JP5053772B2 - Image forming apparatus, apparatus for applying foam to coated member - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a device for applying the images forming apparatus and the foam to be coated member.

  In general, a printer, a fax machine, a copier, a plotter, or an image forming apparatus that combines a plurality of these functions includes, for example, a recording head composed of a liquid ejection head that ejects ink droplets, It is also referred to as “paper”, but the material is not limited, and a recording medium, recording medium, transfer material, recording paper, etc. are also used synonymously.) Some perform formation (recording, printing, printing, and printing are also used synonymously).

  The “image forming apparatus” means an apparatus that forms an image by discharging liquid onto a medium such as paper, thread, fiber, fabric, leather, metal, plastic, glass, wood, ceramics, etc. “Formation” means not only giving an image having a meaning such as a character or a figure to a medium but also giving an image having no meaning such as a pattern to the medium (simply ejecting a droplet). means. Further, “ink” is not limited to ink in a narrow sense, and is not particularly limited as long as it becomes liquid when ejected, and includes, for example, a DNA sample, a resist, a pattern material, and the like. .

  In such a liquid ejection type image forming apparatus, in order to form an image by forming ink containing a coloring material into droplets, feathering in which dots formed by the droplets are disturbed, and ink droplets of different colors When the ink is struck on the paper adjacent to each other, it may cause problems such as color bleeding, which causes the colors to mix with each other and the color boundary to become unclear. There is a problem that it takes.

Therefore, conventionally, as described in Patent Document 1, before or after printing, a heating unit is used to prevent bleeding and promote ink drying after printing.
JP-A-8-323977

Further, as described in Patent Document 2, a pretreatment liquid that reacts with ink to prevent bleeding is applied by an application roller, or as described in Patent Document 3, the pretreatment liquid is applied from a liquid discharge head. For example, it is applied by discharging in a mist form.
JP 2002-137378 A Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-138502

  However, the provision of the heating device as described in Patent Document 1 described above has a problem that the power consumption of the device increases. In addition, when the pretreatment liquid is applied by an application roller or a liquid discharge head as described in Patent Documents 2 and 3, uneven application occurs, and further, quick drying after reaction with ink on the paper due to the liquid. In particular, there is a problem that jamming or the like is likely to occur because the paper is easily curled or bent.

It has been made in view of the above problems, to reduce uneven coating in the case of applying the treatment liquid, and an object thereof is to improve the quick drying of the applied treatment liquid.

In order to solve the above problems, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention provides:
In an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium,
An application roller for applying bubbles to the recording medium;
A thickness regulating member that regulates the thickness of the foam of the application roller;
It has a configuration which includes a position adjusting means for adjusting the position relative to the application roller of the thickness regulating member.

An apparatus for applying foam according to the present invention to a member to be applied is as follows:
An application roller for applying foam to the application member;
A thickness regulating member that regulates the thickness of the foam of the application roller;
And position adjusting means for adjusting the position relative to the application roller of the thickness regulating member, was to have <br/> structure comprising a.

The term “ bubble” in the present invention means that when applied, the liquid is in the form of a foam, that is, a large amount of bubbles are dispersed in the liquid and the liquid is in a compressible state (microbubbles). It means that it is a set). In the following description, the liquid is referred to as “foam-like liquid” in the sense that it is a foam.

According to the onset bright, it is possible to uniformly apply the treatment solution in a uniform thickness, Hakare uniformity of the coating, fast drying also obtained.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, a first embodiment of an apparatus for applying a foam liquid according to the present invention to a member to be coated (hereinafter referred to as “foam liquid application apparatus”) will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory view showing the configuration of the apparatus.

