JP2003057790A - Protection member for sheet type heat developable photosensitive material and package for sheet type heat developable photosensitive material using protection member - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a protection member for sheet type heat developable photosensitive material capable of preventing scratch and the fluctuation of sensitivity caused at the bottom part of the sheet type heat developable photosensitive material stacked in a state where it is protected by the protection member and stacked up, and to provide a package for sheet type heat developable photosensitive material using the protection member. SOLUTION: This protection member for the sheet type heat developable photosensitive material made of thermoplastic resin has such characteristics that 0.5 to 3.0 mg/m<2> surfactant is applied on a side where the sheet type heat developable photosensitive material is stacked up.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a protective member for a sheet-shaped photothermographic material and a package for a sheet-shaped photothermographic material using the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A silver halide photographic light-sensitive material for medical treatment which is processed with a photographic processing liquid and a photothermographic material which is heat-developable by using a laser beam are cut into a sheet shape, for example, JP-A-11-1000.
No. 73, JP-A-2-216144, JP-A-2-216144 and JP-A-2-216144, in which a plurality of sheets are stacked and sandwiched between U-shaped protection members and further sealed and sealed in a light-proof and moisture-proof bag.
As described in No. 001-174952, a plurality of sheets are stacked in a stacked state on a plastic tray-shaped protection member, and are further sealed and packed in a light-proof and moisture-proof bag to be supplied to the user.

These U-shaped and tray-shaped protection members are used to prevent the image forming material from shifting when loaded in the image forming apparatus. In addition, the light-shielding and moisture-proof bag is made up of daylight (usually
It is used to prevent exposure to light at 1000 to 2000 lx) and to prevent performance deterioration due to humidity.

In recent years, it has been strongly desired to reduce the amount of processing waste liquid from the viewpoint of environmental protection and space saving. Especially, in the medical field,
The waste liquid associated with the wet processing of the image forming material poses a problem in workability. As a countermeasure against these problems, a photothermographic material which forms a photographic image by using a photothermographic method which does not generate a processing waste liquid has begun to be used.

Such a photothermographic material contains a reducible silver source (eg organic silver salt), a catalytically active amount of photocatalyst (eg silver halide), and a reducing agent dispersed in a binder matrix. ing. The photothermographic material is stable at room temperature, but when exposed to high temperature after exposure, it produces silver through a redox reaction between a reducible silver source (which functions as an oxidizing agent) and the reducing agent. This redox reaction is promoted by the catalytic action of the latent image generated by exposure.
The silver produced by the reaction of the organic silver salt in the exposed areas provides a black image, which contrasts with the unexposed areas and forms an image.

The heat-developable light-sensitive material is a coating solution for forming a light-sensitive layer in which an organic silver salt, a silver halide and a reducing agent are dispersed in an organic binder matrix on a support made of a strip of plastic as described above. Is thicker than the photosensitive layer of the conventional X-ray film, and is necessary after the photosensitive layer is directly coated and dried and wound on the shaft without coating the undercoat layer used in the conventional X-ray film. A sheet-shaped product is manufactured by cutting into various widths and then into a required length.

In order to indirectly form an image on the sheet-shaped photothermographic material with a laser imager or to directly form an image on an X-ray photographing apparatus, the sheet-shaped photothermographic material is placed on the sheet-shaped photothermographic material. It is loaded.

As a method of loading the sheet-shaped photothermographic material into the image forming apparatus, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-42641 is known.
As described in JP-A-11-100073, a sheet-shaped photothermographic material package in which a sheet-shaped photothermographic material is sealed in a light-proof and moisture-proof bag in a storage container provided in an image forming apparatus , Also called a package),
After attaching the storage container to the image forming apparatus, pull out the light-shielding moisture-proof bag, or store the package in the storage container, put the storage container in the light-shielding state, pull out the light-shielding moisture-proof bag, and then move the storage container to the image forming apparatus. A method of mounting is known.

Then, at the time of exposure, the sheet-shaped photothermographic material stored in the storage container is sucked by the suction plate, and the sheet-shaped photothermographic material is carried out one by one to the exposure section of the image forming apparatus. There is. When all the unexposed sheet-shaped photothermographic material has been carried out, a means for causing the image forming apparatus to detect that the storage container of the image forming apparatus is empty is required.

In such detecting means, the suction pressure is not lowered in advance at the portion of the surface of the protective member made of thermoplastic resin having a U-shape and the shape of the tray which comes into contact with the sheet-shaped photothermographic material, which contacts the suction plate. In order to do so, provision of holes and embossing is performed.

However, in the case of a sheet-shaped photothermographic material package using a U-shaped and tray-shaped protective member made of a thermoplastic resin, the following problems are mentioned.

