JPH0572702A - Image recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain an image recorder whose cost can be reduced and simultaneously, which can easily adjust the carrying speed of an image recording material in proper accordance with desired carrying conditions. CONSTITUTION:A sensitive material is carried by a carrying system whose driving source is a sensitive material feeding motor 406, and an image receiving material is carried by the carrying system whose driving source is an image receiving material carrying motor 418. On the other hand, a water coating part is driven by a driving system whose driving source is a water coating motor 412, and further, a thermal developing/transferring part is driven by the driving system whose driving source is a drum motor 426. Since each driving system is independently composed, such that, each driving system can be independently controlled without using an expensive clutch. Therefore, the fine adjustment of the carrying speed, superimposing timing, etc., of the sensitive and image receiving materials, can be individually executed, and they can be carried by properly corresponding to the desired conditions. Moreover, the cost can be reduced, as well.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus for performing image recording processing using two kinds of image recording materials.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An image recording apparatus is known which performs an image recording process using two kinds of image recording materials, for example, a photosensitive material and an image receiving material.

In this type of image recording apparatus, the light-sensitive material and the image-receiving material are housed in roll-shaped magazines each having a light-shielding interior, and are sequentially drawn out each time an image recording process is performed. used. Further, the image recording apparatus is provided with a water coating section for coating the image forming solvent on the photosensitive material, and further, from a heating drum and an endless pressure welding belt which is in pressure contact with the outer circumference of the heating drum and rotates together with the heating drum. The heat development transfer section is arranged.

The photosensitive material, which has been pulled out from the magazine by a predetermined size and cut, is exposed with an image while being nipped and conveyed by conveying rollers, and further, water as an image forming solvent is applied in the water application section, and then the heat development transfer section. Sent to. On the other hand, like the photosensitive material, the image receiving material is pulled out from the magazine by a predetermined size and cut, and is fed to the thermal development transfer section in synchronization with the photosensitive material by the conveying roller. In the heat-development transfer section, the light-sensitive material coated with water is superposed on the image-receiving material, and in this state, the light-sensitive material is closely wound around the outer periphery of the heating drum. Further, both materials are sandwiched and conveyed between the heating drum and the endless pressure contact belt, the photosensitive material is thermally developed, an image is transferred to the image receiving material, and a predetermined image is formed (recorded) on the image receiving material. is there.

[0005]

By the way, in such a conventional image recording apparatus, a conveying roller or a heating drum for conveying a photosensitive material or an image receiving material is connected to a single drive motor through a plurality of clutches. It was connected and the driving force of the drive motor was transmitted via each clutch and operated. That is, the clutch is turned on / off to convey the image receiving material in synchronism with the conveyance of the photosensitive material, and the conveyance is precisely controlled so that both materials are superposed at a predetermined timing and wound around the heating drum. As a result, a good image without transfer deviation can be obtained.

However, the structure of the conventional transport drive system using such a large number of clutches requires a plurality of clutches which are relatively expensive in themselves, and thus has a drawback that the cost is increased as a whole. In addition, it is difficult to finely adjust the transport speed of each transport roller and the rotation speed of the heating drum, that is, the transport speed of the photosensitive material and the image receiving material and the timing of their superposition. Correspondingly, it was not easy to transport. In particular, in order to prevent the occurrence of wrinkles when the materials are nipped and conveyed by the conveyance rollers, it is necessary to provide a difference in rotational speed between the conveyance rollers and apply a back tension to the materials so that the material can be pulled freely. It is difficult to do this with the drive motors of.

In consideration of the above facts, the present invention makes it possible to reduce the cost, easily adjust the conveying speed of the image recording material, and convey the image recording material appropriately corresponding to desired conveying conditions. The purpose is to obtain a device.

[0008]

An image recording apparatus according to the present invention uses two kinds of image recording materials housed in different magazines, and conveys one of the image recording materials cut out by a predetermined size from the magazine. While imagewise exposing and applying the image forming solvent in the water application section, it is sent to the heat development transfer section, and the other image recording material that is cut out by a predetermined size from the magazine and cut is conveyed in synchronization with the one image recording material. In the image recording apparatus for performing image recording processing by closely adhering and superposing both image recording materials at the thermal development transfer section, the one image recording material is applied from the magazine with the water. Drive system for transporting the water coating section, a drive system for operating the water coating section, and a transport system for transporting the other image recording material from the magazine to the heat development transfer section. A drive system, is characterized in that said thermal development transfer section drive system for operating a was constructed independently with each other driving source for independently.

[0009]

In the image recording apparatus having the above-described structure, since the transport drive systems for the two types of image recording materials, the drive systems for the water coating section and the thermal development transfer section are independently configured, an expensive clutch is used. Instead, each drive system can be controlled independently. Therefore, it is possible to individually carry out delicate adjustments of the conveying speed of each material, the amount of back tension, the timing of superposition, and the like, and it is possible to easily convey the material appropriately corresponding to desired conveying conditions. further,
Since an expensive clutch is not used, the cost can be reduced.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a schematic block diagram of an image recording apparatus 10 according to the present invention. 2 and 3 are overall external views of the image recording apparatus 10. Further, FIG. 20 shows a schematic system diagram of the transport system of the image recording apparatus 10, and FIG. 21 shows a developed system diagram of the transport system corresponding to FIG.

The image recording apparatus 10 is formed in a box shape as a whole, and the machine base 12 is provided with front doors 13A, 13B, side doors 15A, 15B and a lower door 17. The inside of the machine base 12 can be exposed by opening each door. Note that each door is provided with a safety device by a so-called interlock mechanism (not shown) so that the power of a predetermined portion can be turned off at the same time when the door is opened.

