JP2003287862A - Image recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an image recorder in which a laser irradiation means is not affected by heat from a heat development section by preventing double exposure, while stable scanning exposure is attained by preventing irregular transportation of the heat development section from being transmitted to a transportation section. <P>SOLUTION: A guide section 32 allows the deflection of a sheet-like recording material 11 caused by a difference in transportation speed between the transportation section 14 and the heat development section 34. Thus, the transportation speed of the transportation section 14 is not affected by the irregular transportation caused by a speed difference. As a result, stable scanning exposure is possible. A swelled section 32C is formed in the guide section 32, causing no damage due to contact with the recording surface 11A of the sheet-like recording material 11. A laser beam B passes through the through groove 18 of a guide plate 16 during applying the scanning exposure to the sheet-like recording material 11. Thus, no double exposure caused by reflecting the laser beam at the guide plate 16 is observed. Meanwhile, a heat insulating material 30 between the heat development section 34 and a scanning section 20 prevents the heat of the heat development section 34 from being transmitted to the scanning section 20. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus for carrying out scanning exposure with a laser beam or the like while conveying a sheet-shaped recording material, and performing thermal development processing of the recording material following the scanning exposure.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, an image recording apparatus forms a latent image by exposing a sheet-shaped recording material with a laser to form a latent image, and performs a dry or wet development process on the latent image to form an image.

In such a device, as shown in FIG.
While one sheet of recording material 100 is being conveyed by the conveying section 104, the sheet-shaped recording material 100 is scanned and exposed by the laser beam Z from the scanning section 102, and the exposed sheet-like recording material 100 is sequentially transferred from the front end side by the heat developing section 106. There is a system that employs a method of performing heat development processing, that is, a method of simultaneously performing exposure processing and heat development processing on one sheet of recording material 100.

However, in the conventional apparatus, the transport unit 104 and the heat developing unit 106 are adjacent to each other on the assumption that the transport speed on the transport unit 104 side and the transport speed on the heat developing unit 106 side are the same. However, if there is a difference in the transport speed, uneven transport occurs.

Therefore, due to this, uniform exposure cannot be performed and a good image may not be obtained.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the laser beam Z may be reflected by the guide plate 108 supporting the sheet-shaped recording material 100 to cause double exposure.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, in an apparatus for simultaneously performing exposure processing and heat development processing on one sheet of recording material 100, the scanning section 102 and the heat development section 106 are arranged close to each other. However, the scanning unit 102 is not provided with any special heat insulating means. Therefore, the heat developing unit 106
The heat of the laser or lens in the scanning unit 102 (not shown)
There is also a risk that it will affect the exposure of the image.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In consideration of the above facts, the present invention prevents the uneven transfer on the side of the heat developing section from being transmitted to the side of the transfer section during the exposure to eliminate the image defect during the scanning exposure, and It is an object of the present invention to provide an image recording apparatus which prevents double exposure and does not affect the laser irradiation means from the heat developing section.

[0009]

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image recording apparatus comprising: a laser irradiating means for scanning a laser beam based on image data to write an image on a recording material;
A transport unit that transports the recording material in the sub-scanning direction, and a thermal processing unit that is disposed downstream of the transport unit and sequentially develops the recording material while the image is being written by the laser irradiation unit from the front end side. A heat developing unit and a guide unit provided between the carrying unit and the heat developing unit, and allowing the bending of the recording material caused by the speed difference between the carrying speed of the carrying unit and the carrying speed of the heat developing unit. And are included.

According to the image recording apparatus of the present invention described in claim 1, the conveying section conveys the recording material in the sub-scanning direction,
The laser irradiation means scans the recording material with laser light based on image data to write an image. Then, the heat developing section sequentially heat develops the recording material in the middle of which the image is written by the laser irradiation means from the front end side.

Therefore, in order to prevent the writing of the image in the carrying section from being affected, the guide section between the carrying section and the heat developing section has a speed difference between the carrying speed of the carrying section and the carrying speed of the heat developing section. The bending of the recording material caused by the above is allowed and the speed difference is absorbed.

