JPH02210349A - Image forming solvent applying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make the image forming solvent application quantity constant and to suppress an uneven image by specifying rubber hardness of a squeeze roller and roughness of the surface. CONSTITUTION:Rubber hardness of a squeeze roller 176 is set to <=40 deg., and roughness of the surface is set to <=about 10mu ten point average roughness R2. As a result, the squeeze roller 176 comes to have a proper amount of deformation and smoothness at the time of scraping an image forming solvent, and this squeeze roller 176 inserts and holds smoothly and equally the surface of a recording material A, and can scrape uniformly the image forming solvent. In such a way, the image forming solvent distribution of the recording material A becomes uniform, the image forming solvent application quantity becomes constant and the image formation can be executed satisfactorily.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an image forming solvent coating apparatus (hereinafter referred to as coating apparatus) for coating an image recording material with an image forming solvent.

[Conventional technology]

Examples of image recording materials include photothermographic materials. Regarding this heat-developable photosensitive material and its process, please refer to the Basic Non-Silver Salt Photography Edition of Photographic Engineering (published by Corona Publishing, 1982).
Pages 242-255 of , published in April 1978, Video Information 4
0 pages, Neblett's Handbook of Photography
photography and reprography
y) 7th Ed, Van Nostrand
Reinhold Company (νan No5tran
d Re1nhold Company) 32-33
It is written on the page.

Furthermore, many methods have been proposed for obtaining color images by heat development.

For example, releasing a mobile dye in an image-like manner by heating,
A method of transferring this mobile dye to a dye fixing material with a mordant using a solvent such as water, a method of transferring it to a dye fixing material using a high boiling point organic solvent, a method of transferring this mobile dye to a dye fixing material using a hydrophilic thermal solvent incorporated in the dye fixing material A method in which the mobile dye is heat-diffusible or sublimable and is transferred to a dye-receiving material such as a support has been proposed. (U.S. Patent No. 4,463.079, U.S. Patent No. 4.474°867
No. 4.478,927, No. 4.507.38
No. 0, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 58-149046, 5g-1490
No. 47, No. 59-152440, No. 59-15444
No. 5, No. 59-165054, No. 59-180548
No. 59-168439, No. 59-174832, No. 59-174833, No. 59-174834,
59-174835, etc.) As an apparatus for carrying out this type of image forming method, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 59-75247, an exposure head is used in an exposure section to produce a thermally developable photosensitive image. After exposing a color image to the photothermographic material 1, an image forming solvent such as water is applied to the photothermographic material 1, and this is sent to a heat development section, where an image receiving material is brought into close contact with the photothermographic material after heat development. An image recording apparatus has been proposed in which the image is sent to a transfer section and the image is thermally transferred onto an image receiving material at the transfer section.

Then, as a coating device for applying the image forming solvent, for example, the recording material is conveyed while being immersed in the image forming solvent stored in a water tank, the recording material is held between a pair of squeeze rollers, and the recording material is swollen. Some devices are designed to scrape off excess image forming solvent.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

Swelling of the image forming solvent into the recording material is for promoting image transfer and good color development. However, if the amount of scraping by the above-mentioned squeeze roller is small, the amount of image forming solvent applied to the recording material is too large, and misalignment occurs when the image receiving material and recording material are overlaid, resulting in transfer misalignment or dark Problems such as concentration not appearing occur.

Further, if the amount of scraping by the squeeze roller is uneven, it will cause image unevenness.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and to provide a coating device that can suppress image unevenness while maintaining a constant coating amount of an image forming solvent.

[Means and effects for solving the problems] The above object of the present invention is to convey a recording material while immersing it in an image forming solvent controlled at a desired temperature by a heater, and transfer the swollen recording material to a pair of images. An image forming solvent coating device that scrapes excess image forming solvent by being held between squeeze rollers, wherein the squeeze roller has a rubber hardness of approximately 40° or less,
The roughness of the squeeze roller surface is ten point average roughness R2=10
This is achieved by an image forming solvent coating device having a coating thickness of approximately μ or less.

That is, as mentioned above, the rubber hardness of the squeeze roller is 40".
By setting the surface roughness to below about 10-point average roughness R2-10μ, the squeeze roller will have appropriate deformation and smoothness when scraping the image forming solvent.
This squeeze roller can grip the surface of the recording material smoothly and evenly, scraping off the image forming solvent evenly,
The image forming solvent distribution on the surface of the recording material becomes uniform, and the applied amount of the image forming solvent becomes constant.