A photosensitive material magazine 14 is arranged in a machine base 12 of the image recording apparatus 10, and a photosensitive material 16 is wound and stored in a roll shape. The widthwise dimension of the photosensitive material 16 is, for example, 310 mm. The photosensitive material 16 has a photosensitive silver halide, a binder, a dye-donating substance, and a reducing agent on a support, and its photosensitive (exposure) surface is wound toward the lower side of the apparatus.

As shown in detail in FIGS. 4 and 5, the photosensitive material magazine 14 is fixed to the body portion 14A having a length corresponding to the widthwise dimension of the photosensitive material 16 and both end portions of the body portion 14A. It is composed of a pair of side frame parts 14B and is housed in a housing part 200 provided in the machine base 12. A guide plate 202 for holding a magazine is arranged in the storage section 200. A pair of leaf springs 204 for pressing and holding the photosensitive material magazine 14 are attached to the guide plate 202. In addition, a protrusion 206 is provided on one end of the guide plate 202.
Is formed, and is adapted to enter into the through hole 208 of the housing portion 200. A nail latch 210 is attached to an end portion of the guide plate 202 opposite to the protrusion 206, and can be fitted into a locking hole 212 formed in a side wall of the housing portion 200. When the sensitive material magazine 14 is set in the accommodating portion 200 with the projection 206 entering the through hole 208 and the nail latch 210 fitted in the locking hole 212, the leaf spring 204 presses the sensitive material magazine 14 and the sensitive material magazine 14 is pressed. Magazine 14
Is held by the housing portion 200. In addition, the nail latch 210 is pulled out from the locking hole 212 to remove the guide plate 20.
By removing 2, the photosensitive material magazine 14 is moved slightly to the right side of the paper surface of FIG. 1, that is, in the longitudinal direction of the wound photosensitive material 16, and then the front side of the machine base 12 (front side of the paper surface of FIG. 1; It is possible to pull out in the width direction of the photosensitive material 16 and is pulled out when the photosensitive material 16 is jammed.

Further, the photosensitive material magazine 1 of the accommodating portion 200
An inner door 214 is arranged in the drawer portion of No. 4, and in the state where the sensitive material magazine 14 is accommodated in the accommodating portion 200, even if the front doors 13A and 13B of the machine base 12 are opened, the accommodating portion is External light does not enter the inside of 200, and the contained photosensitive material 16 is prevented from being inadvertently exposed to light.

Further, the accommodating portion 200 of the photosensitive material magazine 14
An optical sensor 400 (shown in FIG. 20 and FIG. 21) is arranged in the optical sensor, and is capable of detecting either one of the photosensitive material magazine 14 and a receiving material magazine 106 having a different length dimension described later. Prevents incorrect insertion.

A nipping roller 18 and a cutter 20 are arranged in the vicinity of the photosensitive material take-out port of the photosensitive material magazine 14, and the photosensitive material 16 can be cut out after pulling out the photosensitive material 16 from the photosensitive material magazine 14 for a predetermined length. The cutter 20 is, for example, a guillotine type cutter including a fixed blade and a movable blade, and has a configuration in which the movable blade is moved up and down by a rotating cam or the like to cut the photosensitive material 16 in mesh with the fixed blade. Here, FIG. 6 shows a schematic configuration diagram of a drive system for driving the cutter 20 (moving blade). That is, the drive shaft 220 of the cutter 20 is connected to the timing belt 22.
The gear 226 is connected to the gear 224 through the gear 224, and the gear 226 that rotates integrally with the gear 224 meshes with the gear 228. The gear 228 is coaxially connected to the gear 230 via two one-way clutches having a rotation characteristic of a forward rotation transmission characteristic and a rotation characteristic of a reverse rotation transmission characteristic, and further, a cutter motor 402 via a timing belt 232. Rotating shaft 234 (shown in FIGS. 20 and 21)
Is linked to. As a result, the cutter motor 402
The drive force is transmitted only when the rotary shaft 234 of the above-described positive rotation rotates, the drive shaft 220 rotates, and the cutter 20 operates. Further, the gear 228 provided via the two one-way clutches has an image receiving material 1 described in detail later.
The cutting cutter 112 of No. 08 is connected so that both the photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving material 108 can be cut by the single cutter motor 402.

On the other hand, the nip roller 18 is connected to a sensitive material feeding motor 406, which will be described later, via a sensitive material feeding clutch 404 (shown in FIG. 21), and is operated when the photosensitive material 16 is pulled out. Further, after the cutter 20 is actuated, the nip roller 18 is rotated in the reverse direction, and the nip roller 18 is attached to the photosensitive material 1.
The tip end of 6 is rewound to such an extent that it is slightly nipped.

A plurality of transport rollers 19, 21, 23, 24, 26, 29, 31, 33, 3 are provided on the side of the cutter 20.
5 and the guide plate 27 are arranged so that the photosensitive material 16 cut into a predetermined length can be conveyed to the exposure unit 22. Here, the plurality of transport rollers 19, 21, 2
3, 24, 26, 29, 31, 33, 35 and the guide plate 27 are arranged so as to circulate around the photosensitive material magazine 14, whereby the photosensitive material 16 after cutting is
Conveyor rollers 19, 21, 23, 24, 26, 29, 3
While being guided by the 1, 33, 35 and the guide plate 27, it is configured to move on a transport path that circulates around the photosensitive material magazine 14 in which it is housed (“shaped” transport path in a side view). ..

