JP2006058386A - Heat development apparatus and heat development method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a heat development apparatus and a heat development method for appropriately and stably cooling a recording material and stabilizing the image density of the recording material. <P>SOLUTION: The heat development apparatus is provided with a cooling part in a downstream side in the conveying direction of a heat development part so as to cool a heat developed heat developing recording material to a predetermined temperature. The apparatus is provided with a cooling part temperature controlling means which controls the atmospheric temperature of the cooling part when a heat development recording material is not present in the cooling part. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a heat development apparatus and a heat development method for heating a heat development recording material and developing a latent image recorded on an image forming layer of the heat development recording material.

  In recent years, thermal development apparatuses and thermal development recording apparatuses using dry systems that do not perform wet processing have been proposed. In such a heat development apparatus and heat development recording apparatus, a photosensitive and / or heat-sensitive recording material (photosensitive heat-sensitive recording material) or a film-like recording material containing a heat-developable photosensitive material (hereinafter referred to as heat development) is used as a recording medium. Recording material). Further, in the thermal development apparatus and thermal development recording apparatus using this dry system, a latent image is formed by irradiating (scanning) the thermal development recording material with a laser beam in the exposure unit, and then the thermal development recording material is applied in the thermal development unit. Thermal development is performed in contact with the heating means, and then the thermally developed recording material on which an image is formed is discharged out of the apparatus (see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

JP 2001-242608 A JP 2003-195423 A

  In the thermal development apparatus, a cooling unit is provided on the downstream side of the thermal development unit in the transport path in order to cool the thermal development recording material that has undergone thermal development. The cooling unit cools the heat-developable recording material by transporting the heat-developable recording material in contact with a metal plate or felt.

  By the way, when the film is rapidly cooled immediately after the thermal development of the recording material in the thermal development apparatus, the degree of cooling is different between the central portion and the end portion of the recording material, and the recording material is deformed into a wave shape and remains as it is. The phenomenon of solidifying occurs. For this reason, in the conventional heat development apparatus, it is necessary to provide a heat retaining part immediately after the heat development, and to gradually reduce the cooling efficiency of the recording material by intentionally reducing the cooling efficiency in the heat retaining part. However, when the recording material is present in the cooling section, it is necessary to prevent the recording material from rapidly cooling. However, after the recording material has passed through the cooling section after thermal development, the recording material may be rapidly cooled. There is no effect on the image quality. For this reason, in order to keep the cooling capacity to the maximum, it is desired to quickly lower the ambient temperature of the heat retaining portion where the temperature has risen with the passage of the recording material subjected to the heat development processing to about room temperature. . In this way, it prevents burns when handling by the user, and only exerts the minimum necessary cooling capacity to prevent the effect on the image quality of the recording material, and there is no recording material in the cooling part Therefore, it has been desired that the cooling capacity is maximized so that the temperature of the cooling part is lowered to about room temperature.

  In addition, in the conventional heat development apparatus, the heat retaining unit increases the temperature as the recording material subjected to the heat development process passes, so that when the recording material is continuously heat developed, Since the density of the image quality changes, the density is stabilized by setting the temperature of the heat development section and adjusting the amount of exposure light as the temperature of the cooling section rises. There was room for improvement in that it needed to be controlled.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a heat developing apparatus and a heat which can cool the recording material properly and stably and can stabilize the image quality density of the recording material. It is to provide a developing method.

  The above object of the present invention is a heat development apparatus for heat-developing a heat-developable recording material on which a latent image has been formed in advance by a heat-development unit, wherein the heat-development material is heat-developed downstream in the transport direction of the heat-development unit. A cooling unit that cools the heat-developable recording material to a predetermined temperature is provided, and a cooling unit temperature adjusting unit that controls the ambient temperature of the cooling unit when the heat-developable recording material is not present in the cooling unit is provided. It is achieved by a heat development apparatus characterized by the above.

