JP2648407B2 - Image recording method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for recording an image on a thermosensitive recording material provided with a plurality of thermosensitive coloring layers each having a different sensitivity and developing a different hue. The present invention relates to an image recording method for recording an image by repeating scanning recording and fixing by light irradiation.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, there is a thermal recording method as a method for recording an image on recording paper using a heating element. This thermosensitive recording method uses a thermosensitive recording material obtained by applying a color developing agent and a color developing agent to a support such as paper or synthetic paper, and performs recording by a process of heating this thermosensitive recording material with a thermal head. Such a thermal recording method does not require development, when the support is paper, the paper quality is close to ordinary paper, it is easy to handle, the color density is high, the recording apparatus is simple and inexpensive, It has the advantage that noise at the time is smaller than that of a dot printer or the like, and has been rapidly spread in the field of black-and-white facsimile machines and printers in recent years.

Further, in such a recording field, with the rapid development of the information industry, there is an increasing demand for easily obtaining a color hard copy from a terminal of a computer, facsimile or other information equipment.

Here, the present applicant has provided a transparent support with a color-forming layer which is substantially transparent and develops different colors, so that a multi-color heat-sensitive recording can be obtained which is better than ever before. Proposed material (Japanese Patent Application No. 61-8078)
No. 7, Japanese Patent Application No. 62-88196, Japanese Patent Application No. 62-754
09). An image is recorded on the thermal recording material by scanning and recording in the sub-scanning direction a thermal head in which the heads are arranged in the main scanning direction.

According to this method, it is possible to obtain a multicolor image having excellent hue, excellent color separation properties and good image storability which could not be obtained conventionally by the thermal recording method.
Further, the obtained image can be a transmission image or a reflection image.

In such a thermosensitive recording paper, when multiple coloring layers are provided on one side, the uppermost layer (the layer closest to the surface) is heated and colored with such an amount of heat that the other layers are not heated. After the fixing process of this color forming layer is completed, it is necessary to heat the other color forming layer.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 6, the fixing process (the n-th time) includes the time for fixing unnecessary coloring components for stopping the coloring of each color-forming layer, and the time for preventing the aging and the background coloring. There is a time for performing the coloring, and conventionally, the heat treatment (n
+1).

[0008]

However, in such an image recording method, there is a limit to the reduction of the total recording time, and if the recording is performed beyond this limit, the uncolored uncolored image will be lost due to insufficient light quantity. There is a possibility that the time is insufficient, and in particular, the white frame around the image may be colored over time.

For this reason, it is conceivable to increase the unit light amount of the light source, but the heat generation amount of the light source increases, which is not suitable for a thermosensitive recording material.

In view of the above facts, the present invention provides an image recording method capable of shortening the recording time based on the characteristics of the time required for fixing and uncoloring the unnecessary coloring components performed by the fixing process. Is the purpose.

[0011]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording head for recording an image on a thermosensitive recording material provided with a plurality of thermosensitive coloring layers each having a different sensitivity and developing a different hue. An image recording method for recording an image by repeating scanning recording on each thermosensitive coloring layer and fixing by light irradiation according to the method, wherein light capable of fixing a color developed by n-th scanning recording is formed on the thermosensitive recording material. Irradiation is continued after the start of the (n + 1) th scan recording.

[0012]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the color is fixed by the n-th scan recording and then fixed, light for fixing the color forming layer is irradiated. By this light irradiation, first, the unnecessary coloring component fixing of the coloring layer corresponding to the n-th time is performed. At the same time, uncoloring is performed to prevent the background (especially the white portion around the image) from being colored due to aging or the like (see FIG. 6). There is a difference between the time for fixing the unnecessary coloring component and the time for not attaching the component. First, the fixing of the unnecessary coloring component is completed. When the fixing of the unnecessary coloring component is completed, the coloring of the n-th coloring layer is suppressed, so that the n-th fixing (the time when the unfixed time ends) is started after the (n + 1) -th scanning recording is started. This can be performed, and there is no need to wait for the end of the n-th fixing.

That is, the time which has been generally considered as the fixing process is divided into the time for fixing the unnecessary coloring component and the time for not attaching the unnecessary color component, and considering the respective characteristics, the start time of the (n + 1) th scan recording is determined. Since the completion of the fixing of the unnecessary coloring component is completed, the entire recording time can be reduced.

[0014]

FIG. 1 shows a schematic structure of an image recording apparatus according to this embodiment.

