JP2006078651A - Heat developing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a heat developing apparatus which accurately recognizes a type or the like of a heat developing recording material housed in a magazine and automatically controls settings of the apparatus even when a magazine is reset in the heat development apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: Bar codes in which magazine identification information is recorded are imparted to magazines 10a, 10b, 10c, and in first time when the magazines are mounted, the magazine identification information and recording material identification information are read by bar code readers 12a, 12b, 12c and memorized by associating them on one-to-one bases. When the magazine is reset, information is again read out. If recording material identification information is not newly read out, a controlling unit E recognizes the type or the like of the film in the magazine based on the memorized recording material identification information and controls the settings of the apparatus. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a heat development apparatus having at least one loading section capable of loading a housing section for housing a heat development recording material.

  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 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 heat development processing system that is simpler and does not impair 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.

There are various types of heat-developable recording materials, and their sizes are also various. Which size of heat-developable recording material to use is determined as appropriate depending on the type of image to be formed (for example, an image that requires high-resolution medical use, an image taken with a normal digital camera, etc.). Is done. Generally, the heat-developable recording material is included in a light-shielding package (light-shielding bag) in order to prevent exposure before being mounted on the apparatus main body. In addition, a barcode on which a barcode corresponding to identification information for identifying the heat-developable recording material such as the type and size of the heat-developable recording material included in the package is printed on a part of the outer surface of the package A label is affixed.
In a conventional heat development apparatus, the package is housed in a housing portion (generally referred to as a magazine) for housing a heat development recording material, and the magazine is used by being loaded into the heat development apparatus main body. When the magazine is loaded, the barcode reader provided inside the thermal development device automatically reads the barcode label attached to the outer surface of the package, and the size of the thermal development recording material in the magazine Identify the type. Then, the thermal development apparatus appropriately determines, for example, parameters at the time of image formation (for example, the intensity of laser light or the scanning range of laser light by polygons) according to the size and type of the identified thermal development recording material. Adjustments are made.

  After the magazine is loaded into the main body of the heat development apparatus, the operator pulls the end of the package with a finger, and the package is discharged out of the apparatus main body, and the heat development recording material is directly placed in the magazine. (For example, the same state as when paper is set in the copier). Some magazines are provided with a lid that opens and closes automatically. When performing thermal development, the lid is opened and the heat-developable recording material is taken out one by one to expose the exposure section (and heat treatment section). It is conveyed toward. Further, the magazine can be removed from the main body of the heat development apparatus. In this case, the lid is closed, and the heat development recording material is prevented from being exposed.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a heat development apparatus that uses a package with a barcode attached thereto.

JP 2004-29586 A

  As described above, after the magazine is loaded into the main body of the heat development apparatus, the package is extracted and discharged out of the apparatus. If the package is lost, it will be impossible to use barcode labels. Here, after loading the magazine into the main body of the heat development apparatus and pulling out the package, the magazine is taken out to the outside and another magazine in which another heat development recording material is stored and the package is removed is loaded. think of. In this case, the thermal development apparatus cannot identify the size, type, etc. of the thermal development recording material accommodated in another loaded magazine. For this reason, there arises a problem that various adjustments such as parameters at the time of image formation cannot be appropriately performed.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is capable of identifying the heat-developable recording material accommodated in the accommodating portion even when the accommodating portion accommodating the heat-developable recording material is reloaded. An object is to provide a developing device.

  The thermal development apparatus according to the present invention is a thermal development apparatus having at least one loading section in which a storage section for storing a heat-developable recording material can be loaded, wherein the storage section is identified on the surface of the storage section. A first information recording medium for recording storage portion identification information is provided, and the heat-developable recording material is identified on a surface of a package containing the heat-developable recording material stored in the storage portion. A second information recording medium for recording recording material identification information is provided, and information is received from the first information recording medium and the second information recording medium when the storage unit is loaded into the loading unit. When the storage unit identification information and the recording material identification information are read by the information reading unit, the storage unit identification information and the recording material identification information are associated with each other. The And a 憶 storing means.

  With this configuration, even when the storage unit storing the package is loaded into the heat developing apparatus, the package is removed, and then the storage unit identification information of the storage unit loaded again even when the storage unit is once taken out and reloaded It is possible to identify the heat-developable recording material accommodated in the recharged accommodating portion from the recording material identification information corresponding to. For this reason, even when the storage section is reloaded, various adjustments according to the heat-developable recording material stored in the storage section can be performed.