1) Only the lowermost sheet-shaped photothermographic material of the sheet-shaped photothermographic material stacked on the protective member was sensitized, and it was image-formed that the storage container of the image forming apparatus became empty. Sensitivity fluctuations occur that desensitize the portion of the photothermographic material corresponding to the holes provided in the protective member for detection by the device. 2) Scratches occur only on the lowermost sheet-shaped photothermographic material stacked on the protective member.

Therefore, if one of the lowermost sheets is mistakenly used, it is necessary to retake an image, which imposes a burden on the photographed person. Therefore, the sheet-shaped heat loaded in the image forming apparatus is used. While confirming the remaining amount of the photosensitive material, we use it carefully not to use the bottom sheet, and discard the bottom sheet.

[0014]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object thereof is to prevent scratches generated at the bottom of sheet-shaped photothermographic materials which are protected by a protective member and stacked. Another object of the present invention is to provide a protective member for a sheet-shaped photothermographic material in which sensitivity fluctuations are prevented and a package for a sheet-shaped photothermographic material using the same.

[0015]

The above objects of the present invention have been achieved by the following constitutions.

1) A protective member made of a thermoplastic resin for a sheet-shaped photothermographic material, wherein the protective member is 0.5 to 3.0 mg / m on the side where the sheet-shaped photothermographic material is stacked. ²
A protective member for a sheet-shaped photothermographic material, comprising:

2) The protective member for a sheet-shaped photothermographic material according to 1), wherein the surfactant is a cationic surfactant.

3) The protective member for a sheet-shaped photothermographic material according to 1) or 2), wherein the protective member is U-shaped.

4) The protective member for a sheet-shaped photothermographic material according to 1) or 2), wherein the protective member has a tray shape.

5) A sheet-shaped photothermographic material having a protective member made of a thermoplastic resin for stacking the sheet-shaped photothermographic materials and a light-shielding and moisture-proof bag for sealing the sheet-shaped photothermographic materials stacked on the protective member. In the material package, the protective member is the sheet-shaped photothermographic material protective member according to any one of 1) to 4).

6) The sheet-shaped photothermographic material packaging according to 5), wherein a cushioning material is provided between the sheet-shaped photothermographic material protective member and the sheet-shaped photothermographic material. body.

As a result of intensive studies to achieve the above object, the inventors of the present invention have found that the scratches generated are around the holes provided to prevent the suction pressure from decreasing, or with the textured portion. It has been found that the contact causes a shear stress to act on the photosensitive layer of the sheet-shaped photothermographic material, resulting in scratches at that portion. It is effective to dispose a cushioning material between the protective member and the sheet-shaped photothermographic material in order to weaken the shear stress applied to the photosensitive layer of the sheet-shaped photothermographic material against scratches. There was found.

Since the sensitivity variation does not occur in the sheet-shaped photothermographic material which is in contact with the back surface of the sheet-shaped photothermographic materials which are stacked with the photosensitive layer on the protective member side,
Although the reason is not clear, it was experimentally found that the surfactant present on the back surface had some action. From these experimental facts, it has been found effective that the protective member side for stacking the sheet-shaped photothermographic materials has the same function as the back surface.

Desensitization of the portion of the sheet-shaped photothermographic material corresponding to the hole provided in the protective member may be due to evaporation of the organic solvent remaining in the photosensitive layer of the sheet-shaped photothermographic material from the hole. found. It has been found that it is effective to prevent the organic solvent remaining in the photosensitive layer from evaporating.

The present invention has been completed based on the above facts.

[0026]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A sheet-shaped package for a photothermographic material according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of a package for a sheet-shaped photothermographic material. FIG. 1A is a schematic perspective view of a sheet-shaped photothermographic material packaging body using a tray-shaped protective member. 1 (b) is A of FIG. 1 (a).
It is a schematic sectional drawing along -A '. 1B shows the state of the sheet-shaped photothermographic material stacked on the tray-shaped protective member, the light-proof and moisture-proof bag is omitted.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a sheet-shaped package for photothermographic material. The sheet-shaped photothermographic material package 1 includes a tray-shaped protective member 2, a sheet-shaped photothermographic material 3, and a light-shielding and moisture-proof bag 4. The protective member 2 has a bottom portion 201 on which the sheet-shaped photothermographic materials 3 are stacked, side walls 202 and 203 integrally provided on the short side of the bottom portion 201, and side walls 204 and 205 integrally provided on the long side. is doing. Bottom 20
1 is manufactured according to the size of the sheet-shaped photothermographic material 3. For details of the protection member 2, refer to FIG.

Reference numeral 5 denotes a sheet-shaped photothermographic material 3 and a bottom portion 20.
1 shows a cushioning material disposed between the inner surfaces 201a of the first embodiment. By providing the cushioning material, it is possible to prevent scratches due to the embossed portion 206 (see FIG. 3A) provided on the inner surface 201a.