A slot-like inlet / outlet 112 for the heat-sensitive recording material 10 in the form of a slit is provided on the front surface of the image recording apparatus so that an unprocessed heat-sensitive recording material 10 can be inserted by a worker. A tray 114 is extended from the carry-in / discharge port 112 to the near side of the drawing, so that the heat-sensitive recording material 10 can be placed on the tray 114 and inserted into the carry-in / discharge port 112 in a planar manner. . The heat-sensitive recording material 10 which has been subjected to the heat-sensitive heat treatment is discharged from the carry-in / discharge port 112.
Reference numeral 14 also serves as a cradle for the discharged processed thermal recording material. The tray 114 can be stored inside the apparatus by being inserted in the direction of the carry-in / discharge port 112.

A VTR 116 is connected to the image recording apparatus, for example, so that an image recording signal at the time of image recording by a thermal head 32 (see FIG. 3) to be described later is created based on the image signal from the VTR 116. Has become. In addition, as another image signal source connected to the image recording apparatus, there is a CCD camera or the like.

On a front panel 117 provided with the carry-in / discharge port 112, a power switch 120, a display device 122 for displaying the number of prints, etc., and a print button 124
Is provided. An openable / closable sub cover 126 is provided below the print button 124, and a fine adjustment knob (not shown) such as image quality is attached.

As shown in FIG. 2, the heat-sensitive recording material 10 has a cyan dye layer (hereinafter referred to as C dye layer) 108 and a magenta layer 108 in order from the bottom layer on one of a transparent support, polyethylene terephthalate film (hereinafter referred to as PET) 102. A dye layer (hereinafter, referred to as M dye layer) 104 and a yellow dye layer (hereinafter, referred to as Y dye layer) 106 are provided, all of which are transparent. The Y dye layer 106 and the M dye layer 104
Is a light-fixing layer, which is a layer having such a property that it is not changed by heating after irradiation with light having a wavelength of 420 nm and a wavelength of 365 nm.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, when the leading end of the heat-sensitive recording material 10 is inserted into the apparatus through the carry-in / out port 112, this is detected by the limit switch 118, and the The sheet is nipped by a pair of conveyance rollers 72 driven by a driving force, guided by a guide plate 70, conveyed, and guided to the heat treatment unit 28.

The heat processing section 28 includes a supporting drum 30 as a rotating body and a line type thermal head 32 as a recording head. The head 32 is adapted to be heated. The support drum 30 is formed of a metal cylindrical body 34, and an elastic body 36
Is wrapped around. The support drum 30 includes the driver 3
3 to 5 are rotated at a constant speed in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 3 to FIG. 5, and have a function of sequentially making the thermal recording material 10 wound around the support drum 30 correspond to the thermal head 32. I have.

One of the thermal heads 32 is pivotally supported on the apparatus frame via a shaft 40. The driving force of a driver 41 drives the thermal head 32 in the direction of arrow C in FIGS. The heat-generating element 42 is rotated and the heating element 42 disposed on the other side is brought into contact with and separated from the heat-sensitive recording material 10 wound around the support drum 30. An image signal is output from the control device 45 to the heating element 42 when it comes into contact with the heat-sensitive recording material 10, and an image is formed on the heat-sensitive recording material 10 by heat generation according to the image signal 100.

The heat-sensitive recording material 10 conveyed to the heat treatment section 28 by the conveyance rollers 26 is guided by a guide plate 70 in the conveyance direction, and forms a part of a holding section 46 provided on the outer periphery of the support drum 30. The recess 48 is reached. A latch claw 52, which constitutes a holding portion together with the concave portion 48, is supported by the concave portion 48 via a shaft 50 disposed parallel to the rotation axis of the support drum 30. The latch claw 52 rotates in the direction of arrow D in FIGS. 3 to 5 through the shaft 50 by the driving force of the driver 49 when one end of the thermosensitive recording material 10 guided by the guide plate 44 is received in the recess 48. By doing so, it has a role of holding one end of the heat-sensitive recording material. When the thermosensitive recording material 10 is held by the latch claws 52, the thermosensitive recording material 10 is sequentially wound around the outer periphery of the support drum 30 by the rotation of the support drum 30.