As shown in FIG. 21, the respective conveying rollers 19, 2 are
1, 23, 24, 26, 29, 31, 33 are connected to a sensitive material feeding motor 406.
06. In addition, as shown in FIGS. 20 and 21, the photosensitive material cut sensor 4 is provided on the side of the conveyance roller 21.
08 is arranged, and the photosensitive material 16 cut into a predetermined length can be detected.

An exposure unit 22 is arranged at a position directly above the photosensitive material magazine 14 on the way of the conveying path of the photosensitive material 16.
The exposure section 22 is located between the transport rollers 24 and 26, and an interval between these transport rollers is an exposure section (exposure point) so that the photosensitive material 16 can pass therethrough.

A photosensitive material standby sensor 410 is arranged beside the transport roller 24, and the photosensitive material 16 reaches the exposure point.
The tip of the can be detected. A guide plate 28 is arranged between the transport rollers 24 and 26, and an exposure surface glass 30 is provided above the transport path of the photosensitive material 16.
Is arranged, whereby the photosensitive material 16 becomes flat (while the deformation is corrected) between the two conveying rollers (exposure section).
Is supposed to pass through. The transport rollers 24,
The transport speed of the photosensitive material 16 by the transport roller 26 (passing speed of the exposure section) is, for example, 100 mm / sec.

The guide plate 28 and the exposure surface glass 30 serve as a mechanism for separating when the shell of the exposure unit 22 described later is opened, and the photosensitive material 16 conveyed is clogged (so-called jam).
If this happens, this can be easily resolved.

An exposure device 38 is provided directly above the exposure unit 22. A light source 40, a moving mirror 42A, a moving mirror 42B, a fixed mirror 44, a reflecting mirror 46, and a lens unit 48 are arranged in the exposure device 38. Further, above the parts above the machine base 12 made of glass. A document placing plate 50 is provided.

The light source 40 is a cylindrical halogen lamp (for example, power supply voltage 80V, 380W), and has an illuminance of about 5 × 10 ⁵ Lx on the document surface, for example. Further, the light amount distribution of the light source 40 (halogen lamp) is set to be slightly smaller at both ends in the axial direction than in the central part. This is to make the density distribution of the image uniform in correspondence with the temperature distribution of the heat development transfer unit 104 described later.

A plurality of lens units 48 (for example, 6
It is composed of a lens group of (sheets), and further incorporates a color adjustment filter (CC filter) (not shown). A movable diaphragm slit plate 52 is arranged on the rear side (fixed mirror 44) of the lens unit 48.

These light source 40, moving mirrors 42A, 4
2B and the lens unit 48 are movable along the document placing plate 50 by the amount of movement associated with the magnification change. The document 54 placed on the document placing plate 50 is irradiated with light and its reflected image light ( The image light) is scanned and exposed through the fixed mirror 44 onto the photosensitive material 16 located in the exposure section 22. In this case, the moving speed of the moving mirror 42B depends on the light source 40.
It is 1/2 of the moving speed of the moving mirror 42A.

The reflecting mirror 46 is the moving mirror 42 described above.
It is arranged so that it can enter or leave the optical path of the image light irradiated to the exposure unit 22 via the A, 42B and the fixed mirror 44. That is, normally, the moving mirrors 42A, 42B and the fixed mirror 4 are in a state of entering the optical path of the image light.
The light radiated via 4 is reflected in a substantially right-angled direction. On the other hand, when scanning and exposing the image of the document 54 onto the photosensitive material 16 located in the exposure section 22, the light is separated from the optical path. So that the image can be exposed. When the reflection mirror 46 enters the optical path of the image light, the reflected light enters the light detection sensor 56.

The light detecting sensor 56 is provided with a total of six photosensitive heads capable of detecting two kinds of wavelengths of blue, green and red respectively, and is further connected to a controller (not shown). The light detection sensor 56 measures the image density of the image of the original 54, and the exposure conditions of the color adjustment filter (CC filter) and the aperture slit plate 52 are set based on the measured value. ..

The exposure unit 22 having such a configuration is constructed as one unit as a whole and is attached to the machine base 12 so as to be openable by a hinge 58 (so-called clam shell type, see FIG. 3). Therefore, by opening the exposure unit 22, it is possible to easily perform an internal inspection and a so-called jam treatment when a paper jam occurs.

The "no" of the light-sensitive material 16 formed around the photosensitive material magazine 14 and passing below the photosensitive material magazine 14.
A water application unit 62 is arranged at the end of the letter-shaped transport path. The photosensitive material 16 on which the image is exposed by the exposure unit 22 is
After being circulated around the photosensitive material magazine 14 by the "-" shaped conveying path, it is conveyed by the conveying rollers 29, 31, 33, 35 and guided by the guide plate 27 to be fed to the water coating section 62. Here, the transport roller 35
A dust removing sheet is attached to the guide plate 36 on the side of (in front of the water applying portion 62) to remove dust attached to the photosensitive material 16.

As shown in detail in FIG. 7, a coating tank 64 is arranged in the water coating section 62. In addition, the coating tank 6
4, a pair of supply rollers 66 is arranged at the upstream end of the photosensitive material 16 in the conveying direction, and a pair of squeeze rollers 68 are arranged at the downstream end of the photosensitive material 16 in the conveying direction.

Supply roller 66 and squeeze roller 68
Are both silicon rubber rollers having an outer diameter of 20 mm, and the rubber hardness of the supply roller 66 is, for example, 60 ± 5 and the squeeze roller 68 is, for example, 40.
It is set to ± 5. In addition, a predetermined pressing force (for example, 1 kg) is applied to both ends of each roller in the longitudinal direction.