Reference numerals 401 and 402 denote side seal portions of the light and moisture proof bag 4, and 403 denotes a center seal portion of the light and moisture proof bag 4. Reference numeral 404 is a sheet-shaped photothermographic material packaging body 1
After being loaded into the image forming apparatus (not shown), the hole for engaging the engaging portion (not shown) of the image forming apparatus and pulling out the light-shielding and moisture-proof bag 4 is shown. The light-shielding and moisture-proof bag 4 shown in this figure is manufactured by the center seal method.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing another example of the sheet-like photothermographic material package. FIG. 2A is a schematic perspective view of a sheet-shaped photothermographic material packaging body using a U-shaped protection member. 2 (b) is shown in FIG. 2 (a).
It is a schematic sectional drawing along BB 'of FIG. 2B shows the state of the sheet-shaped photothermographic material stacked on the U-shaped protection member, the light-proof and moisture-proof bag is omitted.

The sheet-shaped photothermographic material package 1a comprises a U-shaped protective member 6 and a sheet-shaped photothermographic material 3.
And a light-proof and moisture-proof bag 4. The protective member 6 includes a bottom portion 601 on which the sheet-shaped photothermographic materials 3 are stacked and a side wall 602.
And has an upper portion 603. The details of the protection member 6 are shown in FIG.

Reference numeral 5 is a sheet-shaped photothermographic material 3 and a bottom portion 60.
1 shows a cushioning material disposed between the inner surfaces 601a of the first embodiment. By providing the cushioning material, it is possible to prevent scratches due to the textured portion 604 (see FIG. 3B) provided on the inner surface 601a. Other reference numerals have the same meaning as in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of the protective member. Figure 3
(A) is a schematic perspective view of the tray-shaped protection member 2. FIG. 3B is a schematic perspective view of the U-shaped protection member 6. In this figure, the sheet-shaped photothermographic material 3 is omitted to show the shape of the protective member.

Reference numeral 206 in the drawing denotes a textured portion provided on the inner surface 201a of the bottom portion 201 of the protective member 2. The embossing unit 206 is a unit that causes the image forming apparatus to detect that the storage container (not shown) for the sheet-shaped photothermographic material of the image forming apparatus is empty. The position where the embossed portion 206 is provided is the same as the position of a suction cup (not shown) for supplying the sheet-shaped photothermographic material 3 to the image forming apparatus, and is stacked on the bottom portion 201 of the protective member 2. When the formed sheet-shaped photothermographic material 3 is used up, a suction cup (not shown) for supplying the sheet-shaped photothermographic material 3 to the image forming apparatus sucks the textured portion 206, so that the suction pressure is lowered. It can be seen that the sheet-shaped photothermographic material 3 is gone.

The side walls 202 to 205 provided integrally with the bottom portion 201 on each side of the bottom portion 201 may have the same length as each side of the bottom portion 201, or may be short as shown in the figure. Further, the side walls 202 to 205 may be integrated. Since each of the side walls 202 to 205 is provided to prevent the stacked sheet-shaped photothermographic materials 3 from moving, they may be provided on all sides of the bottom portion or provided on three sides. It may be.

Reference numeral 604 denotes the inner surface 6 of the bottom portion 601 of the protective member 6.
FIG. 3 (a) shows a textured portion arranged in 01a.
It has the same function as the textured portion 206 of.

The inner surface 201a of the bottom portion 201 of the protection member 2 and the inner surface 601a of the bottom portion 601 of the protection member 6 have a surfactant. In addition, having a surfactant means that a surfactant is present.

In this way, the image forming apparatus is made to detect that the inside of the storage container (not shown) for the sheet-shaped photothermographic material provided on the side of the protective member on which the sheet-shaped photothermographic materials are stacked is emptied. By making it a textured process without making the means a hole,
It is possible to prevent the evaporation of the organic solvent in the lowermost photosensitive layer of the stacked sheet-shaped photothermographic materials and eliminate the sensitivity fluctuation.

The bottom portion 601 is manufactured according to the size of the sheet-shaped photothermographic material 3, and the side wall 602 is manufactured according to the amount of the sheet-shaped photothermographic material 3 to be stacked. Reference numeral 603 indicates the upper part of the protection member 6. The protection member 6 is
A bottom portion 601, a side wall 602, and an upper portion 603 are formed by bending a single thermoplastic resin sheet into a predetermined size, and are integrated.

The method for manufacturing the protective member made of thermoplastic resin used in the present invention is described in the Plastic Processing Technology Handbook.
It can be produced by vacuum thermoforming described on pages 945-966 of the Society of Polymer Science. For example, in the case of a U-shaped protective member, the length and the stack of the sheet-shaped photothermographic material are stacked on a thermoplastic resin sheet formed into a sheet with a predetermined size according to the width of the sheet-shaped photothermographic material. A ruled line can be attached according to the amount of the sheet-shaped photothermographic material, and the sheet can be formed into a U-shape by sequentially bending along the ruled line. The length of the upper portion can be determined according to the position of the suction cup for supplying the sheet-shaped photothermographic material of the image forming apparatus to be used to the image forming apparatus.

