JP2003091095A - Matter recorded in braille - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a matter recorded in Braille which has both Braille and the image of a picture and a character (character in ink), where Braille has such image height that it can be completely recognized in practical use, and which can be easily produced by an electrophotographic method. SOLUTION: In this matter recorded in Braille, a transparent toner image consisting of transparent toner is formed at a position corresponding to a visible image on a recording medium, at least on either surface of which the visible image is formed. It is desirable to form the visible image and the transparent toner image by the electrophotographic method. Furthermore, it is desirable that the transparent toner incorporates foaming material.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a Braille record, and more particularly to a Braille record having an image and Braille formed on a recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the development of image forming technology, various printing methods such as intaglio printing, letterpress printing, lithographic printing, gravure printing and screen printing are used to form images of the same quality in large quantities at low cost. The method is known. Among them, screen printing is, for example, a vehicle-mounted meter panel,
It is possible to produce high-definition printed matter (product) with high designability such as various labels, clock dials, outdoor advertisements, posters, and scarves.

Screen printing requires a large number of printing plates corresponding to the number of images to be printed. In the case of color printing, as many printing plates as the number of colors are required. In particular, as described above, printed matter with a high design quality often requires a small amount of many different things (manufacturing a large amount of a wide variety of products), and a printing plate is newly made every time the shape is changed. It is necessary to change the printing plate each time in order to prepare for the change in the production amount, and various printing plates are required. Therefore, when producing printed matter with high designability by screen printing,
There is a problem that storage and management of a large number of printing plates require a lot of labor and time.

Further, in the screen printing process, since the ink contains an organic solvent, it is necessary to consider not only the influence on the human body but also the environmental pollution. Further, in order to dry these organic solvents, a large amount of energy and drying time are required, which is a cause of lowering productivity. Furthermore, in order to use the printing plate repeatedly, it is necessary to wash the printing plate, and a large amount of organic solvent is required for washing. When exchanging the printing plate, it is necessary to also replace the screen printing head that is soiled by the previous ink, and it takes time to replace it for head cleaning, which further reduces productivity.

On the other hand, in the image formation (printing) by the electrophotographic method, the surface of the image carrier is uniformly charged, exposed according to the image signal, and electrostatically caused by the potential difference between the exposed portion and the non-exposed portion. A latent image is formed, and thereafter, a color powder called a toner having a polarity opposite to that of the electrostatic charge is electrostatically developed to form a visible image (toner image). In the case of a color image, a color visible image is formed by repeating this process a plurality of times, and a color image is obtained by transferring and fixing (fixing) these on an image recording medium.

As described above, in the electrophotographic method, the electrostatic latent image on the surface of the image carrier is electrically formed by the image signal, so that the same image can be formed many times and different images can be formed. It can be easily manufactured. Further, the toner image on the surface of the image carrier can be almost completely transferred to the image recording medium, and the toner image slightly remaining on the image carrier can be easily removed by a resin blade or a brush. It is possible to easily produce printed matter for small-scale production.

Further, the toner is typically formed by mixing a hot-melt resin and a pigment, and optionally an additive such as a charge control agent, and pulverizing the mixture to form fine particles. The electrostatic latent image in the electrophotographic system has a sufficiently high resolution and can be expected to have a sufficient resolution as compared with the resolution of screen printing.

On the other hand, a stereoscopic image material is used as a material for advertising and education. A three-dimensional image is useful because not only two-dimensional visual information, but also three-dimensional information can be given to a receiver by a shadow, a tactile sensation of a finger, and the like to give a strong impression and understanding. Particularly, effective use of a three-dimensional image includes a character for Braille and an image for Braille. Stereoscopic image,
Used as image information such as maps as well as language information,
It is indispensable for the visually impaired. In addition, in order to manufacture a touch panel for a microwave oven, which is a home electric appliance, it is necessary to prepare both a design according to the purpose such as a pan and a convex image portion (Braille etc.) for recognizing that it is a switch. . Similarly, with a ticket vending machine or the like, it is necessary to create a desired design, price, and Braille, and create an image in consideration of all customers.

The following methods are conventionally known as methods for forming a three-dimensional image. For example, a method of forming protrusions by embossing on the surface of a paper with a Braille typewriter is widely used. Further, as a method of reproducing a three-dimensional image and producing a braille book or the like, a braille plate-making machine or a braille printing machine is used by using a zinc plate on which a braille image is formed as an original plate according to the same principle as the braille typewriter. There is a method to duplicate using a machine. In addition, as a method for producing a three-dimensional image brochure, etc., a UV-curable high-viscosity polymer ink is printed in a mountain shape using a printing technique such as ordinary silk screen, and then UV-cured to obtain a three-dimensional image. However, it is not a method that can be easily used in general offices.

The conventional three-dimensional image forming method has drawbacks that it takes time and the place of use is limited. Furthermore, when a stereoscopic image is duplicated, the duplication process and the apparatus used are complicated and large-scale, which is not suitable for today's information society. Today's office equipment has made tremendous progress, especially with the advancement and pervasiveness of personal computers, making the creation of materials faster and easier, and its output equipment also becoming smaller, lighter, lower cost, faster, and color. Has achieved. There is a demand for a device that can easily output and copy a stereoscopic image. In particular, if software that can convert ordinary characters (planar characters) into Braille characters or vice versa becomes available at low cost, it is possible to further promote the social participation of visually impaired persons. Further, in order to increase the possibility of exchanging electronic mail between visually impaired persons, an output device capable of easily outputting Braille characters and the like is required. In other words, even in the output and reproduction of stereoscopic images, it is the actual situation that an easy and high-speed system compatible with today's office environment is desired instead of the conventional complicated and large-scale system.