  The foam liquid application apparatus 1 is supplied with a liquid (foam liquid) 10 in a fine foam state from the upper part of the apparatus, and an application roller 2 for supporting the foam liquid 10 on the peripheral surface, and an application roller 2. A thickness regulating member 4 for regulating the thickness (coating film thickness) when the foamed liquid 10 carried on the circumferential surface is applied, and the coating roller 2 circumferential surface on the upstream side in the rotation direction of the coating roller 2 of the thickness regulating member 4 An agitation roller 3 for agitating the foamed liquid 10 carried on the substrate, a conveyance auxiliary roller 5 which is arranged opposite to the application roller 2 and assists the conveyance of the recording medium (or member to be coated) 6, and the thickness regulating member 4. An adjusting mechanism 20 described later is provided as an adjusting means for adjusting the position with respect to the application roller 2. In addition, the rotation direction of the application roller 2, the stirring roller 3, and the conveyance auxiliary roller 5 is an arrow direction.

  In the foam liquid application apparatus 1 configured as described above, the foam liquid 10 is supplied to the peripheral surface of the application roller 2, and the application roller 2 carries the foam liquid 10 on the peripheral surface and rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow. Thus, the film thickness of the foamed liquid 10 of the application roller 2 is a thickness (referred to as an application film thickness) defined by the gap T1 between the rotation direction tip of the application roller 2 of the thickness regulating member 4 and the peripheral surface of the application roller 2. )), The foamed liquid 10 on the peripheral surface of the coating roller 2 is adjusted to a uniform coating film thickness, and then transported between the coating roller 2 and the transport auxiliary roller 5 in the direction indicated by the arrow. The foamy liquid 10 is transferred and applied to the surface of the medium 6. The recording medium 6 coated with the foam liquid 10 is sent to the next process as it is.

Here, the adjustment of the thickness (coating film thickness) of the foam liquid in the apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.
As described above, the thickness of the foam liquid 10 carried on the peripheral surface of the application roller 2 is regulated by the thickness regulating member 4 disposed on the downstream side of the stirring roller 3. At this time, the thickness S <b> 1 of the foam liquid 10 is determined by the distance between the end 4 a of the thickness regulating member 4 on the downstream side in the rotation direction of the application roller 2 and the peripheral surface of the application roller 2.

  Therefore, the coating film on the peripheral surface of the application roller 2 is adjusted by moving the position of the thickness control member 4 and adjusting the distance between the end 4 a of the thickness control member 4 and the peripheral surface of the application roller 2. The thickness can be adjusted.

  In this embodiment, the distance T1 between the end 4a of the thickness regulating member 4 and the peripheral surface of the coating roller 2 is thick at a position where the shortest distance T0 is between the thickness regulating member 4 and the circumferential surface of the coating roller 2. The restriction member 4 is arranged. That is, the thickness regulating member 4 is arranged with respect to the center 2a of the coating roller 2 with the adjustment surface 4b arranged in the tangential direction, and the position where the shortest distance T0 is located is the end of the adjustment surface on the distal end side of the thickness regulating member 4 The position is 4a.

  From this position, as shown in FIG. 3, when the thickness regulating member 4 is moved in the tangential direction of the coating roller 4 to the downstream side in the rotation direction of the coating roller 2, the end 4 a of the thickness regulating member 4 and the coating roller 2 are moved. The distance from the peripheral surface is a distance T2 (T2> T1), and the thickness S2 of the foamy liquid 10 carried on the application roller 2 is thicker than in the case of FIG. 2 (S2> S1).

  At this time, the shortest distance between the thickness regulating member 4 and the peripheral surface of the application roller 2 is the distance T0, but the foam liquid 10 has a characteristic that the thickness is not regulated at the portion of the shortest distance T0. . Therefore, the thickness is adjusted by adjusting the distance between the end 4a of the thickness regulating member 4 and the peripheral surface of the application roller 2 as described above.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, when the thickness regulating member 4 is moved in the tangential direction of the coating roller 4 from the position in FIG. 2 to the upstream side in the rotation direction of the coating roller 2, the end portion 4 a of the thickness regulating member 4. And the peripheral surface of the application roller 2 is a distance T3 (T3> T1), and the thickness S3 of the foam-like liquid 10 carried on the application roller 2 is thicker than in the case of FIG. 2 (S3> S1). .

