device became larger).

In the case of the latter ion flow control recording device, the ion flow generated by the ion generator 111 is prevented from passing through the ion flow control slit 112.
Since the ion flow is configured to be controlled by control electrodes 113, 113, etc. provided in output efficiency is low (
The problem was that it was not suitable for high-speed recording. Furthermore, a compressed air supply means and the like for discharging the ion jet from the ion flow control slit 112 are required, which increases the number of equipment required for the entire apparatus, resulting in an increase in cost.

[Means to solve the problem]

Therefore, the present invention was made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and its purpose is to provide a device with a simple configuration, easy to manufacture, and to be able to supply at low cost. Another object of the present invention is to provide an ion flow control recording device that can be downsized, generate ions efficiently, and perform high-speed recording.

That is, the present invention includes an insulating substrate, a first electrode member provided on the insulating substrate according to pixel density, and a partial area of the first electrode member on the first electrode member. a first insulating member that is covered with the first insulating member, a second electrode member that is provided on the first insulating member and forms a discharge space between the partial region, and the second electrode. a second insulating member provided on the member; and a third insulating member provided on the second insulating member according to the pixel density and forming a second discharge space between the second electrode member and the second insulating member. a recording head having an electrode member, wherein the first electrode member and the third electrode member are alternately arranged with respect to the second electrode member, and the recording head is arranged opposite to the discharge space of the recording head. and a voltage applying means for applying a high voltage between the first electrode member, the third electrode member, and the second electrode member according to image information. It is composed of

The voltage applying means may be connected to each second electrode member via a resistor, for example.

[Effect]

In this invention, the recording head includes an insulating substrate, a first electrode member provided on the insulating substrate according to the pixel density, and a first electrode member provided on the first electrode member. a first insulating member covered except for a partial region; a second electrode member provided on the first insulating member and forming a discharge space between the partial region; A second insulating member provided on the second electrode member and a second discharge space formed between the second insulating member and the second electrode member provided in accordance with the pixel density on the second insulating member. The first electrode member and the third electrode member are arranged alternately with respect to the second electrode member.

Therefore, the recording head has a simple structure and can be easily manufactured by laminating an electrode member and an insulating member on an insulating substrate. Furthermore, since there is no need to provide an opening for ion ejection in the electrode member, manufacturing is facilitated from this point as well. Furthermore, the recording head has an electrode member and an insulating member laminated on an insulating substrate, and
Moreover, since the discharge area formed between the first electrode member, the third electrode member, and the second electrode member is arranged to face the electrostatic latent image receptor, the recording head Since only the space required on the latent image receptor is equal to its thickness, the device can be significantly miniaturized. Further, the recording head is arranged such that its discharge area faces the electrostatic latent image receptor, and the ion current generated by the discharge generated in this discharge area does not pass through a slit or the like.
Since the ion stream is emitted directly onto the electrostatic latent image receptor, the ion current can be extracted efficiently, and high-speed recording requires charging the electrostatic latent image receptor to a predetermined potential in a short time. It is also possible to respond to

Furthermore, since a means for supplying compressed air for ejecting the ion stream is not required, the configuration of the apparatus can be simplified.

Further, a third electrode member is provided on the second electrode member via a second insulating member according to the pixel density, and forms a second discharge space between the second electrode member and the second electrode member. An electrode member is provided, and the first electrode member and the third electrode member are arranged alternately with respect to the second electrode member. Therefore, by recording an electrostatic latent image using the first electrode member and the third electrode member arranged alternately, it is possible to increase the recording density of the electrostatic latent image.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be explained below based on illustrated embodiments.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show an embodiment of the ion flow control recording device according to the present invention. In the figure, l indicates a recording head, and this recording head 1 is equipped with an insulating substrate 2 having a planar rectangular shape and having a thickness of, for example, 1 to 2 m. This insulating substrate 2 is formed of, for example, ceramics such as alumina and zirconia, synthetic resins such as Bakelite and glass epoxy, or inorganic materials such as glass and mica.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, on the surface of the insulating substrate 2, a large number of individual electrodes 3.3 are provided as first electrodes, and these individual electrodes 3.3 ···teeth,
For example, it is made of a conductive material such as nickel, tungsten, or platinum. In addition, these individual electrodes 3.3
. . are provided linearly along the width direction of the insulating substrate 2, and are arranged parallel to each other at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction of the insulating substrate 2, as shown in FIG. has been done. The individual electrodes 3.3... are, for example, 300
They are arranged to correspond to a recording density of ~400 dpi. Further, the tips of the individual electrodes 3, 3, . . . are formed to match the tips of the insulating substrate 2.

An insulating film 4 is laminated on the surface of the individual electrodes 3.3, and this insulating film 4 includes:
For example, a polyimide film or the like having a thickness of 25 to 50 μm is used. The tip of this insulating film is located in front of the tip of the insulating substrate 2, and
The tip portion 3a of...