  The thermal development apparatus of the present invention includes an association unit that associates the storage unit identification information of the storage unit that is read by the information reading unit when the storage unit is loaded into the loading unit, and the loading unit. In accordance with the latest recording material identification information stored in association with the latest corresponding storage unit identification information, adjustment means for performing various adjustments of the apparatus for each loading unit is provided.

  With this configuration, even when the storage unit containing the package is loaded into the loading unit, the package is removed, and then, even when the storage unit is once taken out and loaded again, the heat-developable recording material stored in the storage unit Various adjustments can be made according to the conditions.

  In the heat developing apparatus of the present invention, an opening for exposing the second information recording medium in a state where the package is housed in the housing portion is formed on a surface of the housing portion, The information recording medium is provided at a position shifted from the opening in the loading direction of the storage unit, and the information reading unit is one device provided for each of the loading units, and the device includes the storage unit. It is provided at a position where it can take both the first state facing the first information recording medium and the second state facing the opening between the start and end of loading. .

  With this configuration, the storage unit identification information and the recording material identification information can be read by one device, and the apparatus configuration can be simplified.

  In the heat development apparatus of the present invention, the first information recording medium is printed with a barcode corresponding to the storage unit identification information, printed with a two-dimensional code corresponding to the storage unit identification information, Or RF-ID, and the second information recording medium is printed with a bar code corresponding to the recording material identification information, printed with a two-dimensional code corresponding to the recording material identification information, or RF-ID.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a heat development apparatus that can identify the heat development recording material accommodated in the accommodation portion even when the accommodation portion that accommodates the heat development recording material is reloaded.

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. This thermal development recording apparatus 150 has a configuration in which a 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. 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 sheet-like heat-developable recording material F one by one and supplies it to the image exposure unit B located downstream in the transport direction of the heat-developable recording material F. The loading units 15a, 15b, and 15c, supply roller pairs 13a, 13b, and 13c disposed in the loading units, and a conveyance roller and a conveyance guide (not shown) are configured. Note that the number of loading units is not limited to three, but may be one, two, or four or more.

  Inside the loading sections 15a, 15b, and 15c having a three-stage configuration, magazines 10a, 10b, and 10c in which differently sized heat-developable recording materials F (for example, B4 size, half-cut size, etc.) are stored. The magazine can be loaded, and either the size or the direction of the heat-developable recording material F can be selectively used by the magazine loaded in each stage.

  The magazines 10a, 10b, and 10c can be detached from the heat developing device 150 by pulling out in the right direction in FIG. Each magazine 10a, 10b, 10c can be loaded into the heat developing device 150 by being pushed in the left direction in FIG. 1 (hereinafter referred to as the loading direction). Openings 11a, 11b, and 11c are formed at the bottoms of the magazines 10a, 10b, and 10c. Barcode readers 12a, 12b, and 12c are located at opposite positions below the openings 11a, 11b, and 11c. Is provided. The readable areas of the barcode readers 12a, 12b, and 12c are approximately the same size as the openings 11a, 11b, and 11c. A bar code corresponding to information for identifying each magazine (hereinafter referred to as magazine identification information) is provided on the bottom surface (the same surface as the surface on which the opening is formed) of each surface of the magazines 10a, 10b, and 10c. Printed magazine barcode labels 172a, 172b, and 172c are attached.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the heat-developable recording material F is a laminate (bundle) of about 100 sheets and is stored in a package (light-shielding bag) 120 while being held by a backing paper 160. . On the bottom of the surface of the package 120, information for identifying the heat-developable recording material such as the date of manufacture, manufacturer, serial number, production lot number, type and size of the heat-developable recording material F ( A bar code label 170 for recording material on which a bar code corresponding to the recording material identification information is printed is attached.

  The thermal development apparatus 150 accommodates the package 120 in magazines 10a, 10b, and 10c, and uses the magazines 10a, 10b, and 10c by loading them in the loading portions 15a, 15b, and 15c. FIG. 3 shows the state at this time as viewed from the lower side of FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, a bar code label 170 for recording material is exposed from an opening 11a provided at the bottom of a magazine (here, the magazine 10a will be described as an example). In the state shown in FIG. 3, the fin portion 120 a of the package 120 protrudes from the end of the magazine 10 a to the outside of the main body of the heat development apparatus 150, and the user pulls the fin portion 120 a with a finger and pulls out the package 120. The heat-developable recording material F can be directly accommodated in the magazine 10a.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the magazine barcode label 172a is shifted in the loading direction relative to the opening 11a, specifically, when the opening 11a is shifted in the loading direction in the loading unit 15a. It is provided in the region through which the opening 11a passes. Therefore, the magazine barcode label 172a affixed to the bottom surface of the magazine 10a passes through the position of the opening 11a between the start and the end of loading of the magazine 10a into the loading portion 15a. Since the magazine barcode label 172a and the barcode reader 12a face each other during the passage, the magazine identification information is read from the magazine barcode label 172a by the barcode reader 12a. When the magazine 15a is completely loaded (the state shown in FIG. 3), the recording material barcode label 170 and the barcode reader 12a face each other, so that the barcode reader 12a uses the barcode reader 12a to record the recording material barcode label 170. The recording material identification information is read from.