  In this case, the shortest distance T0 between the end 4a of the thickness regulating member 4 and the peripheral surface of the application roller 2 is the same as the distance T3.

Next, the thickness adjustment of the foam liquid in the axial direction of the application roller 2 will be described with reference to FIG.
In order to uniformly apply the foamed liquid 10 to the recording medium, the thickness of the foamed liquid 10 also in the axial direction of the application roller 2, that is, the direction (width direction) orthogonal to the feeding direction of the recording medium. Must be uniform. That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the distance T11 on the near side and the distance T12 on the back side of the thickness regulating member 4 are the same between the end portion 4a of the thickness regulating member 4 and the peripheral surface of the coating roller 2. It is important to be uniform, but it may not be uniform due to variations in mounting accuracy.

  Here, when the distance T11 on the front side is larger than the distance T12 on the back side (when T11> T12), as described above, the thickness of the foam liquid 10 in the axial direction of the application roller 2 is greater on the front side. It will be thick. In this case, the front side and the back side of the thickness regulating member 4 can be directly adjusted to be the same distance.

  Further, when it is necessary to adjust the minute distance, as described above, the back side is moved by moving the back side of the thickness regulating member 4 in the direction of the arrow 7 (downward direction in the rotation direction of the application roller 2). Since it will be in the state demonstrated in FIG. 3, the thickness of the foamy liquid 10 becomes thicker than before a movement, and the thickness of the foam in the axial direction of the application roller 2 can be made uniform. Similarly, the thickness of the coating roller 2 in the axial direction can be made uniform by reversing the direction of movement of the thickness regulating member 4 and setting the depth side to the state described with reference to FIG.

  Here, as the adjustment means for moving and adjusting the thickness regulating member 4 as described above, adjustment using a mechanical screw, adjustment using a cam, electrical control (software) using a motor, or the like may be used. it can.

  The entire thickness of the foam liquid 10 in the axial direction of the application roller 2 of the foam liquid 10 can be adjusted and changed by moving the entire thickness regulating member 4 up and down. For example, when a special recording medium is used, when it is desired to reduce or increase the coating amount, the coating amount can be changed by adjusting the position of the thickness regulating member 4. Further, even when it is desired to change the coating amount by changing the conveyance speed of the recording medium, the coating amount can be changed by adjusting the position of the thickness regulating member 4.

Next, the movement range of the thickness regulating member 4 will be described with reference to FIG.
The state shown in FIG. 6 is an example in which the thickness regulating member 4 is moved largely downstream from the position shown in FIG. In this case, the end portion 4a of the bubble thickness regulating member 4 is too far from the peripheral surface of the application roller 2, so that the function of adjusting the thickness is not achieved. Therefore, it is necessary to regulate the movement amount (movement range) of the thickness regulating member 4 within a range where such a state does not occur.

Next, the positional relationship between the application roller 2 and the thickness regulating member 4 will be described with reference to FIGS.
The thickness regulating member 4 is an adjustment of the thickness regulating member 4 facing the coating roller circumferential surface in the tangential direction of the coating roller 2 with a center line 20 connecting the center 2a of the coating roller 2 and the end 4a of the thickness regulating member 4. The angle θ formed by the surface (outline surface) 4b is preferably approximately 90 °.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 8, the angle θ between the center line 20 connecting the center 2a of the application roller 2 and the end 4a of the thickness regulating member 4 and the adjustment surface 4b of the thickness regulating member 4 is smaller than 90 °. When the angle becomes smaller, the smaller the angle θ, the more the distance between the end 4b of the thickness regulating member 4 and the peripheral surface of the coating roller 2 becomes too large as described with reference to FIG. .

Next, another example of the tip shape of the thickness regulating member 4 will be described with reference to FIG.
Here, the end portion 4a of the thickness regulating member 4 is formed in a wedge shape or an acute angle toward the peripheral surface of the coating roller 2 toward the downstream side in the rotation direction of the coating roller 2, so that the foam-like liquid is transferred from the end portion 4a to the tip surface 4c. 10 can be prevented from wrapping around.