The timing at which the latch claw 52 holds the heat-sensitive recording material 10 is determined by a limit switch 54 provided in the middle of the conveyance path of the heat-sensitive recording material 10.
That is, the heat-sensitive recording material 10 is
When the position 4 is reached, the actuator 56 of the limit switch 54 interferes with the heat-sensitive recording material 10 and switches the contact (in this embodiment, the limit switch 54 is a normally open type, and the heat-sensitive recording material 10 is used). It is turned on when it comes into contact with). An ON (high level) / OFF (low level) signal from the limit switch 54 is supplied to the control device 45, and the control device 45 performs a predetermined time (at least, at least) on the basis of the transport speed of the thermal recording material 10. 10 tips are concave 4
The latch claw 52 is operated after it hits the back of FIG.
(Rotation in the direction of arrow D). This allows
In the holding state by the latch claws 52, the relative position between the thermosensitive recording material 10 and the support drum 30 is always fixed, and the positioning is performed accurately.

Idle rollers 58, 60 and 62 are provided at a plurality of positions (three in this embodiment) on the outer periphery of the support drum 30, and the support drum 30 and the idle rollers 58,
60, 62, the heat-sensitive recording material 10 is
0 is wound in close contact with the outer periphery.
Light sources 64A and 64B connected to the control device 45 via drivers 63A and 63B are disposed downstream of the support drum 30 in the rotational direction of the support drum 30 at the heating position of the thermal recording material 10 by the thermal head 32. Light is radiated to 10. The wavelength of this light is 420 nm and 365 nm, respectively. The light source 64A is used for fixing the Y dye layer 106 of the thermosensitive recording material 10, and the light source 64B is used for fixing the M dye layer 104. That is, in the present embodiment, the support drum 30 is continuously rotated three times after the rotation is started. In the first rotation of the thermal recording material 10, the heating of the Y dye layer 106 by the thermal head 32 is performed. Processing is performed, and fixing is performed immediately after this processing.

At the time of the next rotation of the support drum 30, ie, 2
In the rotation eye, the M dye layer 1 provided below the Y dye layer 106
04 (see FIG. 2) is heated and fixed, and then
At the rotation, the C dye layer is heated.

It should be noted that the heating element 4 received by the thermosensitive recording material 10
The energy (heat) from 2 is “weak” during the first rotation of the support drum 30 and has no effect on the lower M dye layer 104 and C dye layer 108 during the second rotation. Control is performed by the control device 45 so as to be “medium” during the third rotation and “strong” during the third rotation.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 6, the fixing of the unnecessary coloring components, ie, the thermal head 3
There is a time for suppressing the subsequent color development of a portion that is not colored by 2 and a time for uncoloring to prevent coloring due to a change with time, and the characteristics (slope) are different from each other. I have.

As shown in FIG. 6, the uncoloring for preventing the coloring due to the change over time does not complete even at the time when the fixing of the unnecessary coloring component is completed. The coloring of the coloring layer is suppressed.
For this reason, in this embodiment, the heat treatment of the next color forming layer is started at least after the fixing of the unnecessary coloring component is completed.

Therefore, the n-th time, that is, the Y dye layer 106
Is started by the thermal head 32, the light source 64A on the downstream side of the thermal head 32 is turned on. The rotation speed of the supporting drum 30 for passing the light source 64A is reduced by the unnecessary coloring component shown in FIG. It is set to match the fixing completion time. As a result, the processing speed increases. Of course, it is necessary to increase the duty of the maximum power of the thermal head 32 in order to secure the energy applied from the thermal head 32 to the thermosensitive recording material in accordance with the increase in the speed.

When the support drum 30 makes one rotation, the (n + 1) th color forming layer, that is, the M dye layer 104 is heated in the second rotation. At this time, the light source 64A is turned on at least when the uncolored processing is completed. Continue lighting for the required time.

Similarly, when the heat treatment of the M dye layer 104 is started by the thermal head 32, the light source 64B on the downstream side of the light source 64A is turned on. Normally, since the fixing processing characteristics of each color forming layer are the same, by rotating the support drum at the same rotation speed, the M dye layer 104 is rotated once when the unnecessary coloring component fixing is completed, The next heat treatment of the C dye layer 108 is performed.

After the heat treatment of the C dye layer 108 is completed, the heat-sensitive recording material 10 is placed at the position of the idle roller 62.
By releasing the holding by the holding portion 46, the thermal recording material 10 is guided between the guide plate 66 and the guide plate 68, and reaches the carry-in / discharge port 112.

The control device 45 includes a CPU 82, a RAM 8
4, a micro computer 94 comprising a ROM 86, an input port 88, an output port 90, and a bus 92 such as a data bus or a control bus for connecting these. A print button 124 and a limit switch 118 are connected to the input port 88, and a series of heating processes are performed by operating the print button 124 and detecting the thermosensitive recording material 10 by the limit switch 118. The input port 88 is connected to a signal line 98 from the limit switch 54.