On the other hand, JP-A-8-60054 proposes an ink jet ink containing a UV-decomposable gas generating photosensitive compound, a device using the ink, and a method for forming a stereoscopic image using the ink. Has been done. The output device disclosed in the above publication is small, and further, the output from a personal computer is possible.
This is an effective method for forming a stereoscopic image. However, when an attempt is made to output a three-dimensional image to plain paper, there is a problem in that the liquid ink penetrates between the fibers of the paper and a sufficient three-dimensional image cannot be obtained even if the image is expanded by ultraviolet rays. Therefore, there is a proposal to use a non-liquid-absorbent recording material such as PET, but it is not suitable for bookbinding and the like at high cost, and practical application is difficult.

Therefore, as a method for easily forming a Braille image, a method using an electrophotographic method widely used in offices and personal use has been proposed. For example, JP-B-59-35359 and JP-A-61-72.
A method using a heat-expandable sheet is proposed in Japanese Patent No. 589. This is a method of uniformly applying a heat-expandable material on a support such as paper and thermally expanding only the image portion to produce a three-dimensional image. According to this method, a normal copying machine can be used, this thermal expansion sheet is used in place of conventional plain paper, an image made of black toner is produced on the sheet, and the heat absorption of the black toner is used. Then, the thermal expansion material under the toner image is expanded to form a three-dimensional image. This method is preferable in that a three-dimensional image can be easily formed, but black toner is required to sufficiently thermally expand the thermal expansion material, another heating device is required, and sufficient image thickness is obtained. It is not preferable because it takes time to form a three-dimensional image having the above-mentioned property, and it is necessary to coat the heat-expandable material on the entire surface of the sheet, so that the demand for resource saving cannot be met. Further, the sheet is thick, and it is not suitable for binding a large number of sheets like a book, and it is difficult to put it into practical use.

On the other hand, JP-A-4-333858 and JP-A-8-63039 propose methods of forming a three-dimensional image by using a conventional electrophotographic method and increasing the amount of toner on the image. . This method uses a large amount of conventional toner to form a toner image and increases the image height, so the toner may not be sufficiently fixed on the paper or the like. If high-temperature fixing is carried out in order to achieve sufficient temperature, there are problems that the toner melts, penetrates into the fibers of the paper, and the image height becomes insufficient.

Further, JP-A-52-28325 proposes a toner for electrophotography containing a dry foaming agent. This is to obtain a three-dimensional image by using a toner in which a conventional toner and the above-mentioned foaming agent are mixed in powder, and then expanding the dry foaming agent by heat after image formation. However, depending on the powder mixture, the toner and the foaming agent cannot be mixed sufficiently uniformly, so that there are many cases where the foaming agent having no adhesive force is present at the interface with the paper, resulting in sufficient fixing property. A stereoscopic image having is not obtained. In addition, since the toner particles and the dry foaming agent do not have sufficient adhesiveness, the dry foaming agent is contained in the toner to some extent in order to further improve the adhesiveness (the dry foaming agent to be contained at this time is At that time, bubbles are boiled due to heating and kneading, and the thermal expansibility disappears.), And a device was devised to improve the adhesion between the toner particles and the bubbles by further mixing the dry bubbles with powder. ing. However, the adhesiveness between the paper and the toner is not improved, and the fixability between the image and the paper is still insufficient. In addition, since the chargeability of the binder resin and the dry foaming agent are generally different, the charge distribution of the toner becomes wider due to the difference in chargeability, and as the environment changes,
And the quality of the image obtained deteriorates with long-term use.

Further, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-061047,
There has been proposed an information input / output method for forming a projection image using a toner containing a heat-sensitive foaming agent. The toner used in this method is one in which a binder resin for toner, a colorant, and a heat-sensitive foaming agent are mixed and finely pulverized to produce a toner, and the heat-sensitive foaming agent is not exposed on the surface of the pulverized toner. ing. Therefore, as in the above proposal, there is a portion where the heat-sensitive foaming agent exists at the interface between the paper and the toner, the adhesiveness between the toner and the paper is reduced, and the fixability of the image made of the toner is poor. Further, since the heat-sensitive foaming agent is exposed on the toner surface, the chargeability of the toner surface becomes uneven. Therefore, the charge distribution of the toner becomes wide, and when the toner is used in a low temperature and low humidity environment or is used for a long period of time, the image quality such as fogging is deteriorated in the image. Further, since the toner used is produced by a usual kneading and pulverizing method, it is considered that most of the heat-sensitive foaming agent foams and loses its effect due to heat during kneading. As a result, since the foaming agent cannot be sufficiently expanded only by heat fixing in a normal copying machine or the like, it is necessary to further pass the output image through the heating device, which is insufficient in terms of simplicity.

As described above, an ordinary electrophotographic copying machine or a small printer (without a separate heating device,
No substantial modification required. In fact, there is no toner capable of easily forming a three-dimensional image according to (1). Further, even on plain paper, there is no toner capable of easily forming an image having a sufficient image height capable of recognizing Braille and having a good fixing property. In addition, practically good productivity, charging uniformity,
In reality, no image forming toner having environmental stability exists.

[0017]

From the above, the present invention is
An object of the present invention is to provide a Braille recorded product having both Braille and an image such as an image or a printed character (ink character), the Braille recorded product having an image height at which the Braille can be recognized practically and sufficiently. Another object of the present invention is to provide a Braille recording material that can be easily produced by electrophotography, and more specifically, to provide a touch panel for home electric appliances and the like by electrophotography. Further, it is an object of the present invention to provide a Braille recorded material capable of producing a Braille or convex image and an image or a print at one time.

[0018]

The above-mentioned object can be achieved by the present invention described below. That is, the present invention is <1> a Braille recorded product in which a transparent toner image is formed by a transparent toner at a position corresponding to the visible image on a recording medium having a visible image formed on at least one surface. .

<2> The Braille recorded product according to <1>, wherein the visible image is formed by an electrophotographic method. <3> The Braille recorded product according to <1> or <2>, wherein the transparent toner image is formed by an electrophotographic method. <4> The Braille recorded product according to any one of <1> to <3>, wherein the transparent toner contains a foaming material.

