Patent Application
20080246829
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to heating units, erasing devices, and information erasing and recording apparatuses and, more specifically, to a heating unit that heats a heat-sensitive recording medium, an erasing device that erases information recorded on a heat-sensitive recording medium, and an information erasing and recording apparatus that erases and records information from and on a heat-sensitive recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years and continuing to the present, attention is being given to a reversible heat-sensitive recording medium (hereinafter referred to as a heat-sensitive recording medium), on and from which information can be repeatedly recorded and erased, from the viewpoint of protecting the environment and recycling. A heat-sensitive recording medium (see Patent Document 1) capable of reversibly assuming transparent and cloudy states using light scattering variations of a polymer membrane in which organic low molecular crystal particles are dispersed and another heat-sensitive recording medium (see Patent Document 2) having a recording layer coated with a leuco dye capable of reversibly assuming color optical and erasing states are recording media on and from which information can be recorded and erased by applying proper heat to the recording media to make the recording layers relatively colored or decolored.
In order to record information on a heat-sensitive recording medium, it is necessary to erase the previous information recorded on the heat-sensitive recording medium in advance. Therefore, in a thermal printer or the like, the heat-sensitive recording medium is generally heated by a substrate (hereinafter referred to as a ceramic substrate) made, for example, of a ceramic having low heat conductivity and a thermal head having a heating element formed on the surface of the substrate so that the previous information is erased in advance. However, because the ceramic substrate is more fragile than metals, etc., it is difficult to fix the ceramic substrate to equipment or the like using screws or bolts. For this reason, the thermal head attached to a thermal printer is held with the entire surface on one side of the ceramic substrate bonded on a base made of metals, heat-resistant resins, or the like. As a result, heat is disadvantageously transferred from the ceramic substrate to the base through an adhesive layer, so that it is necessary to use a heat-resistant adhesive. Moreover, where the ceramic substrate and the base have different thermal expansion coefficients, it is foreseen that aging degradation such as poor bonding and breakage of the ceramic substrate may occur over time due to the repetitive stopping operations of the apparatus or the like.
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it may provide a heating unit capable of efficiently heating a heat-sensitive recording medium while realizing reduced manufacturing costs of an apparatus.
Furthermore, a preferred embodiment the present invention may provide an erasing device capable of accurately erasing information recorded on a heat-sensitive recording medium while realizing reduced manufacturing costs of the apparatus.
Furthermore, an embodiment of the present invention may preferably provide an information erasing and recording apparatus capable of accurately erasing and recording information from and on a heat-sensitive recording medium while realizing reduced manufacturing costs of the apparatus.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, a heating unit is provided that heats a heat-sensitive medium. The heating unit comprises a heat generating body that converts electric energy into heat energy; a fixed member to which the heat generating body is fixed; and a holding member that directly holds the fixed member while contacting at least a part of the fixed member.
According to this configuration, the heating unit includes the fixed member to which the heat generating body is fixed, and the fixed member is directly held by the holding member without using an adhesive or the like. Accordingly, the structure of an apparatus is simplified and degradation over time is reduced, thereby making it possible to realize reduced manufacturing costs of the apparatus. Furthermore, by making a contact area between the fixed member to which the heat generating body is fixed and the holding member small, the amount of heat transferred from the heat generating body through the fixed member can be reduced, thereby making it possible to efficiently heat the heat-sensitive medium.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, an erasing device is provided that erases information recorded on a heat-sensitive recording medium heat-reversibly developing and erasing a color. The erasing device comprises the heating unit according to the embodiment of the present invention that heats the heat-sensitive recording medium to erase the information; and a moving device that moves the heat-sensitive recording medium relative to the heating unit.
According to this configuration, the information recorded on the heat-sensitive recording medium is erased using the heating unit according to the embodiment of the present invention. Accordingly, the heat-sensitive recording medium can be uniformly heated, thereby making it possible to evenly erase the information recorded on the heat-sensitive recording medium.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, an information erasing and recording apparatus is provided that erases and records information from and on a heat-sensitive recording medium heat-reversibly developing and erasing a color. The information erasing and recording apparatus comprises the erasing device according to the embodiment of the present invention that heats the heat-sensitive recording medium to erase information recorded on the heat-sensitive recording medium; and a recording device that records other information on the heat-sensitive recording medium from which the previous information has been erased by the erasing device.
