JPH01306850A - Heat development transfer device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To uniformly and surely superpose a photosensitive material and image receiving material and to form a good-quality image having no unequalness by providing a photosensitive material guide means to the lower side of the route for transporting the photosensitive material between a squeeze roller and a sticking roller. CONSTITUTION:A guide plate 53 as the photosensitive material guide means is disposed to the lower side of the route for transporting the photosensitive material 16 between the sticking roller 52 and the squeeze roller 37 of a water coating part. This guide plate 53 is so formed as to prevent the sagging photosensitive material 16 from coming into contact with the image receiving material 48 positioned on the upper stream side of the sticking roller 52 in the transport direction even if the rear end part of the material 16 sags after passage along the roller 37. The photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving material 48 are uniformly and surely superposed on each other in this way and the good- quality image having no unequalness is formed.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Field of Application 1] The present invention involves wrapping a photosensitive material and an image-receiving material in a superimposed state around the outer periphery of a heating drum, and thermally developing the photosensitive material while rotating the heating drum. The present invention also relates to a thermal development transfer device that transfers an image to an image-receiving material.

[Prior Art] A thermal development transfer device is known in which a photosensitive material to which an image has been exposed and an image-receiving material are overlapped and heated, whereby the image is transferred to the image-receiving material $4 to obtain an image.

Some thermal development transfer devices of this type include a heating drum and a bonding roller that presses against the outer periphery of the heating drum. After exposure, the photosensitive material coated with an image forming solvent such as water is laminated via a squeeze roller and conveyed to a seventh roller, where it is superimposed on the image-receiving charge by this laminating roller. .

The superimposed photosensitive material and image-receiving material are wound around the outer periphery of a heating drum in their superimposed state, and are conveyed while being held by a pressing means such as an endless pressure belt, and are heated at this time and the photosensitive material is developed. At the same time, the image is transferred to the image-receiving material.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Conventional thermal development transfer devices have a bonding roller that overlaps the photosensitive material and the image-receiving material, and a roller that removes excess image forming solvent applied to the photosensitive material and removes the excess image forming solvent applied to the photosensitive material and removes the excess image forming solvent applied to the photosensitive material. Since the squeeze roller that supplies the photosensitive material to the bonding roller is placed apart from the squeeze roller, the rear end of the photosensitive material hangs down when the squeeze roller is separated from the squeeze roller. There is a problem in that the photosensitive material comes into contact with the image-receiving material in a wavy manner before being superimposed on the image-receiving material, and as a result, the photo-sensitive material is not evenly superimposed on the image-receiving material, resulting in image unevenness.

On the other hand, since the image-receiving material was configured to move along the outer periphery of the heating drum only by its own rigidity and be supplied to the bonding roller, wrinkles were generated when it was superimposed on the photosensitive material, causing the image There was also the problem that unevenness could occur. This tendency was particularly noticeable at the leading end of the image-receiving material.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above facts, and an object of the present invention is to provide a thermal development transfer device that can uniformly and reliably overlap a photosensitive material and an image-receiving material, thereby forming a uniform and high-quality image. It is.

[Means for Solving the Problems 1] The thermal development transfer device according to the present invention conveys a photosensitive material coated with an image forming solvent via a squeeze roller, and heats the photosensitive material coated with image-receiving feed by a bonding roller. A thermal development transfer device that is wound around the outer circumference of a tram and performs thermal development and transfer while rotating this heating drum, and is disposed between the squeeze roller and the bonding roller and below one general feeding path of the photosensitive material. The photosensitive material guiding means prevents the photosensitive material from coming into contact with the image receiving material located upstream of the bonding roller in the conveying direction.

Further, a pressing guide means is provided upstream of the bonding roller in the image receiving material conveying direction for guiding the image receiving material to the bonding roller while pressing the image receiving material against the outer periphery of the heating drum.

[Operation 1] In the thermal development transfer device having the above configuration, the photosensitive material coated with the image forming solvent is conveyed by the squeeze roller and supplied to the bonding roller.

In this case, since the photosensitive material guiding means is disposed between the squeeze roller and the bonding roller and below the conveyance path of the photosensitive material, the photosensitive material is guided by the photosensitive material guiding means and moves.

Therefore, even if the rear end of the photosensitive material hangs down after passing through the squeeze roller, the image-receiving material located upstream of the bonding roller in the conveying direction (that is, before it is overlapped with the photosensitive material 1) The photosensitive material does not come into contact with the material (6) and is fed to the bonding roller.

On the other hand, the image-receiving material is supplied to the bonding roller while being pressure-guided to the outer periphery of the heating drum by a pressure guide means disposed upstream of the bonding roller in the image-receiving material conveying direction. Therefore, the image-receiving feed is supplied to the pasting roller in a uniform state with wrinkles and the like forcibly stretched out.