The tray-shaped protective member can be manufactured by molding a thermoplastic resin sheet formed into a predetermined size with a mold while heating. still,
The height of the side wall provided on each side of the bottom can be determined according to the amount of the sheet-shaped photothermographic materials to be stacked.

The thickness of the protective member made of thermoplastic resin used in the present invention is preferably 0.5 to 1.0 mm, and 0.5 mm.
If less than, when the sheet-shaped photothermographic material stacked on the protective member is lifted, the stacked sheet-shaped photothermographic materials are bent, so that the sheet-shaped photothermographic material may be broken, which is preferable. Absent. If it exceeds 1.0 mm, the quality is excessive and waste is increased, which is not preferable.

The tensile strength is preferably 0.15 to 0.50 Pa. When the tensile strength is less than 0.15 Pa, when the photothermographic material stacked on the protective member is lifted together with the protective member, the stacked sheet is formed. Depending on the photothermographic material, the material may be bent and broken and may be scratched. 0.50
If it exceeds Pa, it may be difficult to load it depending on the structure of the container of the automatic developing machine when it is loaded into the container of the automatic developing machine.

The bending strength is preferably 0.25 to 0.65 Pa. When the bending strength is less than 0.25 Pa, the sheet-shaped photothermographic material stacked on the protective member is lifted together with the protective member when stacked. Depending on the photothermographic material, the material may be bent and broken and may be scratched. 0.65
If it exceeds Pa, it may be difficult to load it depending on the structure of the container of the automatic developing machine when it is loaded into the container of the automatic developing machine.

The thermoplastic resin used in the protective member of the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it is a thermoplastic resin that can be thermoformed, and examples thereof include rigid vinyl chloride resin (rigid PVC) and impact-resistant polystyrene (PS-HI). , Biaxially oriented polystyrene (OPS), polypropylene (PP), high density polyethylene (HDPE), acrylonitrile / butadiene / styrene copolymer (ABS), amorphous polyethylene terephthalate (A-PET) and the like. Among these, PP, HDPE, HIPS, and A-PET are particularly preferable thermoplastic resins.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged schematic sectional view of a portion indicated by X in FIG. 1 (b). In the figure, 301 indicates a support for the sheet-shaped photothermographic material 3, and 302 indicates a photosensitive layer. In the sheet-shaped photothermographic material packaging body 1 of the present invention, the protective member 2 is used.
Is stacked so that the photosensitive layer faces the bottom portion 201 side.
Reference numeral 7 denotes a surfactant layer provided on the inner surface 201a of the bottom portion 201 of the protective member 2 on which the sheet-shaped photothermographic materials are stacked. Other reference numerals have the same meaning as in FIG.

As in the case of the package 1 shown in FIG. 2, in the sheet-shaped photothermographic material 3, the photosensitive layer has a protective member 6 as in the case of the sheet 1.
Are stacked so as to face the bottom 601 side. Further, a surface-active agent layer is provided on the inner surface 601a of the bottom portion 601 of the protective member 6 as in the case of this drawing.

Surfactants used in the present invention include nonionic, anionic, cationic and amphoteric systems as described in Plastic Age, April 1997, pages 113 to 119, JP-A-6-19054. Surfactants may be mentioned. Examples of the surfactant used are shown below.

