JP2005202103A - Heat development apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a heat development apparatus capable of most appropriately performing correction for recording an optimum image to a heat developable recording material without depending there-on. <P>SOLUTION: The heat development recording apparatus 150 which has an image exposure section B for forming a latent image by exposing the heat developable recording material and develops the latent image to a sensible image by heating the heat developable recording material after the exposure is equipped with an exposure temperature sensor 18 which measures the exposure temperature at the time of exposure by the image exposure section B, a control section E which performs the correction of the exposure based on the exposure temperature, bar code readers 12a, 12b, and 12c which input the identification information for identifying the heat developable recording material, and a ROM 34 which stores the exposure correction data for performing the correction by corresponding the same to the identification information. The control section E performs the correction of the exposure by using the exposure correction data corresponding to the identification information inputted from the bar code readers 12a, 12b, and 12c. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a heat development apparatus that includes an exposure unit that exposes a heat-developable recording material to form a latent image, and heat-develops the exposed heat-developable recording material to visualize the latent image.

  In recent years, in the medical field, reduction of waste processing liquid has been strongly desired from the viewpoint of environmental protection and space saving. Therefore, the photosensitive heat for medical diagnosis and photographic technology that can be efficiently exposed by a laser image setter or a laser imager and can form a clear black image having high resolution and sharpness. There is a need for techniques relating to developed photographic materials. These photosensitive photothermographic materials can eliminate the use of solution processing chemicals and supply a simpler heat development processing system that does not damage the environment to the market.

  Therefore, a recording apparatus using a dry system that does not require wet processing is attracting attention. In such a recording apparatus, a recording material such as a photosensitive and heat-sensitive recording material (photosensitive heat-sensitive recording material) or a film of a heat-developable photosensitive material (hereinafter referred to as a heat-developable recording material) is used. In the recording apparatus using the dry system, a latent image is formed by irradiating (scanning) the heat-developable recording material with a laser beam in the exposure unit, and then the heat-developable recording material is brought into contact with the heating unit in the heat developing unit. Thermal development is performed, and then cooling is performed, and the thermally developed recording material on which an image is formed is discharged out of the apparatus. Such a dry system can solve the problem of waste liquid treatment as compared with wet treatment.

  Conventionally, in such a recording apparatus, the density of the image formed on the heat-developable recording material is optimized by correcting the exposure amount in the exposure section by using the apparatus temperature such as the temperature of the heat developing section or the cooling section. A technique for making it easy has been proposed (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2000-284382 A

  The heat-developable recording material has different characteristics for each type and production lot. In the recording apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the exposure amount correction is performed using correction data (exposure amount data with respect to the apparatus temperature) common to all the heat-developable recording materials, although the characteristics differ for each heat-developable recording material. Is going. For this reason, depending on the type of the heat-developable recording material, there is a possibility that optimum correction cannot be performed.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a thermal development apparatus capable of optimally performing correction for recording an optimal image on a thermal development recording material without depending on the thermal development recording material. The purpose is to provide.

  The thermal development apparatus of the present invention has an exposure unit that exposes a heat-developable recording material to form a latent image, and heat-develops the latent image by heating the heat-developable recording material after the exposure An exposure temperature measuring unit that measures an exposure temperature at the time of exposure by the exposure unit, a correction unit that corrects an exposure amount of the exposure based on the exposure temperature, and the thermal development recording Identification information input means for inputting identification information for identifying a material, and correction data storage means for storing correction data for performing the correction in association with the identification information, wherein the correction means includes the identification information The exposure amount is corrected using the correction data corresponding to the identification information input by the information input means.

  This configuration corrects the exposure amount based on the exposure temperature using correction data corresponding to the type and production lot of the heat-developable recording material. Therefore, it is possible to perform optimally irrespective of the heat development recording material.

  The thermal development apparatus of the present invention performs an exposure unit that exposes a thermal development recording material to form a latent image, and thermal development that heats the thermal development recording material after the exposure to visualize the latent image. A heat development apparatus having a heat development part and a cooling part for cooling the heat-developable recording material after the heat development, wherein a cooling part temperature measuring means for measuring a cooling part temperature of the cooling part, and the cooling part Correction means for correcting the temperature of the thermal development unit based on temperature, identification information input means for inputting identification information for identifying the heat development recording material, and correction data for performing the correction Correction data storage means for storing information corresponding to the information, and the correction means corrects the temperature of the thermal development unit using the correction data corresponding to the identification information input by the identification information input means. Is what you do.

  With this configuration, the temperature of the heat development section is corrected based on the cooling section temperature using correction data corresponding to the type and production lot of the heat development recording material, so that an optimum image is recorded on the heat development recording material. This correction can be optimally performed regardless of the heat-developable recording material.