The photosensitive material and image-receiving material supplied to the bonding roller are uniformly overlapped by the bonding roller, and
The power is wrapped around the outer circumference of the heat tram while still stacked on top of each other.

The photosensitive material is heated and thermally developed while being overlapped with the image-receiving material on the outer periphery of the heating drum, and an image is transferred to the image-receiving material.

In this case, since the photosensitive material and the image-receiving material are reliably and uniformly superimposed, an even and high-quality image can be obtained.

The photosensitive material used in the present invention basically has a photosensitive silver halide, a binder, a dye-donating compound, and a reducing agent (the dye-donating compound may also serve as a reducing agent) on a support. Furthermore, organic silver salts and other additives may be contained as necessary.

The above-mentioned photosensitive material may be one that gives a negative image upon exposure, or one that gives a positive image.

There are two methods for producing a positive image: a direct positive emulsion as a silver halide emulsion (a method using a nucleating agent, and a method using a light fogging method).
A method using a dye-donating compound that emits a positively diffusible dye image can be adopted.

In the present invention, this diffusible dye is transferred to an image receiving material having a dye fixing layer, and this transfer is performed simultaneously with thermal development.

There are various methods for transferring diffusible dyes, such as transferring to a dye fixing layer using an aqueous solvent such as water, transferring to a dye fixing layer using a high boiling point organic solvent, and transferring to a dye fixing layer using a hydrophilic thermal solvent. There have been proposed methods for transferring the dye to a dye-fixing layer having a dye-receiving polymer by utilizing the thermal diffusivity or the folding property of the diffusible dye, and the present invention may be applied to any of these methods.

Listed below are documents that specifically describe photosensitive materials and image-receiving materials that can be used in the present invention. U.S. Patent No. 4.463,0
No. 79, No. 4,474,867, No. 4,478,
No. 927 1. Same No. 4,507゜380, Same No. 4,50
No. 0.626, No. 4゜483.914, JP-A-58
-149046, 5B-149047, 59-
No. 152440, No. 59-154445, No. 59-1
No. 65054, No. 59-180548, No. 59-16
No. 8439, No. 59-174832, No. 59-174
No. 833, No. 59-174834, No. 59-1748
No. 35, No. 61-65038, No. 61-23245, European Patent Publication No. 210,660A2, No. 220,7.
16A2 etc.

[Example] FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration diagram of an image recording apparatus IO to which a thermal development transfer device according to the present invention is applied.

A window material magazine 14 is arranged on the machine stand 12 of the image recording apparatus IO, and a photosensitive material 16 is wound up into a roll and stored therein. The photosensitive material 16 has a photosensitive silver halide, a binder, a dye-donating substance, and a reducing agent on a support.

A cutter 18 is arranged near the photosensitive material magazine 14, and is adapted to cut the photosensitive material 16 pulled out from the window material magazine 14 into a predetermined length. The cut photosensitive material 16 is conveyed to an exposure section 20.

An exposure device 22 is provided directly above the exposure section 20.

The exposure device 22 includes a light source 14, a plurality of mirrors 26a, 2
6b and the lens unit 28 are arranged, and furthermore, a mounting plate 30 is provided on the upper part of the machine stand 12 above these parts. The light source 14 and the plurality of mirrors 26a are movable along the mounting plate 30, and scan and expose the image of the original 32 placed a on the mounting plate 30 onto the photosensitive material 16 located in the exposure section 20. It looks like this.

A reversing roller 34 is arranged on the side of the exposure section 20, and a water application section 36 is further arranged on the side of the reversing roller 34. Photosensitive material 1 with an image exposed in the exposure section 20
6 is reversed and conveyed by a reversing roller 34, and is coated with water as an image forming solvent by a water coating section 36.

A squeeze roller 37 is disposed in the water application section 36, and a thermal development transfer device, which is a thermal development transfer device, is installed on the side of the squeeze roller 37, which removes excess water applied to the photosensitive material 16. A transfer section 38 is arranged. Heat development transfer section 38
is composed of a heating drum 40 and an endless pressure belt 42, and a halogen lamp 44 is further disposed within the heating drum 40.

The surface of the heating drum 40 is coated with Teflon, and the heating drum 40 is heated at approximately 90° by a halogen lamp 44.
It is heated to C.

Further, the endless pressure welding belt 42 is made of aromatic polyamide fiber (for example, Kevlar or Nomex; both are duP).
It has a structure in which a heat-resistant material such as (registered trademark of Ont Inc.) is coated with carbon-containing silicone rubber, and has electrical conductivity.

On the other hand, a receiving material magazine 46 is arranged on the machine base 12 on the opposite side of the window material magazine 14, and an image receiving material 48 is wound up into a roll and stored therein. The image forming surface of the image receiving material 48 is coated with a dye fixing material having a mordant.

