JPH01227155A - Image recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To expose an image on photosensitive material without using a shutter or a shutter controller and to form a latent image by constituting a photosensitive material supplying part to a single light-shielding unit, forming a slit-shaped photosensitive material supplying port on the unit, providing a pair of carrying rollers inside the supplying port, and shielding the unit. CONSTITUTION:The photosensitive material supplying part 13 housing the photosensitive material A which is not exposed yet, is constituted as the single light- shielding unit. Thus unit has the slit-shaped photosensitive material supplying port, and is provided with a pair of carrying rollers, which shield the unit from light and simultaneously wait while pinching the photosensitive material A. The photosensitive material A is awaited in front of an exposing part and carried out in response to the incident of light forming a latent image. Thereby, eliminating the need for shutter and the shutter controller, the material A is thus not unexpectedly exposed before normally by an optical axis 32. Thus, a fine image exposure is performed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an image forming process in which a sheet-like photosensitive material is superimposed on an image-receiving material in advance, and an image on the photosensitive material is transferred to the image-receiving material to obtain an image ( The present invention relates to an image recording device, and more particularly, to the configuration of a photosensitive material supply section that supplies photosensitive material to an exposure section.

[Conventional technology]

A novel photosensitive material that has high photosensitivity and can obtain high quality images through simple dry processing is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-27884 filed by the present applicant.
It is disclosed in Publication No. 9.

In this light-sensitive material, at least photosensitive silver halogenide, a reducing agent, a polymerizable compound, and a color image-forming substance are coated on a support, and at least the polymerizable compound and color image-forming substance are coated on the same microorganism. It consists of a photosensitive composition encapsulated in a capsule.

Regarding an image recording device that records images using this photosensitive material, the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-27 filed by the present applicant
It is disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 8849.

This single-image recording device first performs imagewise exposure to form a latent image, then develops it by heating, and polymerizes the polymerizable compound in the area where the latent image exists to generate a high molecular compound. Harden the microcapsules. Next, an image-receiving material having an image-receiving layer to which the color image-forming substance can be transferred is stacked and pressurized to rupture at least a portion of the microcapsules in areas where no latent image exists, thereby transferring the color image-forming substance to the image-receiving material. An image is obtained on an image-receiving material by transfer.

The photosensitive material exposure section includes, for example, a pair of rollers that transports the photosensitive material supplied from the photosensitive material supply section, an exposure table that supports the photosensitive material at an exposure position, and a roller pair that supplies and irradiates the photosensitive material on the exposure table. It consists of a shutter that controls shutoff and a shutter control device that controls the operation of the shutter. Then, in order to speed up image recording, the photosensitive material is transported onto the exposure table and waits for light to be incident thereon.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

The shank and shutter control device are provided to allow the light to enter the exposure section when performing exposure to form a latent image, and to block the incidence of light when no exposure is performed. . Therefore, if no shutter is provided,
Since the photosensitive material is waiting on the exposure table, undesirable exposure is performed over a wide range, making it impossible to record a good image.

However, since the shutter frequently enters and blocks light, it requires not only mechanical strength but also precision machining. Further, processing and installation of the shutter require high precision. Furthermore, a shutter control device is also required, making the structure of the exposure section complicated and difficult to assemble.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and to provide an image recording apparatus that eliminates the need for a shutter and a shutter control device.

[Means and effects for solving the problems] The above object of the present invention is to obtain an image by overlapping a sheet-like photosensitive material with an image-receiving material in advance and transferring an image on the photosensitive material to the image-receiving material. In the recording device, a photosensitive material supply section storing the photosensitive material before exposure is configured as a single light shielding unit, and the unit has a slit-shaped photosensitive material supply port,
This is achieved by an image recording apparatus characterized in that a pair of transport rollers is provided inside the unit to shield the supply port from light and stand by while sandwiching the photosensitive material.

That is, by configuring the photosensitive material supply section as a light shielding unit, making the photosensitive material wait in front of the exposure section, and transporting the photosensitive material in accordance with the incidence of light that forms a latent image, exposure can be performed without using a shutter. A latent image can be formed.

