JPH0596776A - Production of ion-flow electrostatic recording head - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To form a dielectric body layer of a uniform film thickness without a mesh mark occurring at the time of printing by a method wherein a sheet-or foil-form spacer member of a uniform film thickness is provided outside an electrode on an insulating substrate, and thereon a coating member having a linear edge part is moved. CONSTITUTION:A squeegee 6 is placed across the extension line of a first electrode 3 on a spacer 4 disposed outside a dielectric paste 5 so as to come into contact with the spacer 4 at the edge part thereof. The edge part of the squeegee 6 made of a rigid body hardly deformed even under a printing pressure is accurately formed to approximate to an optimum curve and disposed approximately at right angles to the first electrode 3. In this state, the squeegee 6 is slid on the spacer 4 at a constant speed along the first electrode 3 in parallel while a contact angle to the spacer 4 is kept nearly constant and a fixed force is applied vertically to the spacer 4.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an ion flow electrostatic recording head used in a charge transfer image forming apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In electrostatic printing or the like, a method is known in which ions of high current density are generated, and the ions are extracted and selectively applied to a member to be charged to be imagewise charged. The ion flow electrostatic recording head used in this method is shown in FIG.
As shown in, the dielectric layer 63 is fixed to one side of the dielectric layer 63, and the plurality of first electrodes 62 extending in the first direction are fixed to the other side of the dielectric layer 63. , A plurality of second electrodes 64 extending in a direction intersecting with the first electrode are fixedly attached, and the first electrode 62 and the second electrode 6 are provided.
4 and 4 form a matrix.

When a high voltage is applied alternately between the first electrode 62 and the second electrode 64 corresponding to the selected portion of this matrix, the second electrode 64 corresponding to that portion is applied.
Positive and negative ions are generated in the vicinity of. By selectively extracting the generated ions and applying them to the member to be charged,
The member to be charged can be charged. Therefore, electrostatic recording by dots can be performed by selectively driving the matrix-structured electrodes.

The dielectric material forming the dielectric layer 63 used in such an ion flow electrostatic recording head is required not to cause dielectric breakdown even at a high voltage applied for ion generation. Further, a material having a high dielectric constant is suitable because it needs to have a thickness that efficiently generates ions and withstands dielectric breakdown. Mica has been used as such a dielectric material for a long time, and is fixed to the electrode by an organic polysiloxane adhesive.

However, in recent years, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2-1537.
In the example shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60, as a dielectric substance, a substance obtained by dispersing titanium oxide or barium titanate in a silicone-modified polyester alkyd resin in place of mica to form a paste is used. , Heat cured. Further, a screen printing method is mentioned as a preferable coating method of this paste.

FIG. 11 shows the screen printing.
A brief description will be given with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a sectional view showing the concept of screen printing, and FIG. 12 is an enlarged view showing the relationship between the screen mesh and the paste material.
In FIG. 11, the printing object 72 is placed on the surface plate 79. A screen 71 is fixed to the material to be printed 72 at a constant interval substantially in parallel with the material to be printed 72. This interval is maintained within a range in which it can be deformed by the elasticity of the screen 71.

A grid mesh 75 of the screen 71
On the side facing the printed material 72, an emulsion 76 is attached, and an opening 78 is provided for the emulsion in the portion to be printed. A paste material 74 is placed on the screen 71. Also, screen 71
An elastic squeegee 73 made of urethane rubber or the like is arranged on the top of the screen.
Screen until the screen 71 is deformed and touches the printed material 72.
Screen printing is performed by scratching and spreading the paste material 74 while applying a printing pressure to the screen 71.

That is, the paste material 74 is a mesh 75.
And adheres to the surface of the printing object 72 through the opening 78.
After passing through the elastic squeegee 73, the screen 71 is sequentially separated from the material to be printed 72 by the tension, and the paste material 74 is left on the material to be printed 72 to complete the printing. The thickness of the printed paste material 74 changes depending on factors such as the thickness of the mesh 75, the thickness of the emulsion 76, the hardness of the elastic sage 73, the moving speed, and the printing pressure.