  The heat development apparatus according to the present invention is provided with the cooling part temperature adjusting means for controlling the ambient temperature of the cooling part when the heat development recording material is not present in the cooling part, and is thus heated by the heat development process. The ambient temperature of the cooling section whose temperature has increased with the passage of the heat-developable recording material can be adjusted to about room temperature using the cooling section temperature adjusting means. Then, the state before the cooling process is performed on the heat-developable recording material becomes constant at about normal temperature so that the heat-developable recording material can be gradually cooled by the cooling part temperature adjusting means. By controlling in this way, it is possible to prevent burns when handling by the user, and to exert only the minimum necessary cooling capacity to prevent the influence on the image quality of the recording material. The image density can be stabilized.

  In the thermal development apparatus, the cooling unit has a first cooling unit configured by a plurality of flocking rollers arranged in a staggered manner, and a second cooling unit that cools the heat-developable recording material by contacting the metal plate. It is preferable that it is comprised by these. In this way, the heat-developable recording material that has been heat-development-processed by the plurality of flocking rollers is conveyed in the first cooling section, and the heat-developable recording material is slowly cooled, and then the second cooling section performs heat development. The recording material can be quickly cooled by contacting the metal plate. For this reason, while the deformation | transformation by rapid cooling of a heat development recording material is prevented, the time concerning cooling can be shortened.

  It is preferable that the heat developing device is a blower fan that controls the ambient temperature by the cooling unit temperature adjusting unit blowing air to the cooling unit. In this way, when the heat-developable recording material is not present in the cooling unit, the cooling unit is raised by passing the heat-developable recording material heated by the heat developing unit by driving the blower fan and blowing air to the cooling unit. The atmospheric temperature in can be lowered. Then, by controlling the driving of the blower fan and the number of rotations thereof, the ambient temperature of the cooling unit can be made constant before the heat development recording material is cooled by the cooling unit.

  The heat developing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the cooling unit temperature adjusting unit is a cooling water supply unit that controls the ambient temperature by supplying cooling water into the plurality of flocking rollers. In this way, when the heat-developable recording material is not present in the cooling part, the flocking raised by supplying the cooling water from the cooling water supply part to the flocking roller and passing through the heat-developable recording material heated in the heat developing part. The temperature of the roller itself can be lowered. By controlling the driving of the cooling water drive unit and the flow rate of the supplied cooling water, the ambient temperature of the cooling unit can be made constant in the state before the heat-developable recording material is cooled by the cooling unit.

  It is preferable that the cooling part temperature adjusting means is a heat radiation window part that can be opened and closed so as to expose the cooling part to the outside of the heat development apparatus. In this way, when the heat development recording material is not present in the cooling part, the heat radiating window part is opened, and the heated air in the atmosphere in the vicinity of the cooling part is radiated to the outside of the heat developing device. The ambient temperature can be lowered. By controlling the opening time of the heat radiating window portion and the area to be opened, the ambient temperature of the cooling portion can be made constant before the heat-developable recording material is cooled by the cooling portion.

  Further, the above object of the present invention is to provide a heat development process in which a heat development recording material on which a latent image has been previously formed is thermally developed by a heat development section of a heat development apparatus, and the heat development recording material that has been thermally developed by a cooling section. A heat development method having a cooling step of cooling to a predetermined temperature, the recording material detection step of confirming that the heat-developable recording material is not present in the cooling section, and the thermal material by the recording material detection step And a cooling part temperature adjusting step for controlling an ambient temperature of the cooling part when it is confirmed that the development recording material does not exist in the cooling part. it can.

  The thermal development method according to the present invention controls the ambient temperature of the cooling section when the thermal development recording material is not present in the cooling section. Therefore, the temperature of the thermal development recording material heated by the thermal development processing is increased. It is possible to adjust the ambient temperature of the cooling section where the temperature rises to about room temperature. Then, the ambient temperature of the cooling section can be cooled slowly without affecting the image quality of the recording material, and the state before the cooling process is performed on the heat-developable recording material is about room temperature. To prevent the user from being burned when handling the heat-developable recording material, and only exert the minimum required cooling capacity to prevent the image quality of the heat-developable recording material from being affected. In addition, the image density of the heat-developable recording material can be stabilized.