In the present invention, the photosensitive material may be in any sheet form.

For example, there are so-called photothermographic materials in which an image obtained by thermal development is transferred to an image-receiving material by heating. This photosensitive material is one in which a mobile dye is released imagewise by heating, and the mobile dye is transferred to an image receiving material (dye fixing material) having a mordant using a solvent such as water; Transfer to the image-receiving material is performed using a high-boiling organic solvent, transfer is performed to the image-receiving material using a hydrophilic thermal solvent built into the image-receiving material, or the mobile dye is heat-diffusible or sublimable and the support is There are known methods that transfer to dye-receiving materials such as bodies, etc., and specifically, U.S. Pat.
4.478,927, 4.507.380, 4.500.626, 4,483,914
No., JP-A-58-149046, JP-A No. 58-14904
No. 7, No. 59-152440, No. 59-154445
No. 59-165054, No. 59-180548, No. 59-168439, No. 59-174832,
It is disclosed in No. 59-174833, No. 59-174834, No. 59-174835, etc.

Another example is a so-called photosensitive pressure-sensitive material in which a visible image is obtained by transferring an image generated by imagewise exposure to an image-receiving material having an image-receiving layer by pressure. Examples of this photosensitive and pressure sensitive material include, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
There is a type disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-179836 in which a polymerizable compound is imagewise cured by imagewise exposure, and then it is overlapped with an image receiving material and pressure is applied to obtain a visible image. This photosensitive and pressure sensitive material has a synthetic polymer resin wall capsule containing a vinyl compound, a photopolymerization initiator, and a colorant precursor supported on a support.

Another example is a type in which a latent image generated by imagewise exposure is subjected to preliminary heat development or wet development, and then the image-receiving material is overlapped with pressure to obtain a visible image. Examples of such materials include Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 1983-1999 filed by the present applicant.
There is one disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 278849. This material is used to transfer a color image-forming substance to an image-receiving material having an image-receiving layer after thermal development to obtain an image on the image-receiving material.
At least a photosensitive silver halide, a reducing agent, a polymerizable compound, and a color image-forming substance are coated on a support, and at least the polymerizable compound and the color image-forming substance are encapsulated in the same microcapsule. It is.

[Implementation @]

Next, preferred embodiments of the image recording apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an image recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the photosensitive material is a photosensitive and pressure-sensitive material that requires a heat development process and that transfers an image to an image-receiving material having an image-receiving layer.

As shown in FIG. 1, the image recording apparatus 1 includes an optical system unit 2 having an image reading section 15 for reading image information carried on a document S, a photosensitive material supply section 13 containing a photosensitive material A, and a photosensitive material supply section 13 containing a photosensitive material A; an exposure section 16 that forms a latent image on A;
Thermal development section I7 heat-processes the photosensitive material A, and superimposes the image receiving paper C on the photosensitive material A!
919, a recording having a pressure transfer section 21 that presses photosensitive material A and image receiving paper C, a peeling section 23 that peels image receiving paper C from photosensitive material A, and a post-heating section 25 that performs heat treatment on image receiving paper C. It consists of a unit 3, and an optical system unit 2 is removably placed on a housing 12.

A transparent document support glass plate 14 on which a document S is placed is arranged on the upper surface of the housing 4 of the optical system unit 2. Below this document support glass plate 14, the image reading unit 15 is placed.
is placed. That is, the image reading unit 15 includes a light source 18 and a mirror 2 that integrally scan the front surface of the document supporting glass plate 14.
0a, an assembly 30 of an imaging lens/filter unit whose details will be described later, and mirrors 20b, 20c that move in the same direction by the scanning distance of the light source 18, etc., and fixed mirrors 20d, 20e, and 2Of. .

And the above-mentioned imaging lens/filter unit assembly 3
0 and mirrors 20d to 2Of are provided in a dark box 5 and optically shielded from other parts. Note that the light reflected by the mirror 20C enters the dark box 5 through the opening 6 formed in the dark box 5 and the glass plate 7.