The output port 90 includes a support drum 30, a thermal head 32, a latch claw 52, and light sources 64A and 64.
B, the transport rollers 72 are drivers 38, 41, 4 respectively.
9, 63A, 63B, and 74 are connected to each other so that their driving is controlled. The output port 90 is also connected to a signal line 100 for supplying the image signal to the thermal head 32.

The operation of this embodiment will be described below. The print button 124 is operated, and the heat-sensitive recording material 10 is carried in.
It is inserted from the discharge port 112 and moves while being guided by the guide plate 70. When the limit switch 118 is turned on, the transport roller 72 starts driving and is transported by a predetermined amount. If the print button 124 is not operated, the conveyance roller 72 is not driven even if the limit switch 118 is turned on, and the drive is started after the print button 124 is operated.

When the thermal recording material 10 is further conveyed, it comes into contact with the actuator 56 of the limit switch 54. Here, when the limit switch 54 is turned on, a high-level signal is input to the input port 88, and after a lapse of a predetermined time, the latch claw 52 is rotated in the direction of the arrow D. The recording material 10 is accommodated in the concave portion 48 of the support drum 30, and the leading end thereof is in contact with the locking portion 49, and the leading end is held by the latch claw 52.

The tip of the heat-sensitive recording material 10 is
Then, the support drum 30 starts rotating in the direction of arrow B (first rotation). First heat treatment control is performed. That is, the holding portion 46 is connected to the thermal head 3.
After passing through the heating element 42, a driving signal is output from the output port 90 via the driver 41, and the thermal head 32 is rotated about the shaft 40 in the direction of the arrow C.
2 contacts the thermal recording material 10. Thus, the support drum 30 is rotated in a state where the heating element 42 is in contact with the heat-sensitive recording material 10, and an image signal is output to the heating element 42 in accordance with the rotation.

The heating element 42 is set to have a low heat value,
The thermosensitive recording material 10 is heated according to the image signal, and only the Y dye layer 106 is colored. The heating element 4
After completion of the heat treatment by 2, the thermal head 32 is rotated about the shaft 40 in the direction indicated by the arrow C, and the heating element 42 is separated from the heat-sensitive recording material 10.

Next, the wavelength 42 is applied to the image surface of the photosensitive material 10.
Light of 0 nm is emitted from the light source 64A. This allows Y
The dye layer 106 is fixed. Here, the fixing processing time is set to the processing completion time of the unnecessary coloring component fixing shown in FIG. 6 by controlling the rotation speed of the support drum 30.

For this reason, when the support drum 30 makes the first rotation, the fixing process (uncoloring) of the Y dye layer 106 is not completed, but the fixing of the unnecessary coloring component is completed. No color development occurs even if the subsequent heat treatment of the M dye layer 104 is performed. Thereby, the heat treatment interval between the Y dye layer 108 and the M dye layer 104 can be shortened.

Next, the process proceeds to the second rotation, and the heat treatment of the M dye layer 104 is performed. That is, the amount of heat for the heating process by the heating element 42 is switched to “medium”, and the same process as the heating of the Y dye layer 106 is performed. The thermosensitive recording material 10 is heated according to the image signal, and Dye layer 1
04 only.

At this time, the light source 64A is continuously lit, and is lit at least for the time when the non-coloring is completed. In this case, since the Y dye in the upper layer is fixed, there is no change. Further, since the relative position of the heat-sensitive recording material 10 with respect to the support drum 30 does not change, it is possible to accurately color the images of the Y dye and the M dye without causing a color shift.

The heat-sensitive recording material 10 after the heat treatment of the M dye layer is irradiated with light having a wavelength of 365 nm from the light source 64B, whereby the M dye layer 104 is fixed.

Subsequently, the process proceeds to the third rotation, and the C dye layer 108
Is performed. That is, the amount of heat for the heat treatment by the heating element 42 is switched to “strong”, and the thermosensitive recording material 10 is heated according to the image signal, and the C dye layer 10 is heated.
Only 8 is colored.

Since the heating of the C dye layer 108 is started at the same time as the heating of the M dye layer 104, the fixing of the unnecessary coloring components of the M dye layer 104 is completed. Will be shortened.

When the heating process of each color forming layer is completed, the heating element 42 of the thermal head 32 is separated from the heat-sensitive recording material 10 and, after a predetermined time has passed, the holding portion 46 passes through the idle roller 62, and at this time, the holding portion The holding of the thermosensitive recording material 10 by 46 is released, and the recording material 10 is conveyed between the guide plates 66 and 68 according to the rotation of the support drum 30.