3a... is exposed.

Further, a single discharge electrode 5 as a second electrode is laminated on the surface of the insulating film 4, and this discharge electrode 5 may be made of, for example, stainless steel with a thickness of 0.05~3. A conductive material made of metal is used. The tip of the discharge electrode 5 is 0.05 to
1. It is located on the front side by about O+nm and is arranged so as to protrude from the tip of the insulating film 4 by about 0.01 to 1.0 mm. By doing this, there is a gap between the individual electrodes 3.3... and the tip of the discharge electrode 5.
A discharge space 6 is formed.

Further, on the surface of the discharge electrode 5, an insulating substrate on which individual electrodes 8, 8, . 9 are stacked. These individual electrodes 8.8...
- and the insulating substrate 9 are constructed in the same manner as the individual electrodes 3.3, . . . and the insulating substrate 2.

That is, as the insulating film 7, like the insulating film 4, a polyimide film or the like having a thickness of 25 to 50 μm is used, for example. The tip of this insulating film 7 is located closer to the front than the tip of the insulating substrate 2, so that the tips 8a, 8a, . . . of the individual electrodes 8, 8, . . . are exposed. .

Further, on the surface of the insulating film 7, individual electrodes 8.8 as third electrodes are arranged in a laminated state, and these individual electrodes 8.8 are made of, for example, nickel or tungsten. , made of conductive material such as platinum. Further, these individual electrodes 8.8... are provided linearly along the width direction of the insulating substrate 9, similar to the individual electrodes 3.3... shown in FIG. They are arranged parallel to each other at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction of the insulating substrate 9. The individual electrodes 8.8... are, for example, 3
They are arranged corresponding to recording densities of 00 to 400 dpi.

Furthermore, the tips of the individual electrodes 8.8... are connected to the insulating substrate 9.
It is formed to match the tip of the

The insulating substrate 9 is formed into a planar rectangular shape with a thickness of 1 to 2 mm, for example, and may be made of, for example, ceramics such as alumina or zirconia, synthetic resins such as Bakelite or glass epoxy, or It is formed from inorganic materials such as glass and mica.

Note that the tip of the discharge electrode 5 is 0.05~! , located on the front side by about OM and 0.01 to 1.0 u from the tip of the insulating film 7
It is arranged so that it protrudes by about ++. By doing so, a discharge space 10 is formed between the individual electrodes 8,8... and the tip of the discharge electrode 5.

By the way, the individual electrodes 3.3... provided on the surface of the insulating substrate 2 and the individual electrodes 8.8... provided on the surface of the insulating substrate 9 as described above are shown in FIG. like,
Their positions are shifted from each other by a distance of half the arrangement pitch, and as a result, the individual electrodes 3.3... and the individual electrodes 8.8
... are arranged in a staggered manner with respect to the discharge electrode 5.

As shown in FIG. 5, each individual electrode 3.3... and each individual electrode 8.8... of the recording head l has
A pulse power source 11 and a pulse power source 12 are connected to apply a pulse voltage of -100 to -400 V depending on image information. These pulse power supplies 11 and pulse power supplies 1
2, as shown in FIG. 5, when recording an electrostatic latent image, individual electrodes 3.3... and each individual electrode 8.8...
・No pulse voltage is applied to the individual electrode 3.3.
. . . and each individual electrode 8.8 .
And it is configured to apply a pulse voltage of -100 to -400V to each individual electrode 8.8. Further, a resistor 13.13 of 1 to 200 MΩ is connected in series to each individual electrode 3.3... and each individual electrode 8.8. ... is for controlling the discharge intensity during discharge and at the same time equalizing the intensity of discharge occurring at various locations.

Further, a DC power supply 14 that applies a DC high voltage of -500 to -1500V is connected to the discharge electrode 5, and the discharge electrode 5 is always - A high DC voltage of 500 to -1500V is applied.

The voltage constantly applied to the discharge electrode 5 is set to a value that alone causes discharge to occur between the individual electrodes 3.3, . . . and the individual electrodes 8, 8, . That is, when recording an electrostatic latent image, since no voltage is applied to the individual electrodes 3.3... and the individual electrodes 8.8... by the pulse power source 12, the individual electrodes 3.3... and individual electrode 8
．． A high DC voltage of -500 to -1500V is applied between the individual electrodes 3.3... and the discharge electrodes 5 by the DC power supply 14 alone, and the individual electrodes 3.3... and the individual electrodes 8.8...
A discharge occurs between the electrode 5 and the discharge electrode 5.