[0009]

Problems to be Solved by the Invention JP-A-2-15376
As described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No.
When a dielectric paste in which an inorganic powder is dispersed in a binder made of a solvent and a low molecular weight material for dilution is used, a screen printing method is usually used. This is because the content of the inorganic filler is increased to increase the dielectric constant, the viscosity is high, and other printing methods cannot be applied.

However, the ion flow as shown in FIG.
In the electrostatic recording head, when the dielectric layer is arranged between the first electrode and the second electrode, the capacitance is increased by the thickness of the dielectric layer formed in the portion corresponding to the matrix. However, in the case of the screen printing method, the printing thickness of the dielectric material changes slightly due to printing pressure, squeegee speed, squeegee hardness, subtle unevenness of the screen tension, etc. Resulting in. In addition, when the content of the inorganic powder is increased to increase the dielectric constant, the powder becomes extremely thixotropic, and the paste that has passed through the mesh leaves its shape as it is, resulting in mesh marks. It will be easier. Therefore, the thickness of the dielectric layer in each matrix becomes non-uniform, and the amount of generated ions becomes non-uniform.

The present invention has been made under the above circumstances, and provides a method for manufacturing an ion flow electrostatic recording head which is capable of forming a dielectric layer having a uniform film thickness without the mesh marks generated during screen printing. The purpose is to provide.

[0012]

According to the present invention, a plurality of first electrodes extending in one direction and parallel to each other on an insulating substrate and a direction intersecting the first electrodes are provided. A matrix is formed with the first electrode, and a plurality of second electrodes each having an opening formed in a portion corresponding to the matrix, and the second electrode are arranged on the side opposite to the first electrode with respect to the second electrode. A third electrode having an opening formed in a portion corresponding to the matrix, a dielectric layer provided between the first electrode and the second electrode, the second electrode and the third electrode.
A first electrode is formed on an insulating substrate in a method of manufacturing an ion-flow electrostatic recording head, comprising: an insulating layer provided between the first electrode and the second electrode and having an opening formed in a portion corresponding to the matrix. A step of placing a thin plate spacer member having a uniform film thickness on the insulating substrate, the pair of spacers having an opening corresponding to the first electrode so as to sandwich the first electrode; A step of placing a dielectric paste in which a dielectric powder is dispersed in a binder on the insulating substrate outside the first electrode or on the spacer member. -A coating member having a linear edge portion, which is arranged on the spacer member so as to straddle the gap between the spacer members or the opening, is moved in parallel with the first electrode, and the dielectric A body paste is printed on the insulating substrate and the first electrode. Step to, and obtained dielectric Bae -
Provided is a method for manufacturing an ion flow electrostatic recording head, comprising a step of heat treating a strike layer to form a dielectric layer. As the material of the spacer member used in the method of the present invention, a rolled stainless steel material, a copper foil plated with nickel, or the like can be used.

The dielectric paste used in the present invention is obtained by dispersing dielectric powder, for example, ceramic powder having a large dielectric constant, in a binder composed of an organic polymer material, a solvent, and a diluting low molecular weight material. It is a thing.

As the ceramic powder, titanium oxide, barium titanate, lead zirconate or the like can be used.
The amount of ceramic powder is not particularly limited, but it is desirable to select an appropriate value in consideration of workability and dielectric properties.
The concentration of the dielectric paste is not particularly limited, but it is desirable to select an appropriate value in consideration of the amount of the ceramic powder and sedimentation. The first, second and third electrodes can be obtained by patterning (etching) a copper sheet or a stainless sheet into a predetermined pattern.

[0015]

In the method of the present invention, the step of printing the dielectric paste is carried out by using the spacer member and the coating member instead of the conventional screen printing. That is,
By arranging a thin plate or foil spacer member having a uniform film thickness on the outside of the first electrode on the insulating substrate, and running a coating member having a linear edge portion on the thin plate or foil spacer member,
A dielectric paste layer is formed on the first electrode.