  The thermal development apparatus of the present invention has an exposure unit that exposes a thermal development recording material to form a latent image, heats the thermal development recording material after the exposure, visualizes the latent image, and performs thermal development. An identification information input means for inputting identification information for identifying the heat-developable recording material, and gradation data indicating a standard gradation curve of the heat-developable recording material. A storage means for storing information corresponding to the information; a built-in densitometer for measuring the density of the image recorded in the heat-developable recording material; and a density measurement value of the built-in densitometer. Calibration means for calibrating and density correction data creating means for creating density correction data for correcting the density of an image to be developed by the thermal development apparatus, and the thermal development material developed the thermal development material Patter with multiple image density values Delete the value of the density measurement value after the calibration of the density measurement value of the image based on the data by the built-in densitometer more than a predetermined value, and use the identification information input means to input the identification information of the thermally developed recording material Based on the density value based on the corresponding gradation data, extrapolate a value equal to or greater than a predetermined value of the density measurement value after calibration, and based on the density measurement value after the extrapolation and the plurality of image density values Thus, the density correction data is created.

  With this configuration, a value equal to or higher than a predetermined value of the density measurement value after calibration of the density measurement value by the built-in densitometer of the image based on the pattern data having a plurality of image density values is deleted and input by the identification information input means Based on the density value based on the gradation data corresponding to the identification information, extrapolates a value equal to or greater than a predetermined value of the density measurement value after calibration, and based on the density measurement value after the extrapolation and a plurality of image density values Create density correction data. Therefore, it is possible to optimally perform correction for recording an optimal image on the heat-developable recording material regardless of the heat-developable recording material.

  In the heat development apparatus of the present invention, the identification information input means acquires the identification information from a storage medium on which the identification information attached to the package of the heat development recording material is recorded.

  In the thermal development apparatus of the present invention, the storage medium includes a printed medium with a barcode corresponding to the identification information, a printed two-dimensional code corresponding to the identification information, or an RF-ID. It is a waste.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a heat development apparatus capable of optimally performing correction for recording an optimum image on a heat development recording material regardless of the heat development recording material.

Hereinafter, a heat development recording apparatus for describing an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a heat development recording apparatus for explaining an embodiment of the present invention.

  The thermal development recording apparatus 150 uses a thermal development recording material that does not require wet development processing, exposes the thermal development recording material by scanning exposure with a light beam composed of laser light, forms a latent image, and then performs thermal development. It is a device that goes to obtain a visible image and then cools to room temperature. The thermal development recording apparatus 150 basically includes a thermal development recording material supply unit A, an image exposure unit (corresponding to the laser recording apparatus 100) B, and a thermal development unit C in the order of conveyance of the thermal development recording material. The cooling part D is provided. In addition, it is provided with a transport means for transporting the heat-developable recording material provided at a key point between each section, and a control section E that drives and controls each section. In this thermal development recording apparatus 150, a power supply / control unit E is arranged at the bottom, a thermal development recording material supply unit A is arranged at the top, and an image exposure unit B, a thermal development unit C, and a cooling unit D are arranged at the top. The image exposure part B and the heat development part C are arranged adjacent to each other. According to this configuration, the exposure process and the heat development process can be performed within a short transport distance, the transport path length of the heat development recording material can be minimized, and the output time of one sheet can be shortened. In addition, both the exposure process and the thermal development process can be simultaneously performed on one thermal development recording material.

  As the heat-developable recording material, a heat-developable photosensitive material or a photosensitive heat-sensitive recording material can be used. The photothermographic material is a recording material that records (exposes) an image with a light beam (for example, a laser beam) and then develops the color by thermal development. In addition, the photosensitive and heat-sensitive recording material records an image with a light beam and then develops it by heat development, or develops a color simultaneously with recording an image by a heat mode (heat) of a laser beam, and then irradiates with light. It is a recording material to be fixed.

  The heat-developable recording material supply unit A is a part that takes out the heat-developable recording material one by one and supplies it to the image exposure unit B located downstream in the conveyance direction of the heat-developable recording material. , 10c, supply roller pairs 13a, 13b, 13c respectively disposed in the loading sections, and a conveyance roller and a conveyance guide (not shown). Further, magazines 15a, 15b, and 15c in which different sizes of heat-developable recording materials (for example, B4 size, half-cut size, etc.) are accommodated inside the loading sections 10a, 10b, and 10c having a three-stage configuration. Is inserted so that one of the sizes and orientations loaded in each stage can be used selectively.