The above-mentioned image forming solvent includes, for example, water, and this water is not limited to so-called pure water, but includes water in the widely customary sense, and furthermore, pure water, methanol, D
A mixed solvent with a low boiling point solvent such as MF, acetone, or diisobutyl ketone may be used. Alternatively, a solution containing an image formation accelerator, an antifoggant, a development stopper, a hydrophilic heat solvent, etc. may be used.

[Embodiment]

Next, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In describing the embodiments, in order to facilitate understanding of the invention, the structure and operation of the entire image recording apparatus to which the coating device is applied will be explained, and then the main parts will be explained.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an image recording apparatus equipped with a coating device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In this embodiment, the photosensitive material is of a type that requires a heat development step and in which an image is transferred to an image-receiving material having an image-receiving layer in the presence of an image-forming solvent such as water.

Inside the housing 12 constituting the image recording device, there is a photosensitive material supply section 13 that stores the photosensitive material A, an image reading section 15 that reads image information carried on the document S, and a latent image forming part on the photosensitive material. an exposure section 16 for applying water to the photosensitive material A, a water application section 17 that applies water to the photosensitive material A, an image receiving paper supply section 41 that stores the image receiving paper C, a superimposing section 19 that superimposes the image receiving paper C on the photosensitive material sheet. A heat development transfer section 21 that performs heat treatment on the photosensitive material A and the image receiving paper C, and a peeling section 23 that separates the image receiving paper C from the photosensitive material A are provided, respectively.

A transparent document support glass plate 14 on which a document S is placed is disposed on the upper surface of the housing 12, and the image reading section 15 is disposed below the document support glass plate I4.

That is, the image reading unit 15 scans the entire surface of the original support glass plate 14 in the same direction by the light source 18, the mirror 20a1, and the assembly 30 of the imaging lens/filter unit, and the light source 18, etc. by 2 of the scanning distance. Mirror 2 moving to
0b, 20C and fixed mirrors 20d, 20e, 20f
These are surrounded by a partition wall 22 and optically isolated from other parts. However, in this case, the image reading unit 1 reflected by the fixed mirror 2Of is attached to the partition wall 22.
Exposure 1 of the photosensitive material A is applied to the portion through which the optical axis 32 of No. 5 passes.
An exposure aperture [34 related to m16 is defined, and a shutter device 35 right and a shutter control device 36 are arranged in the exposure aperture 34.

Further, a standard white plate 302 is provided near the original support glass plate 14 so as to be exposed to the light source 18 .

On the other hand, the photosensitive material supply 1iIB13 is connected to the housing 12.
It is located on the left side of the interior and is kept light-tight. This photosensitive material supply section 13 is loaded with a removable photosensitive material magazine 54 in which photosensitive material A is wound.

The photosensitive material supply section 13 has roller pairs 56a to 56d for conveying the photosensitive material from the magazine 54 to the exposure section 16. In this case, roller pair 56a.

A cutter 58 for cutting the photosensitive material A into predetermined lengths is provided between the cutters 56b. Also, a pair of rollers 56c.

The exposure table 60 disposed between 56d and 56d is connected to the exposure opening 3 defined at the bottom of the partition wall 22 surrounding the image reading n15.
4.

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.) is provided with a conveyance path consisting of a pair of rollers 56e and a guide plate.

The exposure section 16 applies image ms light to the photosensitive material A to form a latent image, and the photosensitive material A on which the latent image is formed is conveyed to the water coating aB 17 via the conveyance path.

The water application section 17 is for facilitating the transfer of the latent image formed on the photosensitive material, and the water application section 17 will be described later in FIGS.
Squeeze roller pair 176, guide plate 172 and water tank 17
It consists of 4 etc. Then, the water tl 174 is filled with water, and the photosensitive material A is transported while being immersed in the water.

The photosensitive material A coated with water is squeezed by a pair of squeeze rollers 176.
It is conveyed to the overlapping section 19 by.

On the other hand, on the right side of the housing 12, a receiving paper supply section 41 for supplying the receiving paper C is provided. The image receiving paper supply section 4
1 is a receiving paper magazine 43 that stores rolled receiving paper C;
is loaded. The image receiving paper C in the magazine 43 is transferred to the roller pair 5.
6h, and cut into a predetermined length by a cover 44 disposed in front of the roller pair 5[3h.

The cut image-receiving paper C is conveyed to the overlapping section 19 by a pair of rollers 56i.