A guide plate 70 is attached above the coating tank 64 so as to face the coating tank 64. The guide plate 70 is made of a metal material such as aluminum, and the space between the guide plate 70 and the coating tank 64 is a passage for the photosensitive material 16. Therefore, when the coating tank 64 is filled with water, the supply roller 6
Water is applied to the photosensitive material 16 fed between the guide plate 70 and the application tank 64 by 6 and is further conveyed by being sandwiched and conveyed by the squeeze roller 68 to remove excess water.

In this case, the water coating length of the photosensitive material 16 between the guide plate 70 and the coating tank 64 (the length of passage of the photosensitive material 16 in water) is, for example, 70 mm. The immersion time is, for example, 3.5 seconds. Further, the photosensitive material 16 after the water coating process (that is, after passing through the squeeze roller 68) has 15 ± 1 gr / m 2.
² water is to be applied.

A photosensitive material speed sensor 74 is arranged in the vicinity of the upstream side of the supply roller 66 in the conveying direction of the photosensitive material 16, and the photosensitive material 16 conveyed from the reversing section 60 can be detected. As a result, the photosensitive material speed sensor 74 causes the reversing unit 60 to
When the photosensitive material 16 conveyed from is detected, the driving speed of the supply roller 66 and the squeeze roller 68 can be changed, so that the photosensitive material 16 can be conveyed at a low conveying speed.
0 is fed between the coating tank 64 and the coating tank 64, and is nipped and conveyed by the squeeze roller 68.

As shown in FIG. 7, a plurality of rows of ribs 76 are formed on the bottom surface of the coating tank 64, that is, the surface through which the photosensitive material 16 passes, so as to be inclined with respect to the conveying direction of the photosensitive material 16. It is possible to reduce the frictional resistance when passing between the guide plate 70 and the coating tank 64 and prevent the photosensitive material 16 from being scratched at a certain position. Further, the coating tank 64 includes a squeeze roller 6
Drainage port 90 communicating with the housing part of No. 8 and the overflow tank 9
An overflow port 94 and an auxiliary overflow port 95, which communicate with 2, are formed.

On the other hand, a through hole 72 is formed in the central portion of the guide plate 70 to serve as a water supply path. A ceramic heater 102 is attached to the upper part of the guide plate 70 to raise the temperature of the water passing through the through hole 72 (for example,
(40 ± 2 ° C.) to fill the coating tank 64.

The coating tank 64, the guide plate 70 and the squeeze roller 68 having the above-mentioned structure are constructed as one unit as a whole.

Here, FIG. 8 shows a schematic configuration diagram of a drive system for driving the supply roller 66 and the squeeze roller 68. That is, the rotation shaft 2 of the supply roller 66
Reference numeral 40 is connected to a gear 244 via a timing belt 242, and the gear 244 is coaxially connected to a gear 246 via a one-way clutch.
The gear 246 meshes with the rotating shaft 248 of the water coating motor 412 (shown in FIG. 21). Accordingly, when the rotation shaft 248 of the water coating motor 412 rotates, the driving force is transmitted, the rotation shaft 240 rotates, and the supply roller 66 rotates. Further, the rotary shaft 250 of the squeeze roller 68 is attached to the gear 244 provided via the one-way clutch.
Are engaged with each other, and the squeeze roller 68 is rotated by the transmission of the driving force similarly to the supply roller 66. Therefore, the photosensitive material 16 nipped and conveyed by the squeeze roller 68 is maintained with a predetermined tension.

Further, a shaft 254 of a receiving material discharging roller 172 and a shaft 256 of a photosensitive material discharging roller 158, which will be described later, are connected to a gear 244 provided via the one-way clutch, via a timing belt 252. The drive force is transmitted to rotate. Furthermore, the gear 258 meshing with the shaft 256 is
Similarly, it is connected to a shaft 262 of a sensitive material discharge roller 160, which will be described later, via 60, and is rotated by receiving a driving force. That is, the water coating motor 412 drives together a plurality of drive units (the supply roller 66 and the squeeze roller 68, the receiving material discharging roller 172, the sensitive material discharging roller 158, and the sensitive material discharging roller 160).

The feeding speed of the photosensitive material 16 by the supply roller 66 and the squeeze roller 68 (passing speed between the guide plate 70 and the coating tank 64) is, for example, about 20 m.
It is m / sec. That is, in the exposure unit 22, the photosensitive material 16 is, for example, 100 mm / se as described above.
The photosensitive material speed sensor 74 detects that the photosensitive material 16 has been conveyed by the conveying rollers 29, 31, 33, and 3.
The conveyance speed of No. 5 is also reduced to about 20 mm / sec and is sent to the water application section 62.

A plurality of pipes are connected to the water application section 62 configured as described above so that water can be supplied. Here, FIG. 9 shows a water supply system diagram of the water application unit 62.

Through hole 72 of guide plate 70 of water application section 62
A supply pipe 78 is connected to the. A pump 80 and a filter 82 are arranged in the middle of the supply pipe 78, and the other end of the supply pipe 78 is provided with an open lid 84.
And is located in the replenishment tank 86. The refill tank 86 is filled with water as an image forming solvent. Therefore, by driving the pump 80, the water in the replenishment tank 86 can be filled (replenished) into the coating tank 64 via the guide plate 70.