  The heat-developable recording material is processed into a sheet shape, and is usually a laminated body (bundle) of a predetermined unit such as 100 sheets, and is packaged by a bag or a belt. The packages are accommodated in magazines 15a, 15b, and 15c, respectively, and loaded in each stage of the heat development recording material supply unit A. The package constituting the package includes a bar corresponding to identification information for identifying the date of manufacture, manufacturer, serial number, manufacturing lot number, type, size, etc. of the heat-developable recording material included in the package. A sheet-like bar code label on which the code is printed is attached. The barcode label is a storage medium that stores the identification information. Instead of using the barcode corresponding to the identification information, a sheet-like two-dimensional code label on which the two-dimensional code corresponding to the identification information is printed may be used. Moreover, you may print a barcode and a two-dimensional code directly on a package.

  Openings 11a, 11b, and 11c are formed in the loading portions 10a, 10b, and 10c of the heat-developable recording material supply unit A, and printed on the package below the openings 11a, 11b, and 11c. Bar code readers 12a, 12b, and 12c for reading bar codes are provided. The bar code readers 12a, 12b, and 12c acquire the identification information by reading the bar code, and input the acquired identification information to the control unit E. The identification information may be manually input to the control unit E using the operation unit of the heat development recording apparatus 150 or the like. In addition, instead of the barcode label or the two-dimensional code label, a wireless tag (RF-ID: Radio Frequency Identification) storing identification information is attached to the package, and the identification information is read from the wireless tag by a wireless tag reader. You may make it acquire.

  The image exposure unit B scans and exposes the heat-developable recording material conveyed from the heat-developable recording material supply unit A with the light beam L in the main scanning direction, and also in a sub-scanning direction (substantially orthogonal to the main scanning direction ( That is, by transporting in the recording material transport direction), a desired image is recorded on the heat-developable recording material to form a latent image.

  The thermal development unit C performs thermal development by performing a temperature rise process while conveying the thermal development recording material after scanning exposure. Then, the heat-developable recording material after the development processing is cooled in the cooling unit D and carried out to the discharge tray 16.

Here, the image exposure unit B which is the laser recording apparatus 100 will be specifically described. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of a sub-scanning conveying unit and a scanning exposure unit for conveying a sheet-like heat-developable recording material in the laser recording apparatus 100.
The image exposure unit B, which is the laser recording apparatus 100, is a part that exposes the heat-developable recording material by light beam scanning exposure, and has a flutter prevention mechanism that conveys the heat-developable recording material while preventing flapping from the conveyance surface. A sub-scanning conveyance unit 17 and a scanning exposure unit 19 are provided. The scanning exposure unit 19 scans (main scans) the laser while controlling the output of the laser according to separately prepared image data. At this time, the heat-developable recording material is moved in the sub-scanning direction by the sub-scanning conveyance unit 17.

  The sub-scanning conveyance unit 17 includes two drive rollers 21 and 22 whose axis lines are arranged substantially parallel to the scan line across the main scan line of the laser beam to be irradiated, and the drive rollers 21 and 22. A guide plate 23 is provided so as to face the heat-developable recording material 3. The guide plate 23 bends the heat-developable recording material 3 inserted between the drive rollers 21 and 22 along a part of the peripheral surface of the drive roller outside the drive rollers arranged in parallel. The slope portions 25 and 26 and a pressing portion 29 having a substantially horizontal surface for receiving and receiving an elastic repulsion force due to the bending of the heat-developable recording material between the drive rollers are provided.

  The slope portion 25 is an inclined surface that is bent and connected at a boundary portion with the pressing portion 29, and an intersection angle φ between the slope portion 25 and the pressing portion 29 is set in a range of 0 ° to 45 °. Has been. The slope portion 26 on the downstream side of the conveyance is formed in the same manner, and an inclined surface having the above-mentioned intersecting angle φ is provided with respect to the pressing portion 29.

  The driving roller 21 receives the driving force of driving means such as a motor (not shown) via transmission means such as a gear and a belt, and rotates in the clockwise direction in FIG. A driving roller 22 having the same configuration as that of the driving roller 21 is provided for discharging the heat-developable recording material 3 at the boundary position between the slope portion 26 and the pressing portion 29.

  Here, the drive roller 21 will be described as an example. The drive roller 21 is disposed so as to face the bent portion 31 that is a boundary portion between the pressing portion 29 and the slope portion 25. The arrangement position of the drive roller 21 with respect to the guide plate 23 passes through a bent portion (angle changing point) 31 of the guide plate 23 and divides the inner angle (180 ° −φ) of the guide plate into two equal parts, It is preferable that the outer periphery is in contact. There are no particular restrictions on the relationship between the diameter of the drive roller 21 and the length of the guide plate 23.

  Further, the drive roller 21 is disposed such that a predetermined gap G is formed between the peripheral surface and the guide plate 23. This gap G is preferably the same or ten times as thick as the thickness t of the heat-developable recording material 3 (t ≦ G ≦ 10t).