  In the heat development method, it is preferable that the heat development recording material is conveyed by a plurality of flocking rollers arranged in a staggered manner in the cooling step, and then the heat development recording material is cooled by bringing the heat development recording material into contact with a metal plate. In this way, while transporting the heat-developable recording material heat-developed by the plurality of flocking rollers, after slowly cooling the heat-developable recording material, the heat-developable recording material is quickly brought into contact with the metal plate. Can be cooled. For this reason, while the deformation | transformation by rapid cooling of a heat development recording material is prevented, the time concerning cooling can be shortened.

  In the heat development method, it is preferable to control the ambient temperature by blowing air to the cooling part with a blower fan in the cooling part temperature adjusting step. In this way, when the heat-developable recording material is not present in the cooling unit, the cooling unit is raised by passing the heat-developable recording material heated by the heat developing unit by driving the blower fan and blowing air to the cooling unit. The atmospheric temperature in can be lowered. Then, by controlling the driving of the blower fan and the number of rotations thereof, the ambient temperature of the cooling unit can be made constant before the heat development recording material is cooled by the cooling unit.

  In the heat development method, it is preferable to control the ambient temperature by supplying cooling water into the plurality of flocked rollers using a cooling water supply unit in the cooling unit temperature adjustment step. In this way, when the heat-developable recording material is not present in the cooling part, the flocking raised by supplying the cooling water from the cooling water supply part to the flocking roller and passing through the heat-developable recording material heated in the heat developing part. The temperature of the roller itself can be lowered. By controlling the driving of the cooling water drive unit and the flow rate of the supplied cooling water, the ambient temperature of the cooling unit can be made constant in the state before the heat-developable recording material is cooled by the cooling unit.

  The thermal development method controls the ambient temperature by controlling the opening and closing of a heat radiation window formed near the cooling unit and capable of exposing the thermal development recording material to the outside of the thermal development device in the cooling unit temperature adjustment step. Is preferred. In this way, when the heat development recording material is not present in the cooling part, the heat radiating window part is opened, and the heated air in the atmosphere in the vicinity of the cooling part is radiated to the outside of the heat developing device. The ambient temperature can be lowered. By controlling the opening time of the heat radiating window portion and the area to be opened, the ambient temperature of the cooling portion can be made constant before the heat-developable recording material is cooled by the cooling portion.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a thermal development apparatus and a thermal development method capable of properly and stably cooling a recording material and stabilizing the density of image quality of the recording material.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of a heat development apparatus according to the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1, the thermal development apparatus 10 of this embodiment uses a sheet-like thermal development recording material (hereinafter referred to as recording material F) that does not require wet development processing as an image recording material. The recording material F is irradiated with laser light L modulated based on the input image signal to form a latent image, and then the recording material F is thermally developed to obtain a visible image on the surface of the recording material. It is a configuration. The present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and can be applied to any configuration in which a sheet-like recording material is exposed to laser light L in advance to form an image and the recording material is thermally developed. It is.

  The thermal development apparatus 10 is generally configured by a thermal development recording material supply unit A, an image exposure unit B, a thermal development unit C, and a cooling unit D in the order of conveyance of the recording material F. In addition, a transport unit for transporting the recording material F, which is provided at a key point between the units, and a power source / control unit E that drives and controls the units are provided.

  In the thermal development apparatus 10, a power supply / control unit E is disposed at the bottom, a thermal development recording material supply unit A is disposed at the top, and an image exposure unit B, a thermal development unit C, and a cooling unit D are disposed at the top. In addition, the image exposure unit B and the heat development unit C are arranged adjacent to each other.

  According to this configuration, both the exposure process and the thermal development process can be performed on one recording material F in the same transport path, and the exposure process and the thermal development process can be performed within a short transport distance. By doing so, the conveyance path length of the recording material F can be minimized and the output time of one sheet can be shortened.

  As the recording material F, a photothermographic material or a photothermographic material having a thickness of about 0.2 mm (0.1 mm to 0.3 mm) can be used. As the photothermographic material, an image is recorded (exposed) with a laser beam L, and then heat developed to develop a color. In addition, as a photosensitive and heat-sensitive recording material, an image is recorded by a light beam and then developed by heat development to develop a color, or an image is recorded by the heat mode (heat) of the laser beam L and the color is developed at the same time. It is fixed by irradiation.