On the other hand, the photosensitive material supply section 13 is provided on the left side of the housing I2 and is kept light-tight. A removable photosensitive material magazine 54 wound with photosensitive material A is loaded into this photosensitive material supply section I3.

The photosensitive material supply B13 includes first to fortieth pairs 56a that transport the photosensitive material A from the magazine 54 to the exposure section 16.
, 56d. In this case, a cutter 58 for cutting the photosensitive material A into predetermined lengths is disposed between the first and twentieth pairs 56a and 56b. Furthermore, a paper dust box 200 is provided below the cutter 58 to collect minute paper dust generated when cutting the photosensitive material A. Further, the exposure table 60 disposed between the third and fortieth pairs 56c and 56d faces the exposure opening 34 defined at the bottom of the dark box 5. A light shielding plate 201 is provided near the exposure opening 34 along the optical axis 32, and the photosensitive material supply section 13 is configured as a light shielding unit to prevent light from leaking to the left in FIG. It is designed to prevent Therefore, the photosensitive material A is not accidentally exposed before being properly exposed by the optical axis 32, and good imagewise exposure is performed.

A slit facing the exposure section 16 is formed in the light shielding plate 201, and a 30th pair 56c is arranged to prevent light from entering the unit through this slit. During non-exposure, the photosensitive material A is held between the 30th pair 56C and is on standby.

With the start of image recording, the photosensitive material A that has been waiting is transported onto the exposure table 60 in synchronization with the timing at which the reflected light from the lamp 18, which has been activated by the lamp control device 300, enters the exposure table 60.

When the unit of the photosensitive material supply section 13 is pulled out from the housing 12, the tip of the photosensitive material A held between the 30th pair 56C is exposed to light. However, since the leading edge of the photosensitive material A is placed in front of the image receiving paper C when it is later superimposed on the image receiving paper C, the image obtained on the image receiving paper C is not affected. Similarly, the pinching marks caused by the 30th pair 56c do not affect the image.

An opening 210 is formed in the upper part of the partition wall 22, and the opening 210 is covered by a lid 212 that is locked by locking tools 211a and 211b.

Therefore, when the unit of the supply section 13 is pulled out, cleaning of the roller pairs 56a to 56c, inspection of the cutter 58, etc. can be easily performed.

A heat developing section 17 surrounded by a heat-insulating partition wall 62 is disposed in front of the exposure section 16 (hereinafter, "front" refers to the downstream side with respect to the traveling direction of the photosensitive material, etc.). The photosensitive material A is carried into the heating and developing section 17 via an exposure table 60 via an endless belt 68 and a guide member 70, which are hung around a preheating roller 66a1 and a guide roller 66b. The heat developing section 17 includes a halogen lamp 7
2, and four belt support rollers 76.7 on the outer periphery of this heating drum 74.
It includes an endless belt 84 supported by and in sliding contact with 8, 80, 82, and conveys the photosensitive material A in a heated state by sandwiching it.

The photosensitive material A carried out from the heat developing section 17 is placed on the guide plate 8.
6 and is conveyed to the overlapping section 19 via the 50th pair 56e. The overlapping portion 19 has a Y-shaped guide plate 88, and this Y-shaped guide plate 88
- the first carry-in path 88a close to the pair 56e;
- A second carry-in path 88b close to the pair 56f and the first and second carry-in paths 88a, 88b merge to form a 70-
It is composed of an ejection path 88c adjacent to the pair 56g.

On the other hand, a cassette 90 for storing image-receiving paper C is loaded on the right side of the housing 12. In this case, a paper feeding roller 92 is disposed at the top of the cassette 90, and the image receiving paper C is transferred to the 80th-ra pair 56 by this paper feeding roller 92.
Y-shaped guide plate 88 from the 60th pair 56f through h
is supplied to the second carry-in path 88b. In addition, housing 1
2, a manual feed port 94 is defined in the upper part of the cassette 90, and it is also possible to supply the image receiving paper C from this manual feed port 94 to the second carry-in path 88b via the 90th pair 56i. be.