1. Nonionic Surfactant 1) Alkylamine Derivatives T-B103 (Matsumoto Yushi), T-B104 (Matsumoto Yushi), Alkylamido-type polyoxyethylene alkylamine: Armostat 310 (Lion oil), Tertiary amine (laurylamine) ): Armostat 400 (lion oil), N, N-bis (2-hydroxyeth)
yl cocoamine): Armostat 410
(Lion oil and fat) Tertiary amine: ANTISTATIC
273C, 273, 273E (Fine Org. C
hem), N-hydroxyhexadedecyl-d
i-ethanol-amine: Belg. P. 65
4,049, N-hydroxyoctadecyl-
di-ethanol-amine: (Nationala
l Dist. ) 2) Fatty acid amide derivative TB-115 (Matsumoto Yushi), Elegan P100 (Nippon Yushi), Eleak SM-2 (Yoshimura Yushi Kagaku), Oxalic acid-
N, N′-Distearylamide butyl ester: Hoechst polyoxyethylene alkylamide 3) Ether type polyoxyethylene alkyl ether RO (CH ₂ CH ₂
O) _n H polyoxyethylene alkyl phenyl ether special nonionic type: register 104, PE100, 1
16-118 (Daiichi Kogyo Seiyaku), Registered PE13
2, 139 (Daiichi Kogyo Seiyaku Co., Ltd.), Elegan E115, Chemistat 1005 (NOF Corporation), ELIQUE BM-1 (Yoshimura Yushi Kagaku), Electrostripper TS, TS2,
3, 5, EA, EA2, 3 (Kao soap) 4) Polyhydric alcohol ester type glycerin fatty acid ester monoglyceride ((Nippon camphor), TB-123 (Matsumoto Yushi), Register 113 (Daiichi Kogyo Seiyaku), sorbitan Fatty acid ester Special ester: Elyk BS-1 (Yoshimura Oil Chemicals), 1-hydroxyethyl-2-dodecylglyoxazoline (British cellophane) 2. Anionic surfactant 1) Sulfonic acid alkyl sulfonate RSO ₃ Na, alkyl benzene sulfonate, Alkylsulfate ROSO ₃ Na 2) Phosphate ester type alkylphosphate 3. Cationic surfactant 1) Amide type cation: Resist PE300, 4
01, 402, 406, 411 (Daiichi Kogyo Seiyaku Co., Ltd.) 2) Quaternary ammonium salt, quaternary ammonium chloride, quaternary ammonium sulfate, quaternary ammonium nitrate Katimin CSM-9 (Yoshimura Yushi Kagaku), CATANAC 609 (American)・ Cyanamide), Denon 314C (Marubishi Yuka), Armostat 300 (Lion oil), 100
V (Armor), Electro Stripper ES (Kao Soap), Chemistat 2009A (NOF Corporation), Stea
ramidopropyl-dimethyl-β-h
ydroxyethyl ammonium nitr
ate: CATANAC-SN (American dianamid) 4. Zwitterionic surfactant 1) Alkyl petaine type 2) Imidazoline type rheostat 53, 532 (Lion oil), AMS5
3 (lion oil and fat), AMS303, 313 (lion oil and fat), alkyl imidazoline type 3) metal salt type AMS576 (lion oil and fat), rheostat 826,
923 (Lion oil and fat) 4) Alkylalanine type conductive resin: polyvinylbenzyl type cation polyacrylic acid type cation and others Resist 204, 205 (Daiichi Kogyo Seiyaku Co., Ltd.), Elegan 2E, 100E (Nippon Oil & Fats), Chemistat 100
2,1003,2010 (Nippon Yushi), Elique 51
(Yoshimura Oil Chemistry), ALROMINE RV-100 (Geigy) Among these surfactants, cationic surfactants are particularly preferably used.

The amount of the surfactant present on the inner surface of the bottom of the protective member, on which the sheet-shaped photothermographic materials are stacked, is 0.5 to 3.
It is 0 mg / m ² . When the amount is less than 0.5 mg / m ² , the sensitivity of the lowermost sheet-shaped photothermographic material, which is stacked on the protective member with the photosensitive layer facing the protective member, increases to 3.0.
If it exceeds mg / m ² , the sensitivity of the lowermost sheet-shaped photothermographic material, which has the photosensitive layer on the protective member side and is stacked by the protective member, is lowered.

As a method of causing a surfactant to be present on the inner surface of the bottom portion of the protective member on which the sheet-shaped photothermographic materials are stacked, a plastic handbook 1967 Asakura Shoten 2
It can be carried out according to the spray coating method and the kneading method described on pages 59 to 260. In the case of adding by the kneading method, the added surfactant is present by bleeding out on the surface of the protective member, so that the addition amount is 1.0 to
It is 6.0 mg / m ² .

The surfactant present on the inner surface of the bottom portion of the protective member for stacking the sheet-shaped photothermographic materials is measured by Plastic Handbook 1974 Asakura Shoten 804-
It can be performed according to the infrared absorption spectrum method described on page 807.

The cushioning material used in the present invention is made of a thermoplastic resin, and is not particularly limited as long as it has a flat surface where no pressure is applied when the photothermographic material is stacked on the cushioning material. However, for example, non-woven fabric, foamed sheet, etc. may be mentioned. Among these, non-woven fabrics and foamed sheets are preferably used from the viewpoint of cost.

As the non-woven fabric, a general non-woven fabric can be used, and the material used is natural fiber,
Examples include synthetic fibers. In the present invention, synthetic fibers are preferable, and as the resin, high density polyethylene (HDPE),
Examples thereof include polypropylene (PP) and polyester (PET).

As the foam sheet, a general foam sheet can be used, and as the resin to be used,
Examples thereof include polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, ethylene / vinyl acetate copolymer, polyvinyl chloride and the like.

These cushioning materials have a thickness of 1.0 to
2.0 mm is preferable, and when it is less than 1.0 mm, there is no cushioning effect, and the film may be scratched depending on handling. If the thickness exceeds 2.0 mm, the buffer material may absorb the organic solvent remaining in the photosensitive layer of the sheet-shaped photothermographic material, and the sensitivity of the sheet-shaped photothermographic material may decrease.

The tensile strength is preferably 0.20 to 0.60 Pa, and when it is less than 0.20 Pa, the sheet-shaped photothermographic material is curved when the sheet-shaped photothermographic material stacked on the protective member is lifted. As a result, the cushioning material may be cut off, and a part of the cushioning material that has been cut off may adhere to the sheet-shaped photothermographic material, resulting in a failure. If it exceeds 0.60 Pa, the structure of the cushioning material is It can be complex and expensive.