As described above, the recording material is not directly sent from the conveying section to the heat developing section, but the recording material is bent by the guide section between the conveying section and the heat developing section. It is possible to absorb and prevent unevenness in conveyance from being transmitted to the conveyance section during exposure. As a result, since the transport speed of the transport unit is not affected by transport unevenness due to the speed difference, image defects do not occur during scanning exposure, and stable scanning exposure is possible with a simple structure.

In the image recording apparatus of the present invention according to claim 2, in the structure of claim 1, when the transport speed of the transport section is V1 and the transport speed of the heat developing section is V2,
It is characterized in that 0.7 <V2 / V1 ≦ 1.0.

According to the image recording apparatus of the present invention as defined in claim 2, the carrying speed of the heat developing section is equal to or slower than the carrying speed of the carrying section, and the speed ratio is such that If the speed of the part is 1.0, it is greater than 0.7 and 1.0
Below.

By increasing the ratio of the conveying speed to more than 0.7, the amount of bending of the recording material can be properly limited, and by setting the ratio of the conveying speed to 1.0 or less, the recording material is transferred to the heat developing section side. It is possible to prevent an image defect from being caused by being pulled and writing.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to the first aspect, when the recording material bends, the bulging portion that does not come into contact with the surface on which the image is written in the recording material. Is provided in the guide portion.

According to the image recording apparatus of the third aspect of the present invention, when the recording material is bent, the surface of the recording material on which the image is written, that is, the recording surface does not come into contact with the guide portion. A bulge portion is formed.

As a result, it is possible to prevent the recording surface of the recording material from being scratched due to contact with the guide portion.

An image recording apparatus according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the image recording apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, in which the transport section scans a scanning line irradiated by the laser irradiation means. And a driving roller that is arranged so that its axis is parallel to the scanning line and that conveys the recording material in the sub-scanning direction by rotation, and that conveys the recording material by sandwiching the recording material between the driving roller and the driving roller. A guide plate having a through groove through which the laser beam penetrates is formed below the scanning line of the laser beam.

According to the image recording apparatus of the present invention, the driving roller and the guide plate sandwich the recording material, and the driving roller rotates to move the recording material on the guide plate in the sub-scanning direction. To be transported to. Here, the laser light scans and exposes the recording material and penetrates the through-grooves of the guide plate.

As described above, by providing the through groove without forming the portion below the scanning line as the surface by the guide plate, it is possible to prevent the laser beam from being reflected by the guide plate during the scanning exposure to cause double exposure. .

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in an image recording apparatus of the present invention, laser irradiation means for scanning a laser beam on the basis of image data to write an image on a recording material, and conveyance for conveying the recording material in the sub-scanning direction. Section, a heat developing section that is disposed on the downstream side of the conveying section, and that sequentially heat develops the recording material while the image is being written by the laser irradiation means from the tip side, the heat developing section, and the heat developing section. And a heat insulating material that is provided between the laser irradiation unit and prevents the heat of the heat developing section from being transferred to the laser irradiation unit.

According to the fifth aspect of the image recording apparatus of the present invention, the conveying section conveys the recording material in the sub-scanning direction,
The laser irradiation means scans the recording material with laser light based on image data to write an image. Then, the heat developing section sequentially heat develops the recording material in the middle of which the image is written by the laser irradiation means from the front end side. Here, the heat insulating material prevents the heat of the heat developing section from being transferred to the laser irradiation means.

In an apparatus for simultaneously performing exposure processing and heat development processing on one recording material, the heat of the heat development section is transmitted to the laser irradiation means because the exposure section and the heat development section are arranged close to each other. Although it is easy, by providing a heat insulating material between the heat developing section and the laser irradiation means, heat conduction to the laser irradiation means is hindered. As a result, the thermal effect on the laser irradiation means is eliminated, and stable image quality can be obtained.

[0025]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of an image recording apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the image recording apparatus 10 includes
The exposure unit 12 is provided. A sheet-shaped recording material 11 as a recording material is fed to the exposure unit 12 one by one from a recording material stocker (not shown).
The exposure unit 12 includes a transport unit 14 that transports the sheet-shaped recording material 11, and a scanning unit 20 that serves as a laser irradiation unit that irradiates the transport unit 14 with the laser beam B modulated based on image data. There is.

