JPH0480054A - Ion flow control recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a sufficient quantity of ions to be taken out and simplify constitution of a drive circuit of a main electrode and a guard electrode by a method wherein an electrode array is composed by arranging alternately the main electrode and the guard electrode on an insulating base material, applicable voltage is controlled for the main electrodes, guard electrodes are connected to earth via a resistance under a mutually connected state or directly. CONSTITUTION:An electrode array 5 is composed by arranging alternately main electrodes 16, 16... and guard electrodes 17, 17... on an insulating substrate 15. The main electrodes 16, 16... are selectively connected to power sources 19, 19... applying specific voltage via switching elements 18, 18... or earth according to image information. Further, for the guard electrodes 17, 17..., their base edge parts 17a, 17a... are coated by a resistor layer 20 and besides, those resistor layers 20, 20... are connected to each other via a conductor layer 21, and one end of this conductor layer 21 is connected to earth.

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, 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. 12, this includes an ion generator 101 disposed near the electrostatic latent image receptor 100 and one side of an ion flow control slit 102 disposed adjacent to the ion generator 101. A plurality of control electrodes 103.10 arranged in
3... and a control circuit 104 that applies a voltage according to image information to each control electrode 103, 103....

The ion generator 101 includes a discharge wire 105 and a shield 106 surrounding the discharge wire 105.
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 then passed through the ion flow control slit 102 opened at the bottom of the seal F' 106 as a jet of ions by compressed air introduced from the nozzle 107 opened at the top of the turn l06. Exclude 8.

At this time, in the ion flow control slit 102, a large number of control electrodes 103, 103 are arranged at a predetermined pixel density along the direction perpendicular to the drawing.
03.103..., the control circuit 104 applies a voltage according to the image information.

Then, the electric field selectively formed between the control electrode 103 and the shield 106 blocks or allows the passage of the ion flow depending on the image information, so that the surface of the electrostatic latent image receptor 100 is It is configured to form an electrostatic latent image corresponding to image information using an ion flow.

However, the above technology has the following problems. That is, in the ion flow control recording device, the control circuit 10 is connected to the control electrodes 103, 103, .
4, by applying a voltage according to the image information, an electric field is selectively formed between the control electrode 103 and the node 106, and the passage of the ion flow is blocked or allowed according to the image information. , to record an electrostatic latent image.

To explain further, as shown in FIG. 13, from the control electrode 103 to which a voltage is applied, lines of electric force are generated along the electric field toward the shield 106 connected to the ground, thereby blocking the passage of the ion flow. At the same time, since no electric field is formed between the control electrode 103 and the shield 106 to which no voltage is applied, an electrostatic latent image is formed by allowing the passage of ion flow.

By the way, the control electrode 103 to which the voltage was applied as described above
Not only do electric lines of force toward the shield 106 occur, but also adjacent control electrodes 10 to which no voltage is applied are generated.
3. In other words, electric lines of force directed toward the control electrode 103 where the latent image is recorded are also generated, so as shown in FIG. It is not possible to extract enough ion current. Therefore, in the electrostatic latent image on the electrostatic latent image receptor 100, the charge density is lower in the case of 1-bit recording than in the case of continuous bit recording, and there is a problem that the image is not sufficiently developed.

Therefore, in order to solve the above problems,
Something like the one shown in Japanese Patent No. 292449 has already been proposed. As shown in FIG.
10, the main electrode 111, 111... and the guard electrode 11
2.112... are arranged alternately, and the main electrode I
When gate circuits 113, 113, . . . that apply a predetermined voltage according to image information are connected to II, Ill, . Then, gate circuits 114, 114, . . . for applying substantially the same voltage to the guard electrodes 112, 112, . It is configured.

Then, from the main electrode 111 to which the voltage is applied, the 15th
As shown in the figure, lines of electric force are generated not only toward the shield 106 but also toward the adjacent main electrode 111 to which no voltage is applied, that is, the main electrode 111 where a latent image is recorded. Next to the electrode 111 is a cart electrode 112 which is connected to ground like the main electrode 111 for recording a latent image.

Therefore, lines of electric force are generated from the main electrode 111 to which a voltage is applied toward the adjacent guard electrode 112, so no lines of electric force are generated on the side of the main electrode 111 where a latent image is recorded, and the latent image is Above the main electrode 111 that records an image, there are no lines of electric force formed by an electric field that block the passage of the ion flow, and the cross-sectional area of the region through which the ion flow passes can be enlarged. This makes it possible to extract a large amount of ion current.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, the above conventional technology has the following problems. That is, in the case of the above-mentioned proposed device, as shown in FIG. 14, a voltage is applied as a drive circuit to main electrodes 111, 111, etc. arranged according to a predetermined pixel density according to image information. Gate circuit 113.113
. . . gate circuits 114, 114 . . . which apply voltages not only to the main electrodes 111, Ill .