  In the configuration of the sub-scanning conveyance unit 17, when the heat-developable recording material 3 enters from the tip of the slope portion 25, the tip of the heat-developable recording material 3 enters between the guide plate 23 and the driving roller 21. At this time, since the pressing portion 29 and the slope portion 25 of the guide plate 23 are bent at a predetermined angle φ, the heat-developable recording material 3 is bent when it moves from the slope portion 25 to the pressing portion 29, and this bending is caused. As a result, an elastic repulsion force is generated in the heat-developable recording material itself. Due to this elastic repulsive force, a predetermined frictional force is generated between the heat-developable recording material 3 and the drive roller 21, and the conveyance drive force is reliably transmitted from the drive roller 21 to the heat-developable recording material 3. Is transported.

  When the heat-developable recording material 3 enters between the guide plate 23 and the drive roller 21, the gap G between the drive roller 21 and the guide plate 23 driven in the clockwise direction is the thickness dimension of the heat-developable recording material 3. Since it is set to t to 10t, vibration of the driving roller 21 due to disturbance does not affect the conveyance of the heat-developable recording material 3. That is, when the disturbance occurs, it is absorbed by the elastic force (displacement in the thickness direction) of the heat-developable recording material 3, so that the conveyance is not affected.

Even when the heat development recording material 3 is discharged from the guide plate 23 by the slope portion 26 and the driving roller 22, a predetermined frictional force is generated between the driving roller 22 and the elastic repulsive force due to the bending of the heat development recording material 3. Occurs, and it is reliably conveyed.
In the pressing portion 29, the heat-developable recording material 3 is pressed against the pressing portion 29 by the elastic repulsive force of the heat-developable recording material 3, and flutters from the conveying surface of the heat-developable recording material 3, that is, in the vertical direction. Fluttering is suppressed. By irradiating the heat-developable recording material 3 between the drive rollers with a laser beam, good recording without exposure position deviation can be performed.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, the scanning exposure unit 19 deflects the laser beam L modulated in accordance with the image signal in the main scanning direction and makes it incident on a predetermined recording position X. A laser light source 35 that emits a narrow-band wavelength laser beam (wavelength 350 nm to 900 nm) corresponding to the spectral sensitivity characteristics of the material, a recording control device 37 that drives the laser light source 35, a cylindrical lens 39, and an optical deflector. A polygon mirror 41, an fθ lens 43, and a falling cylindrical mirror 45 are provided.
The scanning exposure unit 19 includes other known light beam scanning exposures such as a collimator lens, a beam expander, a surface tilt correction optical system, and an optical path adjustment mirror that shape the light beam emitted from the laser light source 35. Various optical system members arranged in the apparatus are arranged as necessary. The recording beam diameter of the laser beam on the heat-developable recording material 3 is set to φ50 to φ200 μm.

  Here, a direct modulation method is employed as the exposure method, and image recording is performed thereby. The recording control device 37 directly modulates and drives the laser light source 35 according to the image data input from the data processing unit 88, and emits a light beam directly modulated according to the image data. That is, the laser light L emitted from the laser light source 35 is deflected in the main scanning direction by the polygon mirror 41, adjusted so as to form an image at the recording position X by the fθ lens 43, and the optical path is selected by the cylindrical mirror 45. Then, the light is incident on the recording position X at a predetermined incident angle θi. That is, an incident angle having an inclination of 4 ° to 15 ° from the normal of the heat-developable recording material 3 to the sub-scanning direction in a plane parallel to the normal direction of the heat-developable recording material 3 and the sub-scanning direction (conveyance direction). The laser beam L is irradiated toward the heat-developable recording material 3 at θi.

  The image exposure unit B is provided with an exposure temperature sensor 14 that measures the temperature during exposure. The exposure temperature data measured by the exposure temperature sensor 14 is input to the control unit E. As a method of measuring the temperature at the time of exposure, in addition to the method of measuring the temperature of the pressing portion 29 in the vicinity of the exposure point like the exposure temperature sensor 14, the method of measuring the temperature of the front or back surface of the heat development recording material , A method for measuring the temperature on the surface of a roller used for conveyance, a method for measuring the temperature of the atmosphere at the exposure point, a method for measuring the apparatus frame temperature of the thermal development apparatus 150, and a thermal development recording material to be exposed There is a method of measuring the temperature of the loading section in which is loaded. Any temperature may be measured as long as the temperature at the time of exposure of the heat-developable recording material can be measured.

Next, the heat developing unit C will be described.
The heat development section C heats a heat-treated heat-developable recording material of a type to which heat treatment is applied, and has a configuration necessary for processing the heat-developable recording material 3 as shown in FIG. The plurality of plate heaters 51a, 51b, 51c arranged in the transfer direction of the heat-developable recording material as the heating body are curved, and these plate heaters 51a, 51b, 51c are arranged in a series of arcs.