[0020]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION <Braille Record> The braille record of the present invention has a transparent toner image formed by a transparent toner at a position corresponding to the visible image on a recording medium having a visible image formed on at least one surface. There is. Here, "Braille" means
A deciphered character that a visually impaired person reads with his or her fingertips, and is a character consisting of 6 convex points, 3 vertical and 2 horizontal.
Since images such as ink characters and Braille are formed on the same recording medium, not only visually impaired persons but also general sighted persons (general persons who can see the sight of visually impaired persons) can be used. it can. Further, since the transparent toner is used for the braille, the image height is such that the braille can be recognized, and even if the braille is formed at a position corresponding to the ink, the ink can be clearly recognized.

The visible image includes characters, figures, symbols, etc.
It can be used without particular limitation. Further, as the recording medium, paper, transparent film or the like can be used. The visible image can be formed by various methods, but is preferably formed by a copying machine or a printer using electrophotography. By adopting the electrophotographic method, it is possible to easily produce Braille or convex images and images or prints on a recording medium, and it is also possible to use a device such as a touch panel having Braille or convex images and images or prints at once with one device. The effect that it can be easily obtained is obtained. The touch panel refers to one that operates a computer or the like by touching a screen of a home electric appliance such as a microwave oven to select a menu.

The transparent toner used when forming the transparent toner image is preferably composed of a known binder resin for toner containing no coloring material. Further, it is preferable to contain various additives such as a foaming agent. When the foaming agent foams at the time of fixing, the braille formed has a sufficiently recognizable image height. The transparent image can be formed by various methods, but is preferably formed by electrophotography for the same reason as that for the visible image. The term "transparent" means that the visible image is transparent to the naked eye.

As the binder resin, a resin generally used for toner can be used as described above.
Specific examples thereof include polyester resin, styrene resin, acrylic resin, styrene / acrylic resin, silicone resin, epoxy resin, diene resin, phenol resin, ethylene / vinyl acetate resin, and the like, more preferably polyester resin. . The following may be mentioned as polymerized monomers (alcohol component, acid component) of the polyester resin.

As the alcohol component, polyoxypropylene (2,2) -2,2-bis (4-hydroxyphenyl) propane, polyoxypropylene (3,3)-
2,2-bis (4-hydroxyphenyl) propane, polyoxyethylene (2,0) -2,2-bis (4-hydroxyphenyl) propane, polyoxypropylene (2,0) -polyoxyethylene (2,2 0) -2,2-
Bis (4-hydroxyphenyl) propane, polyoxypropylene (2,0) -polyoxyethylene (2,0)
Diols such as -2,2-bis (4-hydroxyphenyl) propane, ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, propylene glycol, dipropylene glycol,
Isopentyl glycol, dipropylene glycol, isopentyl glycol, hydrogenated bisphenol A, 1,3
-Butanediol, 1,4-butanediol, neopentyl glycol, xylylene glycol, 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol, glycerin, trimethylolethane, trimethylolpropane, pentaerythritol, bis- (β-hydroxyethyl) terephthalate,
Tris- (β-hydroxyethyl) isocyanurate,
There are 2,2,4-trimethylolpentane-1,3-diol and the like, and a hydroxycarboxylic acid component can be further added. For example, p-oxybenzoic acid, vanillic acid, dimethylolpropionic acid, malic acid, tartaric acid, 5
-Hydroxyisophthalic acid and the like.

Specific examples of the acid component include malonic acid, succinic acid, glutaric acid, dimer acid, phthalic acid, isophthalic acid, terephthalic acid, isophthalic acid dimethyl ester, terephthalic acid dimethyl ester, terephthalic acid monomethyl ester and tetrahydroterephthalic acid. , Methyltetrahydrophthalic acid, hexahydrophthalic acid, dimethyltetrahydrophthalic acid, endomethylenehexahydrophthalic acid, naphthalenetetracarbic acid, diphenolic acid, trimellitic acid, pyromellitic acid, trimesic acid, cyclopentanedicarboxylic acid, 3 , 3 ', 4,4'-benzophenonetetracarboxylic acid, 1,2,3,4-butanetetracarboxylic acid, 2,2-bis- (4-carboxyphenyl) propane, trimellitic anhydride and 4,4 From diaminophenylmethane Diimide carboxylic acid, tris- (β-carboxyethyl) isocyanurate, isocyanurate ring-containing polyimide carboxylic acid, tolylene diisocyanate, xylylene diisocyanate or isocyanate ring obtained from trimeric acid anhydride trimerization reaction product of isophorone diisocyanate It is a contained polyimidecarboxylic acid or the like, and one or more of these are used. Among these, when using a crosslinking component such as a polyvalent carboxylic acid having a valence of 3 or more and a polyhydric alcohol, fixing strength,
It may be preferable in terms of stability such as offset resistance.
The polyester resin obtained from these raw materials is manufactured by a usual method. The glass transition temperature is conveniently set to 40 to 80 ° C, more preferably 50 to 70 ° C.

The above polyester resins may be used in combination of two or more kinds, or may be used in combination with other resins. Other resins include styrene resin, acrylic resin, styrene-acrylic resin, silicone resin, epoxy resin, diene resin, phenol resin, terpene resin, coumarin resin, amide resin, amide imide resin, butyral resin, urethane resin, ethylene resin. Vinyl acetate resin etc. In the present invention, the polyester resin is the main component, and the other resins are preferably added to the toner in an amount of 0 to 30% by mass. Further, when a toner is produced by dispersing a foaming agent in the binder resin monomer and suspension-polymerizing the foaming agent, the suspension-polymerizable monomer in the binder resin can be used.

The foaming agent is not particularly limited, and any foaming agent can be used as long as it expands in volume by heat. It may be solid or liquid at room temperature. Further, the foaming agent is not limited to a material made of a single substance, but may be a material made of a plurality of substances or a functional material such as microcapsule particles. The preferable range of the foaming temperature of the foaming agent varies depending on which apparatus is used to form the stereoscopic image.However, when the stereoscopic image is formed using a normal copying machine, the foaming temperature is the heat fixing temperature. The following is preferable.

