Incremental printing of symbolic information – Thermal marking apparatus or processes – Having an intermediate medium for transferring ink
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-31
2001-04-17
Tran, Huan (Department: 2861)
Incremental printing of symbolic information
Thermal marking apparatus or processes
Having an intermediate medium for transferring ink
C347S224000, C347S171000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06219081
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus of the type in which thermal energy is imagewise patterned applied to a toner sheet with a thin film, and after several steps of peeling-off and development, an imagewise patterned thin film is finally transferred onto an image supporting member.
2. Description of the Background Art
An image forming apparatus is known in which thermal energy is imagewise applied to a toner sheet with a thin film thereon, an imagewise patterned thin film is transferred from the toner sheet onto an image receiving sheet by the step of peeling-off/development, and the imagewise patterned thin film is transferred again from the image receiving sheet onto a permanent image supporting member (JP-A-7-290731).
FIG. 5
is a schematic diagram showing this image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus includes a photosensitive member supplying section
132
, an image forming drum
134
, a photosensitive member fixing/releasing mechanism
136
located on the image forming drum
134
, a laminate mechanism
138
disposed along the outer circumference of the image forming drum
134
, an exposure head
140
, a peeling-off mechanism
142
, a paper supplying section
144
, a laminate section
146
, a fixing section
148
, a peeling-off section
150
, a tray section
152
, and a control unit.
An image receiving member
12
and a toner sheet
10
of a first color (for example, C (cyan))are supplied from the photosensitive member supplying section
132
to the image forming drum
134
.
The image receiving member
12
is fixed onto the drum
134
by means of the photosensitive member fixing/releasing mechanism
136
.
Then, the toner sheet is pressed against the image forming drum by means of the laminate mechanism
138
, so that the toner sheet
10
is laminated on the image receiving member
12
. Then, a laser exposure of the laminated sheet is carried out in a heat mode by use of the exposure head
140
, which is controlled in accordance with an image signal by the control unit. As a result, an image is recorded on the toner sheet as a latent image.
Thereafter, the toner sheet
10
is peeled off from the image receiving member
12
fixed onto the image forming drum
134
, by means of the a peeling-off mechanism
142
, and only the coloring material of the image formed as the latent image is transferred to the image receiving member
12
, and developed. Subsequently, the coloring materials of images of second to fourth colors (for example, Y (yellow), M (magenta), C(cyan) and K (black)), which are to be formed as latent images, are transferred to the image receiving member
12
and developed in similar ways.
The image receiving member
12
having the images of all the colors formed thereon is peeled off from the drum
134
, and transported to the laminate section
146
. In the laminate section
146
, a paper sheet (final image supporting member)
14
that is supplied from the paper supplying section
144
is registered with and superposed on the image receiving member
12
by a register roller pair
75
. Then, the resultant is transported to the fixing section
148
. In the fixing section
148
, it is nipped and transmitted with a heating/fixing roller pair
76
, whereby the image is heated and fixed. Thereafter, in the peeling-off section
150
, the imagewise patterned coloring material is transferred from the image receiving member
12
onto the paper sheet
14
, and the paper sheet
14
bearing the image transferred thereon is discharged as a hard copy into the tray section
152
.
In the conventional apparatus described in the prior art discussion as above, the lamination of the image receiving member laminated on and the paper sheet is nipped with the heating/fixing roller pair
76
of the fixing section
148
, and simultaneously compressed and heated. However, it is necessary to position the image receiving member
12
relative to the paper sheet
14
or put those to be in register before the heating/fixing process. Such simultaneous positioning of two things, viz., the image receiving member
12
and the paper sheet
14
, requires fine adjustments for the transporting speeds of them, for example, and leads to increase of the possibility of causing the jam and displacements (or out-of-register of them). A possible reliable solution to the problem of the jam and the out-of-register is to take the following procedure. That is, following the transferring of the latent image to the image receiving member
12
and the developing of it, the image receiving member
12
is stripped off from the drum, and taken out of the apparatus by manual. Then it is manually superposed on the paper sheet
14
as the final image supporting member, and the image is transferred again to the paper sheet. In the process of the re-transferring process including the taking the image receiving member out of the apparatus by manual, dust inevitably sticks to those members. The sticking of dust forms a cause to deteriorate the quality of the resultant image.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus in which an overall image forming process is automated while securing a stable transporting capability, and carried out in a through-process manner, prevents the dust sticking, and well performs the re-transferring of the image onto the paper sheet.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To achieve the above object, there is provided an image forming apparatus comprising: a first drum having an image receiving portion on which a toner sheet with an image forming thin film is superimposed in a state that the image forming thin film of the toner sheet is layered on the image receiving portion of the first drum; an exposure section for applying imagewise thermal energy toward the first drum through the toner sheet side; and a second drum for holding a final image supporting sheet thereon for finally supporting an image thereon; wherein after an image is formed through the likewise application of the thermal energy by the exposure section, the toner sheet is separated from the image receiving portion of the first drum, an image is transferred onto the image receiving portion, and the final image supporting sheet is pressed against a predetermined location on the image receiving portion by a relative movement of the first drum to and from the second drum.
In the image forming apparatus thus constructed, the image receiving portion includes an image receiving sheet and an image receiving layer layered on the image receiving sheet.
Further, the image receiving sheet is supplied from a sheet supplying portion located within the fist drum, through an axially oriented opening formed in the surface of the first drum, to the surface of the first drum, and is taken up by a take-up portion located within the first drum.
In the invention, after the image is formed and the image is transferred to the image receiving portion, the image receiving portion is not peeled off the first drum. The final image supporting sheet is pressed against a predetermined location on the image receiving portion by use of the second drum. Therefore, the superposing of the two sheets is reliable and easy. Accordingly, an overall image forming process is automated wile securing a stable transporting capability, and hence carried out in a through-process manner. Therefore, the dust sticking is prevented, and the re-transferring of the image onto the paper sheet is well performed.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4931334 (1990-06-01), Shiozawa et al.
patent: 5663755 (1997-09-01), Wada et al.
patent: 7-290731 (1995-11-01), None
Sasaki Yoshiharu
Sawano Mitsuru
Fuji Photo Film Co. , Ltd.
Sughrue Mion Zinn Macpeak & Seas, PLLC
Tran Huan
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