  On the other hand, since the recording material bar code label 170 is not exposed from the opening 11a after the package 120 is extracted, the magazine from which the package 120 is extracted is once removed and loaded again. When another magazine from which the body 120 has been removed is loaded, only the magazine identification information is read from the magazine barcode label 172a by the barcode reader 12a. The magazine barcode labels 172a, 172b, and 172c correspond to the first information recording medium in the claims, and the recording material barcode label 170 corresponds to the second information recording medium in the claims. To do.

  The magazine identification information and the recording material identification information read by the barcode reader 12a are sent to the control unit E, and the device settings (for example, the intensity of the laser beam and the scanning range of the laser beam by the polygon) in the exposure processing step and the like. Used for adjustment.

  In this embodiment, a two-dimensional code label can be used in addition to the barcode label, and a radio tag (RF-ID: Radio Frequency Identification) storing magazine identification information and recording material identification information is used. Is also possible. When two-dimensional code labels or wireless tags are used, a device for reading information from them may be provided in place of the barcode readers 12a, 12b, and 12c.

  Each magazine 10a, 10b, 10c is provided with a lid that opens and closes automatically (not shown). When thermal development is performed, the lid is opened and the thermal development recording material F is taken out one by one, It is conveyed toward the image exposure part B (and heat treatment part). Further, when the magazines 10a, 10b, 10c are removed from the heat development apparatus 150, the lid is closed to prevent the heat development recording material F from being exposed.

Here, returning to FIG. 1, the description of other parts will be continued.
1 exposes the heat-developable recording material conveyed from the heat-developable recording material supply unit A by scanning exposure with the light beam L in the main scanning direction, and sub-substantially orthogonal to the main scanning direction. By conveying in the scanning direction (that is, the recording material conveyance direction), a desired image is recorded on the heat-developable recording material to form a latent image. Further, the thermal development section C in FIG. 1 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. 4 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a sub-scanning conveyance unit and a scanning exposure unit for conveying a sheet-like heat-developable recording material in a laser recording apparatus.
As shown in the figure, the image exposure unit B, which is the laser recording apparatus 100, is a part that exposes the heat development recording material by light beam scanning exposure, and conveys the heat development recording material while preventing flapping from the conveyance surface. A sub-scanning conveyance unit 17 having a fluttering prevention mechanism 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 in parallel with 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 it is the range which the outer periphery contacts. 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 development recording material F enters from the front end of the slope portion 25, the front end of the heat development recording material F 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 F 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 repulsive force is generated in the heat-developable recording material F itself. Due to this elastic repulsive force, a predetermined frictional force is generated between the heat-developable recording material F and the drive roller 21, and the conveyance driving force is reliably transmitted from the drive roller 21 to the heat-developable recording material F. Is transported.

  When the heat-developable recording material F 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 clockwise is the thickness dimension of the heat-developable recording material F. 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 F. That is, when the disturbance occurs, it is absorbed by the elastic force (displacement in the thickness direction) of the heat-developable recording material F, so that the conveyance is not affected. Even when the heat development recording material F is discharged from the guide plate 23 by the slope portion 26 and the drive roller 22, a predetermined frictional force is generated between the drive roller 22 and the elastic repulsion force due to the bending of the heat development recording material F. Occurs, and it is reliably conveyed.