On the other hand, at the drainage port 90 of the coating tank 64,
The discharge pipe 96, one end of which is connected to the replenishment tank 86, is connected to the other end, and a solenoid valve 98 is arranged in the middle of the discharge pipe 96. This solenoid valve 98
Is normally in a closed state, but when in an open state, the water in the coating tank 64 can be discharged to the replenishment tank 86 via the discharge pipe 96. Further, the solenoid valve 98 is fixed in a state of being slightly inclined with respect to the machine base 12, and prevents drainage from remaining inside. Further, one end of the overflow port 94 of the coating tank 64 is located at an intermediate portion of the drain pipe 96 (the solenoid valve 9).
8 and the replenishment tank 86) connected to the discharge pipe 1
The other end of 00 is connected. Furthermore, a drain pipe 101 is connected to the auxiliary overflow port 95, and the other end of the drain pipe 101 is guided into the tank tray 103.

The open lid 84 that supports the supply pipe 78 is attached to the machine base 12 by a hinge 88 so that the inside of the replenishment tank 86 can be opened. Also, FIG.
As shown in detail in FIG. 0, a water amount sensor 81 is attached to a tip end portion of the supply pipe 78 located in the refill tank 86 by a bracket 79 while holding the base end portion and the tip end portion thereof. The water amount sensor 81 is a self-heating type thermistor and can detect the amount of water in the refill tank 86 by generating heat according to the amount of water. It goes without saying that the water amount sensor 81 may be a sensor of other configuration such as a float type.

On the side of the water coating section 62, the heat development transfer section 10 is provided.
4 is arranged and is coated with water (squeeze roller 6
The photosensitive material 16 (after 8 passes) is fed in.

On the other hand, the machine base 12 immediately below the photosensitive material magazine 14
An image receiving material 106 is provided in the image receiving material 1
08 is rolled up and stored. The size of the image receiving material 108 in the width direction is smaller than that of the photosensitive material 16 (for example, 297 mm). Further, the image receiving material 10
A dye fixing material having a mordant is applied to the image forming surface of No. 8, and the image forming surface is wound toward the upper side of the apparatus.

The receiving material magazine 106 is the sensitive material magazine 14
Similarly, it is composed of a body portion 106A and a pair of side frame portions 106B fixed to both ends of the body portion 106A,
It can be pulled out to the front side of the machine base 12 (the front side in FIG. 1, that is, the width direction of the wound image receiving material 108). Here, the body portion 106A of the material receiving magazine 106 is formed to have a length corresponding to the widthwise dimension of the image receiving material 108, and thus is formed shorter than the body portion 14A of the photosensitive material magazine 14. For this reason, the length dimensions of the photosensitive material magazine 14 and the receiving material magazine 106 are different.

An optical sensor 414 (shown in FIGS. 20 and 21) is arranged in the receiving portion of the receiving material magazine 106. The optical sensor 414 can detect either one of the sensitive material magazine 14 and the receiving material magazine 106 having different lengths, thereby preventing erroneous insertion.

A nipping roller 110 is arranged in the vicinity of the image receiving material take-out port of the receiving material magazine 106, so that the image receiving material 108 can be pulled out from the receiving material magazine 106 and the nip thereof can be released. Here, FIG. 11 shows a schematic configuration diagram of the nip roller 110 portion, and FIG. 12 shows a schematic configuration diagram of a drive system for driving the nip roller 110. That is, the upper roller 110A of the nip roller 110 is supported by the tip of the L-shaped bracket 272 that is rotatably supported by the shaft 270, and can move up and down together with the bracket 272. A tension spring 274 is connected to the bracket 272 so that the upper roller 110A is always connected to the lower roller 110B.
It is pressed against to apply a predetermined nip pressure. A nip releasing cam 276 is arranged above the upper roller 110A and can be engaged with the upper wall of the bracket 272. The nip releasing cam 276 has a role of pressing the upper wall of the bracket 272 by rotating and rotating the bracket 272 around the axis 270 against the biasing force of the tension spring 274, whereby the upper roller 110 is rotated.
A is configured to be separated from the lower roller 110B. The rotating shaft 278 of the nip releasing cam 276 is coaxially connected to the gear 280 via a one-way clutch. Further, the gear 280 has a gear 282 and a lower roller 110B.
The timing belt 286 is wound around the rotary shaft 284 of the. The gear 282 is coaxially connected to the gear 288, and further, the gear 288 is the material receiving and feeding motor 41.
6 (shown in FIG. 21) is engaged with the rotary shaft 290.
As a result, when the rotary shaft 290 of the material receiving / feeding motor 416 rotates forward, the driving force is transmitted only to the lower roller 110B, and the nip roller 110 (upper roller 110
A, the lower roller 110B) is actuated, while the rotation shaft 290 of the material receiving and feeding motor 416 is rotated in the reverse direction, the driving force is transmitted to the nip releasing cam 276 and the nip releasing cam 276 is rotated to cause the bracket. 272 is the upper roller 110A
Along with this, it is configured to move away from the lower roller 110B. The upper roller 110A moves to move the nip roller 110
By releasing the nip, the tip of the image receiving material 108 is prevented from being nipped for a long time to deform the surface (image forming surface) and change the physical properties.

A one-way clutch may be provided on the rotating shaft of the lower roller 110B. In this case, it is possible to prevent unnecessary rotation of the lower roller 110B when releasing the nip (when rotating the nip releasing cam 276).