Next, an example of an adjusting mechanism as an adjusting means for moving the thickness regulating member 4 will be described with reference to FIG.
The adjusting mechanism 20 includes a holding member 21 to which the back side of the thickness regulating member 4 is attached by means such as adhesion or screwing. The lower surfaces of both ends of the holding roller 21 in the axial direction of the application roller 2 are fixed portions. Are supported via springs 23 that urge upward. Further, eccentric cams 24 </ b> A and 24 </ b> B attached to the cam shaft 25 are in contact with the upper surface of the holding member 21.

  Accordingly, the cams 24A and 24B are rotated by rotating the cam shaft 25 with a motor or the like, or by manually rotating the cam shaft 25, and the holding member 21 is driven by the position of the cams 24A and 24B and the biasing force of the spring 23. Is moved up and down, the thickness regulating member 4 is moved up and down, and the distance between the coating roller 2 and the end 4a of the thickness regulating member 4 is changed as described above. The thickness of the foam liquid 10 can be adjusted.

  Here, the front cam 24A and the back cam 24B are attached to one cam shaft 25 to move the entire thickness regulating member 4, but for example, the front cam 24A and the back cam By setting it as the structure which rotates 24B independently, it can be set as the structure which moves the near side and back side of the thickness control member 4 independently.

  Thus, by providing the means for adjusting the position of the thickness regulating member with respect to the coating roller, the coating thickness of the foamed liquid carried on the peripheral surface of the coating roller can be made uniform, and the foamed liquid can be made uniform. The film can be applied evenly with a uniform film thickness, uniformity of application can be achieved, and quick drying can be obtained.

  In the above embodiment, the thickness regulating member 4 is configured to move in the tangential direction with respect to the application roller 2, but may be configured to move in the normal direction.

Next, an example of an ink jet recording apparatus as an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
The image forming apparatus includes a recording head unit 101 that forms an image by ejecting liquid droplets onto a sheet 100 that is a recording medium, a conveyance belt 102 that conveys the sheet 100, and a paper feed tray 103 that accommodates the sheet 100. The above-described foam liquid application apparatus 1 according to the present invention for applying the foam liquid to the paper 100 on the upstream side in the paper transport direction from the recording head unit 101 is provided.

  The recording head unit 101 is composed of a line type liquid discharge head having a nozzle row in which a plurality of nozzles for discharging droplets are arranged in a length corresponding to the paper width. Yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan The recording heads 101y, 101m, 101c, and 101k are provided with ink droplets of each color of (C) and black (K). Note that the recording head can be mounted on the carriage as a serial type image forming apparatus.

  The conveyor belt 102 is an endless belt, and is configured to circulate between the conveyor roller 121 and the tension roller 122. The paper 100 can be held on the transport belt 102 by, for example, a configuration that performs electrostatic suction, suction by air suction, or other known transport means.

  The paper 100 stored in the paper feed tray 103 is separated and fed one by one by the pick-up roller 131, and is conveyed to the foam liquid applicator 1 through the conveyance path 135 by the conveyance roller pairs 132, 133 and 134 as shown by the broken lines. After being fed and the foamy liquid 10 is applied, it is held on the conveyor belt 102 by electrostatic adsorption or the like.

  The foam liquid 10 applied to the paper 100 is quickly dried, and droplets of each color are ejected from the head unit 101 while the paper 100 held by the transport belt 102 is transported by the circular movement of the transport belt 102. Thus, an image is formed, and then discharged to the discharge tray 104.

  On the other hand, a foam liquid generator 50 is provided to supply the foam liquid 10 to the foam liquid applicator 1. The foam liquid generator 50 includes a container 61 that stores a liquid 60 that can be in a foam state, a pump 62 that pumps the liquid 60 from the container 61, and a foam liquid having a required bubble diameter from the supplied liquid 60. The foaming liquid 10 produced | generated by the production | generation apparatus 63 is supplied to the foam-like liquid application | coating apparatus 1. The production | generation apparatus 63 which produces | generates 10 is provided.