According to this configuration, in the erasing device, the information recorded on the heat-sensitive recording medium is erased using the erasing device according to the embodiment of the present invention. Accordingly, it is possible to evenly erase the recorded information. Furthermore, in the recording device, other information is recorded on the heat-sensitive recording medium from which the previous information has been evenly erased. Accordingly, it is possible to accurately record the information.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Referring to
As shown in a schematic diagram of
The recording material is a reversible heat-sensitive recording medium capable of erasing and developing colors with a thermal head and forming a relative color optical state by making use of differences in heating temperatures and cooling rates after heating.
Referring back to
The erasing device 30 includes a pair of conveying rollers 31 that convey the recording card 70 sequentially fed from the sheet feeding cassette 21 in the positive X-direction, a heating unit 100 arranged on the positive X-side of the pair of conveying rollers 31, a platen roller 33 arranged beneath the heating unit 100, and a movable roller 34 arranged on the positive X-side of the heating unit 100 through a movable member 34a.
The rotating member 101 includes a rectangular-plate-shaped main body part 101a having its longitudinal direction oriented in the Y-axis direction and a set of supporting parts 101b obliquely extending from the ends on the positive Y-side and the negative Y-side of the main body part 101a in the downward (negative Z-direction) and negative X-direction. Furthermore, circular openings 101c are formed at the ends on the negative X-side of the supporting parts 101b. In the rotating member 101b, a shaft or the like parallel to the Y-axis is inserted in the openings 101c formed in the supporting parts 101b, respectively, and the rotating member 101 is arranged in a manner capable of rising and falling in rotational motions about the shaft S1 driven by a rotating mechanism (not shown).
The heat generating member 113 is a sheet heating element having its longitudinal direction oriented in the Y-axis direction. As shown in
The heat accumulating member 111 is a rectangular member having its longitudinal direction oriented in the Y-axis direction. As a material for the heat accumulating member 111, for example, aluminum, a metal having a high heat conductivity is used. But, it is not particularly limited so long as metals having a high heat conductivity such as gold, silver, copper, and iron are used.
The heating member 112 is a rectangular member having its longitudinal direction oriented in the Y-axis direction. The lower surface of the heating member 112 has a downward projection and is formed into a curved surface (hereinafter referred also to as a heating surface) having a generating line parallel to the Y-axis. Similarly to the heat accumulating member 111, the heating member 112 uses aluminum as its material and is controlled to have substantially the same a heat capacity as the heat accumulating member 111. Note, however, that the heating member 112 is only required to have high heat conductivity and substantially the same heat capacity as the heat accumulating member 111. Therefore, the material of the heating member 112 is not necessarily the same as that of the heat accumulating member 111.
The heat generating member 113, the heat accumulating member 111, and the heating member 112 configured described above are integrated with each other by mutually fixing the heating member 112 and the heat accumulating member 111 using bolts or the like with the heat generating member 113 held by the heat accumulating member 111 and the heating member 112 from its vertical direction.
The set of auxiliary members 104 includes curved parts 104a curved in a rectangular shape, substantially triangular fixing parts 104b horizontally extending from one end of the curved parts 104a, and V-shaped connecting parts 104c downwardly extending from the other end of the curved parts 104a. Furthermore, threaded round holes 104d are formed at the lower ends of the connecting parts 104c. The set of auxiliary members 104 is attached to the upper surface of the heat accumulating member 111 at each of the ends on the positive Y-side and the negative Y-side by screws, rivets, or the like with the round holes 104d positioned on the positive Y-side and the negative Y-side of the heating member 112.
The braking member 105 is a member including three parts of a slit 105c formed by a set of claw parts extending in the negative X-direction, a guide part 105a having a pair of downwardly extending contact parts, and a V-shaped fixing part 105b extending from the end on the positive X-side of the guide part 105a to the positive X-direction. The braking member 105 is fixed to the center of the heat accumulating member 111 by screws, rivets, or the like to be attached to the heat accumulating member 111 with the pair of contacting parts brought into contact with the surface on the negative X-side of the heat accumulating member 111.