As the foaming agent, for example, a foaming agent whose main raw material is a substance that generates a gas by thermal decomposition can be used, and specifically, a heavy hydrocarbon such as sodium hydrogencarbonate that generates a carbon dioxide gas by thermal decomposition can be used. Carbonate, N to generate nitrogen gas
Examples thereof include a mixture of aNO ₂ and NH ₄ Cl, azo compounds such as azobisisobutyronitrile and diazoaminobenzene, and peroxides that generate oxygen and the like.

As another embodiment of the foaming agent, a foaming agent of microcapsule particles containing a low-boiling substance (which may be in a liquid state or a solid state at room temperature) that vaporizes at a low temperature (hereinafter, referred to as "foaming agent"). Sometimes referred to as "microcapsule type foaming agent"). The microcapsule type foaming agent is preferable because it has high foamability. When used in an ordinary copying machine, the low-boiling substance contained in the microcapsules needs to be vaporized at a temperature lower than at least the heat fixing temperature, specifically 100 ° C. or less, preferably Is a substance that vaporizes at 50 ° C. or lower, more preferably 25 ° C. or lower. However, the thermal responsiveness of the microcapsule type foaming agent depends not only on the boiling point of the low-boiling substance which is the core material but also on the softening point of the wall material, and therefore the preferable boiling range of the low-boiling substance is not limited to the above range. . As a low boiling point substance,
For example, neopentane, neohexane, isopentane,
Examples include isobutylene and isobutane. Of these, isobutane that is stable with respect to the wall material of the microcapsule and has a high coefficient of thermal expansion is preferable.

The wall material of the microcapsules has solvent resistance to various solvents used in the manufacturing process of the transparent toner, and when the low-boiling substance contained in the microcapsules is vaporized, it is resistant to gas. Materials that are impermeable are preferred. Further, when used in a normal copying machine, the wall material needs to be softened and expanded at a temperature lower than the heat fixing temperature. As the wall material of the microcapsule, the wall material conventionally used can be widely used. For example, homopolymers of polyvinyl chloride, polyvinyl acetate, polystyrene, polyacrylonitrile, polybutadiene, polyacrylic acid ester and the like, and copolymers thereof are preferably used. Of these, a copolymer of vinylidene chloride and acrylonitrile is preferable because of its high adhesiveness with the binder resin and high solvent resistance to a solvent.

The content of the foaming agent varies depending on its type, but is usually 5% by mass to 50% by mass, preferably 10% by mass to 40% by mass of the transparent transparent toner. When the content of the foaming agent is less than 5% by mass, the thermal expansion of the transparent toner may be insufficient for practical use,
On the other hand, when it exceeds 50% by mass, the proportion of the binder resin in the transparent toner is relatively insufficient, which may cause a problem that sufficient fixing property cannot be obtained.

Further, the transparent toner may contain a magnetic material in order to have magnetization. As the type of magnetic material, known materials can be appropriately used. For example, metals such as iron, cobalt, nickel and their alloys, Fe ₃ O ₄ ,
γ-Fe ₂ O ₃ , metal oxides such as cobalt-added iron oxide, M
Those formed from various types of ferrite such as nZn ferrite and NiZn ferrite are preferably used. Fe ₃ O ₄ is particularly preferable, and the particle size is 0.05 to 0.
The one having a thickness of 5 μm is used. These are preferably treated with various treating agents in order to have hydrophobicity. Further, a plurality of these may be combined. The amount to be contained can be appropriately selected depending on the purpose of use for the system, but when used as a magnetic transparent toner, it is preferably 30 to 60% by mass.

If desired, the transparent toner may contain a release agent. The inclusion of a release agent is preferable because it can prevent an offset phenomenon at the time of contact fixing. The release agent used is not particularly limited, and the following materials having releasability can be used. For example, plant waxes such as low molecular weight polyethylene, low molecular weight polypropylene, carnauba wax, cotton wax, wooden wax and rice wax; animal waxes such as beeswax and lanolin; mineral waxes such as ozokerite and celsin; and paraffin and microcrystallin. , Waxes such as petroleum waxes such as petrolatum and waxes; In addition to these natural waxes, synthetic hydrocarbon waxes such as Fischer-Tropsch wax and polyethylene wax; fatty acid amides such as 12-hydroxystearic acid amide, stearic acid amide, phthalic anhydride imide and chlorinated hydrocarbons; esters and ketones Synthetic waxes such as ether and the like can also be used.
Further, as a low molecular weight crystalline polymer resin, poly n-
Homopolymers or copolymers of polyacrylates such as stearyl methacrylate and poly-n-lauryl methacrylate (for example, copolymers of n-stearyl acrylate-ethyl methacrylate) and the like, crystalline polymers having a long alkyl group in the side chain. Is mentioned.

The release agent is usually preferably added in the form of fine particles. Further, it is preferable that the release agent is not exposed on the surface of the transparent toner. Exposure of the release agent to the surface of the transparent toner causes a decrease in the powder fluidity of the transparent toner and a decrease in the developability, particularly the maintainability of the image. The average particle size of the release agent may be appropriately determined according to the particle size of the transparent toner to be produced, but the volume average particle size is usually 0.3 to 5 μm. The addition amount is
Although it depends on the average particle size of the release agent, it is usually 0.1 to 40.
It is% by mass. It is preferably 1 to 15% by mass, and more preferably 2 to 5% by mass. Addition amount is 0.1
If it is less than 40% by mass, the desired hot roll releasability is not sufficient, and if it exceeds 40% by mass, the blocking resistance of the transparent toner is lowered.

To miniaturize the release agent, for example, 199
March 1993 Report of Reaction Engineering Research Society Published by Japan Society of Polymer Science-1
The emulsification / dispersion technology and particle size control of polymer microparticles, Chapter 3, can be used for micronization by any of the conventionally known methods using an emulsification / dispersion device or the like. Also, using a suitable solvent that is compatible with the solvent used when preparing the transparent toner and does not dissolve the release agent at room temperature, add the release agent to this solvent and heat to dissolve, then gradually cool to room temperature A method of precipitating the release agent in the form of particles (dissolution and precipitation method) can also be used. Further, a method of heating and evaporating a release agent in an inert gas such as helium to prepare particles in a gas phase, adhering and collecting the particles on a cooled film or the like, and dispersing the collected particles in a solvent ( The vapor phase evaporation method) can also be used. Further, by combining this method with a mechanical crushing method using media or the like, the release agent can be more effectively miniaturized.