  That is, as shown in the figure, the heat developing section C including the plate heaters 51a, 51b, 51c is provided with a concave surface, and the heat development recording material 3 is brought into contact with the concave surface of the plate heater. Slide it while moving it relatively. At this time, a supply roller 53 and a plurality of pressing rollers 55 for heat transfer from each plate heater to the heat-developable recording material 3 are provided as means for transferring the heat-developable recording material 3. The pressing roller 55 is rotationally driven by the rotation of the driving gear 27 with the axial end engaged with the driving gear 27. As these pressing rollers 55, a metal roller, a resin roller, a rubber roller, or the like can be used. With this configuration, since the heat-developable recording material 3 being conveyed is conveyed while being pressed against the plate heaters 51a, 51b, 51c, the buckling of the heat-developable recording material 3 can be prevented. A discharge roller 57 for transferring the heat development recording material is disposed at the end of the conveyance path of the heat development recording material 3 in the heat development section C.

  Of course, the curved plate heater is an example, and may be configured using other flat plate heaters or heating drums, or may be configured with an endless belt and a peeling claw. Good.

  The heat-developable recording material 3 carried out from the heat-developing part C is cooled with care so that no wrinkles are generated by the cooling part D and no bending occurs. The heat-developable recording material 3 discharged from the cooling unit D is guided into the guide plate 61 by a cooling roller pair 59 provided in the middle of the conveyance path, and further discharged from the discharge roller pair 63 to the discharge tray 16.

  As described above, a plurality of cooling roller pairs 59 are arranged in the cooling section D so as to give a desired constant curvature R to the conveyance path of the heat-developable recording material 3. This means that the heat-developable recording material 3 is conveyed with a certain curvature R until it is cooled below the glass transition point of the material. In this way, the heat-developable recording material is intentionally given a curvature. Further, before the glass transition point is cooled, the extra curl does not occur. When the glass transition point is reached, the curl amount does not vary without any new curl.

  Further, in the cooling part D, a cooling part temperature sensor 18 for measuring an air temperature (cooling part temperature) in the vicinity of the vicinity where the heat-developable recording material passes (for example, in the vicinity of the slow cooling part included in the cooling part D) is provided. It has been. The cooling unit temperature data measured by the cooling unit temperature sensor 18 is input to the control unit E.

  Between the guide plate 61 and the carry-out roller pair 63, a built-in densitometer 65 that detects the image density of the thermally developed heat-developable recording material 3 is provided. The built-in densitometer 65 is basically composed of a light emitting light source and a received light amount detection unit, detects the light amount by a light receiving element, converts the detected light amount into a corresponding electrical signal, and outputs it.

  The image recording on the heat-developable recording material 3 is described in detail in, for example, International Publication No. WO95 / 31754 and International Publication No. WO95 / 30934, and is referred to as necessary. I want.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic internal configuration of the heat development recording apparatus 150. The same components as those in FIG.
As shown in the figure, the heat development recording apparatus 150 includes a control unit E, a ROM 34, an exposure temperature sensor 14, a cooling unit temperature sensor 18, bar code readers 12a, 12b, and 12c, and an image exposure unit B. , A heat developing section C and a cooling section D, each of which is connected to the bus 36.

  The control unit E is mainly composed of a processor that operates according to a predetermined program stored in the ROM 34, and performs overall control of the entire heat development recording apparatus 150.

  The control unit E controls the image exposure unit B using exposure amount correction data (data indicating the exposure amount with respect to the exposure temperature) stored in the ROM 34 based on the exposure temperature data input from the exposure temperature sensor 14. The exposure amount of exposure performed in the image exposure unit B is corrected. The correction of the exposure amount is for correcting the exposure temperature dependency of the heat-developable recording material.

  Based on the cooling part temperature data input from the cooling part temperature sensor 18, the control part E uses the temperature correction data (data indicating the temperature of the thermal development part C with respect to the cooling part temperature) stored in the ROM 34 to The temperature of the developing unit C is corrected.

In the thermal development recording apparatus 150, the image data from the image data supply source R such as CT or MRI is sent to the image processing unit 80 shown in FIG.
The image processing unit 80 includes a density correction unit 86, a data processing unit 88 that performs various types of image processing such as sharpness correction, a calibration unit 90 that calibrates the density measurement value of the built-in densitometer 65, and an input unit 98. Prepare.

  The input unit 98 inputs the density measurement value measured by the built-in densitometer 65, the density value data input from the service person (operator) by the operation unit (not shown) of the thermal development recording apparatus 150, and the like to the calibration unit 90. To do.