By the way, in the above-mentioned proposed device, it is necessary to arrange guard electrodes 112, 112, etc. between the main electrodes 111, 111, which are arranged corresponding to a predetermined recording density. , 111... and guard electrode 11
2.112..., gate circuit 113.113...
It is necessary to connect the gate circuits 114, 114, and so on, respectively. Therefore, the gate circuit 113.113.
... and the gate circuit 114, 114... are the main electrode 1
They must be arranged at a very high density, twice the recording density of 11,111....

Now, the main electrode 111, l l 1-... is set at 300 SPI.
If the array is arranged at a recording density of , the gate circuit l]3.
113... and 114.114... are double 60
It is necessary to form at a recording density of 0.3 PI, and 5120 gate circuits are required to perform A4 size recording.
3... and 114.114... are required. Therefore, the main electrodes 111, 111... and the guard electrodes 112.1 formed on one side of the ion flow control slit 102
Gate circuit 113 connected to 12...
. . , 114, 114, . . . are difficult to manufacture, resulting in a problem that not only the yield and reliability of the product decreases but also the cost increases.

[Means to solve the problem]

Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the problems of the prior art described above, and its purpose is to record an ion flow control system in which an electrode array is configured by alternately arranging main electrodes and guard electrodes. In addition to being able to extract a sufficient amount of ions in the device, it is also possible to simplify the configuration of the drive circuit for driving the main electrode and the guard electrode.
An object of the present invention is to provide an ion flow control recording device that is easy to manufacture and can be supplied at low cost.

That is, the present invention has an ion generator disposed near an electrostatic latent image receptor, and a large number of electrodes arranged on one side of an ion flow control slit provided adjacent to the ion generator. and a control circuit that applies a voltage to the electrode array according to image information, and controls the ion flow flowing out from the ion flow control slit using the electrode array, and controls the ion flow flowing out from the ion flow control slit. In the ion flow control recording device on which an electrostatic latent image is formed by the ion flow, the electrode array is formed by alternately arranging main electrodes and guard electrodes on an insulating support, and the main electrode is The applied voltage is controlled by a control circuit, and the guard electrodes are connected to each other through a resistor or directly to earth.

The ion generator used includes, for example, a discharge wire and a shield surrounding the discharge wire.

The electrode array is formed, for example, on the surface of an insulating substrate disposed on one side of the ion flow control slit, by alternately arranging main electrodes and single electrodes.

Furthermore, as the above-mentioned resistor, for example, a resistance member that connects the guard electrodes to each other is used, but is not limited to this. (If the guard electrodes are connected to each other by a conductive member, this conductive A resistor interposed between the magnetic member and ground is used.

[Effect]

In this invention, the electrode array is formed by alternately arranging main electrodes and guard electrodes on an insulating support, and the voltage applied to the main electrodes is controlled by a control circuit, and the guard electrodes are Ions are connected through a guard electrode next to the main electrode where a voltage is applied to prevent the passage of ion flow, so that they are connected to each other through a resistor or directly to ground. If there is a main electrode to which no voltage is applied to allow the passage of current, the electric field from the main electrode to which voltage is applied causes current to flow to the adjacent guard electrode, and the guard electrode becomes 0 or Ov.
The potential is higher than the potential of the main electrode to which the voltage is applied, but lower than the potential of the main electrode to which the voltage is applied. Therefore, lines of electric force are only generated from the main electrode to which voltage is applied, along with the electric field formed toward the adjacent guard electrode, and from the main electrode to which voltage is applied, through the adjacent guard electrode. Since no electric field is formed to block the passage of ion flow to the adjacent main electrodes to which no voltage is applied, no voltage is applied to the main electrodes that record electrostatic latent images, and ion flows pass through the main electrodes that record electrostatic latent images. A large spatial area is secured.

〔Example〕

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

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of the ion flow control recording device according to the present invention.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 indicates a recording head as an ion flow control recording device, and this recording head 1 includes an ion generator 3 disposed near an electrostatic latent image receptor 2, and an ion generator 3 disposed near an electrostatic latent image receptor 2. The electrode array 5 has a large number of electrodes arranged on one side of the ion flow control slit 4 provided adjacent to the ion flow control slit 3, and a control circuit 6 that applies a voltage to the electrode array 5 according to image information. .