In FIG. 4, a transport unit 14 for transporting the sheet-shaped recording material 11 in the exposure unit 12 and a scanning unit 20.
(Details will be described later).

The conveying section 14 is provided with the sheet-like recording material 11
Is provided with a guide plate 16 for supporting. In the present embodiment, the non-recording surface of the sheet-shaped recording material 11 faces the guide plate 16.

The guide plate 16 has a substantially horizontal surface 16A at the center with respect to the conveyance direction of the sheet-shaped recording material 11, and an end portion on the upstream side of conveyance is bent to form a slope 16B. Further, a slope 16C having the same form as the slope 16B is also provided on the downstream side of the guide plate 16 in the conveyance direction of the sheet-shaped recording material 11.

The sheet-shaped recording material 11 has a slope 16B.
It takes a conveyance path that slips in and passes through the horizontal plane 16A, and it is the drive roller 17A provided corresponding to the guide plate 16 that imparts this conveyance force.

The drive roller 17A receives the drive force of a drive means such as a motor (not shown) via a transmission means such as a gear or a belt, and rotates in the clockwise direction in FIG. A drive roller 17B having the same structure as the drive roller 17A is provided at the boundary position between the slope 16C and the horizontal surface 16A for discharging the sheet-shaped recording material 11. The drive roller 17A will be described below as an example, and the drive roller 17B will be omitted.

The drive roller 17A is arranged so as to face a bent portion 16D which is a boundary portion between the horizontal surface 16A and the slope 16B.

In the above structure, when the sheet-shaped recording material 11 enters from the tip of the slope 16B, the guide plate 16
And the drive roller 17A. At this time, since the horizontal surface 16A and the slope 16B of the guide plate 16 are bent, the sheet-shaped recording material 11 bends along the guide plate 16 and an elastic repulsive force of the sheet-shaped recording material 11 itself is generated. Become. Due to this elastic repulsive force, a predetermined frictional force is generated between the sheet-shaped recording material 11 and the driving roller 17A, and the sheet-shaped recording material 11 is conveyed by the rotation of the driving roller 17A.

Sheet-shaped recording material 1 on the guide plate 16
The scanning unit 20 is disposed above the central portion of the sheet 1 in the transport direction. The scanning unit 20 includes a semiconductor laser 22 that is controlled by the control unit 26 and emits laser light. The modulator 2 that modulates the laser light emitted from the semiconductor laser 22 in accordance with the image signal from the controller 26.
Equipped with 3. The laser beam B is modulated by the modulator 23 based on the image data. The laser light B output from the modulator 23 is input to the reflecting surface of the polygon mirror 24 that rotates at high speed to scan the reflected light, and an optical member 28 such as an fθ lens or a cylindrical mirror causes a predetermined angle θ. Is guided to the sheet-shaped recording material 11 on the guide plate 16. For this reason, the sheet-shaped recording material 11 is scanned with the laser beam B in the direction orthogonal to the transport direction (main scanning), and at the same time, the transport unit 14 transports it (sub-scanning) to expose an image. To be done.

The through groove 1 is formed along the main scanning direction at the center of the guide plate 16 corresponding to the range in which the laser beam B is scanned.
8 are provided. As shown in FIG. 3, the guide plate 16
By providing the through groove 18 in the guide plate 1, the laser light B is guided by the guide plate 1.
It is possible to prevent the double exposure due to the reflection on No. 6.

As shown in FIG. 1, a thermal developing section 34 is arranged downstream of the exposing section 12. This heat developing section 34
Is a dry developing type in which the sheet-shaped recording material 11 is developed by heating the sheet-shaped recording material 11. The entire sheet is covered with a casing 36, and the sheet-shaped recording material 11 is provided at one end thereof.
Is inserted. This insertion part and the exposure part 12
A guide portion 32 (described later in detail) is provided between the final stage (the downstream end of the guide plate 16 in the transport direction).

