JPH0259746A - Picture recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate the jamming of photosensitive materials in an accumulating section so that the materials can be accumulated smoothly by providing an air blowing means which blows air on the photosensitive materials separated from image receiving materials for drying the materials. CONSTITUTION:A heat development photosensitive material 16 put between and carried by carrying rollers 66 is moved under the guidance of a guide plate 68 and sent to rollers 70 with skirt. While the photosensitive material 16 is wet because water is applied to the material 16 when the material 16 passes through a water applying section, air is directly blown on the material 16 moved under the guidance of the guide plate 68 from an air blowing port 90A by means of a cross fan 90 provided just above the guide plate 68 and the material 16 is fed to the rollers 70 while it is forcibly dried. Therefore, even when the material 16 is brought into contact with a previously accumulated photosensitive material 16, no strong frictional force is produced between the materials 16. Thus the heat development photosensitive material 16 fed by the rollers 70 smoothly slides in an abandoned tray 86 and is successively put on the previously accumulated material 16 without jamming.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus that overlaps a photosensitive material and an image-receiving material, transfers an image recorded on the photosensitive material to the image-receiving material, and obtains an image on the image-receiving material. .

[Prior Art] A heat-developable photosensitive material is used as the above-mentioned photosensitive material, and the photothermally-developable material on which the image has been exposed is superimposed on an image-receiving material and heated to be thermally developed, and the exposed image is transferred to the image-receiving material. Image recording devices that obtain images on image-receiving materials are known.

In this type of image recording device, the photothermographic material on which the image has been exposed is coated with water as an image-forming solvent, and then superimposed on the image-receiving material and sent to the thermal development transfer section, where the photothermographic material is exposed to light. Development and transfer processing is performed.

Separation means such as a separation arm is arranged near the heat development transfer section, and the heat development photosensitive t material after heat development transfer is separated from the image receiving material by this separation arm. Further, the separated photothermographic material is conveyed by a conveyor belt and is collected in a waste box (waste tray) disposed at the lowest end of the apparatus.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Incidentally, since the photothermographic material separated from the image-receiving material is discarded as is, it is naturally preferable that the transport path of the photothermographic material to the disposal box after separation is shorter. , the device can also be downsized.

However, in this case, since the photothermographic material is coated with water as an image forming solvent as described above, if the transport path leading to the waste box after separation is short, the photothermographic material may not be sufficiently dried before being sent to the waste box. become.

Therefore, when the photothermographic material that is sent later comes into contact with the paper surface of the photothermographic material that has been accumulated earlier in the waste box, a large frictional force acts and the material does not slide smoothly. Clogged developing photosensitive material (
There is a problem in that so-called "jam" occurs, and the separated heat-developable photosensitive materials cannot be smoothly accumulated one after another.

Further, due to this clogging, the apparent volume of the photothermographic material to be accumulated increases, and there is also the problem that the actual amount that can be accumulated in the waste box decreases.

In consideration of the above facts, the present invention is an image recording device that can reliably transport the photosensitive material separated from the image-receiving material after the image has been transferred and accumulate it in a small space without causing any clogging. The purpose is to obtain.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The image recording apparatus according to the present invention overlaps a photosensitive material and an image-receiving material, transfers an image recorded on the photosensitive material to the image-receiving material, and further separates the photosensitive material and the image-receiving material by a separating means. An image recording apparatus that sequentially stacks the photosensitive material separated from the image-receiving material by sliding it onto the paper surface of the photosensitive material already stacked in a stacking section, wherein the photosensitive material separated from the image-receiving material is A blowing means is provided for blowing air onto the photosensitive material to dry it.

[Function] In the image recording apparatus having the above configuration, the photosensitive material after thermal development transfer is separated from the image receiving material by the separation means, and the separated photosensitive material is further conveyed and accumulated in the accumulation section.

In this case, since the photosensitive material after separation is forcibly dried by air being blown by the air blowing means, even if the photosensitive material sent to the stacking section comes into contact with the paper surface of the photosensitive material that has been stacked first, the frictional force does not work much. Therefore, the photosensitive materials slide smoothly within the stacking section and are stacked one after another without clogging (so-called jamming).

Therefore, the apparent volume does not increase when stacked, and the space in the stacking section can be used effectively, making it possible to downsize.

In the present invention, the photosensitive material may be any material as long as an image obtained by imagewise exposure can be transferred as a visible image onto an image-receiving material.