On the other hand, when an electrostatic latent image is not recorded, a pulse voltage of -100 to -400V is applied to the individual electrodes 3.3 and 8.8 by the pulse power source 12. In order to
．． 8... and the discharge electrode 5, a voltage (-1
00 to -1400V) is applied to the individual electrodes 3.
3... and between the individual electrodes 8, 8... and the discharge electrode 5, no discharge occurs.

On the other hand, at a position facing the discharge space 6.1° of the recording head 1, as shown in FIG. 2, a dielectric drum 15 as an electrostatic latent image receptor is rotatably arranged. The dielectric drum 15 is composed of a metal drum 16 made of aluminum or the like, and a dielectric layer 17 formed on the surface thereof. A high DC voltage of +5ooV to +2oooV is applied to this dielectric drum 15 by a DC power supply 18.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 19 indicates an electrode provided on the front end surface of the insulating substrate 2.9, and this electrode 19 is for forming an electric field between the recording head l and the dielectric drum 15. and is connected to ground.

With the above configuration, in the ion flow control recording apparatus according to this embodiment, an ion flow is generated in the following manner, and an electrostatic latent image is recorded by the generated ion flow.

That is, while the dielectric drum 10 is being rotated at a predetermined process speed, a high DC voltage of -500 to -1500 V is constantly applied to the discharge electrode 5 of the recording head l by the DC power supply 14, and at the same time, a high DC voltage of -500 to -1500 V is constantly applied to the discharge electrode 5 of the recording head l. A pulse voltage of -100 to -400 V is applied to the individual electrodes 3, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 9, 8, 8, 8, 8, 7, 8, 8, 8, 5 V puls volts from a pulse power source 12 as possible.

By doing this, as shown in FIG. 6, the individual electrodes 3.3... and the individual electrodes 8 to which no pulse voltage is applied
．． 8..., i.e. individual electrodes 3.3 held at oV
... and the individual electrodes 8.8... have a potential difference with the discharge electrode 5 at a DC voltage (-500 to -
1500V), so the individual electrode 3.3.
... and the discharge electrode 5, as shown in FIG. 6, from the edge of the discharge electrode 5 to the individual electrodes 3.3 and 8.8... A discharge R occurs. Then, molecules in the air are charged by this discharge R, and positive and negative ions (2) are generated. However, since a high DC voltage with positive polarity on the dielectric drum 15 side is applied between the discharge electrode 5 and the dielectric drum 10, the voltage between the discharge electrode 5 and the dielectric drum 15 is An electric field E is formed from the dielectric drum 15 toward the discharge electrode 5. Therefore, the positive polarity ion ■ is exposed to this electric field E
is pulled back toward the discharge electrode 5 side, collides with the discharge electrode 5, and loses charge.

On the other hand, the negative polarity ions (2) are carried toward the dielectric drum 15 as an ion stream S by the electric field, and electrostatically adhere to the surface of the dielectric drum 15 to form an electrostatic latent image.

On the other hand, when recording an electrostatic latent image, the individual electrodes 3
．． Pulse power supply 12 to 3... and individual electrodes 8, 8...
Since a pulse voltage of -100 to -400v is applied by the individual electrodes 3.3... and the individual electrodes 8.8...
The voltage of the DC power supply 14 (-5
00~-1500V) to pulse power supply 12 (7) voltage (
-100 to -400V) minus the voltage (-100 to -1
400V)L is not applied, and no discharge occurs between the individual electrodes 3.3 and 8.8 and the discharge electrode 5.

In this way, the recording head 1 includes an insulating substrate 2 and individual electrodes 3 provided on the insulating substrate 2 according to the pixel density.
．． 3..., an insulating film 4 covering the individual electrodes 3.3... except for a part of the area, and an insulating film 4 provided on the insulating film 4 and between the part of the area. a single discharge electrode 5 forming a discharge space 6;
An insulating film 7 provided above, and individual electrodes 8,8, .
and the individual electrodes 3.3... and the individual electrodes 8.8.
... are arranged alternately with respect to the discharge electrode 5.

Therefore, the recording head l has a simple structure, with individual electrodes 3.3..., individual electrodes 8.8... on the insulating substrate 2.
- It can be easily manufactured by laminating the discharge electrode 5, the insulating film 4.7, and the insulating substrate 9, and can be supplied at low cost. In addition, individual electrodes 3.3..., individual electrodes 8.8..., and discharge electrodes 5
Since there is no need to provide an opening for ion release in the
From this point of view as well, manufacturing becomes easy.

Further, the recording head 1 has individual electrodes 3.3, . . . , individual electrodes 8.8, . In a laminated state, individual electrodes 3.3... and individual electrodes 8.8
A discharge region 6.1 formed between ... and the discharge electrode 5
Since the recording head 1 is disposed so as to face the dielectric drum 15, the space occupied by the recording head 1 on the dielectric drum 15 is small, and the apparatus can be miniaturized.