The ion generator 3 is composed of a discharge wire 7 and a shield 8 surrounding the discharge wire 7. The shield 8 has a pair of shield members 9.9 that can be divided into left and right sides, which are spaced apart from each other, and both ends of which are connected to side plates (not shown). The upper opening 10 of the shield 8 is formed as an air introduction slit through which compressed air is introduced from the nozzle 11, and the lower opening 12 of the shield 8 is formed as a slit through which the generated ions are discharged. It is formed as an ion ejection slit. Note that a high voltage having a polarity opposite to the voltage applied to the conductor of the electrostatic latent image receptor 2 is applied to the discharge wire 7 from a high voltage power source 1.
3 and the shield 8 is connected to ground.

Further, an insulating spacer 1 is provided at the bottom of the shield 8.
An insulating substrate 15 made of glass or the like is arranged at a distance through the shield 8, and a portion defined by the lower part of the shield 8, the spacer 14, and the insulating substrate 15 communicates with the ion ejection slit 12. A control slit 4 is formed towards the electrostatic latent image receptor 2 .

Furthermore, the electrode array 5 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 (
As shown in a), a main electrode 16.1 is provided on the insulating substrate 15.
6... and guard electrodes 17, 17... are arranged alternately, and the main electrodes 16, 16... are formed in the shape of a wide band, and the base end thereof 16a
, 16a, . . . are formed with slightly narrower widths through stepped portions. Moreover, the guard electrodes 17, 17, . . . are formed in a narrow and linear shape. These main electrodes 16.1
6... and the guard electrodes 17, 17... are formed on the insulating substrate 15 by vapor deposition or the like in accordance with a predetermined resolution, and the insulating substrate 15 is assembled to the shield 8 side. It is arranged on one side of the ion flow control slit 4.

Incidentally, in this embodiment, the voltage applied to the main electrode is controlled by a control circuit, and the guard electrodes are configured to be connected to each other and connected to ground via a resistor.

That is, as shown in FIG. 16, the main electrodes 16, 16, . . . Connections are made selectively depending on the information.

Moreover, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2(a), the guard electrodes 17, 17, . . .
... are covered with a resistor layer 20, and these resistor layers 20... are connected to each other via a conductive layer 21, and one end of this conductive layer 21 is connected to ground. ing. The resistor layer 20 has base end portions 17 of guard electrodes 17, 17... on the surface of the insulating substrate 15.
a, 17a, . . . and a predetermined distance W from the tip of the guard electrode 17, 17a, . This resistor layer 20
For example, a resistor such as silicon nitride is used to cover the base end portions 17a, 17a, . is formed.

Note that the resistor layer 20 has guard electrodes 17, 17...
・Only connects the main electrodes 16.16 to each other.
As shown in FIG. 1, the base end portions 16a, 16a, and so on are covered with an insulating layer 22 so that they are not connected to the guard electrodes 17, 17, and so on.

The thickness and width of the resistor layer 20 are determined by the resistance value to be set and the specific resistivity of the resistor. Although it varies depending on the capability of the circuit, it is set to several tens of MΩ or less.

Further, the resistor layer 20 and the insulating layer 22 can be easily formed by using a large area photolithography technique or the like.

That is, the main electrodes 16, 16... and the guard electrodes 17
．． The insulating layer 22 is formed by applying a predetermined masking etc. on the insulating substrate 15 on which the insulating layer 21 is formed, and by applying or vapor depositing an insulating material only at the position where the insulating layer 21 is to be formed, for example. Then, the resistor layer 20 can be formed by applying or vapor-depositing the resistor only at the position where the resistor layer 20 is to be formed, by applying a predetermined masking or the like.

In the above configuration, in the case of the ion flow control recording apparatus according to this embodiment, an electrostatic latent image is recorded by the ion flow as follows. That is, in order to record an electrostatic latent image using an ion flow, a high voltage is applied to the discharge wire 7 of the ion generator 3 to generate a corona discharge, as shown in FIG. Generates ions. The ions generated by this corona discharge are then discharged as a jet of ions from the ion flow control slit 4 opened at the bottom of the shield 8 by compressed air introduced from the nozzle 11 opened at the top of the shield 8. .