If desired, a charge control agent may be added to the transparent toner. Charge control agents that can be used include metal salts of benzoic acid, metal salts of salicylic acid, metal salts of alkylsalicylic acid, metal salts of catechol, metal-containing bisazo dyes, and tetraphenylborate derivatives that have been used in powder toners. , A quaternary ammonium salt, a compound selected from the group consisting of alkylpyridinium salts, and a combination of these compounds can be used. The amount of these charge control agents added to the transparent toner is generally 0.1-10.
It is in the range of 0.5% by mass, and more preferably 0.5 to 8% by mass. If it is less than 0.1% by mass, the charge control effect is insufficient, and if it is more than 10% by mass, the transparent toner resistance may be excessively lowered, resulting in problems such as insufficient charging property. is there.

Further, metal soap, an inorganic or organic metal salt can be used in combination with the above charge control agent. Such metal soaps include aluminum tristearate, aluminum distearate, barium, calcium, lead and zinc stearate, or cobalt, manganese, lead and zinc linolenate, aluminum, calcium, cobalt octanoate. Salts, calcium and cobalt oleates, zinc palmitate, calcium, cobalt, manganese, lead and zinc naphthenates, calcium, cobalt, lead manganese, and zinc resinates can be used. In addition, as the inorganic and organic metal salts, for example, the cationic component in the metal salt is selected from the group Ia, the group IIa, and the group IIa of the periodic table.
The anionic component of the acid is selected from the group consisting of Group Ia metals and is a salt selected from the group consisting of halogens, carbonates, acetates, sulphates, borates, nitrates and phosphates. These charge control agents or cleaning aids are generally in the range of 0.1 to 10% by mass, and more preferably 0.1 to 5% by mass per transparent toner. If it is less than 0.1% by mass, the desired effect is insufficient, and if it exceeds 10% by mass, the fluidity of the transparent toner powder may be deteriorated.

A known external additive may be added to the transparent toner in order to control the fluidity and the developing property to such an extent that the transparency is not impaired. As the external additive, various inorganic oxide fine particles such as silica, alumina, titania, and cerium oxide, and fine particles hydrophobized if necessary, vinyl polymers, zinc stearate, and the like can be used. The amount of external addition is preferably in the range of 0.05 to 10 mass% with respect to the transparent toner before addition.

The transparent toner can be prepared by a known method in the same manner as a normal toner, but it is preferably prepared by the method described below. First, the binder resin,
An oil phase in which a foaming agent and other additives used as necessary are dissolved and / or dispersed is dispersed in an aqueous phase to prepare particles composed of the oil phase. For the preparation of the oil phase, a solvent in which at least the binder resin is soluble is used, the binder resin is dissolved in this solvent, and the foaming agent and, if desired, other additives are dissolved or dispersed to prepare the oil phase. . The solvent that can be used depends on the constituent components of the binder resin,
Generally, hydrocarbons such as toluene, xylene and hexane,
Halogenated hydrocarbons such as methylene chloride, chloroform, dichloroethane, alcohols or ethers such as ethanol, butanol, benzyl alcohol, ether, tetrahydrofuran, esters such as methyl acetate, ethyl acetate, butyl acetate, isopropyl acetate, acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, diisobutyl ketone. And ketones such as cyclohexanone and methylcyclohexane.
These solvents mainly need to dissolve the binder resin, but other additives may or may not be dissolved. The mass ratio of the transparent toner component and the solvent in the oil phase is 10 /
90 to 80/30 is preferable in terms of easiness of granulation or final yield of transparent toner.

Next, the prepared oil phase is dispersed in the aqueous phase so as to have a predetermined particle size. At this time, the foaming agent is retained inside the particles composed of the oil phase dispersed in the aqueous phase. As a result, a transparent toner in which the foaming agent is not substantially exposed on the surface can be easily manufactured. The aqueous phase used at this time contains water as a main component, and if necessary, an inorganic or organic dispersion stabilizer that forms a hydrophilic colloid may be added. Examples of inorganic dispersion stabilizers include calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, barium carbonate, tricalcium phosphate, hydroxyapatite, diatomaceous earth silicate and clay.
The particle diameter of these inorganic dispersion stabilizers is preferably 2 μm or less, preferably 1 μm or less, and more preferably 0.1 μm.
m or less is good. The particle size of these inorganic dispersion stabilizers is 2μ
When it exceeds m, the particle size distribution of the granulated transparent toner becomes wide, and classification is required in a subsequent step in order to obtain a desired particle size distribution, which is not preferable from the viewpoint of resource saving. To make fine particles of these inorganic dispersion stabilizers, a ball mill, a sand mill,
And a wet disperser such as an attriler.

These inorganic dispersion stabilizers and organic dispersion stabilizers may be used in combination. Specific examples of the organic dispersion stabilizer include gelatin, gelatin derivatives (for example, acetylated gelatin, phthalated gelatin, succinated gelatin, etc.), albumin, proteins such as casein, collodion, gum arabic, agar, alginic acid, Cellulose derivatives (for example, alkyl esters of carboxymethyl cellulose, hydroxymethyl cellulose, carboxymethyl cellulose, etc.), and synthetic polymers (polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, polyacrylamide, polyacrylate, polymethacrylate, polymaleate, polystyrene sulfonate) ) And the like. These organic dispersion stabilizers may be used alone or in combination of two or more. The dispersion stabilizer is preferably used in the range of 0.001 to 5 parts by mass with respect to the main medium of the aqueous phase.