Considering all the parts together based on
Furthermore, a set of adjusting screws 120 are screwed into the main body part 101a of the rotating member 101 in a manner capable of moving in the Z-axis direction, and pressurizing springs 121 that downwardly bias the upper surface of the heat accumulating member 111 are attached at the ends of the adjusting screws 120. The adjusting screws 120 are screwed to adjust the biasing force of the pressurizing springs 121 to apply an appropriate biasing force onto the upper surface of the heat accumulating member 111, whereby the heating device 110 is constantly positioned at the lower limit of the movable range defined by the bolts 106 and the elongated holes 103c. When a material to be heated such as a heat-sensitive recording medium is brought into press-contact with the heating member 112 of the heating device 110, the heating device 110 is obliquely positioned inclined as shown in
When the recording card 70 is fed from the sheet feeding cassette 21, the erasing device 30 including the heating unit 100 rotates the rotating member 101 of the heating unit 100 to bring the heating member 112 of the heating device 110 into contact with the upper surface of the recording card 70 supported from the underside by the platen roller 33. Then, electric power is supplied to the heat generating member 113 of the heating device 110 while the pair of conveying rollers 31 is driven to feed the recording card 70 in the positive X-direction. Accordingly, the upper surface of the recording card 70 is heated to a temperature higher than or equal to temperature T2 in
Referring back to
When the end on the negative X-side of the recording card 70 is drawn into the gap between the recording head 52 and the platen roller 53, the recording device 50 heats the upper surface of the recording card 70 to temperatures higher than or equal to temperature T1 to record other information on it while driving the platen roller 53 to feed the recording card 70 in the negative X-direction with the recording head 52 brought into contact with the upper surface of the recording card 70 supported from the underside by the platen roller 53. On the other hand, the drawing roller 51 and the first discharging roller 54 are arranged through supporting members 51a and 54a, respectively, capable of vertically moving with a driving mechanism (not shown), and they are withdrawn at a position free from the interference with the recording card 70 when the information is being recorded on the recording card 70. Upon completion of the information recording on the recording card 70, the first discharging roller 54 is brought into contact with the upper surface of the recording card 70 to hold the recording card 70 with the first and second discharging rollers 54 and 55. Then, the second discharging roller 55 is rotated to sequentially discharge the recording card 70 to the sheet discharging tray 60 through a discharging port 50a formed in the housing 10a.
Inside the housing 10a, the lifter 40 includes a lifting and lowering device 41 arranged on the positive X-side of the erasing device 30, a conveying tray connected to the lifting and lowering device 41 through link bars 44A and 44B, and a carrying-in-and-out roller 47 having its longitudinal direction oriented in the Y-axis direction arranged near the end on the negative X-side of the conveying tray 42.
The lifting and lowering device 41 having its longitudinal direction oriented in the X-axis direction is arranged at the bottom wall surface of the housing 10a through supporting members (not shown). It includes a moving shaft 45A that moves along a guide slot 41a having its longitudinal direction oriented in the X-axis direction formed from the end on the negative X-side to a central part and a moving shaft 45B that moves along a guide slot 41b having its longitudinal direction oriented in the X-axis direction formed from the end on the positive X-side to a central part.
The link bar 44A has a curved shape so as to be upwardly projected. The end on the positive X-side of the link bar 44A is attached at an upper position of the end on the positive X-side of the conveying tray 42 in a manner capable of rotating about the shaft parallel to the Y-axis, and the end on the negative X-side thereof is attached to the moving shaft 45A provided in the lifting and lowering device 41 in a manner capable of rotating about a shaft parallel to the Y-axis. Furthermore, the link bar 44B has the same configuration as the link bar 44A. That is, the end on the negative X-side of the link bar 44B is attached at an upper position of the end on the negative X-side of the conveying tray 42 in a manner capable of rotating about a shaft parallel to the Y-axis, and the end on the positive X-side thereof is attached to the moving shaft 45B provided in the lifting and lowering device 41 in a manner capable of rotating about the shaft parallel to the Y-axis.
In the lifter 40, the conveying tray 42 is lowered to be set at the position as indicated by solid lines in
Next, a description is made of the operations of the printer 10 configured as described above. Assume that plural of the recording cards 70 are accommodated in the sheet feeding cassette 21 in advance and the tray 22 is upwardly biased by the lifting and lowering mechanism 24. Furthermore, assume that the conveying tray 42 is set at the position as indicated by the solid lines in
(Sheet Feeding Process)
Upon receipt of operating instructions from the user or higher level devices, the control unit rotates the sheet feeding roller 23 to feed the recording card 70 accommodated in the sheet feeding cassette 21 in the positive X-direction, so that the recording card 70 is conveyed into a gap between the pair of conveying rollers 31 of the erasing device 30 through the inserting port 30a.