When the calibration mode for calibrating the built-in densitometer 65 is set in the heat development recording apparatus 150, the calibration unit 90 is a reference chart image measured by the built-in densitometer 65 (a calibration indicating a plurality of known image density patterns). Calibration data for calibrating the density measurement value of the built-in densitometer 65 is created and stored on the basis of the density measurement value of the image for use) and the image density value of the reference chart image input by the service person. Details of this calibration method are described in JP-A-9-307767, so please refer to this.
The calibration unit 90 calibrates the density measurement value measured by the built-in densitometer 65 using the stored calibration data when the density correction mode for correcting the density of the image to be developed is set by the heat development recording apparatus 150. Then, the calibrated density measurement value is input to the density correction unit 86.

The density correction unit 86 creates density correction data for performing density correction, performs density correction of the image data input from the image data supply source R using the created density correction data, and performs the density corrected image. Data is input to the data processing unit 88.
The density correction unit 86 outputs density correction chart data for creating density correction data. The density correction chart data is data indicating a plurality of image density patterns.
When the density correction mode is set, the density correction unit 86 deletes the value of the density measurement value after the calibration of the density measurement value by the built-in densitometer 65 of the image based on the density correction chart data, and removes the value from the viewing angle density. Based on the density value based on the gradation data (stored in the ROM 34) indicating the standard gradation curve of the heat-developable recording material (one on which the image based on the density correction chart data is formed) Then, extrapolate a value equal to or greater than a predetermined value of the density measurement value after calibration, and create density correction data based on the density measurement value after the extrapolation and a plurality of image density values of the density correction chart data.

  The ROM 34 stores the above-described exposure amount correction data, temperature correction data, and gradation data in association with identification information input by the barcode readers 12a, 12b, and 12c. For example, assuming that there are five types of heat-developable recording materials (5 of 00, 01, 02, 03, 04), exposure amount correction data, temperature correction data, In addition, gradation data is prepared.

  The temperature correction data is data indicating the temperature of the thermal development unit C with respect to the cooling unit temperature. FIG. 4 shows two specific examples of temperature correction data (1) and (2) for each of the five types. In FIG. 4, the air temperature in the vicinity of the slow cooling part is used as the cooling part temperature, and the temperature of the plate heater 51 a is used as the temperature of the heat development part C.

  The exposure amount correction data is data indicating how much the exposure amount is increased or decreased when the exposure temperature is increased by 1 ° C. from a predetermined temperature. Similarly to the above, assuming that there are five types of heat development recording materials (5 of 00, 01, 02, 03, 04), the ROM 34 has, for example, the heat development recording as shown in Table 1 below. Exposure correction data is stored for each material type. In Table 1, for example, exposure amount correction data corresponding to type 03 is data in which the exposure amount is set to be increased by 0.27% every time the exposure temperature is increased by 1 ° C. from a predetermined temperature.

  As described above, the gradation data is data indicating a standard gradation curve of the heat-developable recording material that can correspond to the viewing angle density, and is stored in five types corresponding to the heat-developable recording material. The gradation data has different coefficients representing the gradient of the gradation curve for each of the five types of heat-developable recording materials. Table 2 shows an example of the relationship between the type of each heat-developable recording material and the coefficient indicating the gradient of the corresponding gradation curve.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing gradation data of five types of heat-developable recording materials. As shown in FIG. 5, the gradation data of the five types of heat development recording materials have different coefficients representing the slope of the gradation curve for each type of heat development recording material as shown in Table 2.

Hereinafter, the operation at the time of correcting the exposure amount of the heat development recording apparatus 150 will be described.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the heat development recording apparatus 150 when correcting the exposure amount.
When the power of the heat development recording apparatus 150 is turned on, the barcode printed on the package that wraps the heat development recording material (all types 01) loaded in the loading portions 10a, 10b, 10c It is read by the code readers 12a, 12b, and 12c, and identification information of the type 01 heat development recording material is input to the control unit E (St11). Thereafter, when a series of operations such as exposure, development, and cooling by the heat development recording apparatus 150 is started, exposure temperature data is periodically input from the exposure temperature sensor 14 to the controller E (St12). The control unit E reads out exposure amount correction data corresponding to the input identification information from the ROM 34 (St13), and based on the exposure temperature data input periodically and the read exposure amount correction data, the exposure amount. An instruction is given to the image exposure unit B (St14). In the image exposure unit B, in response to an instruction from the control unit E, the recording control unit 37 controls the laser light source to perform image recording (St15).

  As described above, the heat development recording apparatus 150 obtains identification information for identifying the type and the like of the heat development recording material in advance by the bar code readers 12a, 12b, and 12c, and according to the type of the heat development recording material. Then, the exposure correction based on the exposure temperature is changed. When the type of the heat development recording material is changed, the exposure temperature dependency of the heat development recording material also changes. For this reason, when the content of the correction of the exposure amount based on the exposure temperature is the same regardless of the heat-developable recording material, accurate correction cannot be performed. However, according to the heat development recording apparatus 150, the correction of the exposure amount based on the exposure temperature can be performed with the content corresponding to each type of the heat development recording material. For this reason, exposure amount correction with high accuracy can always be performed regardless of the type of heat-developable recording material.