A dispersion stabilizing aid may be used in combination in the aqueous phase. Various surfactants can be used as the dispersion stabilizing aid.
Surfactants include ionic and nonionic surfactants. Specifically, as the anionic surfactant, alkylbenzene sulfonate, alkylphenyl sulfonate, alkylnaphthalene sulfonate, higher fatty acid salt, higher fatty acid ester sulfate ester salt, higher fatty acid ester sulfonic acid, etc. are used. it can. As the cationic surfactant, primary to tertiary amine salts, quaternary ammonium salts and the like can be used.
As the nonionic surfactant, polyoxyethylene nonylphenyl ether, polyoxyethylene octylphenyl ether, polyoxyethylene dodecylphenyl ether, polyoxyethylene alkyl ether, polyoxyethylene fatty acid ester, sorbitan fatty acid ester, polyoxyethylene sorbitan Fatty acid ester,
A fatty acid alkylolamide or the like can be used. These dispersion stabilizing aids may be used alone or in combination of two or more. The dispersion stabilizing aid is preferably used in the range of 0.001 to 5 parts by mass with respect to the main medium of the aqueous phase.

The mixing of the oil phase and the aqueous phase is usually 10/90 to 90/10 by mass ratio, although it varies depending on the final particle size of the transparent toner and the manufacturing apparatus. Granulation of the oil phase in the aqueous phase is preferably carried out under high speed shear. Among them, it is preferable to use a high-speed blade rotating type or forced interval passage type emulsifying machine such as various homomixers, homogenizers, colloid mills and the like.

The solvent is removed while granulating the oil phase in the aqueous phase or after granulating. The solvent may be removed under normal pressure or under reduced pressure. When performing under normal pressure, it is necessary to set the temperature for removing the solvent to a temperature lower than the boiling point of the solvent and taking into consideration the glass transition temperature (hereinafter, referred to as “Tg”) of the resin. If it is carried out at a temperature that greatly exceeds the Tg of the resin, the transparent toners may coalesce with each other, which is not preferable. The removal of the solvent is usually 3 to 24 at around 40 ° C.
Preference is given to stirring for a period of time. When the solvent is removed under reduced pressure, 2660 to 19950 kPa (20 to 1
It is preferable to carry out at 50 mmHg).

After removing the solvent, the obtained transparent toner may be washed if desired. Washing is performed with hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, which dissolves the inorganic dispersion stabilizer, etc. adhering to the surface of the transparent toner,
It is preferable to use acids such as formic acid and acetic acid. When an inorganic dispersion stabilizer or an organic dispersion stabilizer remains on the transparent toner surface,
Due to the hygroscopicity of residual deposits, the chargeability of the transparent toner may be highly dependent on humidity. Therefore, it is preferable to remove the dispersion stabilizer by washing because the charge stability of the transparent toner is further improved. After the transparent toner is washed with acid, it may be washed again with an alkaline water such as sodium hydroxide if desired. As a result, a part of the ionic substance on the surface of the transparent toner which is insolubilized by being placed in an acidic atmosphere is solubilized and removed again, and the charging property and the powder fluidity are further improved.

Cleaning can be efficiently performed by adjusting conditions such as pH during cleaning, number of times of cleaning, temperature during cleaning and the like. Furthermore, it is preferable to use a stirrer, an ultrasonic dispersion device, or the like because the cleaning operation can be performed more effectively.
After washing the transparent toner, if necessary, steps such as filtration, decantation, centrifugation, etc. are performed to dry the transparent toner. In the method for producing a transparent toner of this aspect, since the treatment performed under high temperature heating is not included in any of the steps, the thermal expansion property of the foaming agent is not deactivated during the production step, and thus the transparent toner can be obtained. The transparent toner has a high thermal expansion property.

As another method for producing a transparent toner, there is a method utilizing suspension polymerization. In this method, first, a foaming agent and optionally other additives are dissolved or dispersed in the binder resin monomer in advance. The monomer of the binder resin is suspended and dispersed in the aqueous phase. At this time, the foaming agent is retained inside the particles composed of the monomer dispersed in the aqueous phase. Next, when an arbitrary initiator is added to the aqueous phase to carry out suspension polymerization of the monomer, the polymerization proceeds inside the monomer particles while containing the foaming agent. As a result, particles in which the foaming agent is not substantially exposed on the surface can be efficiently and easily manufactured. Although the progress of suspension polymerization varies depending on the type of the monomer, it generally proceeds in the temperature range of 60 ° C to 90 ° C. Thus, compared with the case of producing by the conventional kneading and pulverization method, the suspension polymerization method of the present invention can proceed with the production process at a low temperature, and the thermal expansion property of the foaming agent is deactivated during the production process. Can be suppressed. Therefore, the transparent toner obtained by the suspension polymerization method has a high thermal expansion property. still,
Other additives may be dispersed in the aqueous phase in addition to being dispersed in the monomer in advance. Further, the initiator may be dissolved or dispersed in the monomer in advance.

After completion of suspension polymerization, the obtained transparent toner may be subjected to washing treatment and drying treatment, if desired.
The specific operation of each process is the same as described above.

According to the above-mentioned method for producing a transparent toner, its shape can be changed from a spherical shape to an indefinite shape by adjusting the manufacturing conditions, particularly the formulation of the material and the condition of the step of removing the solvent from the transparent toner after granulation. It is possible to control to a shape having minute irregularities on the surface or a shape having wrinkles, holes, or protrusions. Specifically, the following equation (1)
The shape factor MLS2 represented by can be controlled in the range of 100 to 160. The shape of the transparent toner produced by the usual kneading and pulverization method is indefinite, and the MLS2 is 140-
It will be about 160. MLS2 = (absolute maximum length of transparent toner particles) ² / (projected area of transparent toner particles) × π × 1/4 × 100 (1)

<Manufacturing Method of Braille Record> The braille record of the present invention has a visible image formed on at least one side of a recording medium, and a transparent toner image is formed by a transparent toner at a position corresponding to the visible image. It can be manufactured.
Specifically, it is preferable to manufacture with an image forming apparatus as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 10 includes
An image processing unit that is stretched around three rollers 38a, 38b, and 38c and that is provided with image information around the intermediate transfer belt 40 that is rotatably arranged in the direction of arrow A and that drives and controls each unit to be described later. 12, a transparent toner image forming unit (transparent toner image forming unit 14T) 13 that forms a transparent toner image by a drive signal from the image processing unit 12, and a visible image of each color (by a drive signal from the image processing unit 12). Hereinafter, a visible image forming unit (visible image forming unit) 14 that forms a “toner image”), a secondary transfer unit 16 that electrostatically transfers a toner image and a transparent toner image to a recording medium, A supply unit 18 that supplies the recording medium to the conveyance path, a fixing unit (fixing unit) 20 that fixes the toner image and the transparent toner image to the recording medium, and the recording medium on which the image is formed is discharged. A tray 22, is arranged, constituted is further added reversal conveyance section 60.