  The heat-developable recording material supply unit A is a part that takes out the recording material F one by one and supplies it to the image exposure unit B located downstream in the conveyance direction of the recording material F, and includes a plurality (three in this embodiment, three in this embodiment). ) Loading units 11a, 11b, and 11c, supply roller pairs 13a, 13b, and 13c disposed in the loading units 11a, 11b, and 11c, and a conveyance roller and a conveyance guide (not shown), respectively. . Further, magazines 15a, 15b, and 15c containing recording materials F of different sizes are inserted into the respective loading sections 11a, 11b, and 11c having a three-stage configuration. One of the orientations can be selectively used.

  The image exposure unit B scans and exposes the laser beam L in the main scanning direction to the recording material F conveyed from the heat-developable recording material supply unit A, and the sub-scanning direction (that is, substantially orthogonal to the main scanning direction (that is, , In the conveying direction), a latent image corresponding to a desired image is formed on the image forming layer on the surface of the recording material F.

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

  A width-adjusting mechanism 17 is provided in the conveyance path between the heat-developable recording material supply unit A and the image exposure unit B, and the width of the recording material F carried from the heat-developable recording material supply unit A is reduced. It supplies to the image exposure part B in the state which aligned the direction edge part.

  The image exposure unit B includes a scanning exposure device 40 that exposes the recording material F by scanning exposure with laser light. The scanning exposure apparatus 40 includes a sub-scanning conveyance unit 18 having a flutter prevention mechanism for conveying the recording material F while preventing flapping from the conveyance surface, and a scanning exposure unit 19. The scanning exposure unit 19 scans (main scans) the laser light L while controlling the laser output in accordance with separately prepared image data. At this time, the heat-developable recording material F is moved in the sub-scanning direction by the sub-scanning transport unit 18.

  The sub-scanning conveyance unit 18 includes two drive rollers (conveying means) 21 and 22 each having a rotation axis arranged substantially in parallel with the scanning line across the main scanning line of the laser beam L to be scanned, A guide plate 24 that is disposed to face the drive rollers 21 and 22 and supports the recording material F is provided. The guide plate 24 allows the recording material F inserted between the drive rollers 21 and 22 to be a part of the peripheral surface of the drive rollers 21 and 22 outside the drive rollers 21 and 22 arranged in parallel. By the elastic repulsive force of the recording material F generated by bending the recording material F, the recording material F is brought into contact with and supported by the portion between the drive rollers 21 and 22.

  Thus, an appropriate frictional force is generated between the recording material F and the driving rollers 21 and 22 by the elastic repulsive force of the heat-developable recording material F itself, and the conveyance driving force is reliably transferred from the driving rollers 21 and 22 to the recording material F. Then, the recording material F is conveyed. The driving rollers 21 and 22 are configured to rotate in the clockwise direction in FIG. 1 by receiving the driving force of driving means such as a motor (not shown) via transmission means such as a gear and a belt.

  Further, the recording material F is pressed against the upper surface of the guide plate 24 by its own elastic repulsive force, and flapping from the conveying surface of the recording material F, that is, flapping in the vertical direction in the figure is suppressed. By irradiating the recording material F between the drive rollers 21 and 22 with the laser light L, good recording without deviation of the exposure position can be performed.

  The heat developing section C is provided with a plurality of (three in this embodiment) heat plates 51 arranged in the conveying direction of the recording material F as heating members for heat-treating the recording material F, and these heat plates 51 are conveyed. It is arranged in an arc along the path.

  Each heat plate 51 is provided with a curved heating surface, and the recording material F is brought into contact with each heating surface, and is thermally developed by sliding along each heating surface and relatively moving. Further, in the heat developing section C, a supply roller 53 and a plurality of pressing rollers 55 that press the recording material F against each heat plate 51 are disposed as a transfer means for the recording material F.