As a result, the leading end of the sheet-shaped recording material 11 during the scanning exposure in the exposure section 12 enters the heat developing section 34 via the guide section 32.

In the casing 36 of the heat developing section 34, three blocks of developing units 38 are arranged in an arc shape.
The developing unit 38 has one surface (sheet-shaped recording material 11
A heating plate 40 having a circular arc-shaped heating surface 40A, and a plurality of rollers 42 sandwiching the sheet-shaped recording material 11 together with the heating surface 40A.

The heating plate 40 is heated to a predetermined temperature by a heat source (not shown), and the control temperature can be changed in each block as needed. It is also possible to adjust the heat distribution within each block.

The rollers 42 are adapted to receive a driving force from a driving means (not shown) and rotate at a constant speed. Here, the transport speed of the heat developing section 34 is
The transport speed may be the same as the transport speed of the transport unit 14, or may be slightly slower than the transport speed of the transport unit 14.

As a result, the sheet-shaped recording material 11 inserted from the insertion portion of the developing unit 38 is heated while being conveyed at a predetermined conveying speed, and is discharged until it is discharged.
It receives the amount of heat required for development and is thermally developed.

As shown in FIG. 2, the guide section 32 provided between the transport section 14 and the heat developing section 34 is provided with a guide bottom plate 32B for supporting the sheet-shaped recording material 11. The guide bottom plate 32B has a substantially flat plate shape. An upper guide plate 32A is provided above the guide bottom plate 32B. The guide upper plate 32A is provided parallel to the guide bottom plate 32B in a portion near the heat developing unit 34, and swells in a direction away from the guide bottom plate 32B from the central portion toward the transport unit 14 side, and has an inner cross section. Has a gentle arc shape. The portion that bulges in the direction away from the guide bottom plate 32B serves as a bulge 32C when the sheet-shaped recording material 11 bends.
The recording surface 11A, which is the surface on which the image is written, is formed so as not to contact.

With this configuration, the bending of the sheet-shaped recording material 11 caused by the speed difference between the transport speed of the transport unit 14 and the transport speed of the thermal development unit 34 is allowed inside the upper guide plate 32A. By bending the sheet-shaped recording material 11 by the guide portion 32, the heat developing portion 3 caused by the speed difference
The uneven transport on the 4th side is absorbed. Therefore, the transport speed of the transport unit 14 is not affected by the transport unevenness due to the speed difference, so that the image defect during the scanning exposure due to the transport unevenness does not occur. Also, the bulge 32
Since C is provided, the sheet-shaped recording material 11
The recording surface 11A can be prevented from being scratched by being rubbed by the contact with the inside of the upper guide plate 32A.

When the transport speed of the transport unit 14 is V1 and the transport speed of the thermal development unit 34 is V2, the transport speed is 0.7.
<V2 / V1 ≦ 1.0 is preferable,
It is preferable to set 0.97 <V2 / V1 <0.99. By setting this range, the sheet-shaped recording material 1
The deflection amount of 1 can be set in an appropriate range. In addition,
The reason why it is not larger than 1.0 is to prevent the sheet-shaped recording material 11 from being pulled toward the heat developing section 34 side and causing an image defect during writing.

As described above, the image recording apparatus 10 simultaneously performs the exposure process and the thermal development process on one sheet of recording material 11, and the transport speed of the transport unit 14 and the transport speed of the thermal development unit 34. Since the speed difference between and is allowed within a predetermined range, the printing time can be shortened by a stable operation.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a heat insulating material 30 is arranged between the heat developing section 34 and the scanning section 20.
The heat insulating material 30 is attached to a plate (not shown) that partitions the heat developing unit 34 and the scanning unit 20, and is provided in a substantially L shape in cross section so as to cover the scanning unit 20. Here, as the material of the heat insulating material 30, heat-resistant foamed resin (for example, melamine-based resin) or the like is used. The heat insulating material 30 prevents the heat of the heat developing portion 34 from being transmitted to the semiconductor laser 22, the optical member 28, etc. (see FIG. 4) in the scanning portion 20. Therefore, the scanning unit 20 is not affected by heat and stable image quality can be obtained.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described.