The visible image forming unit 14 forms yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) toner images, respectively, as in a general electrophotographic image forming apparatus. Toner image forming units 14Y, 14M,
14C and 14K (hereinafter, referred to as 14Y to 14K. Other reference numbers are also the same).

Each of the toner image forming units 14Y to 14K includes a charger 2 around the photosensitive drums 24Y to 24K.
6, an optical scanning device 28, a developing device 30, a primary transfer device 32, and a cleaning device 34 for removing toner are provided. That is, the photosensitive drums 24Y to 24K are charged by the charger 26 by being rotated clockwise in the drawing, and electrostatic latent images are formed by scanning the laser beams 36Y to 36K of the optical scanning device 28. The developing device 30 forms a toner image of a color corresponding to each image signal on the portion where the electrostatic latent image is formed, and the primary transfer device 32 primarily transfers the toner image to the intermediate transfer belt 40. . In this way, the toner images of the respective colors are sequentially laminated, and the unfixed full-color toner image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 40. The toner and other impurities remaining on the surfaces of the photoconductor drums 24Y to 24K after the primary transfer are removed by the cleaning device 34. The transparent toner image forming means 14T also includes the photosensitive drum 24T,
Each toner image forming unit 1 is equipped with a laser beam 36T and the like.
It has the same configuration as 4Y to 14K.

The secondary transfer portion 16 transfers the transparent toner image and the visible image laminated on the intermediate transfer belt 40 to the roller 3
The secondary transfer roll 44 arranged to face 8a electrostatically transfers to a recording medium. The recording medium transport system supplies the recording medium from the supply unit 18, the nip portion between the secondary transfer roll 44 and the roller 38a, and the fixing unit 20.
It is configured such that it can be discharged to the tray 22 via.

The fixing section 20 is composed of a heat drum 48 and a pressure bonding belt 50 for pressure-bonding the recording medium to the heat drum 48, and fixes the transferred matte image and toner image onto the recording medium.

Further, between the secondary transfer roll 44 and the fixing unit 20, in order to adjust the processing speed difference between the two, the deceleration conveyor belts 46A and 46B for decelerating the conveying speed of the recording medium in two steps. Is provided.

The reversing conveyance section 60 is composed of a flow path switching device 62 provided downstream of the fixing section 20, a conveyance path 64, a reversing device 66, and an introduction path 68. The recording medium on which the image has been fixed is selected by the flow path switching device 62 to be discharged to the tray 22 or conveyed to the reversal conveying section 60. The recording medium conveyed to the reversing conveying section 60 is sent to the reversing device 66 through the conveying path 64, is reversed here, and is then introduced into the secondary transfer section 16 from the introducing path 68, so that the image already recorded on the recording medium is transferred. The image is newly transferred to the surface opposite to the surface on which is fixed and then fixed by the fixing unit 20. Of course, after the image is fixed on the opposite surface, the recording medium is discharged to the tray 22 by the flow path switching device 62. That is, the image forming apparatus 10 is capable of double-sided copying (double-sided printing).

The method of manufacturing the Braille recorded matter of the present invention when the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is used will be described below.

On the intermediate transfer belt 40, first, in the transparent toner image forming section 13, an unfixed transparent toner image with the above-mentioned transparent toner is formed.

The intermediate transfer belt 40 on which the unfixed transparent toner image is formed is rotated in the direction of arrow A, and is moved by the toner image forming portions 14Y to 14K to yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C). ) And black (K) toner images are sequentially laminated to form a laminated body of unfixed transparent toner images and full-color toner images.

When the intermediate transfer belt 40 further rotates in the direction of arrow A and the portion where the unfixed matte image and full-color toner image laminate is formed reaches the secondary transfer portion 16, the roller 38a and the secondary roller 38a The laminated body is electrostatically transferred onto a recording medium at a nip portion between the transfer roll 44 and the transfer roll 44.

The recording medium on which the laminated body is transferred is sent to the fixing unit 20 via the deceleration conveyance belts 46A and 46B. In the fixing unit 20, the recording medium is inserted between the heat drum 48 and the pressure bonding belt 50 that is pressed against the heat drum 48 while being wound around the heat drum 48 by a predetermined angle, and the transparent toner image and the full-color toner that is a visible image are generated by heat and pressure. The image is fixed and a braille record is produced.

The braille recorded matter obtained as described above is
A visible image is formed on the surface of a recording medium, and Braille composed of transparent toner is formed on the visible image at a position corresponding to the image.

Here, in the image processing unit 12, the transparent toner image formed by the transparent toner image forming unit 13 is used only at a position corresponding to a predetermined visible image in the image information (in the present embodiment, it is visible). It is preferable to control the drive signal so as to be formed (overlaid on the image).

On the other hand, Braille composed of transparent toner may be formed at a position corresponding to the image on the surface opposite to the surface on which the visible image is formed. A method of manufacturing the Braille recorded matter in this case will be described. First, on the intermediate transfer belt 40, while rotating in the direction of arrow A, the toner image forming units 14Y to 14K separately develop yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) toner images. Are sequentially laminated to form a laminated body of full-color toner images. At this time, the transparent toner image forming unit 13 is not driven, and the obtained laminated body is composed of only toner images.