A cutter 50 is also arranged near this receiving material magazine 46, and the image receiving material 4 pulled out from the receiving material magazine 46 is cutter 50.
8 to a predetermined length. The cut image receiving material 48 is conveyed to the thermal development transfer section 38.

As shown in FIG. 1, a bonding roller 52 is located near the heating drum 40 on the upstream side of the endless pressure belt 42 in the material supply direction.
is located. The laminating roller 52 overlaps the transported photosensitive material 16 and image-receiving material 48, presses them against the outer periphery of the heating drum 40, and guides them to between the heating drum 40 and the endless pressure belt 42 in the overlapping state. supply.

Between the bonding roller 52 and the squeeze roller 37 of the water application section 36 and below the conveyance path of the photosensitive material 16, a guy 1 plate 53 is arranged as photosensitive material guide means. Even if the rear end of the photosensitive material 16 hangs down after passing through the squeeze roller 37, the guide plate 53 is positioned upstream of the bonding roller 52 in the conveying direction (that is, before being overlapped with the photosensitive material 16). This is to prevent the hanging photosensitive material 16 from coming into contact with the image receiving material 48 ( ). Therefore, the photosensitive material that has passed through the squeeze roller 37 is reliably supplied to the bonding roller 52.

On the other hand, below the guide plate 53, that is, the bonding roller 5
A leaf spring 54 serving as a pressure guide means is arranged on the upstream side in the conveying direction of the second image receiving material 48 . The leaf spring 54 is a metal plate having a predetermined elasticity, and its tip end is pressed onto the outer periphery of the heating drum 40 .

Therefore, the image receiving material 48 being conveyed is guided to the bonding roller 52 while being pressed against the outer periphery of the heating drum 40 .

The photosensitive material $416 on which the image has been exposed is overlapped with the image-receiving material 48 by the bonding roller 52 and wound around the heating drum 40.
2 over approximately 2/3 of the circumference of the heating drum 4o, and is thermally developed.

Further, the photosensitive material 16 is transferred to the image receiving material 4 in the thermal development transfer section 38 (between the heating drum 40 and the endless pressure belt 42).
When heated in a superimposed state with 8, a mobile dye is released, and at the same time, this dye is transferred to the dye fixed layer of the image-receiving material 48 to obtain an image.

In this case, since the endless pressure contact belt 42 is electrically conductive, generation of static electricity due to friction between the heating drum 4o and the endless pressure contact heald 42 or the photosensitive material 16 or the image receiving material 48 is prevented.

A peeling claw 56 is arranged below the heating drum 40 on the downstream side of the endless pressure belt 42 in the material supply direction. Further, a peeling roller 58 is disposed between the peeling claw 56 and the endless pressure contact heald 42.

The tip of the peeling claw 56 is normally in contact with the heating drum 40, and when the photosensitive material 16 is conveyed, it engages with the tip of the photosensitive material 16 and removes the photosensitive material 16 from the heating drum 40. The photosensitive material 1 is peeled off from the outer periphery of the photosensitive material 1 and separated from the image receiving material 48, and then the peeling roller 58 transfers it to the heating drum 40.
6, the peeling claw 56 wraps the peeled photosensitive material 16 around it and bends it downward.

The separated photosensitive material 16 is sent to a waste photosensitive material storage box 60 provided below the heating drum 40.

On the other hand, a peeling roller 62 and a peeling pawl 64 are arranged above the peeling pawl 56 and near the heating drum 40, and peel the image receiving material 48, which is separated from the photosensitive material 16 and moves together with the heating tram 40, from the outer periphery of the heating drum 40. It looks like this. The image receiving material 48 peeled off from the outer periphery of the heating drum 40 is collected on a tray 66.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

When the photosensitive material 16 pulled out from the photosensitive material magazine 14 is cut by the cutter 18 and conveyed to the exposure section 20, the exposure device 22 is activated to remove the original 3 placed on the placement plate 30.
2 images are scanned and exposed onto the photosensitive material 16 located in the exposure section 20.

After the exposure, the photosensitive material 16 is reversed by a reversing roller 34 and sent to the final stage, and water is applied as an image forming solvent by a water coating section 36. After excess water is removed by a squeeze roller 37, it is thermally developed. It will be sent to the transcription department on the 3rd.

On the other hand, the image receiving material 48 is also pulled out from the receiving material magazine 46 and cut into a predetermined length by the cutter 50, and then sent to the thermal development transfer section 38, overlapping with the photosensitive material 16.

In the thermal development transfer section 38, a bonding roller 5 is installed near the heating drum 40 on the upstream side of the endless pressure contact heald 42 in the material supply direction.
2 is arranged, and the photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving material 48 are supplied to this bonding roller 52.