Next, the operation at the time of temperature correction of the heat development unit of the heat development recording apparatus 150 will be described.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the operation at the time of temperature correction of the heat development unit of the heat development recording apparatus 150.
When the power of the heat development recording apparatus 150 is turned on, the heat development recording material loaded in the loading portions 10a, 10b, and 10c is printed on a package that wraps the heat development recording material (all types 01). The barcode is read by the barcode readers 12a, 12b, and 12c, and the identification information of the type 01 heat development recording material is input to the control unit E (St21). Thereafter, when a series of operations such as exposure, development, and cooling by the thermal development recording apparatus 150 is started, cooling unit temperature data is periodically input from the cooling unit temperature sensor 18 to the control unit E (St22). The control unit E reads out temperature correction data corresponding to the input identification information from the ROM 34 (St23), and, for example, according to the cooling unit temperature data input periodically and the read temperature correction data, for example, a plate The temperature of the heat developing portion C is corrected by adjusting the heater temperature of the heater 51a (St24).

  As described above, the heat development recording apparatus 150 obtains identification information for identifying the type of the heat development recording material or the like in advance by the barcode readers 12a, 12b, and 12c, and sets the obtained heat development recording material type. Accordingly, the temperature correction content of the thermal development unit C based on the cooling unit temperature is changed. For this reason, highly accurate temperature correction can always be performed regardless of the type of the heat-developable recording material.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the thermal development recording apparatus 150 when creating density correction data. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the relationship between the density value and the exposure energy. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an image based on the density correction chart data.
When an instruction to create (update) density correction data is issued from the operator or the control unit E, the density correction unit 86 outputs density correction chart data to the data processing unit 88 (St31). Then, an image (see FIG. 10) based on the density correction chart data is developed and output by the heat development recording apparatus 150 (St32). Here, the heat development recording material on which an image based on the density correction chart data is developed is, for example, a heat development recording material (type 01) loaded in the loading unit 10a. The density of each pattern of the image obtained at this time is measured by the built-in densitometer 65 (St33), and the measured density measurement value is input to the calibration unit 90 via the input unit 98. The calibration unit 90 calibrates the concentration measurement value input from the input unit 98 using the calibration data (St34).

  The density correction unit 86 includes a gradation curve (a curve indicated by a dotted line in FIG. 9) based on a density measurement value obtained by the built-in densitometer 65 after calibration by the calibration unit 90 and gradation data stored in the ROM 34. The sensitivity difference at the point of the threshold value Dth is compared with the gradation curve (curve indicated by the chain line in FIG. 9) based on the gradation data corresponding to the identification information (type 01) input from the barcode reader 12a. Δlog (E) is obtained (St35).

  Next, the density correction unit 86 shifts the density value of the high density area equal to or higher than the threshold value Dth by the sensitivity difference Δlog (E) for the tone curve based on the tone data, and measures the density by the built-in densitometer 65. Match the gradation curve based on the value (St36). Then, the density correction unit 86 deletes the density measurement value of the high density area above the threshold Dth from the density curve based on the density measurement value by the built-in densitometer 65, and based on the shifted gradation data. Then, the density value of the high density area is extrapolated (St37). The density correction unit 86 creates density correction data based on the extrapolated density measurement value (curve indicated by the solid line in FIG. 9) and the image density value of the density correction chart data (St38). Here, the density correction data is data indicating the relationship between the density value of the image data and the exposure energy of the laser beam. The density correction data created in St38 is stored in the ROM 34 or the like as density correction data corresponding to the type 01 heat development recording material. The density correction data is created as described above for each of the heat-developable recording materials loaded in the loading sections 10a, 10b, and 10c, and stored in the ROM 34 or the like. When developing, the density correction unit 86 is based on the identification information of the heat-developable recording material used for development (inputted from the barcode readers 12a, 12b, and 12c to the control unit E after the power is turned on). Then, density correction data corresponding to the heat-developable recording material is read from the ROM 34, and density correction is performed using the read density correction data.

As described above, according to the heat development recording apparatus 150, when the density correction data is generated, the calibration unit 90 does not use the high density part of the density measurement value by the built-in densitometer 65 after the calibration, and the high density part is used. Extrapolation is performed using the gradation data, and density correction data is created using the density measurement value after the extrapolation.
The heat-developable recording material has a large variation and is unstable on the high density side of the red transmission density. The built-in densitometer 65 obtains the density of the heat-developable recording material by measuring the red transmission density, so the measurement accuracy on the high density side is poor. Therefore, as in the present embodiment, in the generation of density correction data, the density value (for example, density of 2.0 or more) of the high density portion of the value after calibration of the density measurement value of the built-in densitometer 65 is deleted, By extrapolating the high density portion with the value of the high density portion based on the gradation data, the density correction of the image recorded on the heat-developable recording material can be performed with high accuracy.