At this time, an electrode array 5 consisting of main electrodes 16, 16, guard electrodes 17, 17, etc. is arranged on one side of the ion flow control slit 4, as shown in FIG. The main electrodes 16, 16, and 16 of this electrode array 5...
A voltage corresponding to the image information is applied by the control circuit 6 to. Then, the main electrodes 16, 16... and the shield 8
By blocking or allowing the passage of the ion flow depending on the image information by an electric field selectively formed between the
An electrostatic latent image corresponding to image information is formed on the surface of the electrostatic latent image receptor 2 by the ion flow.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 16, a predetermined voltage is applied by the power source 19 to the main electrodes 16, 16, which do not record electrostatic latent images, and the electrostatic latent images are The main electrodes 16, 16, . . . for recording are connected to ground. Therefore, an electric field directed toward the shield 8 is generated from the main electrode 16 to which the voltage is applied, and lines of electric force directed toward the shield 8 are generated by this electric field. Note that this first
The example shown in FIG. 6 shows a case where an electrostatic latent image is recorded using only one main electrode 16.

In addition, the guard electrodes 17, 17, .
A resistor layer 20 is formed on a portion of the resistor layers 17a, 17a, . The equivalent circuit of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2(b) is as shown in FIG. Note that even in the case of FIG. 2(b), the base end portions of the main electrodes 16, 16... are connected to the guard electrodes 17, 17 through the insulating layer 22 (not shown).
Of course, it is insulated from the base end portions 17a, 17a, . . .

By the way, the guard electrode 17 provided between the main electrodes 16
As shown in FIG. 1, the resistor layer 20 and the conductive layer 21
Since the guard electrode 17 is connected to the ground through the guard electrode 17, a small current flows through the guard electrode 17 due to the electric field from the main electrode 16 to which a voltage is applied, as shown in FIG. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6(a), the voltage of the guard electrode 17 connected to the ground through the resistor layer 20 is higher than the potential of the main electrode 16 connected to the ground, that is, the ground potential. It becomes a predetermined potential lower than the potential of the applied main electrode 16 and close to the ground potential.

Therefore, from the main electrode 16 to which the voltage is applied, the fifth
As shown in the figure, lines of electric force are generated toward the guard electrode 17, which has a predetermined potential close to the adjacent ground potential, and the adjacent main electrode records the electrostatic latent image via the guard electrode 17. No electric lines of force are generated on the 16 side. Therefore, no electric field is generated and lines of electric force are not formed above the main electrode 16 where the electrostatic latent image is recorded, so that the cross-sectional area of the ion flow passage area is increased. As shown by the solid line in FIG. 6(b), a sufficient ion flow can be extracted compared to the conventional case shown by the broken line.

In this way, no lines of electric force are generated above the main electrode 16 that records the electrostatic latent image, which prevents the passage of the ion flow, and the cross-sectional area of the ion flow region can be made large, so that sufficient It becomes possible to extract the ion flow. The electrostatic latent image potential does not change significantly depending on the recording pattern, and can be developed uniformly.

Moreover, it is not necessary to connect a drive circuit independently and apply a predetermined voltage to the cart electrodes 7, 17, which are arranged alternately with the main electrodes 16, 16, and so on.
．． Even when the guard electrodes 17 17... are arranged alternately with the main electrodes 16, 16...
Since it is only necessary to drive only the control circuits 6, and there is no need to arrange the control circuits 6 in a high density, manufacturing becomes easy and can be manufactured at low cost.

FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of the ion flow control recording device according to the present invention, and the same parts as in the previous embodiment are given the same reference numerals. In this embodiment, the guard electrode For some reason, they are not connected to each other through a resistor layer, but directly to ground through a conductor layer.

That is, as shown in FIG. 7, the guard electrodes 17, 17, . . . have their base ends 17a, 17a, .
One end of is connected to ground.

In such a case, no electrostatic latent image is recorded, that is, the main electrode 16 to which a predetermined voltage is applied by the power source 19
．． Guard electrode 17 located next to 16...
* is always connected to the ground via the conductive layer 21. Therefore, lines of electric force are generated from the main electrode 16 to which a voltage is applied toward the adjacent guard electrode 17 held at the ground potential, and an adjacent electrostatic latent image is recorded via this guard electrode 17. No electric lines of force are generated on the side of the main electrode 16, which allows the cross-sectional area of the ion flow passage region to be increased, making it possible to extract a sufficient ion flow.

Other configurations and functions are the same as in the previous embodiment, so
The explanation will be omitted.

FIG. 8 shows another embodiment of the ion flow control recording device according to the present invention, and the same parts as in the previous embodiment are given the same reference numerals. In this embodiment, the guard electrode They are not connected to each other via a resistor layer, but rather via a conductor layer, and this conductor layer is connected to ground via a resistor.

