Typewriting machines – Including interposed inking device for record-medium – Package for ribbon facilitating mounting of ribbon on...
Reexamination Certificate
2001-06-05
2004-03-09
Hirshfeld, Andrew H. (Department: 2854)
Typewriting machines
Including interposed inking device for record-medium
Package for ribbon facilitating mounting of ribbon on...
C400S208100, C400S207000, C347S176000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06702490
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus in which a toner sheet is located on an image receiving sheet, and the toner sheet is irradiated with light or heated to transfer toner from the toner sheet to the image receiving sheet. More particularly, the invention relates to an image recording apparatus which may handle a recording medium with a protecting sheet stuck thereto.
2. Description of the Related Art
A schematic illustration of an overall mechanical arrangement of a conventional image recording apparatus is shown in FIG.
7
. In the figure, to form a full color image, the image recording apparatus designated by reference numeral
30
is composed of a recording-medium supplying section
32
, a rotary drum
34
, a recording-medium fixing/releasing mechanism
36
, a laminating mechanism
38
disposed around the circumferential outer surface of the rotary drum
34
, an optical head
40
, a stripping-off mechanism
42
, a sheet supply section
44
, a laminating section
46
, a fixing section
48
, a stripping-off section
50
, a tray section
52
, and a control unit
51
.
In the image recording apparatus, an image receiving sheet
2
is fixed on a recording rotary drum (referred to as a “rotary drum”)
34
, and a toner sheet
4
is fixed onto the image receiving sheet
2
while covering the latter (the image receiving sheet
2
and the toner sheet
4
will be referred to generally as “recording media”). A laser beam or the like emitted from the optical head is irradiated on the toner sheet to record an image thereon.
In the image recording apparatus
30
, an image receiving sheet
2
and a toner sheet
4
are supplied onto the rotary drum
34
from the recording-medium supplying section
32
. The image receiving sheet
2
is fixed onto the rotary drum
34
by the recording-medium fixing/releasing mechanism
36
. Then, the toner sheet
4
is pressed against the image receiving sheet
2
and heated by the laminating mechanism
38
, whereby the toner sheet
4
is stuck and laminated onto the image receiving sheet
2
. This heating step is unnecessary when some types of the recording media
2
and
4
are used.
Then, the toner sheet is subjected to a heat mode laser imagewise exposure by the optical head
40
, which is controlled, by a control unit
51
, in accordance with an image signal, so that an image is recorded as a latent image in the toner sheet. Subsequently, the toner sheet
4
is stripped off the image receiving sheet
2
fixed to the rotary drum
34
by means of the stripping-off mechanism
42
. The image recorded, which is recorded as a latent image in the toner sheet
4
, is transferred from the toner sheet
4
to the image receiving sheet
2
.
The sequential process is repeated for each color to form a color image on the image receiving sheet
2
, and then the image receiving sheet
2
is placed on and brought into close contact with paper H supplied form the sheet supply section
44
in the laminating section
46
. After an image receiving layer
16
on the image receiving sheet
2
is photoset by the fixing section
48
, it is stripped from the paper H by the stripping-off section
50
, and the paper H having a full color image formed thereon is discharged into a proof tray
52
a
and the used image receiving sheet
2
is discharged into a used-member stacker
52
b.
In this way, the full color image can be produced as a hard copy.
The recording-medium supplying section
32
is made up of a recording medium station
53
, a pair of pull-out rollers
54
, a cutter
55
, a pair of rollers
56
, and a guide
57
. The recording medium station
53
holds therein recording media
2
and
4
(i.e., a rolled image receiving sheet
2
, and a plurality of toner sheets
4
, such as standard toner sheets of K (black), C (cyan), M (magenta) and Y (yellow), or a rolled thermosensitive material, such as special sheets of gold, silver or the like, used in the field of printing). The paired pull-out rollers
54
are used for pulling out one recording medium
2
or
4
. The cutter
55
is used for cutting the recording medium
2
(
4
) of a predetermined length, which is pulled out of the recording medium station
53
, into a sheet-like recording medium. The paired rollers
56
transfer the sheet-like image receiving sheet
2
(
4
) while nip it therebetween. The guide
57
guides the sheet-like image receiving sheet
2
(
4
) onto the rotary drum
34
, and guides the leading end of the recording medium
2
(
4
) to a fixing position of the recording-medium fixing/releasing mechanism
36
, which is mounted on the rotary drum
34
.
The image receiving sheet
2
is first supplied to the rotary drum
34
. The leading end of it is fixed tot he recording-medium fixing/releasing mechanism
36
by means of clamping means, and is wound on the outer surface of the rotary drum
34
, and the trailing end of it is also fixed to the recording-medium fixing/releasing mechanism
36
. At least one of the leading end fixing part and the trailing end fixing part of the recording-medium fixing/releasing mechanism
36
is preferably movable on the outer surface of the rotary drum
34
. If so done, the recording medium sheets of various lengths may be fixed onto the rotary drum
34
.
Then, a toner sheet
4
, which has been transported from the recording-medium supplying section
32
, is wound on the toner sheet
4
on the image receiving sheet
2
wound on the outer surface of the rotary drum
34
, in the same manner. The toner sheet
4
is laminated on the image receiving sheet
2
by the laminating mechanism
38
, which is made up of a laminate roller
58
containing a heater (not shown) therein, an arm
59
which turns the laminate roller
58
about a fulcrum
59
a
to touch and separate from the outer surface of the rotary drum
34
, and a pressing means
60
for pressing the laminate roller
58
against the rotary drum
34
by a predetermined pressing force. The pressing means
60
may be urging means, such as a spring, or a manipulator of an air cylinder.
A receiving layer, or an outermost layer, of the image receiving sheet
2
has a viscosity. Accordingly, the toner sheet may be laminated on the image receiving sheet
2
in a manner that the toner sheet is pressed against the image receiving sheet at a predetermined pressure by the laminate roller
58
. Therefore, there is no chance of creasing the toner sheet
4
. Further, the image receiving layer of the image receiving sheet
2
may be bonded to the toner layer of the toner sheet
4
at uniform adhesive power.
It is necessary to uniformly and strongly bond the toner sheet
4
to the image receiving sheet
2
for their laminate. To this end, the laminate roller
58
is used for the lamination. To increase the adhesive power, it is preferable that in carrying out the lamination of them, a pressure is applied to them by the laminate roller
58
and while at the same time those are heated. In this case, a temperature for the heating is preferably within 130° C. or lower or 100° C. or lower.
A preferable manner to wind the image receiving sheet
2
on the rotary drum
34
is such that the leading end of the image receiving sheet
2
is fixed to the rotary drum by the recording-medium fixing/releasing mechanism
36
, the other part of the image receiving sheet is held with the paired rollers
56
, the laminate roller
58
or another means, and the image receiving sheet
2
is wound on the rotary drum
34
in a state that the image receiving sheet
2
is stretched at a predetermined tension. At this time, as will be described later, suction holes are formed in the outer surface of the rotary drum
34
, and the image receiving sheet
2
is attracted to the rotary drum by use of suction means. The suction means and the recording-medium fixing/releasing mechanism
36
are preferably constructed in the form of a single unit, but either of them may be used as a matter of course. By so doing, the image receiving sheet
2
may be fixed to the outer surface of the rotary drum
34
Chau Minh H.
Hirshfeld Andrew H.
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