(Erasing Process)
When the recording card 70 is conveyed to the erasing device 30, the control unit heats the upper surface of the recording card 70 with the heating unit 100 while moving the recording card 70 in the positive X-direction through the pair of conveying rollers 31 and the platen roller 33, to thereby erase information recorded on the recording card 70.
(Carrying-In Process into Lifter)
When the end on the positive X-side of the recording card 70 moving in the positive X-direction passes through the position above the carrying-in-and-out roller 47 provided in the conveying tray 42, the control unit rotates the movable member 34a to bring the movable roller 34 into contact with the upper surface of the recording card 70, so that the movable roller 34 and the carrying-in-and-out roller 47 cooperate with each other to carry the recording card 70 into the conveying tray 42.
(Lifting-Up Process)
After the recording card 70 is carried into the conveying tray 42, the control unit drives the lifting and lowering device 41 to start lifting the conveying tray 42. In the printer 10 according to the embodiment, time required for the conveying tray 42 starting its movement from the carry-in position to reach the carry-out position is about 1 through 2 seconds.
(Carrying-Out Process from Lifter)
When the conveying tray 42 is at the carry-out position, the control unit drives the supporting member 51a to bring the drawing roller 51 into contact with the upper surface of the recording card 70, so that the drawing roller 51 and the carry-in-and-out roller 47 cooperate with each other to convey the end on the negative X-side of the recording card 70 into a gap between the recording head 52 and the platen roller 53.
(Recording Process)
When the recording start position of the recording card 70 moving in the negative X-direction is positioned just beneath the recording head 52, the control unit lowers the recording head 52 to hold the recording card 70 with the recording head 52 and the platen roller 53 while moving the supporting members 51a and 54a upward to withdraw the drawing roller 51 and the first discharging roller 54 to a position free from interference with the recording card 70. Then, the recording card 70 is moved relative to the recording head 52 only by the platen roller 53 to start recording of other information on the recording card 70. At the same time, when the printing is started on the recording card 70, the control unit moves the conveying tray 42 to the carry-in position so as to be in standby.
(Sheet Discharging Process)
The recording card 70 on which other information has been recorded is discharged through the discharging port 50a by the first and second discharging rollers 54 and 55 and then sequentially stacked in the sheet discharging tray 60.
As described above, in the heating unit 100 according to the embodiment, the heating device 110 that heats the recording card 70 is directly held to the base member 103 through the auxiliary members 104 fixed to the heat accumulating member 111 by bolts or the like. Accordingly, it is not necessary to use a heat-sensitive adhesive required when typical heating devices are used, thereby making it possible to simplify the structure of the apparatus and reduce manufacturing costs. Furthermore, because the lack of an adhesive allows the heating device 110 to be easily detached or attached from or to the heating head 102, maintenance of the apparatus is facilitated.
Furthermore, the heating device 110 is held to the base member 103 through the auxiliary members 104 fixed at both ends of the heat accumulating member 111. Therefore, even if the heat accumulating member 111 or the like is expanded by heat, no excessive force is applied to the heating device 110. Moreover, the heat accumulating member 111, the auxiliary members 104, the base member 103, and the like are made of either the same material or materials having a similar thermal expansion coefficient, thereby making it possible to effectively reduce the influence due to thermal expansion.
Furthermore, in the heating device 110 of the heating unit 100 according to the embodiment, the heat generating member 113 is held by the heat accumulating member 111 and the heating member 112 having higher rigidity compared with typical thermal heads and ceramics used in erasing heads. Accordingly, it is possible to hold only a part of the heat accumulating member 111. Therefore, by reducing the contact area between the auxiliary members 104 and the heat accumulating member 111 to be as small as possible, the amount of heat transferred from the heat accumulating member 111 through the auxiliary members 104 can be reduced. As for the contact area between the auxiliary members 104 and the heat accumulating member 111, it is preferable that the proportion of the contact area to the upper surface area of the heat accumulating member 111 be smaller than or equal to 0.5.
