JP2819309B2 - Thermal development image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a heat-developable image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to a heat-developable image in which a photosensitive material and an image-receiving material are superimposed and thermally developed and transferred to obtain an image. The present invention relates to a forming apparatus.

[Prior Art] A diffusion transfer type thermal development method for separating a silver image and a dye to obtain a color image by releasing a diffusible dye by thermal development and thermally transferring the dye to an image receiving element has already been proposed. Have been.

Also, many techniques have been disclosed for the photosensitive element, image receiving element, heat development method and apparatus in this heat development. As an apparatus utilizing such a heat development method, for example, a color hard copy apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-201433 has been proposed. The outline of this device is to form a latent image by exposing a photosensitive element coated on a photosensitive material to an image, superimposing the latent image on the image receiving material, and sandwiching the drum between a rotating drum and an endless belt pressed to the rotating drum, After heating and pressurizing to release the diffusible dye in the image area from the photosensitive material and transferring it to the image receiving material,
The two materials are peeled off to form a color image on the image receiving material.

Further, JP-A-63-228156 and JP-A-63-281164 disclose an endless belt pair heated by a rear heating element after imagewise exposing a photosensitive element to form a latent image and superimposing it on an image receiving material. There is disclosed an example of a thermal developing machine which performs thermal development and transfer by being sandwiched between them.

There is also an example using a heat roller pair and a sheet heater (Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 61-126251).

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In such a heat-developable image forming apparatus, image exposure is performed on a photosensitive material, a photosensitive material and an image receiving material are superposed, and development and transfer are performed by bringing the two into close contact. If dust is present on the photosensitive surface (emulsion surface) side during exposure and superposition, density unevenness due to exposure unevenness and transfer unevenness occurs, which has caused a problem of deterioration of image quality.

Examples of the garbage causing the problem include dust floating in the air, photographic material of which the photosensitive layer is partially peeled, and paper powder of the photographic material and the image receiving material. In particular, at the time of drying, these materials tend to generate static electricity, and are likely to cause concentration unevenness due to adhesion of dust.

The present invention has been made in view of the above point, and reliably removes dust in the photosensitive material transport system and the image receiving material transport system, and eliminates exposure unevenness due to dust adhesion and density unevenness due to transfer unevenness, thereby achieving high quality images. It is an object of the present invention to provide an obtained heat development image forming apparatus.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the problems, the present invention is configured as follows.

The invention according to claim 1, wherein the photosensitive material transport system includes a photosensitive material transport system that transports a photosensitive material, an image receiving material transport system that transports an image receiving material, and an overlapping unit that overlaps the photosensitive material and the image receiving material. And an exposing means for forming a latent image by exposing the photosensitive material to an image, and a static elimination means for removing static electricity generated on a superimposed side surface of the photosensitive material and a superposition side before and after the exposing means. Removal means for removing dust adhering to the surface are arranged in this order in close proximity to each other. On the other hand, in the image receiving material transport system, static elimination means for removing static electricity generated on the superposed side surface of the image receiving material and the superposed side surface of the image receiving material are provided. A removing means for removing dust adhering to the surface is arranged in this order, and the photosensitive material and the image receiving material superimposed on the subsequent stage of the overlapping portion are heated and pressed to develop the latent image and transfer the latent image to the image receiving material. Let A developing transfer section, further heat development image forming apparatus, characterized in that it comprises a peeling unit for peeling the photosensitive material and the image receiving material from each other after heat development transfer. ].

According to the first aspect of the present invention, static electricity generated on the superposed side surface of the photosensitive material before and after the latent image is formed by exposing the photosensitive material to an image is removed, and then the superposed side is removed with the static electricity removed. Removes dust attached to the surface and removes static electricity generated on the superposed side surface of the image receiving material.
Thereafter, dust attached to the superposed side surface is removed in a state where static electricity is removed, so that dust adhered to the superposed side surface of the photosensitive material and the image receiving material in the photosensitive material transport system and the image receiving material transport system is reliably removed. After that, heat and pressure are applied to form a heat-developed image, so that unevenness in exposure due to adhesion of dust and unevenness in density due to uneven transfer are eliminated, and a high-quality image can be obtained.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a heat development image forming apparatus, and FIGS. 2 to 7 show an embodiment of a removing means for removing dust.