  The pressing roller 55 is in contact with the peripheral surface of the hollow cylindrical rotating body 52 and is driven to rotate following the rotation of the rotating body 52. As these pressing rollers 55, a metal roller, a resin roller, a rubber roller, or the like can be used.

  The heat developing unit C is not limited to the heat plate 51 described above, and may be configured to include an endless belt and a peeling claw using another flat heat plate or a heating drum.

  In the cooling unit D, a plurality of discharge rollers 57 for transferring the heat-developable recording material F further downstream in the transport direction are arranged immediately downstream in the transport direction of the heat development unit C. As the discharge roller 57, a flocking roller can be used. The plurality of discharge rollers 57 are arranged in a staggered manner with respect to the conveyance path of the heat-developable recording material. The recording material F discharged from the heat developing section C is gradually cooled to a temperature below the glass transition point while being conveyed by the discharge roller 57. This is because immediately after the heat development, when the recording material is rapidly cooled, the cooling degree differs between the central portion and the end portion of the recording material F in the transport direction, and the recording material is hardened in a deformed state such as a waveform. Immediately after the thermal development, it is necessary to provide a heat retaining portion or the like to lower the cooling efficiency and moderate the progress of cooling.

  After the recording material F is gently cooled by the discharge roller 57, the recording material F is conveyed so as to be in contact with the planes of the pair of metal plates 61 having opposed planes via the conveyance path of the recording material F. The heat of the recording material F is absorbed by the metal plate 61, and is cooled appropriately so as not to cause wrinkles and bend. The recording material F discharged from the cooling unit D is transported from the transport roller 64 to the downstream discharge roller 63 and is discharged from the discharge roller 63 to the discharge tray 16.

  The heat development apparatus 10 of the present embodiment is provided with a blower fan 72 that functions as a cooling unit temperature adjusting unit that controls the ambient temperature of the cooling unit D. In addition, detection units 71 and 73 that detect whether or not the recording material F exists in the cooling unit D are provided. When the detection units 71 and 73 detect that the recording material F is not present in the cooling unit D, the thermal development apparatus 10 drives the blower fan 72 and blows air toward the discharge roller 57 of the cooling unit D. The atmospheric temperature of the cooling part D is controlled.

  The blower fan 72 may be one that can control the rotation speed of the drive motor. If it carries out like this, the cooling part D can be set so that it may become desired temperature by performing ventilation, controlling the rotation speed of the ventilation fan 72. FIG.

Next, the heat development method according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the heat development method.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the thermal development apparatus 10 is driven to transport the recording material F along the transport path, and the recording material F that has been exposed by the image exposure unit B and has a latent image formed thereon is thermally developed. For each recording material F, a thermal development process in which heat development is performed in the part C and a cooling process in which the heat-developed recording material F is cooled to a predetermined temperature in the cooling part D are sequentially performed. At this time, a recording material detection process is performed in which the detection units 71 and 73 detect whether or not the recording material F is present in the cooling unit D (step S101). Then, the recording material detection step determines whether or not the recording material F exists in the cooling part D (step S102). If the recording material F does not exist in the cooling part D, the cooling part temperature adjusting means (this embodiment) In the embodiment, the cooling fan temperature adjustment process is performed to drive the blower fan 72) and control the ambient temperature of the cooling part D to be a predetermined temperature (step S103). Here, the predetermined temperature is a temperature at which the recording material F immediately after the heat development portion C can be slowly cooled so as not to be deformed, and is specifically about 90 ° C.

  On the other hand, when the recording material F is present in the cooling part D, the cooling part temperature adjusting means is not driven, and it waits for a predetermined time (step S104). A recording material detection step of detecting whether or not the recording material F exists in D is performed. Here, the predetermined time can be set in advance in consideration of the time until the recording material F is discharged from the cooling unit D and the time until the subsequent recording material F is carried into the cooling unit D. .