Examples include color diffusion transfer photosensitive materials, heat-developable photosensitive materials, and photosensitive pressure-sensitive materials. Regarding the above heat-developable photosensitive materials, US Pat. .626 issue,
4,483.914, 4,740,445, JP-A-58-149046, JP-A-58-149047
No. 59-152440, No. 59-154445, No. 59-165054, No. 59-180548,
No. 59-168439, No. 59-174832, No. 59-174833, No. 59-1748.34, No. 59-174835, No. 62-65038, No. 6'
No. 2-253159, No. 62-173463, No. 62
-183457, European Patent Publication No. 210,660A2, European Patent Publication No. 220.746A2, etc.

Regarding photosensitive and pressure sensitive materials, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-1798
No. 36, No. 61-275742, No. 61-27884
No. 9, No. 62-209444, etc.

f Example] An image recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 4 shows an image recording apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the image recording apparatus 10, a magazine 14 is housed in a machine base 12, and a roll-shaped photothermographic material 16 is housed therein. The photothermographic material 16 is pulled out from its outer periphery, cut into a predetermined length by a cutter 18, and then wound around the outer periphery of a rotating drum 20. An exposure head 22 is disposed corresponding to the outer periphery of the rotating drum 20, and rotates the rotating drum 20 in the direction of arrow A to expose an image onto the wound photothermographic material 16.

The exposed heat-developable photosensitive material 16 is peeled off from the rotating drum 20 by the scraper 24 by rotating the rotating drum 20 in the reverse direction.
After water is applied as an image forming solvent in the water application section 26 , it is sent to the thermal development transfer section 28 .

On the other hand, the uppermost layer of the plurality of image receiving materials 32 accommodated in the tray 30 is sent to the thermal development transfer section 28 .

The thermal development transfer section 28 includes a pair of transport rollers 3 that are in pressure contact with each other.
4.36.38 are arranged at equal intervals. A motor (not shown) is connected to these transport roller pairs 34, 36, 38, which transmits driving force and receives rotational force.
6 and the image receiving material 32 are sandwiched and conveyed in a superimposed state.

A heater 40 is arranged on the outer periphery of each conveyance roller. For this reason, the heat-developable photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving material 32, which are sandwiched and conveyed by each pair of conveyance rollers, are heated and pressed together by heat transfer via the respective conveyance rollers.

A separation section 42 is arranged downstream of the thermal development transfer section 28 . As shown in FIG.
and a plurality of tension rollers 53 are arranged.

An endless belt 54 is wound around the rollers 44 and 48, and an endless belt 56 is wound around the rollers 46, 50, and 52. A portion of the endless belt 56 between the rollers 46 and 50 comes into contact with a portion of the endless belt 54 between the rollers 44 and 48, forming an image-receiving material conveyance path 58.

A separation arm 60 serving as separation means is arranged near the roller 44 and the roller 46, and a separation arm 60 is arranged near the roller 44 and the roller 46.
The heat-developable photosensitive material 16 and the image-receiving material 32 that are sent out from the photothermographic material 16 are separated. For this reason, separation arm 6
The image-receiving material 32 separated by the image-receiving material 32 is conveyed while being held between an endless belt 54 and an endless belt 56 (in an image-receiving material conveying path 58).

A heater 62 is disposed inside the endless belt 54 in correspondence with the image receiving material conveying path 58, and is designed to dry the image receiving material 32 being conveyed. The image receiving material $132 after drying is transferred to a take-out tray 6 formed at the top of the machine base 12.
4 It is designed to be sent upward.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, directly below the separation arm 60, a pair of conveyance rollers 66 that come into contact with each other are arranged, and the photothermographic material 16 separated by the separation arm 60 is pinched and conveyed. It is supposed to be done.

An arc-shaped guide plate 68 is arranged directly below the conveyance roller 66, and a stiffening roller 70 is further arranged near the tip of the guide plate 68. For this reason, the conveyance roller 6
The heat-developable photosensitive material 16 sandwiched and conveyed by the rollers 6 is guided by a guide plate 68 and sent to a stiffening roller 70.

The waisted roller 70 includes a plurality of male rollers 72 and a female roller 74.
and axes 76.78. Axis 76.
Reference numeral 78 is connected to a drive source (not shown), whereby the male roller 72 and the female roller 74 rotate under the driving force to sandwich and convey the photothermographic material 16.

The outer periphery of the female roller 74 is knurled so that it can securely hold the photothermographic material 16.