In front of the overlapping part 19, the overlapping photosensitive materials A
A heating development transfer section 21 is provided which heats the image receiving paper C, develops the latent image on the photosensitive material A, and transfers it onto the image receiving paper C.

The heat development transfer section 21 is surrounded by a heat-insulating partition wall 62, and is wound around a hollow cylindrical heating drum 74 containing a halogen lamp 72 at an angle of about 270 degrees around the outer peripheral surface of the heating drum 74. Four belt support rollers 76, 7? , an endless belt 84 supported by 78°80, and carrying photosensitive material A and receiver paper C.
Heat them while stacking them on top of each other. By this heating, the latent image on the photosensitive material A is developed and transferred onto the image receiving paper C to develop color.

A peeling member U23 is provided in the partition wall 62, and the peeling unit 23 includes a first peeling claw 232 for peeling the photosensitive material from the image receiving paper C, and a first peeling claw 232 for peeling the image receiving paper C from the heating drum 74. It consists of two peeling claws 234 and a roller 56j that discharges the image receiving paper C to the outside of the partition wall 62.

In front of one side of the heat development transfer section 21, there is a waste tray 118 for discarding the heated photosensitive material A peeled from the image receiving paper C by a peeling claw 232, and a pair of rollers for throwing the photosensitive material A into the waste tray 118. 56k is provided. The waste tray 118 is provided below the heat development transfer section 21 . Further, in front of the other side of the heat development transfer section 21, there is a take-out tray 120 that accommodates the heated image receiving paper C, and a pair of rollers 56j' and 56m that conveys the heated image-receiving paper C to the take-out tray 120.
, 56n are provided, and the image-receiving paper C on which the image has been transferred is delivered to the take-out tray 120.

Further, a color density detection unit 124 for detecting the color density of the image on the image receiving paper C is arranged between the pair of rollers 56m and 56n. 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.

The apparatus further includes a color density control unit (1) connected to the imaging lens/filter unit assembly 30 and the photosensor 128 and disposed at a suitable location within the housing 12.
50, the color density control unit 150, the photosensitive material supply section 13, the image reading section 15, the drive system of the image reading section 15 (not shown), the receiving paper supply section 41, the cutter 44, 58, the shutter control device 36, A system control device (not shown) is provided which is connected to the water application section 17, the heat development transfer section 21, and the peeling section 23 and controls the entire apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the water application section 17.

The water application unit 17 includes a container 174 that is a water tank containing water, an upper guide member 172 that guides the photosensitive material into the water, and
The guide member 172 and the first bottom part 1 which is part of the container 174
74a, a pair of rollers 56'' for transporting the photosensitive material A between the
and a pair of squeeze rollers 176 for scraping off excess water from the swollen photosensitive material coated with water.

The guide member 172 has a shape that maintains a constant predetermined interval from the first bottom portion 174a to form a conveyance path for the photosensitive material A.

The container 174 has the above-mentioned first bottom 174a and second bottom 174.
It is composed of b.

The photosensitive material A guided to the first bottom portion 174a faces the squeeze roller pair 176, and the second bottom portion 174b, which is a part of the container 174 below the squeeze roller pair 176, is squeezed from the photosensitive material A by the squeeze roller pair 176. It becomes a receptacle for the collected water.

A water supply pipe 168 is attached to the first bottom portion 174a, and a pump 164 supplies water from the tank 166 to the water supply port 160a as needed.

The first bottom portion 174a and the second bottom portion 174b are connected by a bypass pipe 160, and the water level at both bottom portions is the same. In the second bottom part 174b, on the opposite side of the first bottom part 174a, there is a partition 16 having the same height as the boundary part 175 between the first bottom part 174a and the second bottom part 174b.
5a, and excess water is discharged into a tank 166 from an overflow pipe 165 attached to this. A discharge pipe 169 is connected to the solenoid valve 1 from the bypass pipe 160.
It is connected to the overflow pipe 165 through 67 to drain water from the container 174.

The first bottom portion 174a has a cylindrical partial surface shape, bulges downward in the direction of gravity, and its axis is perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the photosensitive material A. Several ribs 175 are provided on this inner surface along the conveying direction of the photosensitive material A. At the center part of the first bottom part 174a, an aluminum plate 190 is waterproofed by a packing 192 and fixed with screws.
Holes are open in parts other than 5, and water is in contact with the aluminum plate 190. A heater 194 is disposed below the aluminum plate 190, and at least the first bottom portion 17
4a and the guide member 172 are made of a material with low thermal conductivity such as resin.

The applicant conducted the following experiments regarding the properties of the squeeze roller pair 176 material.