The area of the space formed by the linear edges of the insulating substrate, the spacer member and the coating member is such that even if the thickness of the insulating substrate varies a little, the spacer member is Since the insulating substrate is followed by the printing pressure, it is always constant during sliding of the coating member. for that reason,
A dielectric paste layer having an extremely uniform thickness can be obtained. Further, the surface of the dielectric paste layer becomes very smooth due to the linearity of the edge portion of the coating member.

As described above, the dielectric paste layer obtained by the method of the present invention has a uniform film thickness, has no mesh mark generated by screen printing, and has a smooth surface. The resulting ion-flow electrostatic recording head is
It is possible to efficiently generate ions without variations in electrical characteristics.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Specific embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the basic concept of the method of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the longitudinal direction. In FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, first, the insulating substrate 2 is placed on the surface plate 1 having a flat upper surface. On the surface of this insulating substrate 2, substantially linearly in the longitudinal direction of the insulating substrate 2,
A plurality of first electrodes 3 extend substantially in parallel. First
The electrode 3 is obtained by patterning a copper foil having a thickness of 9 μm, for example.

A pair of spacers 4 having a uniform thickness are formed on the insulating substrate 2 on both sides of the first electrode 3 to form a first spacer.
Is placed in parallel with the electrode 3. The spacer 4 is formed of a material that is less likely to change in shape in the thickness direction with respect to pressure, and must be flexible so as to follow the change in thickness of the insulating substrate 2. Further, the spacer 4 is sufficiently longer than the first electrode 3. The thickness of the spacer 4 can be appropriately selected according to the thickness of the dielectric paste layer to be formed.

First, the insulating substrate 2 arranged as described above.
A dielectric paste 5 in which a dielectric powder is dispersed in a resin binder is placed between a pair of extended spacers 4 on which the first electrode 3 does not exist. Placed dielectric paste 5
Is an amount sufficient to cover the first electrode 3.

Next, a spacer 6 is provided on the spacer 4 outside the dielectric paste 5 so as to straddle the extension of the first electrode 3 and its peak portion is a spacer. Place it so that it contacts the service 4. The ridge of the squeeze 6 is made of a rigid body which is hardly deformed by printing pressure, is precisely formed so as to approach an ideal curve, and is arranged so as to be substantially perpendicular to the first electrode 3. It

In this state, the skies 6 are
While maintaining a substantially constant contact angle with the spacer 4 and applying a constant force perpendicular to the spacer 4, a constant speed is maintained on the spacer 4 in parallel along the first electrode 3. Slide with.

At this time, the spacer 4 and the insulating substrate 2 having a constant thickness are pressed against each other by the surface plate 1 and the ridges of the squeegee 6 and come into close contact with each other. As a result, the insulating substrate 2, the spacer 4 and the ridge of the squeegee 6 form a space having a constant area. The area of this space is not affected by the spacer 4 even if there is some variation in the thickness of the insulating substrate 2.
Since the insulating substrate 2 is followed by the printing pressure of the edge 6, it becomes constant during the sliding of the squeeze 6.

The dielectric paste 5 is imprinted on the insulating substrate 2 with a uniform film thickness by the sliding of the squeezes 6, and covers the first electrode 3. At this time, since there is no mesh in the space between the spacers 4 as in the normal screen printing, the upper surface of the dielectric paste 5 immediately after being imprinted has a ridge portion of the skies 6. It reflects the linearity of and becomes smooth. The dielectric paste layer thus formed becomes a dielectric layer through a step of volatilizing the diluting low molecular weight material and a step of curing the organic polymer material. Thereafter, a second electrode is formed on the dielectric layer, and then an insulating layer and a third electrode are further formed by a usual method to obtain an ion flow electrostatic recording head. Next, an example showing the method of the present invention more specifically will be described.