A protrusion 80 with a rectangular cross section is formed on the outer periphery of the male roller 72, and a recess 82 with a rectangular cross section is formed on the outer periphery of the female roller 74, so that they fit into each other. There is. Therefore, the male roller 72 and the female roller 74
At this time, the heat-developable photosensitive material 16 is sandwiched and conveyed between the photothermographic material 16 so that a bead having a U-shaped cross section along the conveyance direction is formed by the convex portions 80 and the concave portions 82 .

Guide plate 68 between conveyance roller 66 and waisted roller 70
A crossflow fan 90 serving as a ventilation means is arranged directly above the airflow fan 90 .

This cross flow fan 90 sucks air by rotating an impeller and blows it from the air outlet 90A. They are arranged parallel to the width direction of the heat-developable photosensitive material 16 that is fed into the photothermographic material 16 . For this reason, air is blown uniformly and directly across the paper surface of the photothermographic material 16 in the width direction to dry it.

A pair of presser bars 84 are rotatably attached to the shaft 78 of the waisted roller 70 (female roller 74), and always hang downward due to its own weight.

A waste tray 86 as a collection section is arranged on the side of the waist roller 70, and can receive and accumulate the photothermographic material 16 sent out from the clamping section of the waist roller 70. There is. In this case, the accumulated photothermographic material 16 is pressed against a presser bar 84 attached to the shaft 78.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

When the photothermographic material 16 pulled out from the magazine 14 is cut by the cutter 18 and wound around the outer periphery of the rotating drum 20, the rotating drum 20 rotates at high speed and an image is exposed by the exposure head 22.

After exposure, the photothermographic material 16 is peeled off by a scraper 24, coated with water by a water coating section 26, and sent to a thermal development transfer section 28.

On the other hand, the image receiving material 32 in the tray 30 is sent from its uppermost layer to the heat development transfer section 28 and brought into close contact with the heat development photosensitive material.

The heat-developable photosensitive material 16 and the image-receiving material 32 after being brought into close contact with each other are sandwiched and transported by a pair of rotating transport rollers 34, 36, and 38. In the process of nipping and conveying by the pair of conveying rollers 34, 36, 38, heat is transferred from the heater 40 to the photothermographic material 16 and the image receiving material 32 through each pair of conveying rollers, and they are bonded under heat and pressure. The heat-developable photosensitive material 16 is thermally developed, and the recorded image is transferred to the image-receiving material 32 to obtain an image on the image-receiving material 32.

After transfer, the heat-developable photosensitive material 16 and the image-receiving material 32 are separated into the separating section 4.
Sent to 2. In the separating section 42 , the photothermographic material 16 and the image receiving material 32 that have been fed are separated from each other by a separating arm 60 .

The image-receiving material 32 separated by the separation arm 60 is conveyed while being held between the endless belt 54 and the endless belt 56 (in the image-receiving material conveyance path 58), and furthermore, at this time, the image-receiving material is conveyed into the endless shape of the endless belt 54. The machine base 1 is dried while being dried by a heater 62 disposed corresponding to the passage 58.
2 onto a take-out tray 64 formed at the top of the tray.

On the other hand, the photothermographic material 16 separated by the separation arm 60 is pinched and conveyed by a pair of conveyance rollers 66 arranged directly below the separation arm 60 .

The photothermographic material 16 sandwiched and conveyed by the conveyance rollers 66 moves while being guided by a guide plate 68 disposed directly below the conveyance rollers 66 , and is sent to the stiffening rollers 70 .

Here, the heat-developable photosensitive material 16 is moistened by applying water in the water application section 26, but since the cross flow fan 90 is disposed directly above the guide plate 68, it is guided by the guide plate 68 and moves. The heat-developable photosensitive material 16 is exposed to the air outlet 90A.
Air is blown directly from the wafer, and the wafer is sent to the stiffening roller 70 while being forcibly dried. In this case, cross flow fan 9
The axis of the photothermographic material 16 is arranged parallel to the width direction of the photothermographic material 16 which is pinched and conveyed by the conveyance rollers 66, guided by the guide plate 68, and sent to the waist roller 70. is blown evenly in the width direction and dried.

In the buckled roller 70, a male roller 72 and a female roller 74 rotate under driving force to nip and convey the photothermographic material 16. In this case, since the outer periphery of the female roller 74 is knurled, the photothermographic material 16 is reliably held and conveyed.

Furthermore, here, a convex portion 80 is formed on the outer periphery of the male roller 72, and a recessed portion 82 is formed on the outer periphery of the female roller 74, so that the male roller 72 is configured to fit into each other. At this time, the heat-developable photosensitive material 16 sandwiched and conveyed between the convex portion 80 and the concave portion 82
A bead having a U-shaped cross section along the conveyance direction is formed by this.