When the intermediate transfer belt 40 further rotates in the direction of arrow A to reach the secondary transfer portion 16 where the layered body of full-color toner images is formed, the roller 38a and the secondary transfer roll 44 are separated from each other. At the nip portion of, the laminate is electrostatically transferred to the recording medium.

The recording medium on which the laminated body is transferred is sent to the fixing section 20 via the deceleration conveyance belts 46A and 46B. In the fixing unit 20, the recording medium is inserted between the heat drum 48 and the pressure bonding belt 50 that is pressed against the heat drum 48 while being wound around the heat drum 48, and the full-color toner image is fixed by heat and pressure. When the recording medium on which the full-color toner image is formed exits the fixing unit 20, the recording medium is conveyed to the reversing conveying unit 60 by the flow path switching device 62, is reversed, and is then introduced into the secondary transfer unit 16.

On the other hand, on the intermediate transfer belt 40,
In the transparent toner image forming unit 13, an unfixed transparent toner image is formed. The intermediate transfer belt 40 on which the unfixed transparent toner image is formed rotates in the direction of arrow A,
This time, no toner image is formed in the toner image forming unit 14. When the intermediate transfer belt 40 further rotates in the direction of the arrow A and the portion where the unfixed transparent toner image is formed reaches the secondary transfer portion 16, the nip portion between the roller 38a and the secondary transfer roll 44 is formed. Then, the transparent toner image is electrostatically transferred onto the recording medium. At this time, the recording medium is
The surface opposite to the surface on which the toner image is already fixed contacts the intermediate transfer belt 40 in a state of facing the intermediate transfer belt 40. Then, the transparent toner image is transferred to the surface opposite to the surface on which the toner image is fixed.

Then, the recording medium is sent to the fixing unit 20 via the deceleration conveyance belts 46A and 46B, and the transparent toner image is fixed there, as in the case of the toner image. The recording medium having the toner image and the transparent toner image fixed on both sides is transferred to the tray 22 by the flow path switching device 62.
Then, the image formation is completed and the braille recorded matter is manufactured.

The Braille recorded matter obtained as described above is
A visible image is formed on the surface of the recording medium, and Braille composed of transparent toner is formed on the opposite surface at a position corresponding to the image.

Here, in the image processing unit 12, the transparent toner image formed by the transparent toner image forming unit 13 is used only in the position corresponding to a predetermined visible image in the image information (in the present embodiment, it is visible). It is preferable to control the drive signal so as to form (opposite surface of image).

In order to foam the foaming agent in the transparent toner, the fixing temperature is 140 ° C. to 250 ° C., preferably 160 ° C. to 250 ° C., more preferably 180 ° C.
The temperature is set to 250 ° C or lower. If the fixing temperature is less than 140 ° C., the foaming agent may not sufficiently foam, and a sufficient image thickness may not be obtained. On the other hand, if the temperature exceeds 250 ° C, the binder resin or the like may be decomposed, and the decomposed product may pose a problem in terms of environmental safety. Further, it is not always necessary to perform the fixing and the foaming of the foaming agent at the same time, and once the image is fixed with a fixing roll having a relatively low temperature, the foaming agent is separately added with a fixing roll having a relatively high temperature in the above temperature range. It may be foamed.

In order to increase the image height of the transparent toner image, it is preferable to increase the number of transparent toner image forming portions (transparent toner image forming means) 13 in the image forming apparatus 10 shown in FIG. For example, by setting the number of the transparent toner image forming units 13 to three, the image height of the transparent toner image can be increased about three times. Further, by using a transparent film as a recording medium and forming images and Braille on the transparent film as described above, it is possible to manufacture a touch panel or the like provided in an electric appliance or the like.

[0074]

According to the present invention, a braille record having both braille and an image such as an image or a printed character (ink character), the braille record having an image height at which the braille can be recognized practically and sufficiently. You can provide things. In addition, it is possible to provide a Braille recording material that can be easily produced by electrophotography, and more specifically, it is possible to provide a touch panel or the like for home electric appliances and the like by electrophotography. Further, it is possible to provide a braille recording material capable of producing a braille or convex image and an image or a type at once.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of an image forming apparatus for producing a Braille recorded matter of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Image forming device 12 ... Image processing unit 13 ... Transparent toner image forming unit 14, 14Y, 14M, 14C, 14K ... Toner image forming unit (toner image forming means) 14T ... Transparent Toner image forming unit 16 ... Secondary transfer unit 18 ... Supply unit 20 ... Fixing unit (fixing unit) 22 ... Tray 24Y, 24M, 24C, 24K, 24T ... Photosensitive drum 26. ..Charging device 28 ... Optical scanning device 30 ... Developing device 32 ... Primary transfer device 34 ... Cleaning device 36Y, 36M, 36C, 36K, 36T ... Laser beams 38a, 38b, 38c. .. Roller 40 ... Intermediate transfer belt 44 ... Secondary transfer rolls 46A, 46B ... Deceleration transfer belt 48 ... Heat drum 50 ... Pressure bonding belt 60 ... Reverse transfer section 62 ... Location 64 ... conveying path 66 ... inverter 68 ... introduction path

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) G03G 9/09 G03G 15/22 103Z 15/22 103 G09B 21/00 B G09B 21/00 21/02 21 / 02 G03G 9/08 361 (72) Inventor Yoko Miyamoto 2274 Hongo, Ebina City, Kanagawa Prefecture Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Nowakazu Takahashi 2274, Hongo Ebina City, Kanagawa Prefecture F term (Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.) Reference) 2H005 AA06 AA21 AA29 2H078 AA20 BB01 DD39 FF60 2H113 AA01 AA03 AA06 BA29 BA31 BC03 BC04 CA13

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A Braille recording material comprising a recording medium having a visible image formed on at least one side thereof and a transparent toner image formed of transparent toner formed at a position corresponding to the visible image. 2. The Braille recorded matter according to claim 1, wherein the visible image is formed by an electrophotographic method. 3. The Braille recorded product according to claim 1, wherein the transparent toner image is formed by an electrophotographic method. 4. The Braille recorded matter according to claim 1, wherein the transparent toner contains a foaming material.