FIG. 3 is a graph in which the amount of water applied versus the nip force of the squeeze roller pair 176 is measured using roller pairs with different surface roughnesses.

FIG. 4 is a graph in which the amount of water applied to the squeeze roller pair 176 relative to the rubber hardness is measured using roller pairs with different surface roughnesses.

Figure 3 shows the surface roughness (3
, 2S), the variation in the amount of water applied with respect to the change in nip force is extremely small. Furthermore, the surface roughness is clearly affected by changes in the nip force, and even if the nip force is increased, the amount of water applied will not be the same as the surface roughness.

Here, the fact that the variation in the amount of water applied with respect to changes in the nip force is small means that the variation in the amount of water applied is small even if the nip force changes over time and the nip force set at the time of manufacturing varies. This means that the amount of water applied to the photosensitive material can be easily adjusted by adjusting the immersion time in 174a.

As described above, the variation in the water application amount with respect to the change in the nip force becomes small when the surface roughness is (RZ=approximately 10 μm or less).

On the other hand, the amount of water applied is also related to the rubber hardness, and Figure 4 shows that the variation in the amount of water applied becomes smaller for a pair of squeeze rollers with surface roughness (about 3.2S) and rubber hardness of approximately 40 degrees or less. This means that there is no unnecessary residual moisture, which can prevent uneven water application.

As a result of considering the above, the properties of the squeeze roller counter material are such that the rubber hardness is approximately 40° or less and the surface roughness is approximately 10-point average roughness R2 = approximately 10μ or less as measured by a universal surface profile measuring device. In terms of properties, the rubber hardness is approximately 30.
The surface roughness is about 10-point average roughness R2=9μ or less.

Moreover, by adopting such properties, the nip force can be reduced, and deformation of the squeeze roller pair during driving is reduced, so that the driving resistance is reduced and the load on the driving system is reduced. Furthermore, the durability of the squeeze roller pair is also improved.

In the above embodiment, the squeeze roller 176 is preferably made of silicone rubber, but it may also be made of, for example, resin.

Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments,
It may also be an apparatus that applies an imaging solvent to an image-receiving material.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, the properties of the squeeze roller counter material are that the rubber hardness is approximately 40 degrees or less, and the surface roughness is measured with a universal surface profile measuring device to have a ten-point average roughness Rz = 10μ.
By controlling the temperature to be less than 100%, the squeeze roller can grip the surface of the recording material smoothly and evenly, scrape off the image forming solvent uniformly, and the distribution of the image forming solvent on the surface of the recording material becomes uniform. Good image formation can be achieved with a constant coating amount of forming solvent.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image recording apparatus equipped with a coating device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a coating section, and FIG. 3 is a graph showing the amount of water applied relative to the nip force. FIG. 4 is a graph showing the amount of water applied versus rubber hardness. Code in the figure: lO image recording device m! 1.2 Housing 1
3 Photosensitive material recording section 14 Document support glass plate 1
5 Image reading section 17 Water application section 18 Light source 19 Overlapping section 21 Heat development transfer section 23 Peeling section 30 Imaging lens/filter unit assembly 32 Optical axis 36
Shutter control device 41/image receiving paper supply section 43-
Image receiving paper magazine 44, 58 Cutter 54
Sensitive material magazine 56a-56n roller pair 60, iXX
Photon 72 Halogen lamp 74 Heating drum 76
, 7? , 78.110 Belt support roller 84
Endless belt 118 Waste tray 120 Take-out tray 126 - Lighting device 124 - Color density detection unit 128... Color photo sensor 150 - Color density control unit 160 Bypass pipe 160a Water supply port 16
4 Pump 165a Partition 165...
Overflow pipe 166... Tank 167 ・Solenoid valve 16
8 ・Supply pipe 169 Discharge pipe 172
Guide plate 173 Hole 174 Container
174a First bottom part 174b Second bottom part
175 Rib 176 Squeeze roller 19
0 Aluminum plate 192/Packing 194
Heaters 232, 234 Peeling claw 302...White plate A Photosensitive material C-Receiving paper

Claims (1)

[Claims] For image formation, a recording material is conveyed while being immersed in an image forming solvent whose temperature is controlled to a desired temperature by a heater, and the swollen recording material is held between a pair of squeeze rollers to scrape off excess image forming solvent. A solvent coating device for image formation, wherein the squeeze roller has a rubber hardness of about 40° or less, and the squeeze roller surface has a roughness of about 10 μm or less, which is a ten-point average roughness R_2.