  It is determined whether or not there is a recording material F transported to the cooling part D in a state where the cooling part temperature adjusting means is driven (step S105). If there is the recording material F transported to the cooling unit D, the cooling unit temperature adjusting means is stopped (step S106), and the transported recording material F is cooled by the cooling unit D adjusted to room temperature. On the other hand, when there is no recording material F to be transported to the cooling unit D, it waits for a predetermined time and immediately before the recording material F is transported to the cooling unit D or the cooling unit D reaches a predetermined temperature. The cooling part temperature adjusting means is driven until

  As described above, the thermal development apparatus 10 is provided with the cooling unit D that cools the thermally developed recording material F to a predetermined temperature on the downstream side in the transport direction of the thermal development unit C, and the recording material F is cooled by the cooling unit D. Is provided with a cooling unit temperature adjusting means (blower fan 72) for controlling the ambient temperature of the cooling unit D, the temperature accompanying the passage of the recording material F heated by the heat development processing is provided. The atmospheric temperature of the cooling part D having increased can be adjusted to about room temperature using the cooling part temperature adjusting means. Then, the ambient temperature of the cooling part D is adjusted so that the recording material D can be gradually cooled by the cooling part temperature adjusting means, and the state before the cooling process is performed on the recording material D becomes constant at about normal temperature. By controlling to the above, it is possible to prevent the user from being burned when handling it, and to exhibit only the minimum necessary cooling capacity to prevent the influence on the image quality of the recording material F, and also the image of the recording material F The concentration of can be stabilized.

  Further, as in the present embodiment, if the cooling unit temperature adjusting unit is used as the blower fan 72 that controls the ambient temperature by blowing air to the cooling unit D, the air is blown when the recording material F is not present in the cooling unit D. By driving the fan 72 and blowing air to the cooling unit D, the ambient temperature in the cooling unit D that has risen due to the passage of the recording material F heated by the heat developing unit C can be lowered. Then, by controlling the driving of the blower fan 72 and its rotational speed, the ambient temperature of the cooling part D can be controlled to be constant before the recording material F is cooled by the cooling part D.

  In the heat development apparatus of the present invention, the cooling part temperature adjusting means is not limited to the blower fan 72 of the above embodiment, and other members and configurations may be used as long as the temperature of the cooling part can be controlled to a predetermined temperature. Can do. Hereinafter, an embodiment in which another member or configuration is used as the cooling unit temperature adjusting means will be described.

  FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the thermal development apparatus according to the present invention. In the embodiments described below, members having the same configuration / action as those already described are denoted by the same or corresponding reference numerals in the drawings, and description thereof is simplified or omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in the thermal development apparatus 200 of the present embodiment, a cooling water supply unit 82 is provided in the cooling unit D. The cooling water supply unit 82 includes a cooling water supply control unit 83 and a supply pipe 84 for supplying the cooling water supplied from the cooling water supply control unit 83 to each of the plurality of discharge rollers 57.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the discharge roller 57 in the heat development apparatus 200 of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, the discharge roller 57 is a member having a cylindrical shape, and has an outer diameter portion 57 a having a flocked surface (not shown) on the peripheral surface and an inner diameter side of the outer diameter portion 57 a in the axial direction. It is comprised from the cooling water piping 57b formed along. A cooling water passage 57c is formed inside the cooling water pipe 57b. If the cooling water supply control unit 83 is configured to control the driving of the cooling water supply operation and the flow rate of the cooling water supplied to the cooling water pipe 57b, in the state before the recording material F is cooled by the cooling unit D, Control can be performed so that the ambient temperature of the cooling section D is constant.

  According to the configuration of this embodiment, when the detection units 71 and 73 detect that the recording material F is not present in the cooling unit D, the cooling water is supplied from the cooling water supply unit 82 to the discharge roller (flocking roller) 57. , And the temperature of the discharge roller 57 itself raised by the passage of the recording material F heated in the heat development section C and the ambient temperature in the vicinity of the discharge roller 57 can be reduced.