The bending strength is preferably 0.27 to 0.75 Pa. When it is less than 0.27 Pa, the sheet-shaped photothermographic material is curved when the sheet-shaped photothermographic material stacked on the protective member is lifted. As a result, the cushioning material may be cut off, and a part of the cushioning material that has been cut off may adhere to the sheet-shaped photothermographic material, resulting in a failure. If it exceeds 0.75 Pa, the structure of the cushioning material is It can be complex and expensive.

The tensile strengths of the protective member and the cushioning material are values measured according to JIS K6718. The bending strength is a value measured according to ASTM D790.

The light-proof and moisture-proof bag used in the present invention will be described below. The material used for the light-shielding and moisture-proof bag is a multilayer material having a heat-melting layer at the lowermost layer and having a light-shielding and moisture-proof function. These materials may be a single material, but in order to improve the functionality, it is preferable to stack various kinds of different materials to form a multilayer material to enhance the functionality. As a method of stacking each material, a method of extruding different kinds of thermoplastic resins at the same time (inflation method), a method of making a multi-layer material by bonding different materials with an adhesive (dry lamination), etc. are known. Of these methods, the multilayer material produced by the dry lamination method is preferable in order to require higher functionality. As a method for producing multilayer materials, new development of functional packaging materials Toray Research Center Co., Ltd. P48-P51, Convertec 1990.1, 1990.4, 199
It can be prepared by a general method as described in 0.11, 1991.11, 1993.3.

The layer structure of the multi-layer material used in the present invention comprises, from the top, a surface layer to be a design printing surface, an intermediate layer having a moisture-proof or light-shielding function, and a lower layer having a heat-welding function. It is possible to stack as many layers as necessary. For example, it is divided into two layers and one layer has a moisture-proof function.
Naturally, the layer can have a light-shielding function. The lower layer may have a light-shielding function. The material used for the surface layer is not particularly limited, and the same material as the intermediate layer may be used.

For example, in the case of paper, the pulp to be used is as described in Maruzen Co., Ltd. (pulp and paper), pages 109 to 268, and Engineering Book Co., Ltd. (papermaking engineering), pages 180 to 187. Any natural pulp such as softwood pulp, hardwood pulp, softwood, and hardwood mixed pulp may be used, and any of mechanical pulp, chemical pulp, chemiground pulp, chemimechanical pulp, and sulfite pulp may be used depending on the treatment method. JP-A-2-48372,
2-53999, 2-96741, 2-96
742, 2-99689, 2-99693,
Paper materials using pulp described in JP-A-2-180583 and paper materials containing carboxy-modified polyvinyl alcohol as a fog-inhibiting agent as described in JP-A-6-43595 can of course be used. Of these, bleached kraft paper or unbleached kraft paper is most preferred.

As a material other than paper used for each layer of the laminated material, low density polyethylene (LDPE), which is a polymer film material used as a general packaging material,
HDPE, linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), medium density polyethylene, unstretched polypropylene (CPP),
Stretched polypropylene (OPP), stretched nylon (ON
y), PET, cellophane, polyvinyl alcohol (PV
A), expanded vinylon (OV), ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVOH), vinylidene chloride (PVDC) and the like can be used. Of these materials, a multilayer material made by co-extrusion with a different polymer film material, a multilayer material made by laminating with different stretching angles, and the like can be used as required. Further, it is naturally possible to combine the density and the molecular weight distribution of the polymer film material used to obtain the required physical properties of the packaging material.

Examples of the polymer film material used as the lower layer of the multilayer material of the present invention include LDPE and LLDPE produced using a metallocene catalyst. LDPE and LLDPE produced by a general production method may be mixed and used in these polymer film materials. LDPE and LLD produced using these metallocene catalysts
PE can be sufficiently used if it is commercially available. For example, Umeri Co., Ltd.'s Umerit, Dow Chemical Japan's AFFINITY, Elite, Nippon Polyolefin's Harmolex LL, Nippon Polychem's Kernel 57L, Mitsui Chemicals' Evolution, Sekisui Film West Japan Co., Ltd. Lamiron Super,
Tamapoli Co., Ltd. SE series, Tohcello Co., Ltd. Tocello T. U. X-FCS, T.I. U. X-TCS, Taiko FL manufactured by Nimura Chemical Co., Ltd., Metalloace manufactured by Mitsubishi Kagaku Kojin Pax Co., Ltd., WMX manufactured by Wada Chemical Co., Ltd., FV202 manufactured by Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd., and the like.