That is, as shown in FIG. 8, the guard electrodes 17, 17, . . . have their base ends 17a, 17a, .
One end of is connected to ground via a resistor 23.

In such a case, no electrostatic latent image is recorded, that is, the main electrode 16 to which a predetermined voltage is applied by the power source 19
．． Guard electrode 17 located next to 16...
- is connected to the ground via the conductive layer 2 and the resistor 23. Therefore, lines of electric force are generated from the main electrode 16 to which a voltage is applied toward the guard electrode 17 connected to the ground via the adjacent conductive layer 21 and resistor 23, and this guard electrode 17 is at the ground potential. , but significantly lower than the voltage applied to the main electrode 16. Therefore, no electric lines of force are generated from the main electrode (6) to which a voltage is applied to the adjacent main electrode (16) that records an electrostatic latent image via this guard electrode (17), and the ion flow passes through the area. The cross-sectional area of the ion beam can be increased, making it possible to extract a sufficient amount of ion flow.

Other configurations and functions are the same as in the previous embodiment, so
The explanation will be omitted.

FIG. 9 shows still another embodiment of the ion flow control recording device according to the present invention, and the same parts as in the previous embodiment are given the same reference numerals. In this embodiment, The main electrodes 16, 16, . . . are formed in a narrow linear shape, and the cart electrodes 17, 17, . . . are formed in a wide band shape. And the main electrode 16.1
6..., as shown in FIG. 10, is a power supply 1 that applies a predetermined voltage via switching elements 18, 18...
9.19... or ground, depending on the image information.

In such a case, it is effective to record the electrostatic latent image by uniformly charging the surface of the electrostatic latent image receptor 2 in advance and then irradiating the electrostatic latent image with an ion stream using the recording head l. That is, the main electrodes 16, 16, which are formed with a narrow width.
When recording an electrostatic latent image using Image formation becomes possible.

The other configurations and operations are the same as those of the previous embodiment, so their explanation will be omitted.

[Effects of the Invention 1] This invention has the above-described configuration and operation, and it is possible to extract a sufficient amount of ions in an ion flow control recording device in which the electrode array is configured by alternately arranging main electrodes and cart electrodes. Of course, the structure of the drive circuit for driving the main electrode and the guard electrode can be simplified, and an ion flow control recording device that is easy to manufacture and can be supplied at low cost can be provided.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the main parts of an embodiment of the ion flow control recording device according to the present invention, FIGS. 2(a) and (b) are plan views showing the main parts, and FIG. 3 is the electrode FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing an example of the ion flow control recording device. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the electrode array. FIG. A graph showing the potential state of
FIG. 6(b) is a graph showing the flow rate of ions, FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing an electrode array according to another embodiment, FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing an electrode array according to another embodiment, and FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing an electrode array according to still another embodiment, FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram showing a drive circuit of the embodiment of FIG.
Fig. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the electrode array, Fig. 12 is a sectional view showing an example of a conventional ion flow control recording device,
3 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the device shown in FIG. 12, FIG. 14 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the ion flow control recording device according to another conventional proposal, and FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the operation of the device shown in FIG. 14. An explanatory diagram showing the operation, FIG. 16 is a configuration diagram showing a drive circuit for the electrode array. [Explanation of symbols] 1... Recording head 2... Electrostatic latent image receptor 3... Ion generator 4... Ion flow control slit 5... Electrode array 6... Control circuit 16. ...Main electrode 17...Guard electrode 20...Resistor layer Figure ↑ Figure Electrode position! Electrode position Figure Figure Figure 10 Figure 11 ↓ □ First a → Tough Figure 12 Figure 13 → π 7← →〒 τ← Figure 14 Figure 15 ÷ 〃Chig

Claims (1)

[Claims] an ion generator disposed near the electrostatic latent image receptor; an electrode array formed by arranging a large number of electrodes on one side of an ion flow control slit provided adjacent to the ion generator; and a control circuit that applies a voltage to the electrode array according to image information, the ion flow flowing out from the ion flow control slit is controlled using the electrode array, and the ion flow is applied onto the electrostatic latent image receptor by the ion flow. In an ion flow control recording device that forms an electrostatic latent image, the electrode array is formed by alternately arranging main electrodes and guard electrodes on an insulating support, and the main electrodes are controlled by an applied voltage by a control circuit. An ion flow control recording device characterized in that the guard electrodes are connected to each other and connected to ground through a resistor or directly.