  In the pressing portion 29, the heat-developable recording material F is pressed against the pressing portion 29 by the elastic repulsive force of the heat-developable recording material F, and the heat-developing recording material F flutters from the conveying surface, that is, in the vertical direction. Fluttering is suppressed. By irradiating the heat-developable recording material F 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. 4, the scanning exposure unit 19 deflects the laser light L modulated in accordance with the image signal in the main scanning direction and enters the predetermined recording position X, and is subjected to thermal development recording. A laser light source 35 that emits a laser beam in a narrow band wavelength range (wavelength 350 nm to 900 nm) according to the spectral sensitivity characteristic of the material F, 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. 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 F 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 in accordance with image data input from a data processing unit (not shown), and emits a light beam directly modulated in accordance with 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 F to the sub-scanning direction in a plane parallel to the normal direction of the heat-developable recording material F and the sub-scanning direction (conveyance direction). The laser beam L is irradiated toward the heat-developable recording material F at θi.

Next, the heat development section C in FIG. 1 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 F as shown in FIG. A plurality of plate heaters 51a, 51b, 51c arranged in the transfer direction of the heat-developable recording material F as a heating body are curved, and these plate heaters 51a, 51b, 51c are arranged in a series of arcuate shapes. 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 F is brought into contact with the concave surface of the plate heater. Slide it while moving it relatively.

  As a means for transferring the heat development recording material F at this time, a supply roller 53 and a plurality of pressing rollers 55 that are also used for heat transfer from each plate heater to the heat development recording material F are provided. 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 F being conveyed is conveyed while being pressed against the plate heaters 51a, 51b, 51c, buckling of the heat-developable recording material F can be prevented.

  A discharge roller 57 for transferring the heat-developable recording material F is disposed at the end of the conveyance path of the heat-developable recording material F in the heat developing portion C.

  Of course, the above-described curved plate heater is an example, and may be a configuration using another flat plate heater or a heating drum, or may be a configuration including an endless belt and a peeling claw. .

  Then, the heat-developable recording material F carried out from the heat-development section C is cooled with care so as not to cause wrinkles by the cooling section D and to avoid bending. The heat-developable recording material F 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 unit D so as to give a desired constant curvature R to the conveyance path of the heat-developable recording material F.

  This means that the heat-developable recording material F is conveyed with a certain curvature R until it is cooled below the glass transition point of the material, and thus intentionally adding a curvature to the heat-developable recording material. 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.

  Between the guide plate 61 and the carry-out roller pair 63, a built-in densitometer 65 for detecting the image density of the heat-developable heat-developable recording material F 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 F is described in detail in, for example, International Publication No. WO95 / 31754, International Publication No. WO95 / 30934, and is referred to as necessary. I want.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an electrical control system in the thermal development apparatus shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, the thermal development apparatus 150 includes a thermal development recording material supply unit A, an image exposure unit B, a thermal development unit C, a cooling unit D, and barcode readers 12a, 12b, and 12c. A control unit E that performs overall control and a memory 34 such as a RAM, a ROM, and a hard disk are provided, and each unit is connected to each other via a system bus 36.

Hereinafter, the operation of the heat development apparatus 150 will be described.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an operation flow for explaining the operation of the heat developing apparatus shown in FIG.
The user stores the package 120 on which the recording material barcode label 170 is attached in the magazine 10a so that the recording material barcode label 170 is positioned at the opening 11a, and the magazine 10a is loaded into the loading portion 15a. Is pushed in the loading direction (S1), first, the magazine barcode label 172a passes immediately above the barcode reader 12a, the magazine identification information is read by the barcode reader 12a, and the control unit E reads the magazine identification information. Entered. Further, when the magazine 10a is pushed in the loading direction, the recording material barcode label 170 exposed from the opening 11a reaches just above the barcode reader 12a, and the barcode reader 12a records the recording material identification information. Is read and input to the controller E (S2). When the magazine identification information and the recording material identification information are input, the control unit E stores the magazine identification information and the recording material identification information in the memory 34 in association with each other (S3). The control unit E stores the latest magazine identification information read by the barcode reader 12a in association with the ID of the loading unit 15a in the memory 34 (S4).

  When the user selects a magazine accommodated in the loading unit 15a and issues a development processing instruction (S5: YES), the control unit E associates the latest magazine identification information corresponding to the ID of the loading unit 15a. In accordance with the recording material identification information stored in the memory 34, various parameters used during the development process are adjusted (S6), and the development process is performed (S7).

  Next, when the magazine 10a is removed and then reloaded (S8: YES), and only the magazine identification information is read by the barcode reader 12a (S9: YES), for example, heat development in the magazine 10a When the magazine 10a is loaded again without replacing the recording material F, the control unit E shifts the process to S4, and associates the latest magazine identification information read in S9 with the ID of the loading unit 15a. Store in the memory 34.