A cutter 11 is provided on the side of the Nipro roller 110.
2 are arranged. The cutter 112 is, for example, a guillotine type cutter composed of a fixed blade and a movable blade, like the above-described cutter 20 for the photosensitive material, and the movable blade is moved up and down by a rotating cam or the like to be engaged with the fixed blade. Thus, the image receiving material 108 drawn from the receiving material magazine 106 is cut into a length shorter than the photosensitive material 16. Here, as shown in FIG. 6 described above, a gear 236 is meshed with a gear 228 provided via two one-way clutches, and a gear 237 that rotates integrally with this gear 236 is cut via a timing belt 238. It is connected to the drive shaft 239 of 112. As a result, the driving force is transmitted only when the rotary shaft 234 of the cutter motor 402 is reversely rotated, the drive shaft 239 is rotated, and the cutter 112 is operated. That is, not only the photosensitive material 16 but also the cutter 112 for cutting the image receiving material 108 can be operated by the single cutter motor 402.

The image receiving material 108 cut into a predetermined length is
The transport roller 181, the image receiving material transport unit 180, and the transport roller 114 are guided to the thermal development transfer unit 104. Here, FIG. 13 shows a cross-sectional view of the image receiving material conveying section 180 that conveys the cut image receiving material 108 to the heat development transfer section 104, and FIG. 14 corresponds to the image receiving material corresponding to FIG. A perspective view of the carrier 180 is shown.

In the image receiving material conveying section 180, an upper conveying guide plate 182 and a lower conveying guide plate 184 are arranged. The upper conveyance guide plate 182 is a fixed plate, and further, a conveyance roller 186 is arranged. This transport roller 186
Is connected to a single material receiving and conveying motor 418 (shown in FIG. 21) together with the conveying rollers 181 and 114, and is rotated by the driving force of the material receiving and conveying motor 418.

The upper conveyance guide plate 182 is used for the receiving magazine 1
It corresponds to the image forming surface of the image receiving material 108 extracted from 06. The image receiving material 108 is provided on the upper conveyance guide plate 182.
A plurality of ribs 188 are formed along the conveyance direction of No. 1, and are further subjected to Teflon processing to reduce friction with the image receiving material 108, improve slippage, and prevent scratches. Not limited to the Teflon process, the surface may be embossed to form irregularities or a Teflon tape may be attached to reduce friction with the image receiving material 108.

On the other hand, the lower transport guide plate 184 is rotatably supported by a shaft 185, and the upper transport guide plate 18 is rotatably supported.
It is possible to approach and separate from 2. That is, the lower conveyance guide plate 184
Has a so-called downward opening mechanism, and the lower conveyance guide plate 18
When 4 is brought close to the upper transport guide plate 182, a space between the upper transport guide plate 182 and the lower transport guide plate 184 serves as a transport path for the image receiving material 108. A guide roller 190 corresponding to the transport roller 186 is attached to the lower transport guide plate 184. As with the upper conveyance guide plate 182, the lower conveyance guide plate 184 also has
A plurality of ribs 192 are formed along the conveyance direction of the image receiving material 108. A tension spring 194 is housed inside the lower conveyance guide plate 184. One end of the tension spring 194 is locked to the shaft 185, and a wire 196 is connected to the other end of the tension spring 194. The middle portion of the wire 196 is wound around a roller 198 attached to the tip of the lower conveyance guide plate 184, and the other end of the wire 196 is fixed to the machine base 12. As a result, the lower conveyance guide plate 1
84 is always urged in a direction approaching the upper conveyance guide plate 182, and the lower conveyance guide plate 184 is moved downwardly against the urging force of the tension spring 194 to move the lower conveyance guide plate 184 to the shaft 1.
It is a structure that can be moved around 85. Lower transport guide plate 18
When 4 rotates downward and separates from the upper conveyance guide plate 182, the conveyance path of the image receiving material 108 is exposed, and for example, the jam treatment of the image receiving material 108 can be easily performed.

A receiving material cut sensor 420 is disposed on the side of the conveying roller 186 (upstream side in the conveying direction).
The image receiving material 108 that has been pulled out from the receiving material magazine 106 and cut can be detected. Further, a material receiving standby sensor 422 is arranged on the side of the carrying roller 114 (downstream in the carrying direction), and the image receiving material carrying section 180 and the image receiving material 108 carried by the carrying roller 114 can be detected.

A heat development transfer section 104 is arranged on the side of the carrying roller 114. As shown in FIG. 15, the thermal development transfer unit 104 includes a heating drum 116 and an endless pressure contact belt 118.
Further, a bonding roller 120 is arranged on the outer circumference of the heating drum 116 on the water application section 62 side.

The laminating roller 120 and the water application section 6
A guide plate 122 is arranged between the two squeeze rollers 68 and above the conveyance path of the photosensitive material 16, and corresponds to the back surface of the photosensitive material 16 sent from the squeeze roller 68 (the side opposite to the image forming surface). Laminating this with a roller 12
We are leading to 0. The guide plate 122 has an uneven surface formed by embossing, which reduces friction with the photosensitive material 16 after water application and prevents sticking. The guide plate 122 is coated with Teflon to prevent unevenness of the tip of the photosensitive material 16.

An interleaving paper sensor 4 is provided at an intermediate portion of the guide plate 122.
24 is arranged so that the photosensitive material 16 sent from the squeeze roller 68 to the laminating roller 120 can be detected. At this point, the material receiving and feeding motor 418 for feeding the image receiving material 108 and the drum motor 426 described later are operated.

A blade guide 124 is arranged at a position facing the guide plate 122. The blade guide 124 includes the bonding roller 120 and the image receiving material 1.
It also reaches between the transport roller 114 of No. 08 and guides the image receiving material 108 sent from the transport roller 114 to the bonding roller 120. A dust removing sheet is attached to the surface of the blade guide 124,
The dust adhering to the image receiving material 108 is removed.