Furthermore, the ends of the heating device 110 of the heating unit 100 according to the embodiment are held in a manner capable of freely moving up and down. Therefore, as shown in
In the embodiment, a case is described where the auxiliary members 104 are directly attached to the heat accumulating member 111. Alternatively, a spacer or the like may be provided between the heat accumulating member 111 and the auxiliary members 104 so that the auxiliary members 104 are attached to the heat accumulating member 111. Furthermore, screws, pins, rivets, or the like other than bolts may be used to connect the heat accumulating member 111 and auxiliary members 104 to each other. Moreover, the tip ends of the bolts 106 may be directly screwed into threads in the heat accumulating member 111 so that the heating device 110 is rotatably connected to the base member 103.
Specifically, as shown in
Furthermore, when the recording card 70 is heated by the heating unit 100 according to the embodiment, the heat from the heat generating member 113 is first transferred to the heating member 112. Because the heating member 112 is made of aluminum having high heat conductivity in the embodiment, the temperature distribution of the heating surface of the heating member 112 becomes uniform regardless of the shape and the heat distribution of the resistor 115. The recording card 70 receives the heat energy from the heating surface to be heated thereby. Accordingly, the recording surface of the recording card 70 can be uniformly heated.
Furthermore, in the heating unit 100 according to the embodiment, the heat accumulating member 111 having a heat capacity equivalent to the heating member 112 is provided in a manner as to be brought into contact with the upper surface of the heat generating member 113. Accordingly, even if high electric power is supplied to the heat generating member 113 at the time of booting the printer 10 or the like to rapidly raise the temperature of the heating member 112 from room temperature of about 25° C. to a standby temperature of 70° C., nearly the same amount of heat is discharged from the upper and lower surfaces of the heat generating member 113, thereby making it possible to prevent damage due to overheating the heat generating member 113.
Furthermore, the heat accumulating member 111 properly compensates for the amount of heat discharged from the heating member 112 at the time of heating. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the variation in temperature of the heating surface when the recording cards 70 are heated by the heating member 112 in a continuous manner.
Furthermore, the heating unit 100 according to the embodiment includes the heat accumulating member 111 and the heating member 112 having high heat capacity and high heat conductivity. Therefore, even if the recording cards 70 are heated in a continuous manner, the variation in temperature of the heating surface of the recording cards 70 is reduced to a small amount, thereby making it possible to reduce the supplied amount of electric power as a whole.
Furthermore, in the erasing device 30 according to the embodiment, the previous information recorded on the recording card 70 is erased using the heating unit 100. Accordingly, it is possible to uniformly heat the recording card 70 to evenly erase the recorded information.
Furthermore, in the printer 10 according to the embodiment, the erasing device 30 erases the previous information recorded on the recording card 70 using the heating unit 100. Accordingly, it is possible to evenly erase the recorded information. Furthermore, the recording device 50 records other information on the recording card 70 from which the previous information has been evenly erased, thereby making it possible to accurately record other information on the recording card 70.
The above embodiment describes the case where the previous information is erased from the recording card 70 in the printer 10, but it is not limited to the recording card 70. Alternatively, heat-sensitive recording sheets may be used.
Furthermore, the heat-sensitive characteristics of the recording card 70 shown in
In the embodiment, aluminum is used as a material for the heat accumulating member 111 and the heating member 112, but the material is not limited to aluminum. Alternatively, metal materials such as copper having high heat conductivity may be used, and the heat accumulating member 111 and the heating member 112 may be integrated with each other. Furthermore, when a recording medium to be recorded on is of a rigid material, its abrasion resistance may be improved by nickelizing the heating surface or the like.
Furthermore, in the embodiment, the sheet heating element is used as the heat generating member 113, but the heat generating member 113 is not limited to the sheet heating element. For example, a resistance having an insulating film such as an oxidized film formed thereon may be cast in the heating member.
Furthermore, in the printer 10 according to the embodiment, the heating unit 100 is used as the erasing head, but it is not limited to the erasing head in the present invention. It may be also applied to a transfer device that transfers ink or the like onto a recording medium, a laminator, or the like.
As described above, the heating unit according to the embodiment of the present invention is suitable for heating a heat-sensitive medium. Furthermore, the erasing device according to the embodiment of the present invention is suitable for erasing information recorded on a heat-sensitive recording medium having heat reversibility. Furthermore, the information erasing and recording apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention is suitable for erasing and recording information from and on a heat-sensitive recording medium having heat reversibility.
The present invention is not limited to the specifically disclosed embodiments, and variations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.
The present application is based on Japanese Priority Application No. 2007-099383 filed on Apr. 5, 2007, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007-099383 | Apr 2007 | JP | national |