  Here, the liquid 60 that can be in a foam state is a modifying material that modifies the surface of the paper 100 by being applied to the surface of the paper 100. For example, the liquid 60 is applied uniformly to the paper 100 (not limited to the paper that is the material as described above) in advance, so that the moisture of the ink can quickly permeate the paper 100 and increase the color component. It is a fixing agent that prevents bleeding (feathering, bleeding, etc.) and back-through, and improves productivity (number of output images per unit time) by making it viscous and further drying.

  In terms of composition, the liquid 60 is, for example, a cellulose that promotes moisture permeation with respect to a surfactant (any one of anionic, cationic, nonionic, or a mixture of two or more thereof). Examples thereof include a solution obtained by adding a base such as hydroxypropylcellulose and talc fine powder. Furthermore, fine particles can be contained.

  In this way, by applying a foamy liquid to the surface of the paper 100, a small amount of liquid can be applied by containing a large amount of air, so that the application can be uniform, quick drying is improved, bleeding, It is possible to output a high-quality image with no image and density unevenness.

  In the above embodiment, the foam liquid application device is described as applying the foam liquid to the paper before image formation. However, the foam liquid application device 1 is disposed downstream of the recording head unit 101. However, it is also possible to apply a foamed liquid onto the paper on which the image has been formed. Further, the foamed liquid coating apparatus according to the present invention can be applied to, for example, an electrophotographic image forming apparatus.

It is typical explanatory drawing which shows an example of the apparatus which apply | coats the foamy liquid which concerns on this invention to a to-be-coated member. It is explanatory drawing with which it uses for description of regulation of the coating film thickness of the apparatus. It is explanatory drawing with which it uses for description of the coating film thickness adjustment of the apparatus similarly. It is explanatory drawing with which it uses for description of the coating film thickness adjustment of the apparatus similarly. It is explanatory drawing with which it uses for description of the coating film thickness adjustment in the application roller axial direction of the apparatus similarly. It is explanatory drawing with which it uses for description of the movement range of a thickness control member. It is explanatory drawing with which it uses for description of the positional relationship of a thickness control member and an application | coating roller. It is explanatory drawing with which it uses for description of the comparative example of the positional relationship of a thickness control member and an application roller. It is explanatory drawing with which it uses for description of the front-end | tip shape of a thickness control member. It is explanatory drawing with which it uses for description of an example of the adjustment mechanism of a thickness control member. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Foam liquid application apparatus 2 ... Application | coating roller 4 ... Thickness control member 20 ... Adjustment mechanism 50 ... Foam liquid production | generation apparatus 100 ... Paper 101 ... Recording head unit 102 ... Conveyance belt 103 ... Paper feed tray

Claims (7)

In an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium,
An application roller for applying bubbles to the recording medium;
A thickness regulating member that regulates the thickness of the foam of the application roller;
An image forming apparatus characterized in that it comprises a position adjusting means for adjusting the position relative to the application roller of the thickness regulating member.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the position adjusting unit is a unit that moves the thickness regulating member in a tangential direction with respect to the application roller.   2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the position adjusting means is independently movable at both ends of the thickness regulating member in the longitudinal direction of the coating roller. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, an image forming apparatus and changes according to the position of the thickness restricting member in the conveying speed of the recording medium. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, the image forming apparatus, wherein the downstream side in the rotational direction of the distal end shape of the application roller of the thickness regulating member is less than 90 °. An application roller for applying foam to the application member;
A thickness regulating member that regulates the thickness of the foam of the application roller;
Device for applying a foam wherein a <br/> by comprising a position adjusting means for adjusting the position relative to the application roller of the thickness regulating member to be coated member. 7. The apparatus for applying foam to a member to be coated according to claim 6, wherein the position adjusting means is means for moving the thickness regulating member in a tangential direction with respect to the application roller. A device for applying to a member to be applied.

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