  Further, according to the heat development recording apparatus 150, the high density portion is obtained with gradation data corresponding to the heat development recording material without using the high density portion of the density measurement value by the built-in densitometer 65 after the configuration in the calibration section 90. Extrapolate. If the shoulder gradation of the heat-developable recording material changes greatly due to the production lot or type change of the heat-developable recording material, the density value of the high density portion of the density measurement value measured by the built-in densitometer 65 will also change. By performing the above extrapolation using gradation data corresponding to each production lot and type, even if the production lot and type of the heat-developable recording material are different, density correction of the image recorded on the heat-developable recording material Can always be performed with high accuracy.

  For the method of replacing the data on the high density side of the density measurement value by the built-in densitometer 65 after calibration by the calibration unit 90 with the data of the gradation curve of a standard heat development recording material, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-291390. Please refer to this publication for details.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a heat development recording apparatus for explaining an embodiment of the present invention. Internal schematic diagram of image exposure unit Block diagram showing schematic internal configuration of thermal development recording apparatus Figure showing a specific example of temperature correction data The figure which shows the specific example of the gradation data of five types of heat development recording materials Flowchart for explaining the operation at the time of correcting the exposure amount of the heat development recording apparatus Flowchart for explaining the operation at the time of temperature correction of the heat development section of the heat development recording apparatus Flow chart for explaining the operation at the time of density correction data creation of the thermal development recording apparatus Diagram showing the relationship between density value and exposure energy The figure which shows the image based on the chart data for density correction for density correction data creation

Explanation of symbols

150 Thermal development recording apparatus 12a, 12b, 12c Bar code reader 18 Exposure temperature sensor 34 ROM
E Control unit

Claims (5)

A heat development apparatus that includes an exposure unit that exposes a heat development recording material to form a latent image, heats the heat development recording material after the exposure, visualizes the latent image, and performs heat development. ,
Exposure temperature measuring means for measuring an exposure temperature at the time of exposure by the exposure unit;
Correction means for correcting the exposure amount of the exposure based on the exposure temperature;
Identification information input means for inputting identification information for identifying the heat-developable recording material;
Correction data storage means for storing correction data for performing the correction in association with the identification information,
The heat development apparatus, wherein the correction unit corrects the exposure amount using the correction data corresponding to the identification information input by the identification information input unit. An exposure part that exposes the heat-developable recording material to form a latent image, a heat-development part that heats the heat-developable recording material after the exposure to visualize the latent image, and the heat after the heat-development A heat development apparatus having a cooling unit for cooling the development recording material,
A cooling part temperature measuring means for measuring a cooling part temperature of the cooling part;
Correction means for correcting the temperature of the thermal development unit based on the cooling unit temperature;
Identification information input means for inputting identification information for identifying the heat-developable recording material;
Correction data storage means for storing correction data for performing the correction in association with the identification information,
The thermal development apparatus, wherein the correction unit corrects the temperature of the thermal development unit using the correction data corresponding to the identification information input by the identification information input unit. A heat development apparatus that includes an exposure unit that exposes a heat development recording material to form a latent image, heats the heat development recording material after the exposure, visualizes the latent image, and performs heat development. ,
Identification information input means for inputting identification information for identifying the heat-developable recording material;
Storage means for storing gradation data indicating a standard gradation curve of the heat-developable recording material in association with the identification information;
A built-in densitometer that is provided in the thermal development recording apparatus and measures the density of an image recorded on the thermal development recording material;
Calibration means for calibrating the concentration measurement value of the built-in densitometer;
Density correction data creating means for creating density correction data for correcting the density of an image to be developed by the thermal development apparatus,
The density correction data creation means is a density measurement value after the calibration of the density measurement value by the built-in densitometer of an image based on pattern data having a plurality of image density values developed on the heat developing material by the heat development apparatus. Based on the density value based on the gradation data corresponding to the identification information of the heat-developable recording material input by the identification information input means, the density measurement value after calibration is deleted. A heat developing device that extrapolates a value equal to or greater than a predetermined value and creates the density correction data based on the density measurement value after the extrapolation and the plurality of image density values. The heat development apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The identification information input means acquires the identification information from a storage medium storing the identification information attached to the package of the heat-developable recording material. The heat development apparatus according to claim 4,
The storage medium is a thermal development apparatus including a printed bar code corresponding to the identification information, a printed two-dimensional code corresponding to the identification information, or an RF-ID.

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