JPH0510237B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] Technical field The present invention relates to an image forming method.

Prior Art Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 1A, this type of image forming method involves applying heat with a thermal head 4 from the base layer 1 side of an ink film 3 consisting of a base layer 1 and a solid ink layer 2. , a part of the solid ink layer 2 is melted as a transfer ink 2a to form a recording paper 5.
There is a thermal transfer method that transfers images. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5B, there is also one in which magnetic powder is contained in the solid ink layer 2 to aid the transfer of the ink, and a magnetic field is applied by a magnet 6 during the transfer. Furthermore, for the same purpose, there is also a device in which the ink in the solid ink layer 2 is made conductive so that an electric field is applied between it and the counter electrode 7, as shown in FIG.

According to this method, since the ink is in the form of a solid sheet, the printer is easy to carry.
However, the ink film 3 can be used only once and is uneconomical. Further, a thermal head 4 is disposed on the base layer 1 side, and heat must be applied across the base layer 1 in order to thermally melt the ink. Therefore, even if the melting temperature of the solid ink is 70 to 80°C, the thermal head 4
To do this, a current must be passed that generates heat equivalent to 400 to 500 degrees Celsius, which requires a large amount of recording energy.

Purpose The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and provides an image forming method that can record with low energy consumption and consume ink economically while ensuring ease of portability. The purpose is to provide

Configuration An embodiment of the present invention will be described based on FIG. 2. First, ink material 1 used in this example
0 is made of a material with a matrix bonded linear structure (plastic xotropic) and has the property of Newtonian flow when shearing force is applied. and,
When in a fluid state, the toner particles in the ink material 10 are released and have the property of electrophoresing under the influence of an electric field. Specifically, carbon black: 15g, low viscosity ethyl hydroxyl cellulose: 80g, 6% zirconium ophlate: 5
g, IsopargG: 400g are mixed and stirred.

Such an ink material 10 is stored in a hopper 12 disposed opposite to the roller 11 and brought into contact with the roller 11. Here, a part of the hopper 12 is provided with a blade 13 set so that the gap with the roller 11 is a predetermined size, and the thermal head 14 is arranged inside the blade 13 using this blade. The thermal head 14 has a large number of heating resistors arranged in a line in the axial direction of the roller 11.

If the roller 11 is now stationary, the ink material 10 will not exhibit fluidity. Therefore, the printer can be easily carried around with the ink material 10 inside.

Thus, during recording, the roller 11 is rotated in the direction of the arrow. When the roller 11 rotates, shearing force is applied to the ink material 10, and the ink material 10 has some fluidity. However, the blade 13 and roller 11
It does not reach the point where it passes through the gap between the two. In this state, the necessary heating resistors of the thermal head 14 are energized according to the image signal, and the image is transferred onto the recording paper 15 by pressure onto the roller 11. At this time, the ink in the fluid state forms an electric double layer and the toner particles in the ink are in a charged state, so if a bias is applied by the power supply 17 between the roller 11 and the opposing roller 16, the transfer of the ink can be improved. will improve.
The residual ink on the roller 11 is then cleaned by a cleaning pad 18 (although the cleaning pad 18 may not be provided).

Note that the ink material 10 can be easily replenished using a tube such as a toothpaste tube.

Therefore, according to this example, ink material 1
0, the thermal head 14 is in direct contact with
Since the ink material 10 is made of a plastic thixotropic material and is more energetically advantageous than solid ink, recording can be performed by applying less thermal energy, and high-speed recording is also possible. Further, since the ink material 10 is consumed only in the necessary amount of thermal energy given by the thermal head 14, it is more economical than the conventional method, which can be used only once and contains unused ink in the ink film. .

In this example, the ink material 10 was given a charge so that particles in the ink would be attracted by an electric field when it became fluid, but an ink using magnetic fluid (fine particles of iron oxide) instead of carbon may also be used. A material 10 may be used, and a magnet may be placed to apply a magnetic field to assist in the transition.

Effects Since the present invention is configured as described above, it is possible to ensure the ease of carrying the printer with the ink material stored therein, and to ensure reliable recording by simply applying low thermal energy. It is economical because only the necessary ink is consumed.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 a to c are schematic side views showing a conventional example;
The figure is a schematic side view showing one embodiment of the present invention. 10...Ink material.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An image forming method characterized by using an ink material made of a plastic thixotropic material and forming an image pattern by making the ink material into a fluid state by shearing force and thermal energy according to an image signal.