  FIG. 5 shows a third embodiment of the heat development apparatus according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, the heat development apparatus 300 according to the present embodiment includes a heat radiating window 92 that can be opened and closed as a cooling part temperature adjusting unit that controls the ambient temperature of the cooling part D, in the vicinity of the cooling part D. Yes. The heat radiation window 92 is configured to be opened and closed by an unillustrated drive mechanism that is opened and closed. When the heat radiating window 92 is opened, the cooling part D is exposed to the outside of the heat development apparatus 300, and the atmosphere heated by the passage of the heat-developable recording material F is radiated through the heat radiating window 92. The

  When it is detected by the detection units 71 and 73 that the recording material F is not present in the cooling unit D, the heat radiation window 92 is opened by the drive mechanism, the ambient temperature of the cooling unit D is lowered, and the cooling unit D When the recording material F is conveyed, the heat radiating window 92 is closed to avoid a decrease in the ambient temperature of the cooling part D.

  According to the heat development apparatus 300 of this embodiment, when the recording material F is not present in the cooling part, the heat radiation window part 92 is opened, and the heated air in the atmosphere near the cooling part D is removed from the heat development apparatus 300. By radiating heat to the outside, the ambient temperature of the cooling part D can be lowered. By controlling the opening time of the heat radiation window 92 and the area to be opened, the ambient temperature of the cooling part D can be controlled to be constant before the recording material F is cooled by the cooling part D.

1 is a diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a heat development apparatus according to the present invention. It is a flowchart explaining the procedure of the heat development method which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows 2nd Embodiment of the heat development apparatus which concerns on this invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a discharge roller in the heat development apparatus illustrated in FIG. 3. It is a figure which shows 3rd Embodiment of the heat development apparatus which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

10, 200, 300 Thermal development device 57 Conveying roller 61 Metal plates 71, 73 Detection unit 72 Blower fan (cooling unit temperature adjusting means)
82 Cooling water supply unit (cooling unit temperature adjusting means)
92 Radiating window (cooling section temperature adjustment means)
C Thermal development part D Cooling part F Thermal development recording material

Claims (10)

A heat development apparatus that heat-develops a heat-developable recording material on which a latent image is formed in advance by a heat development unit,
When a cooling unit that cools the heat-developable heat-developable recording material to a predetermined temperature is provided on the downstream side in the transport direction of the heat-developing unit, and the heat-developable recording material does not exist in the cooling unit A heat developing apparatus, comprising a cooling part temperature adjusting means for controlling an ambient temperature of the cooling part.   The cooling part is composed of a first cooling part composed of a plurality of flocking rollers arranged in a staggered manner, and a second cooling part that cools the heat-developable recording material by contacting a metal plate. The thermal development apparatus according to claim 1, wherein   The heat developing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cooling unit temperature adjusting unit is a blower fan that controls the ambient temperature by blowing air to the cooling unit.   The heat developing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the cooling unit temperature adjusting unit is a cooling water supply unit that controls the ambient temperature by supplying cooling water into the plurality of flocking rollers.   3. The heat developing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cooling part temperature adjusting means is a heat radiation window part that can be opened and closed so as to expose the cooling part to the outside of the heat developing apparatus. A heat development process in which a heat development recording material on which a latent image has been previously formed is thermally developed by a heat development section of a heat development apparatus; and a cooling process in which the heat developed recording material that has been heat developed is cooled to a predetermined temperature by a cooling section; A heat development method comprising:
A recording material detection step for confirming that the heat-developable recording material is not present in the cooling section;
A cooling part temperature adjusting step for controlling an ambient temperature of the cooling part when the recording material detecting step confirms that the heat-developable recording material is not present in the cooling part. Thermal development method.   7. The cooling step, wherein the heat-developable recording material is conveyed by a plurality of flocked rollers arranged in a staggered manner, and then cooled by bringing the heat-developable recording material into contact with a metal plate. The heat development method as described in 2.   The thermal development method according to claim 6 or 7, wherein, in the cooling part temperature adjustment step, the ambient temperature is controlled by blowing air to the cooling part with a blower fan.   8. The thermal development method according to claim 7, wherein, in the cooling part temperature adjustment step, the ambient temperature is controlled by supplying cooling water into the plurality of flocking rollers using a cooling water supply part. .   In the cooling part temperature adjustment step, the ambient temperature is controlled by opening and closing a heat radiating window part formed near the cooling part and capable of exposing the heat development recording material to the outside of the heat development apparatus. The thermal development method according to claim 6 or 7.

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