Further, in order to improve the slipperiness with respect to the image forming material and the protective member to be contained in the lower layer of the multilayer material,
A lubricant is preferably added. For this lubricant,
Examples include metal soaps (zinc stearate, calcium stearate), fatty acid amides, higher fatty acids, etc.
It is not limited to these. And, the addition amount of these lubricants is 500 pp with respect to the mass of the lower layer from the viewpoint of slipperiness.
m or more (particularly 5000 ppm or more) is preferable, and from the viewpoint of cost and side effect of lubricant, it is 200
00 ppm or less (particularly 10,000 ppm or less) is preferable.

To obtain the light-shielding property mentioned as a function required for the multilayer material used in the present invention, JP-A-63-8553 is used.
9, 64-82935, JP-A-1-209134.
No. 1, No. 1-94341, No. 2-165140, No. 2
It can be obtained by containing a light-shielding substance as described in No. 221956. The light-shielding layer may be provided in any layer having a multilayer material structure, but an intermediate layer and a heat-melting layer are most preferable. Although it is preferably a layer containing polyethylene as a main component, it is not limited to this. As the light-shielding substance added to the light-shielding layer, it is preferable to contain carbon black from the viewpoint of light-shielding property and cost, and the carbon black is produced by any method such as furnace type, channel type, acetylene type, and thermal type. Anything is fine. As a typical example of these carbon blacks, MA-600 # 650 manufactured by Mitsubishi Kasei Co., Ltd.
B, # 41, # 3150, # 3250, # 3750, #
3950, MA-100, carbon manufactured by CABOT,
VULCAN, XC-72R, BLAC Pearls
700, VULCAN P, Ketjen Black EC manufactured by Lion Akzo Co., Ltd., Asahi HS-500 manufactured by Asahi Carbon Co., Ltd., and the like. JP-A-4-121733
Of course, carbon black having a sulfur content as described in JP-A Nos. 3-179342 and 5-88299 may be used. When the thickness of the light shielding layer is 50 μm or more, the amount of carbon black added is 1.
It is preferably 5% by mass or more, and from the viewpoint of productivity and cost, it is preferably 7.5% by mass or less.

As the packaging material used in the package of the present invention, the moisture permeability of the packaging material is 8.0 g / m ² · 24 hours at 40 ° C. 90% in order to maintain the quality of the photosensitive material during storage.
It is preferably not more than Rh, and in order to obtain the water vapor transmission rate, the intermediate layer of the present invention has a structure as described in JP-A-8-254793 and JP-A-8-254793.
No. 171177, No. 8-122980, No. 6-25
No. 0343, No. 6-122469, JP-A-6-953.
02, JP-A-60-151045, and JP-A-60-189.
No. 438, No. 61-54934, No. 63-30842.
No. 63-247033, No. 63-272668
No. 63-283936, No. 63-193144.
No. 63-183839, No. 64-16641,
JP-A-1-93348, JP-A-64-77532,
JP-A Nos. 1-251031, 2-186338, 1-267031, 2-235048 and 2-2.
78256, Actual Kaihei 1-152336, 2-21
The moisture-proof materials described in JP-A No. 645 and JP-A No. 2-44738 are mentioned, and among these, particularly preferable is to use an aluminum foil, or an aluminum vapor-deposited layer and alumina (AI ₂ O ₃ ) or silica (SIO _X ). ) Is to use a material having an inorganic vapor deposition layer.

In order to protect the intermediate layer from harmful gases, an oxygen-absorbing substance as described in JP-A-2-56547 and a formaldehyde scavenger as described in JP-A-8-41288 are mixed. resin,
JP-A-4-9047, JP-A-3-236050 and JP-A-2-
A cyan gas scavenger as described in No. 244136,
It may contain zeolite molecular sieve particles described in JP-A-9-152683.

[0070]

EXAMPLES The effects of the present invention will be shown below by way of example, but of course this example is merely an example, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

Example 1 <Preparation of Protective Member> Thickness 0.8 mm, tensile strength 0.
The tray-shaped protective member shown in FIG. 3 (a) of 25 Pa, bending strength of 0.35 Pa, stacking size of sheet-shaped photothermographic material of 36 × 43 cm, and side wall height of 3.0 cm is thermoplastic. PS-HI was used as a resin, and it was produced by a vacuum thermoforming method.

On the inner surface of the bottom portion of the produced protective member, the coating amount shown in Table 1 was applied by spray coating method of Ammostat 300 (Lion oil and fat) as a surfactant to produce protective members 101 to 109.

<Sheet-shaped photothermographic material> As a sheet-shaped photothermographic material, a Konic of 36 × 43 cm in size is used.
a Medical Film RSD-P was used.

<Preparation of Package> 125 sheets each were placed on each tray-shaped protective member prepared with the sheet-shaped photothermographic material described above, housed in a moisture-proof bag, and heat-sealed while degassing under vacuum at -70 kPa. Two copies of each of Samples 101 to 109 are prepared and shown in Table 1. The moisture-proof bag is made of stretched polypropylene (OP
A moisture-proof bag using a material having a multilayer structure of P) / nylon (Ny) / aluminum-deposited polyester film / polyethylene (PE) was used.