The laminating roller 120 is a roller having an outer diameter of, for example, 29 mm at the central portion in the axial direction, the outer peripheral surface of which is coated with silicone rubber (for example, a thickness of 3 mm), and the rubber hardness is approximately 80. Has been done. Further, the bonding roller 120 is pressed against the outer circumference of the heating drum 116 by applying a predetermined pressing force (for example, 15 kg) at both ends in the longitudinal direction. The laminating roller 120 is connected to the drum motor 4 via a drive system described later.
26, the driving force of the drum motor 426 is transmitted and rotated. Here,
The conveying speed of the photosensitive material 16 or the image receiving material 108 by the squeeze roller 68 or the conveying roller 114 is set to be slightly (for example, about 2%) slower than the conveying speed of the photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving material 108 by the laminating roller 120. As a result, when the photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving material 108 are fed to the bonding roller 120, the back tension acts.

The heating drum 116 is made of a thin-walled aluminum pipe. In this embodiment, the heating drum 116 has a thickness of 3 mm.
mm, outer diameter 156 mm, and axial effective width 350 mm. The surface of the heating drum 116 is coated with Teflon, and the inner peripheral surface is coated with heat-resistant black.

The photosensitive material 16 conveyed to the heat development transfer section 104 is sent between the bonding roller 120 and the heating drum 116, and the image receiving material 108 is the photosensitive material 1.
In synchronism with the conveyance of No. 6, the photosensitive material 16 is fed between the laminating roller 120 and the heating drum 116 in a state of being preceded by a predetermined length (20 mm in this embodiment) so as to be superposed. In this case, the image receiving material 10
8 is smaller than the photosensitive material 16 in both the width direction and the longitudinal direction.
The peripheral portions of the four are overlapped with each other in a state of protruding from the peripheral portions of the image receiving material 108 on all four sides.

Furthermore, a cam 130 is fixed to the side wall of the heating drum 116. The cam 130 can be engaged with a peeling claw 176 described later, and the peeling claw 176 is rotated as the heating drum 116 rotates. The cam 130 is also used for detecting the alignment of the heating drum 116 with the photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving material 108.

Inside the heating drum 116, a pair of halogen lamps 132A and 132B are arranged. The halogen lamps 132A and 132B each have, for example, 350
The outputs are W and 350 W, and the surface of the heating drum 116 can be heated (for example, about 78 ° C.). In this case, the two halogen lamps 1
32A and 132B are used together, and only one halogen lamp 132A is used during the subsequent normal operation.

The endless pressure contact belt 118, which is in pressure contact with the outer circumference of the heating drum 116, has a structure in which a woven material is covered with rubber, and in this embodiment, the widthwise dimension is 340 mm. The woven material is an aromatic polyamide fiber (for example, Kevlar or Nomex: both du
It is sewn with a heat-resistant fiber such as Pont's registered trademark). Further, the coating rubber is silicon rubber containing carbon and has conductivity.

The endless pressure contact belt 118 is wound around four winding rollers 134, 136, 138 and 140. The winding roller 134 and the winding roller 1
The endless outer side between 40 and 40 is pressed against the outer circumference of the heating drum 116.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 16 and FIG.
The endless pressure contact belt 118 is used for the photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving material 10.
8 is sandwiched by the heating drum 116, and both ends in the width direction of the photosensitive material 16 located outside the heating drum 116 project from the both ends in the width direction of the image receiving material 108 located inside, and are thus overlapped. The projecting portion is closely attached to the outer circumference of the heating drum 116. Therefore, the image receiving material 108 located on the inner side is held so as to be wrapped by the photosensitive material 16 located on the outer side, and the two materials are prevented from firmly adhering to each other.

The winding rollers 134, 136, 138 are made of aluminum. Further, the winding roller 136 is formed in a taper shape in which both axial ends thereof are expanded outward, and a pressing force of 0.6 kg (practical range: 0.3 to 1.7 kg) is applied to both longitudinal end portions thereof. Is added in a direction away from the heating drum 116.
As a result, the endless pressure contact belt 118 is maintained at a predetermined tension and the deviation is prevented.

On the other hand, the winding roller 140 is a rubber roller, and is further connected to a drum motor 426 via a drive system described later. The driving force of the drum motor is transmitted to rotate the winding roller 140. It is like this. When the winding roller 140 is rotated, the endless pressure welding belt 118 wound around the winding roller 140 is rotated, and accordingly, the rotational force of the endless pressure welding belt 118 causes friction with the heating drum 116. The force is transmitted to the heating drum 116, and the heating drum 116 is driven to rotate.

Here, the winding roller 140 is shown in FIG.
A schematic configuration diagram of a drive system for driving the is shown. That is, the rotation shaft 300 of the winding roller 140
Meshes with the gear 302, and the gear 30
Reference numeral 2 is connected to a gear 306 via a timing belt 304. A gear 308 that rotates integrally with the gear 306
The drive shaft 31 of the drum motor 426 (shown in FIG. 21).
0 is in mesh. As a result, the drum motor 42
When the driving shaft 310 of No. 6 rotates, the driving force is transmitted, the rotating shaft 300 rotates, and the winding roller 140 rotates. Further, the timing belt 304 is wrapped around each of the gears 312, 314, 316, 318. The gear 312 meshes with the shaft 320 of the laminating roller 120 in which a one-way clutch is incorporated. Thus, as described above, the conveying speed of the photosensitive material 16 or the image receiving material 108 by the squeeze roller 68 or the conveying roller 114 is set to be slightly slower than the conveying speed of the photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving material 108 by the laminating roller 120. The photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving material 1
The back tension is applied to 08.