In this case, since a guide plate 53 is disposed between the squeeze roller 37 of the water application section 36 and the bonding roller 52 and below the conveyance path of the photosensitive material 16, the photosensitive material 16 is Move under the guidance of. Therefore, if the rear end of the photosensitive material 16 is
Even if the photosensitive material 16 hangs down after passing through, the photosensitive material 16 will not come into contact with the image receiving material 48 located upstream of the bonding roller 52 in the conveyance direction (that is, before it is overlapped with the photosensitive material 16). It is reliably supplied to the bonding roller 52.

On the other hand, the image receiving material 48 is supplied to the bonding roller 52 while being pressed and guided to the outer periphery of the heating drum 40 by a leaf spring 54 disposed upstream of the bonding roller 52 in the image receiving material conveying direction. Therefore, the image receiving material 48 is supplied to the bonding roller 52 in a uniform state with wrinkles etc. forcibly stretched out.

The photosensitive material 16 and the image-receiving material supplied to the laminating roller 52 are uniformly overlapped by the laminating roller 52, and are guided between the heating drum 40 and the endless pressure belt 42 in the overlapping state. Supplied.

When the photosensitive material 16 is heated in a state in which it is overlapped with the image receiving material 48 in the thermal development transfer section 38 (between the heating track 40 and the endless pressure belt 42), it releases a VJ-sensitive dye, and this dye is transferred to the dye fixing layer of the image receiving + A material 48 to obtain an image.

In this case, since the photosensitive material 16 and the image-receiving material 48 are uniformly and reliably superimposed, an even and high-quality image can be obtained.

In addition, since the endless pressure welding heald 42 has conductivity,
Generation of static electricity due to friction between the heating drum 40 and the endless pressure contact heald 42 or the photosensitive material 16 or the image receiving material 48 is prevented, and the image obtained on the image receiving material 48 is prevented from fogging.

When the photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving material 48 are sandwiched and conveyed and reach the lower part of the heating tram 40, the peeling claw 56 engages with the tip of the photosensitive material 16 and peels the photosensitive material 16 from the outer periphery of the heating drum 40, and the image receiving material 48 and peeling roller 5
8 presses the photosensitive material 16 onto the heating drum 40, wraps the photosensitive material 16 in a peeled state with the peeling claw 56, and bends and guides it downward.

The separated photosensitive material 16 is sent to a waste photosensitive material storage box 60 provided below the heating drum 40.

On the other hand, the image receiving material 48, which is separated from the photosensitive material 16 and moves together with the heating drum 40, is separated from the photosensitive material 16 by a peeling roller 62 and a peeling claw 64.
The tray 6 is peeled off from the outer periphery of the heating drum 40 by
6.

In this embodiment, the leaf spring 54 is made of a metal plate, but is not limited to this, and may be made of other materials having a predetermined elasticity, such as rubber or resin.

Further, in this embodiment, the guide plate 53 and the leaf spring 5
Although the configuration is such that both the springs 4 and 54 are provided, the present invention is not limited to this, and only the temporary spring 54 may be provided as the photosensitive material guide means and the press guide means. In this case, the number of parts is reduced and the structure becomes even simpler.

[Effect of the Invention 1] As explained above, the thermal development transfer device according to the present invention can uniformly and reliably overlay a photosensitive material and an image-receiving material, thereby forming a high-quality image without unevenness. It has excellent effects.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing the configuration of a bonding roller, a guide plate, and a leaf spring, and FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image recording apparatus to which a thermal development transfer device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Image recording device, 16... Photosensitive material, 37... Squeeze roller, 38... Thermal development transfer section, 40... Heating drum, 42... Endless pressure contact belt, 48... Image receiving material, 52... Pasting Ll-La, 53... 1 guide, 54... Temporary spring.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) The photosensitive material coated with an image-forming solvent is conveyed via a squeeze roller, and wrapped around the outer circumference of a heating drum while being overlapped with an image-receiving material by a bonding roller, and thermally developed while rotating this heating drum. A thermal development transfer device that transfers photosensitive material to an image receiving material located between the squeeze roller and the bonding roller and below the conveyance path of the photosensitive material and upstream of the bonding roller in the conveyance direction. 1. A thermal development transfer device characterized by comprising a photosensitive material guide means for preventing the materials from coming into contact with each other. (2) A thermal development and transfer device in which a photosensitive material is conveyed, superimposed on an image receiving material by a bonding roller, and wound around the outer periphery of a heating drum, and thermal development and transfer are performed while the heating drum is rotated; A thermal development transfer device characterized in that a pressure guide means is provided on the upstream side of the bonding roller in the image receiving material conveying direction for guiding the image receiving material to the bonding roller while pressing the image receiving material against the outer periphery of the heating drum.