4 to 7 are views showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a surface plate 1, an insulating substrate 2 mounted on the surface plate 1, a plurality of first electrodes 3 and a pair of spacers 4. As shown in FIG. 4, a large number of suction holes 7 are provided on the mounting surface of the surface plate 1, and suction is possible from the suction holes 7. Further, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state immediately before printing of the dielectric paste. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the skies 6 are housed in the holder-8. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 13 indicates a mounting pin for mounting the holder 8 on a pressure member (not shown).

The insulating substrate 2 is placed on the surface plate 1 and the suction holes 7
When inhaled from, a negative pressure is generated at the boundary between the surface plate 1 and the insulating substrate 2, and the insulating substrate 2 can be held flat on the surface plate 1. It is also possible to make the spacer 4 longer than the insulating substrate 2 so that the spacer 4 does not move due to the sliding of the squeezes 6 and to protrude from the surface plate 1 and to provide a suction hole there. Is.

A point to be noted here is that the suction holes should not be located between the pair of spacers 4. That is, when a highly flexible material such as a flexible substrate is used as the insulating substrate 2, a part of the insulating substrate 2 is pulled into the suction holes by the negative pressure, and the insulating substrate 2, the spacer 4 and the spacer are formed. This is because there is a risk that the space formed by the ridges of the dives 6 will not have a constant area.

Now, with reference to FIG. 6, the peripheral structure of the skies 6 and the holder 8 will be described. Holder-8 is
A pressure pin 14 is rotatably attached to the pressure member 14 by a mounting pin 13 that passes through a mounting hole 12 provided in the upper portion of the pressure member 14. The pressure member 14 is
The movement member 1 via the sliding member 16 by the sliding pin 17
It is attached to 8. Pressure member 14 and movement member 18
An elastic member 15 is interposed between and, and the elastic member 15 constantly presses the pressure member 14 downward. The movement member 18 is a first member on the insulating substrate 2 placed on the surface plate 1.
The movement is regulated by a guide rail (not shown) or the like so as to move substantially parallel to the electrode 3 of the motor, and a motor or a pneumatic device (not shown) is used so as to move at a constant speed. Driven.

Next, the operation of the peripheral structure of the squeeze 6 and the holder 8 will be described. The squeegee 6 is arranged so that the ridge of the squeegee 6 is in contact with the upper surface of the spacer 4, and the moving member 18 is moved substantially parallel to the first electrode 3 on the insulating substrate 2 at a constant speed. When you move at
7 is transmitted to the skies 6 via the sliding member 16 and the holder 8. At this time, since the space between the sliding pin 17 and the sliding member 16 can be manually operated, the pressure member 14 is pressed downward by the elastic member 15. This downward pressure is transmitted to the squeegee 6 via the mounting pin 13 and the holder-8. Therefore, even if there is some variation in the thickness of the insulating substrate 2, the spacer 4 can be made to follow the insulating substrate 2 by the pressure applied from the squeezes 6.

Even when the surface plate 1 is tilted, as shown in FIGS. 7 (a) and 7 (b), the holder 8 can be rotated about the mounting pin 13, so that the holder 8 can be rotated.
This inclination can be adjusted by the pressure applied to the jig 6. Therefore, the space formed by the insulating substrate 2, the spacer 4 and the ridge of the squeegee 6 is kept constant, and the dielectric paste is pushed into this space, so that the insulating substrate 2 can be made uniform. It can be imprinted with a different thickness to cover the first electrode.

8 and 9 are perspective views showing another embodiment of the present invention. In the example described above, the pair of spacers 4 is individually separated, but in this embodiment, the spacers are separated.
Sa4 is not separated, but etching a pair of foils,
It has an opening corresponding to a portion of the dielectric paste to be printed. That is, as shown in FIG.
The support 4 is composed of one sheet of metal foil having a rectangular opening, and the elastic members 10 are provided on opposite sides of the frame 11 made of a rigid body.
It is attached so as not to cause slack through. The opening of the metal foil is formed by pressing or etching the portion of the first electrode 3 on the insulating substrate 2 corresponding to the ion generating portion. The width of the opening must be smaller than the width of squeegee 6.

