Photocopying – Using microcapsules
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-15
2001-07-24
Adams, Russell (Department: 2851)
Photocopying
Using microcapsules
C355S405000, C355S027000, C355S040000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06266135
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printer that intermittently feeds printing sheets to which a photoconductive microcapsule is applied in a sheet feeding direction and prints images thereon and a printing system using this printer.
In this specification, a “photoconductive microcapsule” indicates a micro-capsule that is constituted to be readily collapsible or hardly collapsible, in other words, a latent image is formed when it is irradiated with the light of a specific wave length area and in which a coloring material capable of forming or developing a specific color when it is collapsed is contained, more typically sealed.
2. Description of the Related Art
A printer of a type that printing sheets to which a photoconductive micro-capsule is applied are intermittently fed in a sheet feeding direction and images are printed thereon is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-48801 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-147027. The printer of this type comprises a carriage capable of reciprocating in a scanning direction substantially perpendicular to the sheet feeding direction of the printer, an exposure head or a printing head fixed to the carriage and a pressing and developing head attached to the carriage on the downstream side of the exposure head with respect to the sheet feeding direction. Further, in this printer, as the carriage moves in the scanning direction, the exposure head performs exposing and scanning operations relative to an area of one line on the sheet to be exposed and scanned and the pressing and developing head simultaneously performs pressing, developing and scanning operations relative to an area of one line on the sheet to be developed and scanned on which a latent image is formed after an exposing process.
In such a conventional printer, since the exposure head and the pressing and developing head are integrally supported by the carriage, the pressing force of the pressing and developing head is supported by the carriage and the carriage is supported by a supporting body thereof, when the carriage supporting the pressing and developing head receives such a force as to separate the carriage from the sheet upon pushing operation by the pressing and developing head, the supporting body for supporting the carriage may be possibly slightly bent, so that there is a fear that the distance between the exposure head supported by the carriage and the sheet is varied. Further, since the supporting body of the carriage serves as a guide for moving the carriage in the scanning direction, there is a fear that clearance between the carriage and its supporting body due to abrasion or the like. Therefore, when the carriage supporting the pressing and developing head receives such a force as to separate the carriage from the sheet upon pushing operation by the pressing and developing head, the position of the carriage relative to the supporting body shifts from a prescribed position due to the reaction against the pressing force of the pressing and developing head, hence there is a fear that the positional relation between the exposure head and the sheet shifts from a prescribed state. As a consequence, in such a printer, conditions for exposing the sheet by the exposure head, that is to say, conditions for forming a latent image vary, so that it may be possibly difficult to form and print a prescribed latent image (formation of the latent image and pressurizing development).
Note that, as a pressing and developing device, has been known a printer of a type which uses a pair of rollers having the length corresponding to the width of a sheet and rotating about the axis in a width direction of the sheet and in a sheet feeding direction (disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No.10-48800). However, since the printer of this type is not designed to scan a pressing and developing head, all the areas of the width of the sheet need to be pressed uniformly and simultaneously. Therefore, not only an extremely great pressing force is required, but also widthwise entire areas may be possibly scarcely developed uniformly.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made in view of the above described problems and it is an object of the present invention to provide a printer in which an exposing operation can be properly carried out by an exposure head irrespective of the pressing and developing operations by a scanning type pressing and developing head and a printing system using the printer.
In order to achieve the above described object, according to the present invention, there is provided a printer for intermittently feeding printing sheets to which a photoconductive microcapsule is applied in a sheet feeding direction and printing images on the printing sheets, the printer comprising: a frame; an exposure head which is supported by the frame and irradiates light to the sheets to form a latent image thereon; and a pressing and developing head which is supported by the frame so as to reciprocate in a scanning direction intersecting the sheet feeding direction on the downstream side of the exposure head with respect to the sheet feeding direction and applies pressure to the latent image forming part of the sheet in cooperation with a sheet supporting means to develop a latent image, the pressing and developing head being supported by a support base supported on a frame main body and extending in the scanning direction of the sheet independently of the exposure head so as to apply a pressing and developing force to the sheet and being capable of reciprocating in the scanning direction on the support base.
In the printer according to the present invention, since the pressing and developing head is supported by the support base supported by the frame main body and extending in the scanning direction of the sheet independently of the exposure head so as to apply the pressing and developing force to the sheet and can reciprocate in the scanning direction on the support base, even if the support base of the pressing and developing head is deformed due to the pressing or pushing operation of the sheet as the result of the pressing and developing operation by the pressing and developing head, there will be little fear that the deformation causes the distance between the exposure head and the sheet to be varied. Accordingly, the exposure head can assuredly perform a suitable exposing operation so that the quality of a latent image formed by the exposing operation can be improved and the quality of an image formed by pressing and developing operations can be enhanced.
Here, as long as the “support base” of the pressing and developing head is supported on the frame main body, it may constitute a part of the frame or a body separate from the frame. Further, that the support base of the pressing and developing head “supports” the pressing and developing head means that the support base receives and bears a force for pressing and developing the sheet, namely, pressing force or a pushing force from the pressing and developing head. Still further, the pressing and developing head is supported by the support base of the pressing and developing head “independently of the exposure head” means that a pressing and developing force is not directly transmitted to the exposure head but is born by the support base of the pressing and developing head.
In the printer of the present invention, the distance between the pressing and developing head and the sheet supporting means may be strictly defined so that the pressing and developing force located within a prescribed range can be applied to the latent image forming part of the sheet. However, a biasing means is preferably provided for biasing at least one of the support base and the sheet supporting means to the other so that the pressing and developing head supported by the support base cooperates with the sheet supporting means to press the latent image forming part of the sheet and develop a latent image when the pressing and developing head
Andoh Masayuki
Gomi Masao
Hosoi Yuji
Tozaki Syoji
Yamada Masayuki
Adams Russell
Adams & Wilks
Nguyen Hung Henry
Seiko Instruments Inc.
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