In FIG. 1, a photosensitive material 1 is provided in a heat development image forming apparatus.
And a roll of the image receiving material 2 are set, respectively. The photosensitive material 1 and the image receiving material 2 are superimposed and heated and pressed to develop a latent image formed on the photosensitive material 1 and transfer the latent image to the image receiving material 2. Is what you do.

The pulled-out photosensitive material 1 is cut to a predetermined width by a cutter 3 and dust is removed by a removing means 4 for removing dust attached to a superposed side surface, and then image-exposed by an exposure means 5 such as a CRT or FOT. Thus, a latent image is formed. Further, the overlapping portion 6
Before, the removing means 7 for removing dust is arranged, and the removing means 7 removes dust attached to the superposed side surface of the photosensitive material 1.

The pulled-out image receiving material 2 is similarly cut to a predetermined width by the cutter 8. A removing unit 9 for removing dust is disposed in front of the overlapping unit 6, and the removing unit 9 removes dust attached to the surface of the image receiving material 2 on the overlapping side.

Examples of the dust include dust floating in the air, a material in which the photosensitive layer of the photosensitive material 1 is partially peeled off, and paper powder of the photosensitive material 1 and the image receiving material 2. These materials tend to generate static electricity when dried. , Easy to get trash. Therefore, a removing means for removing dust adhering to the surface of the photosensitive material 1 or the image receiving material 2
4, 7, 9 and a removing means 10 for removing static electricity are provided before the removing means 4, 7, 9 respectively.

The photosensitive material 1 is superimposed on the image receiving material 2 and a heat development transfer unit
11 where it is transported by a pair of endless belts 12
At this time, the latent image is developed by being heated and pressed by the heating and pressing roller 13. After transfer to the image receiving material 2, the photosensitive material 1 and the image receiving material 2
And the photosensitive material 1 is discarded.

The heat development image forming apparatus may be provided at least at one place before the superimposition of the photosensitive material 1 on the image receiving material 2, but preferably at two places before the image exposure and before the superposition. . For the image receiving material 2, a means for removing dust is provided before the superimposition.

Furthermore, when the removing means for removing dust and the means for removing static electricity from the material are used in combination, dust can be more effectively removed. Means for removing the static electricity include, for example, a static elimination brush, an AC electric field, and an ion current.

FIGS. 2 to 7 show examples of the means for removing dust.

FIG. 2 shows a case where a blade 21 is disposed on a portion of the photosensitive material 1 or the image receiving material 2 on the side of the superposed surface opposite to the transport roller 20, and the blade 21 is pressed to remove dust. The material of the blade 21 is preferably a material which does not damage the overlapping surface, does not generate any dust on the blade itself, and has low frictional formation with each overlapping surface. For example, rubber polytetrafluoroethylene such as silicone rubber Are suitable. The advantage of this method is that the mechanism is simple, inexpensive and compact.

FIG. 3 shows a cleaning roller 22 having an adhesive force on a portion of the photosensitive material 1 or the image receiving material 2 on the superimposed surface facing the transport roller 20 urged by a spring 23 toward the transport roller. This is to remove the dust attached by the roller 22. As such a cleaning roller 22, for example, a roller formed from a perforated adhesive sheet or a roller made of a material having adhesive force such as natural rubber can be considered. When removing dust with a roll of adhesive sheet, use a cleaning roller 22
When the adhesive strength of the cleaning roller 22 is lost, the adhesive strength of the cleaning roller 22 is restored by replacing the sheet on the surface. In the case of using natural rubber, the surface of the roller may be washed with water or alcohol when the adhesive strength is lost. The advantage of this method is that the structure is simple.