Further, the recording head 1 is arranged such that its discharge area 6 faces the dielectric drum 15, and the ion current S generated by the creeping corona discharge R generated in the discharge area 6 and IO is transmitted through the slit. Since the ion stream S is emitted directly onto the dielectric drum io without passing through the ion stream S, the ion current S can be efficiently extracted and it becomes possible to cope with high-speed recording.

Furthermore, since a means for supplying compressed air for ejecting the ion stream is not required, the configuration of the apparatus can be simplified.

Further, on the discharge electrode 5, individual electrodes 8,8, . and the individual electrodes 3.3... and the individual electrodes 8.8...
* are arranged alternately with respect to the discharge electrode 5. Therefore, the individual electrodes 3.3 and 3.
By recording an electrostatic latent image using the individual electrodes 8.8, . . . , the recording density of the electrostatic latent image can be increased.

In this embodiment, since the individual electrodes 3.3... and the individual electrodes 8.8... are arranged with the insulating film 4.7 and the discharge electrode 5 interposed therebetween, the individual electrodes 3.3... and the individual electrodes 8.8... 3.
As shown in FIG. 6, the recording positions of the individual electrodes 8,8, . . . on the surface of the dielectric drum I5 are shifted by a distance δ along the direction of rotation thereof. Therefore, when one line is recorded by the individual electrodes 3.3, . . . and the individual electrodes 8, 8, .

Therefore, in this embodiment, in order to prevent the recording positions of the individual electrodes 3.3... and the individual electrodes 8.8...
The voltage application timing of the pulse power source 12 is mutually controlled. That is, by making the voltage application timings of the pulse power source 12 that applies pulse voltages to the individual electrodes 3.3... and the individual electrodes 8, 8, . . . different by the time t, the individual electrodes 3.3... ... and the individual electrodes 8.8... are made to match their recording positions with each other. Here, the above time t is the individual electrode 3.3.
... and the individual electrodes 8.8... divided by the circumferential speed of the dielectric drum 15.

Experimental example The present inventors actually prototyped an ion flow control recording device as shown in Figure 2, and in order to evaluate the amount of ions generated, the inventors recorded an electrostatic latent image equivalent to an A4 size recording paper. We conducted an experiment to perform the following.

As a result, it was found that it was possible to record 20 to 40 sheets/minute on A4 size recording paper. Also, the recording density is 24
It was possible to record dots/m.

Comparative Example It is known that a recording device using the principle shown in FIG. 7 is capable of recording 40 to 60 sheets/minute on A4 size recording paper, and can record at a recording density of 10 dots/m. is,
According to experiments conducted by the present inventors, a recording device using the principle shown in FIG.
It is known that it is possible to record

As is clear from this result, although the apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention records fewer sheets of paper equivalent to A4 size recording paper than the conventional apparatus shown in FIG. It was found that the apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention has sufficient recording performance considering the simple structure of the apparatus and the small space required for the apparatus.

Furthermore, it has been found that the recording density can be nearly doubled compared to conventional devices.

〔Effect of the invention〕

This invention has the above-described structure and operation, and the device is easy to manufacture and can be supplied at low cost.
It is possible to provide an ion flow control recording device that can be miniaturized, generate ions efficiently, and perform high-speed recording. It is also possible to increase the recording density of electrostatic latent images.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the ion flow control recording device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the same ion flow control recording device, and FIG. 3 is a front view showing the shape of the individual electrodes. Fourth
The figure is a cross-sectional view showing the arrangement of individual electrodes, FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing the discharge state of the individual electrodes, FIG.
The figures are a sectional view and a plan view showing a conventional ion flow control recording device, and FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing another conventional ion flow control recording device. [Explanation of symbols] 1...Recording head 2...Insulating substrate 3...Individual electrode 4.7...Insulating film 5...Discharge electrode Patent Applicant: Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. Agent Person Patent Attorney Tomohiro Nakamura (1 other person) Figure 4 Figure 4

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) An insulating substrate, a first electrode member provided on the insulating substrate according to the pixel density, and covering the first electrode member except for a part of the first electrode member. a first insulating member provided on the first insulating member,
a second electrode member that forms a discharge space between the partial region; a second insulating member provided on the second electrode member; a third electrode member that is provided accordingly and forms a second discharge space between the second electrode member, and the first electrode member and the third electrode member are connected to the second electrode member. recording heads arranged alternately with respect to the members; electrostatic latent image receptors arranged facing the discharge space of the recording heads; the first electrode member, the third electrode member, and the second electrode member; 1. An ion flow control recording device comprising: voltage application means for applying a high voltage between the electrode member and the electrode member according to image information. (2) The ion flow control recording device according to claim 1, wherein the voltage applying means is connected to an electrode member via a resistor.