As shown in FIG. 4, the sheet-shaped recording material 11
With the non-recording surface of (1) facing the guide plate 16, the slope 16B is inserted from the end.

As this entry proceeds, the sheet-shaped recording material 11
Enters between the guide plate 16 and the drive roller 17A. The drive roller 17A receives the drive force of the drive means and rotates in the clockwise direction in FIG.

Here, the sheet-shaped recording material 11 bends when it moves from the slope 16B to the horizontal surface 16A, and this bending causes an elastic repulsive force in the sheet-shaped recording material 11 itself. Due to this elastic repulsive force, a predetermined frictional force is generated between the sheet-shaped recording material 11 and the driving roller 17A, the transport driving force is reliably transmitted from the driving roller 17A to the sheet-shaped recording material 11, and the sheet-shaped recording material 11 is formed. Is transported.

Sheet-like recording material 11 from the guide plate 16
Even when the sheet is discharged, a predetermined frictional force is generated between the sheet-shaped recording material 11 and the drive roller 17B due to the elastic repulsive force due to the bending of the sheet-shaped recording material 11, and the sheet is reliably transported.

Since the laser beam B modulated based on the image data is scanned (main scanning) from the scanning unit 20 during this transportation, the transportation by the transportation unit 14 becomes the sub-scanning, and the image is formed on the sheet-shaped recording material 11. Is exposed.

Here, as shown in FIG.
Scans and exposes the sheet-shaped recording material 11 and penetrates the through groove 18 of the guide plate 16. As described above, by providing the through groove 18 in the guide plate 16 so that the lower part of the scanning line does not serve as a surface, it is possible to prevent the laser beam B from being reflected by the guide plate 16 during the scanning exposure to cause double exposure. it can.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, while the image exposure is continued, the sheet-shaped recording material 1
The leading end of No. 1 reaches the insertion portion of the heat developing portion 34 via the guide portion 32. Then, the heat developing section 34 sequentially heat develops the sheet-shaped recording material 11 in the middle of the image being written by the scanning section 20 from the front end side.

In the heat developing section 34, the sheet-shaped recording material 11
Are conveyed in a substantially arcuate shape, and subjected to heat treatment by a plurality of developing units 38 to be thermally developed and discharged.

The guide portion 32 between the transport portion 14 and the heat developing portion 34 allows the sheet-shaped recording material 11 to bend due to the speed difference between the transport speed of the transport portion 14 and the heat developing portion 34. .

As described above, the sheet-shaped recording material 11 is not directly sent from the conveying section 14 to the heat developing section 34, but is conveyed by the conveying section 1.
The sheet-shaped recording material 11 is bent by the guide portion 32 between the heat developing portion 34 and the heat developing portion 34 to absorb the uneven transport of the thermal developing portion 34 and prevent the uneven transport from being transmitted to the transport portion 14 during exposure. be able to. As a result, the transport speed of the transport unit 14 is not affected by transport unevenness due to the speed difference,
Image defects do not occur during scanning exposure, and stable scanning exposure is possible with a simple structure.

Here, when the sheet-shaped recording material 11 is bent, the recording surface 11A does not contact the guide portion 32 because the guide portion 32 has the bulging portion 32C. As a result, it is possible to prevent the recording surface 11A of the sheet-shaped recording material 11 from being scratched due to contact with the guide portion 32.

Further, the transport speed of the heat developing section 34 is equal to or slower than the transport speed of the transport section 14, and the speed ratio is set to 1.0 at the transport speed of the transport section 14. In this case, the value is larger than 0.7 and 1.0 or less. The sheet-shaped recording material 1 can be obtained by increasing the ratio of the conveying speeds to more than 0.7.
The amount of bending of No. 1 can be properly limited, and the ratio of the transport speeds is 1.0 or less.
It is possible to prevent an image defect from being caused by being pulled to the side and writing.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, the heat insulating material 30 is
The heat of the heat developing section 34 is prevented from being transmitted to the scanning section 20. 1
In the apparatus that simultaneously performs the exposure process and the heat development process on the sheet-shaped recording material 11 of one sheet, the exposure unit 12 and the heat development unit
Since the and are close to each other, the heat of the heat developing section 34 is easily transferred to the scanning section 20. However, by providing the heat insulating material 30 between the heat developing section 34 and the scanning section 20, heat to the scanning section 20 can be reduced. Conduction is impeded. As a result, the thermal effect on the scanning unit 20 is eliminated, and stable image quality can be obtained.