Therefore, the rigidity of the heat-developable photosensitive material 16 that has passed through the stiffening roller 70 is increased by the beads.

In this case, irregular undulations may occur in the heat-developable photosensitive material 16 upstream of the waisted roller 70 due to the formation of beads, but since they are securely held by the conveyance roller 66, This corrugation is not transmitted to the upstream side of the conveyance roller 66 and does not adversely affect the conveyance of the photothermographic material 16.

The heat-developable photosensitive material 16 sent out from the clamping portion of the stiffening roller 70 is accumulated on a waste tray 86 . The heat-developable photosensitive material 16 accumulated on the waste tray 86 is pressed and held by the presser bar 84 .

In this case, since the heat-developable photosensitive material 16 to be accumulated has already been blown and dried by the cross-flow fan 90, the heat-developable photosensitive material 16 sent to the waste tray 86 is replaced by the previously accumulated photothermographic material 16. Even when it comes into contact with the surface of the paper, there is no significant frictional force. Therefore, the heat-developable photosensitive material 16 sent out from the clamping portion of the elastic roller 70 slides smoothly within the waste tray 86, causing clogging (
They are accumulated one after another without causing so-called jams.

Further, since beads are formed on the heat-developable photosensitive materials 16 to increase their rigidity, they are regularly stacked and stacked. Therefore, the apparent volume does not increase when stacked, and the space of the waste tray 86 can be used effectively, making it possible to downsize. Further, since the stacked photothermographic material 16 is pressed and held by the presser bar 84, curling does not occur again over time.

In this way, even if the conveyance path for the separated heat-developable photosensitive material 16 to the waste tray 86 is shortened and the apparatus is downsized, the heat-developable photosensitive material 1 accumulated on the waste tray 86 is
Beads are formed in 6 to increase its rigidity, and since it is dried by the cross-flow fan 90, clogging (so-called jam) does not occur, and it can be accumulated in a small space without waste.

In this embodiment, the cross-flow fan 90 as a blowing means is disposed directly above the guide plate 68 between the conveyance roller 66 and the roller with IJW 70, but the present invention is not limited to this. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the photothermographic material 16 is placed immediately after the conveyance path and is directly blown to dry the photothermographic material 16 accumulated in the waste tray 86.

Further, the blowing means is not limited to a cross-flow fan, but may be other types of fans such as a centrifugal fan or an axial fan.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the cross flow fan 90
Although the configuration is such that the outside air is simply blown into the apparatus, the hot air generated by the heater 40 of the heat development transfer section 28 or the heater 62 of the separation section 42 is introduced through the duct to blow the heat developable photosensitive material. It is also possible to have a configuration in which air is blown to 16 for drying. In this case, drying can be performed even more reliably. Furthermore, a separate dedicated heater may be provided to blow air.

Further, in this embodiment, the cross-flow fan 90 itself as a blowing means is arranged near the transport path of the photothermographic material 16, but the arrangement is not limited to this, and the blowing means may be arranged at other positions. , and only the air outlet may be arranged near the transport path of the photothermographic material 16 to blow air. In this case, the conveyance path for the separated photothermographic material 16 to reach the waste tray 86 can be further shortened and made compact.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the image recording apparatus according to the present invention reliably transports the photosensitive material separated from the image-receiving material after the image has been transferred, and wastes it in a small space without causing clogging. It has the excellent effect of being able to be integrated without any problems.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a cross-flow fan and its peripheral parts of an image recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the cross-flow fan and its peripheral parts, and FIG. 3 is a cross-flow fan and its peripheral parts. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the fan and its peripheral parts, and is a schematic configuration diagram of the image recording apparatus. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Image recording device, 16... Photothermographic material, 32... Image receiving material, 42... Separation part, 60... Separation arm, 66... Conveyance roller, 68... Guide Board, 70... Roller with waist, 86... Waste tray, 90... Cross flow fan, 90A... Ventilation port.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) The photosensitive material and the image-receiving material are superimposed, the image recorded on the photosensitive material is transferred to the image-receiving material, and the photosensitive material and the image-receiving material are separated by a separating means, and then the photosensitive material separated from the image-receiving material is separated from the image-receiving material. An image recording device that sequentially stacks photosensitive materials that have already been stacked in a stacking section while sliding them onto the paper surface, and is provided with an air blower that blows air onto the photosensitive materials after they have been separated from the image receiving material to dry them. Features of the image recording device.