  On the other hand, when both the magazine identification information and the recording material identification information are read by the barcode reader 12a (S9: NO), the control unit E shifts the process to S3, and the magazine identification information read in S9 The recording material identification information is associated and stored in the memory 34. However, if the magazine identification information already stored and the magazine identification information read in S9 are the same in the second and subsequent processings of S3 (corresponding to loading of a magazine 10a containing a new package). The recording material identification information corresponding to the magazine identification information already stored is updated to the recording material identification information read in S9. If the magazine identification information already stored and the magazine identification information read in S9 are not the same (when another magazine containing a new package is loaded), it is separate from the information already stored. The magazine identification information and the recording material identification information read in S9 are stored in association with each other.

  As described above, according to the heat development apparatus 150, when a magazine containing a new package is loaded (corresponding to S1 and S9: NO in FIG. 6), the magazine identification information and the magazine are stored. Since the identification information of the heat-developable recording material is stored in association with each other, even when the package is removed from the loaded magazine and then removed and loaded again (corresponding to S9 in FIG. 6: YES). Based on the information stored in the memory 34, the heat-developable recording material accommodated in the magazine loaded again can be identified. For this reason, even when the magazine is reloaded, various parameters of the apparatus can be adjusted appropriately.

  In FIG. 1, the barcode reader 12a is provided at a position opposite to the lower side of the opening 11a. However, the barcode reader 12a is provided between the start and end of loading of the magazine 10a into the loading portion 15a. As long as it is in a position where both the first state facing the magazine barcode label 172a and the second state facing the opening 11a can be taken, for example, from a position directly below the opening 11a. It may be inside the loading unit 15a in the right direction. The same applies to the barcode readers 12b and 12c.

  In this embodiment, both the magazine barcode label 172a and the recording material barcode label 170 can be read by one barcode reader 12a. For example, the magazine barcode label 172a shown in FIG. It is also possible to provide another barcode reader at an opposite position below and to read both the magazine barcode label 172a and the recording material barcode label 170 with two barcode readers.

The figure which shows schematic structure of the heat development recording apparatus for describing embodiment of this invention The perspective view which shows the state of the sheet-like heat development recording material film in a package body A view of the magazine loaded with the package (set in the main unit) as seen from below. The figure which shows schematic structure of the subscanning conveyance part and scanning exposure part for conveying the sheet-like heat development recording material in a laser recording apparatus Block diagram showing the configuration of the electrical control system in the thermal development apparatus FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing the operation procedure of the thermal development apparatus shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

150 Heat developing devices 10a, 10b, 10c Magazines 11a, 11b, 11c Openings 12a, 12b, 12c Bar code readers 13a, 13b, 13c Supply roller pairs 15a, 15b, 15c Loading units 172a, 172b, 172c Magazine barcode labels E Control unit

Claims (4)

A heat development apparatus having at least one loading section capable of loading a housing section for housing a heat development recording material,
A first information recording medium for recording storage unit identification information for identifying the storage unit is provided on a surface of the storage unit,
A second information recording medium for recording recording material identification information for identifying the heat-developable recording material is provided on the surface of the package containing the heat-developable recording material accommodated in the accommodating portion. ,
Information reading means capable of reading information from the first information recording medium and the second information recording medium when loading the storage section into the loading section;
A storage unit that stores the storage unit identification information and the recording material identification information in association with each other when the storage unit identification information and the recording material identification information are read by the information reading unit. Development device. The heat development apparatus according to claim 1,
Association means for associating the accommodating portion identification information of the accommodating portion read by the information reading means when the accommodating portion is loaded into the loading portion with the loading portion;
A thermal development apparatus comprising adjustment means for performing various adjustments of the apparatus for each loading unit in accordance with the latest recording material identification information stored in association with the latest storage unit identification information corresponding to the loading unit . The heat development apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
An opening for exposing the second information recording medium in a state where the package is accommodated in the accommodating portion is formed on the surface of the accommodating portion,
The first information recording medium is provided at a position shifted in the loading direction of the storage unit from the opening.
The information reading means is one device provided for each loading unit, and the device is configured to face the first information recording medium between the start and the end of loading of the storage unit. A heat developing device provided at a position where both the first state and the second state facing the opening can be taken. The heat development apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The first information recording medium is printed with a barcode corresponding to the storage unit identification information, printed with a two-dimensional code corresponding to the storage unit identification information, or RF-ID,
The second information recording medium is printed with a bar code corresponding to the recording material identification information, printed with a two-dimensional code corresponding to the recording material identification information, or thermally developed with RF-ID. apparatus.

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