The thermosensitive recording material 10 between the guide plate 66 and the guide plate 68 is nipped by a conveying roller 72 which is guided by the guide plate 70 and rotates in the reverse direction, and is conveyed by the conveying roller 72 by a predetermined amount to be carried in. -It is sent out to the discharge port 112 and placed on the tray 114. Thereby, the heating process of one heat-sensitive recording material is completed.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the characteristic of fixing the unnecessary coloring component included in the n-th fixing process and the characteristic of non-coloring are separated, and after the start of the (n + 1) th heat treatment, the uncolored component is fixed. Since the fixing process is continued, the n-th fixing process and the (n + 1) th heating process can be overlapped, and the overall recording time can be reduced.

FIG. 7 shows the results of an experiment performed based on this embodiment. (Experimental Example 1) As shown in FIG. 7A, in Experimental Example 1, the light source 64 which is turned on after the heat treatment of the Y dye layer 106 is performed.
A is continuously lit until the entire process is completed, and the light source 64B that is lit after the heat treatment of the M dye layer 104 is continuously lit until the entire process is completed.

According to this, although the fixing was sufficiently performed, the M dye layer 104 was slightly fixed by the wavelength near 365 nm contained in the light source 64A, and the density was reduced.

(Experimental Example 2) As shown in FIG.
In Experimental Example 2, the light source 64A that is turned on after the heat treatment of the Y dye layer 106 is turned off once when the process of fixing the unnecessary fixing component is completed, and the light source 6 that is turned on after the heat treatment of the M dye layer 104 is completed.
The light source 64A was turned on again together with the light source 4B, and was continuously turned on until the entire processing was completed.

According to this, the influence on the M dye layer 104 can be reduced by turning on the light source 64A, and the fixing becomes sufficient.

(Experimental Example 3) As shown in FIG.
In Experimental Example 3, after the heat treatment of the Y dye layer 106 and the heat treatment of the M dye layer 104, the light sources 64A and 64B
Were turned on for the time required to complete the process of fixing the unnecessary coloring component, and after the heat treatment of the C dye layer 108, the lighting of only the light source 64B was restarted.

According to this, the coloring of the background is hardly observed, and the uncolored Y dye layer 106 can be omitted, and the recording time can be shortened.

As apparent from the experimental results of Experimental Example 1, even if the light source of the light source 64A is set to 420 nm, light of 365 nm wavelength is included due to its flare as shown in FIG. By continuing lighting during the heat treatment, the coloring of the M dye layer 104 is affected. Similarly, in the light source 64B, the necessary wavelength 365n
Wavelengths other than m are also output.

To solve this, each light source 64A,
The light from 64B may be applied to the thermosensitive recording material 10 through a filter. As a filter provided in the light source 64A, model SC41 manufactured by Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. can be applied. This filter cuts a wavelength of 410 nm or less.

The filter disposed on the light source 64B is as follows.
It is configured by combining interference filters.

In this embodiment, the non-coloring process is performed while the irradiation time of the light sources 64A and 64B is continued. However, a non-coloring process may be performed by providing a separate light source.

Further, in this embodiment, the heat-sensitive recording material 10 is wound around the support drum 30 and rotated three times to heat and fix each of the color-forming layers. The heating device and the fixing device may be configured to perform a heating process and a fixing process by reciprocating the transfer path one and a half times in the transfer path.

[0060]

As described above, the image recording method according to the present invention can shorten the recording time based on the characteristics of the time required for fixing unnecessary coloring components and performing non-coloring by the fixing process. Has excellent effects.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of an image recording apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a multicolor heat-sensitive recording material applied to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an internal configuration of the image recording apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a control block diagram.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view around a supporting drum.

FIG. 6 is a characteristic diagram illustrating processing performed by a fixing process according to the present exemplary embodiment.

7A is a time chart of Experimental Example 1, FIG. 7B is a time chart of Experimental Example 2, and FIG. 7C is a time chart of Experimental Example 3. FIG.

FIG. 8 is a wavelength-light amount characteristic diagram of each light source.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Thermal recording material 28 Heat processing part 30 Support drum 32 Thermal head 42 Heating body 45 Control device

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] When recording an image on a thermosensitive recording material provided with a plurality of thermosensitive coloring layers having different sensitivities and different colors, a recording head scans and irradiates each thermosensitive coloring layer with a recording head. An image recording method for recording an image by repeating the fixing according to the method described above, wherein irradiation of the heat-sensitive recording material with light capable of fixing a color developed by the n-th scan recording is performed even after the start of the (n + 1) -th scan recording. An image recording method characterized by continuing.