Evaluation A part of each of the prepared samples was stored at 24 ° C. and 48% RH for 5 days to be used as a reference sample for each sample. After storing another 1 part at 40 ° C for 5 days, the whole sheet of the photothermographic material on the protective member side of each sample and each reference sample was wedge exposed, and then at the development temperature of 126 ° C, the Konica Lasererim was used.
Table 1 shows the results of measuring the sensitivity difference between each of the obtained samples 101 to 109 and the reference sample after the treatment with the ager DRYPRO722. The sensitivity difference is a value obtained from the following formula.

Sensitivity difference = (minimum density of reference sample + exposure amount required to obtain a density of 0.2)-(exposure amount required to obtain a minimum density of test sample + 0.2 concentration) The measurement was performed using X-Rite 310TR.

[0077]

[Table 1]

If the sensitivity difference is within 0.03, the density difference during image output is within 0.1, and there is no problem. From the results in Table 1, the effectiveness of the present invention was confirmed.

Example 2 Nylon having a thickness of 0.5 mm, a tensile strength of 0.2 Pa, and a bending strength of 0.3 Pa was provided between the sheet-shaped photothermographic material and the protective member when each sample of Example 1 was prepared. Samples 201 to 209 were produced under the same conditions except that a non-woven cushioning material made of fibers was used.

Evaluation Each of the prepared samples was subjected to a vibration tester with an amplitude of 3 mm and a frequency of 17
Each sample 201 to 209 obtained by treating under the same conditions as in Example 1 after being vibrated at 2 Hz for 2 hours, then stored at 40 ° C. for 5 days
Therefore, the difference in sensitivity was evaluated by the same method as in Example 1, the number of scratches generated was visually counted, and the obtained results are shown in Table 2.

[0081]

[Table 2]

As shown in Table 2, the effectiveness of the present invention was confirmed. Example 3 When each sample of Example 1 was produced, it was made of polystyrene having a thickness of 0.3 mm, a tensile strength of 0.3 Pa, and a bending strength of 0.35 Pa between the sheet-shaped photothermographic material and the protective member. The conditions are not changed except that the cushioning material of the foamed sheet is used, and samples 301 to 309 are prepared and shown in Table 3.

Evaluation Each of the prepared samples was subjected to a vibration tester with an amplitude of 3 mm and a frequency of 17
After being vibrated for 2 hours at 40 Hz, each sample was stored at 40 ° C. for 5 days and treated under the same conditions as in Example 1 to obtain each sample 301 to 309.
Therefore, the difference in sensitivity was evaluated by the same method as in Example 1, and the number of scratches generated was visually counted and the results are shown in Table 3.

[0084]

[Table 3]

As shown in Table 3, the effectiveness of the present invention was confirmed.

[0086]

EFFECT OF THE INVENTION Protective member for sheet-shaped photothermographic material, in which scratches and sensitivity variations at the bottom of sheet-shaped photothermographic materials protected and stacked by a protective member are prevented, and sheet-shaped heat using them It is possible to provide a package for a photothermographic material, and it is possible to use the lowermost sheet-shaped photothermographic material that has been conventionally disposed of without being discarded. Can be used up.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of a package for a sheet-shaped photothermographic material.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing another example of the sheet-shaped photothermographic material packaging body.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of a protection member.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged schematic cross-sectional view of a portion indicated by X in FIG. 1 (b).

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 1a Sheet-shaped photothermographic material packaging body 2, 6 protection member 201, 601 bottom 201a, 601a inner surface 202-205 sidewall 206,604 Textured part 3 Sheet-shaped photothermographic material 4 light-proof and moisture-proof bag 5 cushioning material 603 upper part 7 Surfactant layer

Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) G03C 3/00 566 G03C 3/00 566S 585 585B

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A protective member made of a thermoplastic resin for a sheet-shaped photothermographic material, wherein the protective member is 0.5 to 3.0 mg / m on the side where the sheet-shaped photothermographic material is stacked. ^A protective member for a sheet-shaped photothermographic material, comprising the surfactant of ² . 2. The protective member for a sheet-shaped photothermographic material according to claim 1, wherein the surfactant is a cationic surfactant. 3. The protective member for a sheet-shaped photothermographic material according to claim 1, wherein the protective member is U-shaped. 4. The protective member for a sheet-shaped photothermographic material according to claim 1, wherein the protective member has a tray shape. 5. A sheet-shaped photothermographic material comprising a thermoplastic resin protective member for stacking sheet-shaped photothermographic materials, and a light-shielding moisture-proof bag for sealing the sheet-shaped photothermographic materials stacked on the protective member. In the material package, the protective member is the sheet-shaped photothermographic material protective member according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the sheet-shaped photothermographic material package is a protective member. 6. The sheet-shaped photothermographic material according to claim 5, wherein a cushioning material is disposed between the sheet-shaped photothermographic material protective member and the sheet-shaped photothermographic material. Packaging.