In the above embodiment, regarding the shape of the guide portion, in the guide upper plate, the portion closer to the heat developing portion is parallel to the guide bottom plate, and the portion closer to the transport portion from the central portion has a substantially circular inner cross section. Although the guide portion is arcuate, the shape of the guide portion is not limited to this. For example, the inner cross-sectional shape of the guide upper plate may be a substantially elliptic arc shape.

Further, in the above, the heat insulating material is attached to the plate partitioning the heat developing section and the scanning section, and is provided in a substantially L-shape in cross section so as to cover the scanning section. For example, a heat insulating material may be inserted between the opposing plates, and the plate may be configured so as to have a substantially arc shape in a cross-sectional view so as to cover the scanning portion, and the arrangement of the heat insulating material is not limited to this. . Regarding the material of the heat insulating material, the embodiment has been described in detail by taking a heat-resistant foamed resin (for example, melamine resin) as an example, but the material may be glass fiber, cork material, FRP, or the like. Is not limited to this.

[0063]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Prevents transfer unevenness on the side of the heat developing section from being transferred to the side of the transferring section during exposure, eliminating image defects during scanning exposure, and preventing double exposure, which affects the laser irradiation unit from the heat developing section. It has an excellent effect that it does not exist.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image recording apparatus according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a state in which a sheet-shaped recording material passes through a guide portion in the image recording apparatus according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing how a sheet-shaped recording material is exposed by laser light in the image recording apparatus according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a transport unit and a scanning unit according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of a conventional image recording apparatus.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing how a sheet-shaped recording material is exposed to laser light in a conventional image recording apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 Sheet-shaped recording material (recording material) 14 Transport section 16 Guide plate 17A drive roller 17B drive roller 18 through groove 20 Scanning section (laser irradiation means) 30 insulation 32 Guide 32C bulge 34 Thermal Development Department

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A laser irradiation unit that scans a laser beam on the basis of image data to write an image on a recording material, a conveying unit that conveys the recording material in a sub-scanning direction, and a downstream side of the conveying unit. A heat developing section that sequentially heat develops the recording material in the middle of the image being written by the laser irradiating unit from the front end side; and a transport section provided between the transport section and the heat developing section. An image recording apparatus comprising: a guide portion that allows the recording material to bend due to a speed difference between the conveying speed of the heat developing section and the conveying speed of the heat developing section. 2. When the transport speed of the transport section is V1 and the transport speed of the heat development section is V2, 0.7 <V2 /
The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein V1 ≦ 1.0. 3. The image recording according to claim 1, wherein the guide portion is provided with a bulging portion that does not come into contact with a surface of the recording material on which the image is written when the recording material bends. apparatus. 4. The transport unit is arranged such that an axis line is parallel to the scanning line sandwiching the scanning line irradiated by the laser irradiation unit and rotates to transport the recording material in the sub-scanning direction. A driving roller; and a guide plate which holds the recording material between the driving roller and conveys the recording material and which has a through groove through which the laser beam penetrates formed below the scanning line of the laser beam. The image recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: 5. A laser irradiation unit that scans a laser beam on the basis of image data to write an image on a recording material, a conveying unit that conveys the recording material in a sub-scanning direction, and a downstream side of the conveying unit. A heat developing section that sequentially heat develops the recording material in the middle of the image being written by the laser irradiating section from the tip side, and is provided between the heat developing section and the laser irradiating section,
An image recording apparatus, comprising: a heat insulating material that prevents heat of the heat developing section from being transferred to the laser irradiation means.