Such a spacer 4 is placed on the insulating substrate with its opening aligned with the first electrode 3. In this way, the spacer 4 is attached to the opposite sides of the frame 11 via the elastic member 10, and therefore is always stretched in the direction parallel to the first electrode 3. Further, the spacer 4 is set so that the opening is applied to the portion where the dielectric paste 5 is applied. Then, the squeegee 6 is made to slide on the spacer 4. As a result, the space formed by the insulating substrate 2, the spacer 4 and the ridge of the squeegee 6 is kept constant, thereby forming a uniform layer of dielectric paste. .

When the method shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 is used, the sliding start point and the end point of the squeegee 6 are set to the space outside the opening.
If the short side of the server 4 is used, the excess dielectric paste is prevented from dropping. Further, since the spacer 4 can be formed by etching, it has flexibility in shape,
And the dimensional accuracy is high. Further, since the spacer 4 is attached to the frame 11 made of a rigid body, the spacer 4 can be easily attached to the insulating substrate 2, removed after printing, wiped off the dielectric paste on the spacer 4, and cleaned. You can do it. Also,
Since the spacer 4 is made of metal foil, the sliding direction,
That is, although the elongation tends to occur in the direction parallel to the first electrode, there is an advantage that the elastic member 10 can absorb the elongation and the slack due to the elongation during use does not occur.

[0035]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By arranging a thin plate or foil spacer member having a uniform film thickness on the outside of the first electrode on the insulating substrate, and running a coating member having a linear edge portion on the thin plate or foil spacer member,
Since the dielectric paste layer is formed on the first electrode,
It is possible to obtain a dielectric paste layer having an extremely uniform film thickness, a mesh surface generated by screen printing, and a very smooth surface. The ion flow electrostatic recording head obtained as a result is capable of efficiently generating ions without variations in electrical characteristics.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a basic concept of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view for explaining an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view for explaining an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a sectional view for explaining a peripheral structure of a squeegee and a holder in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a case where the surface plate in FIG. 5 is inclined.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view for explaining another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view for explaining another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing an ion flow electrostatic recording head.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a conventional method for forming a dielectric paste by screen printing.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a conventional method for forming a dielectric paste by screen printing.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... surface plate, 2 insulating substrate, 3 first electrode, 4 space
5 ... Dielectric paste, 6 ... Squeegee, 8 ... Holder, 12 ... Mounting hole, 13 ... Mounting pin, 14 ... Pressure member, 15 ... Elastic member, 16 ... Sliding member, 17 ... Sliding Motion pin, 18 ... Motion member.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of first electrodes extending in one direction and parallel to each other on an insulating substrate, and a plurality of first electrodes extending in a direction intersecting with the first electrodes to form a matrix together with the first electrodes. A plurality of second electrodes each having an opening formed in a portion corresponding to the matrix, and the second electrode being disposed on the opposite side of the first electrode with respect to the second electrode. A third electrode having an opening formed therein, a dielectric layer provided between the first electrode and the second electrode, and a dielectric layer provided between the second electrode and the third electrode. A step of forming a first electrode on an insulating substrate in a method of manufacturing an ion flow electrostatic recording head, comprising: an insulating layer having an opening formed in a portion corresponding to the matrix;
Placing a pair of thin plate spacer members having a uniform film thickness on the insulating substrate so as to sandwich the first electrode, or having an opening corresponding to the first electrode; A step of placing a dielectric paste in which a dielectric powder is dispersed in a binder on the insulating substrate outside the first electrode or on the spacer member, and the pair of spacers having an edge portion. The space is provided so as to straddle the voids between the members or the openings.
A coating member having a linear edge portion, which is arranged on the support member, is moved in parallel with the first electrode,
Method for producing an ion flow electrostatic recording head, comprising the steps of printing a strike on the insulating substrate and the first electrode, and heat treating the resulting dielectric paste layer to form the dielectric layer. .