In the overlapping section 19, the photosensitive material A is overlaid 15 to 18 meters ahead of the image receiving paper C.

A pressure unit including a pressure transfer section 21 and a peeling B23 is disposed in front of the 70th pair 56g. This pressure unit includes a pair of pressure rollers 98° 100 that are rotationally driven by a rotational drive source (not shown) and the pressure roller 9
8. Backup rollers 102 and 104 are provided to equalize the pressing force of lO,0 in the axial direction.

On the other hand, a blade 106 is disposed between the 70th roller pair 56g and the pressure roller 98 and is rotatably supported on a support plate (not shown). The other end of the blade 106 is pulled by a spring 108 so that one end comes into sliding contact with the pressure roller 98 .

A peeling section 23 is provided in front of the pressure transfer section 21 . The peeling section 23 includes a tenth roller pair 56J and a cough roller pair 56J.
The peeling claw 112 swings downstream of and peels off the photosensitive material A conveyed after pressure transfer from the image receiving paper C.

In addition, in front of the 10th roller pair 56, there are first and second discharge paths 116 formed into a substantially A-shape by a guide plate.
a, 116b are arranged.

The first unloading path 116a includes a 110th pair 56, a 120th pair 56m1, a 130th pair 56n, and a 140th pair 56m.
The photosensitive material A cut into a desired length by the canter 203 is placed into the waste box 118.

In addition, in front of the second unloading path 116b, there is a 150-ra pair 5
6β, a post-heating section 25 is arranged in series, and is configured to heat the image receiving paper C by heat generated from a halogen lamp 206 provided in the nip roller pair 205 to promote color development of the transferred image.

A color density detection unit 124 for detecting the color density of the image on the image receiving paper C is arranged in front of the post-heating section 25.

The color density detection unit 124 includes an illumination device 126 that illuminates the image surface of the image receiving paper C, and a color photosensor 128 that receives reflected light from the image receiving paper C due to this illumination.

In front of the color density detection unit 7) 124, the 160th-
The la pair 56r and the 170th la pair 56s are arranged in series, and are configured to eject the image receiving paper C into the ejection tray 206.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, the photosensitive material supply section is configured as a single light-shielding unit, a slit-shaped photosensitive material supply port is formed in the unit, and a pair of conveying rollers is provided inside the supply port to shield the unit from light. Therefore, the photosensitive material can be imagewise exposed to form a latent image without using a shunter or shutter control device.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an image recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Codes in the figure: 1 Image recording device 2 Optical system unit 4 Housing 5 Dark box 6 Opening 7 Glass plate
12 Housing 13 Photosensitive material supply section 14 Document support glass plate 15 Image reading section 17
Heat development section 18 Light source 19 Overlapping section 21 Pressure transfer section 23 Peeling section
25 Post-heating section 30 Imaging lens/filter unit assembly 32 Optical axis 56 a to 56 S-t: I-LA pair 58 Cutter 72 Halogen lamp 66a Preheating roller 72 Halogen lamp 74 Heating drum 76.
78, 80.82 Belt support roller 84 Endless belt 87 Guide plate 8 g -, -Y-shaped guide plate 90 Cassette 92 Paper feed roller 98.100 Pressure roller 102.104 Backup roller 206 Ejection tray 201 Shielding plate 210 Opening Parts 211a, 211b Locking tool 212 Lid body 300 Lamp control device

Claims (1)

[Claims] In an image recording apparatus that obtains an image by overlapping a sheet-like photosensitive material in advance of an image-receiving material and transferring the image on the photosensitive material to the image-receiving material, the photosensitive material supply section that stores the photosensitive material before exposure is a single unit. The unit is configured as a light shielding unit, the unit has a slit-shaped photosensitive material supply port, and a pair of transport rollers are provided inside the unit to shield the supply port from light and stand by while sandwiching the photosensitive material. Features of the image recording device.