FIG. 4 shows a case in which the photosensitive material 1 or the image receiving material 2 is vibrated to shake off dust on the surface, and the shaken dust may be received by the tray 24 or sucked. As means for vibrating the material, a vibrator constituted by a hammer 26 having a roller 25 at the tip is urged by a spring 27 in a direction opposite to the material, and is held by a stopper 28. The electromagnetic force is interrupted by the intermittent current flowing through this oscillator to the solenoid coil 29,
Vibration mechanically. The advantage of this method is that since there are no consumable parts, there is no need to replace parts and the like.

FIG. 5 shows a case in which dust is blown off by an air flow jetted from the nozzle 30. Nozzle 30 which is an air outlet so that the blown garbage does not fly away
It is preferable to provide a duct 31 for receiving dust in the vicinity of. An advantage of this method is that dust is removed without contact, so that there is no fear of scratching the material surface.

FIG. 6 shows a case in which dust is removed by rubbing the overlapping surface of the materials with a brush 32 or the like. The removed dust is preferably received by the duct 33 so as not to scatter around. The material of the brush 32 is preferably a material that does not itself generate dust, such as animal hair or fur (for example, rabbit fur or the like in a roller shape), a nonwoven fabric, or the like. However, duct 33
This condition is not necessarily required when dust is sucked by the above.

FIG. 7 shows a vibrating blade for scraping dust. The material of the blade 34 is suitably the same as that shown in FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the blade 34 is vibrated by vibrating a vibrator constituted by a hammer 35 having a blade 34 at the tip in the opposite direction of the material by a spring 36 and held by a stopper 37. ing. When current does not flow through the solenoid coil 38, the blade 34 is standing by at an arbitrary position that does not block the material passage by the urging force of the spring 36, and immediately after the tip of the material has passed, the current flows through the solenoid coil 38. To the position where the material is pressed by the electromagnetic force. The advantage of this method is that, in addition to the advantages of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the ability to remove dust is further improved.

As described above, the removing means for removing six dusts has been described. However, these means may be used alone or in combination of two or more. For example, FIGS. 2 and 4 and FIG.
4 and 5 are used in combination.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, the heat-developable image forming apparatus of the present invention includes:
Removes static electricity generated on the superposed side surface of the photosensitive material before and after forming a latent image by exposing the photosensitive material to an image, and then removes dust adhering to the superposed side surface with the static electricity removed. Since the static electricity generated on the superposed side surface of the material is removed, and then the dust attached to the superposed side surface is removed with the static electricity removed, the photosensitive material and the image receiving material are transported in the photosensitive material transport system and the image receiving material transport system. The dust adhering to the superposed side surface can be reliably removed, and then heat-pressed to form a heat-developed image, so that uneven exposure due to dust adhering and uneven density due to transfer unevenness can be prevented. A high thermal transfer image can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a heat development image forming apparatus, and FIGS.
The figure shows an embodiment of the removing means for removing dust. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a photosensitive material, 2 denotes an image receiving material, 4, 7 and 9 denote removing means, 6 denotes a superimposed portion, 11 denotes a heat development transfer portion, and 10 denotes a charge removing means.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A photosensitive material transporting system for transporting a photosensitive material, an image receiving material transporting system for transporting an image receiving material, and an overlapping portion for overlapping the photosensitive material and the image receiving material. And an exposure unit for forming a latent image by exposing the image to the surface of the photosensitive material, and a static elimination unit for removing static electricity generated on a superimposed side surface of the photosensitive material and an exposing unit attached to the superposed side surface before and after the exposing unit. A removing means for removing dust is arranged in this order in close proximity, and on the other hand, a charge removing means for removing static electricity generated on the superposed side surface of the image receiving material and dust attached to the superposed side surface of the image receiving material are provided in the image receiving material conveying system. A heat-developing transfer device in which a photosensitive material and an image receiving material superimposed on the subsequent stage of the overlapping portion are heated and pressed to develop the latent image and transfer the latent image to the image receiving material. Department Provided, heat development image forming apparatus further comprising a stripping portion for stripping the photosensitive material and the image receiving material from each other after heat development transfer.