A shaft 322 of a bending guide roller 142, which will be described later, meshes with the gear 318, and the driving force is transmitted to rotate the gear 318. Further, the gear 316
Similarly, a shaft 324 of the peeling roller 174, which will be described later, meshes with the shaft 324, and the driving force is transmitted to rotate the shaft. That is, the drum motor 426 uses the plurality of drive units (the winding roller 140 and the bonding roller 12).
0, the bending guide roller 142 and the peeling roller 174) are driven together.

The photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving material 108 superposed by the laminating roller 120 remain in the superposed state, and the heating drum 116 and the endless pressure contact belt 11 are kept.
8 and the heating drum 116 are sandwiched and conveyed over approximately 1/2 circumference of the heating drum 116 (between the winding roller 134 and the winding roller 140). When the photosensitive material 16 is heated during this nip conveyance, it releases a movable dye, and at the same time, this dye is transferred to the dye fixing layer of the image receiving material 108 to obtain an image.

A bending guide roller 142 is provided below the heating drum 116 on the downstream side of the endless pressure contact belt 118 in the material supply direction.
Are arranged. As described above, the bending guide roller 142 is configured such that the shaft 322 is rotated by receiving the driving force of the drum motor 426. In addition, the bending guide roller 142
Is pressed against the outer circumference of the heating drum 116, and
The photosensitive material 16 or the image receiving material 108 transported by the heating drum 116 and the endless pressure contact belt 118 can be further sandwiched and transported.

A peeling claw 154 is provided below the heating drum 116 on the downstream side of the bending guide roller 142 in the material supply direction.
It is rotatably supported by 6. The peeling claw 154 corresponds to the outer circumference of the heating drum 116, and can be brought into contact with and separated from the heating drum 116 by the operation of a solenoid (not shown). The peeling claw 154 is provided on the heating drum 11
When the cam 6 rotates and the cam 130 reaches a predetermined position, the cam 6 rotates to come into contact with the outer periphery of the heating drum 116. In this case, when the heating drum 116 rotates to a predetermined position and the leading end of the photosensitive material 16 reaches the peeling position,
The dimensions of each part such as the fixed position of the cam 130 detected by the sensor for operating the solenoid are set so that the peeling claw 154 rotates and comes into contact with the heating drum 116. In the state where the peeling claw 154 is in contact with the heating drum 116, the photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving material 108 nipped and conveyed between the endless pressure contact belt 118 and the heating drum 116 are overlapped with each other by a predetermined length in advance. Photosensitive material 1
6 is engaged only with the front end of the heating drum 11
The photosensitive material 16 that has been peeled off can be peeled off from the outer periphery of the sheet 6, and the peeled photosensitive material 16 is moved downward while being wound around the bending guide roller 142.

Below the bending guide roller 142 and the peeling claw 154, sensitive material discharge rollers 158 and 160 and a plurality of guide rollers 162 are arranged.
Photosensitive material 1 moved downward while being wound around 42
6 can be further transported and accumulated in the waste photosensitive material storage box 178. The sensitive material discharge rollers 158 and 160 are configured to rotate by receiving the driving force of the water coating motor 412 for driving the water coating section 62 as described above. Sensitive material discharge sensors 428 and 429 are arranged near the sensitive material discharge rollers 158 and 160, respectively, and the photosensitive material 16 can be detected.

A heater 164 (drying plate) is arranged around the guide roller 162, and the photosensitive material 16 can be conveyed while being dried. This heater 164
Is set to about 90 ° C. Further, a drying fan 165 is arranged near the photosensitive material discharge roller 10 to accelerate the drying of the photosensitive material 16.

On the other hand, a material receiving guide 166 is arranged above the peeling claw 154 to guide the image receiving material 108 which is separated from the photosensitive material 16 and moves together with the heating drum 116. This material receiving guide 166 is also provided with a Teflon material, a Teflon processing, or a Teflon processing on the embossed plate, etc. to reduce friction, thereby improving the slip of the image receiving material 108 and preventing the image receiving material 108 from sticking. ing.

Heating drum 11 above receiving material guide 166
A peeling roller 174 and a peeling claw 176 are arranged in the vicinity of 6. The peeling roller 174 also has the shaft 3 as described above.
24 is configured to rotate by receiving the driving force of the drum motor 426. The image receiving material 108 guided by the material receiving guide 166 and moving together with the heating drum 116 acts on the heating drum 116 together with the peeling claw 176. It is designed to be peeled off from the outer circumference to guide bending.

On the side of the peeling roller 174 and the peeling claw 176, a material receiving guide 170 is arranged, and a material receiving discharge roller 172 is arranged. The material receiving guide 170 is also subjected to a friction reducing treatment such as Teflon processing to prevent sticking, like the above-described transport guides for the image receiving material 108. In this case, a resin containing fluorine is preferred when doing this with a resin. As described above, all the conveyance guides of the image receiving material 108 are subjected to the friction reducing treatment to improve the slip of the image receiving material 108 and prevent the image receiving material 108 from sticking.

Further, a material receiving sensor 430 is arranged in the vicinity of the material receiving roller 172, and the image receiving material 108 is provided.
Can be detected.

A drum fan 168 is arranged near the peeling roller 174. Therefore, the heating drum 116
The image receiving material 108 moving along the heating drum 116 is
Not only is it dried by the heat of, but also this drum fan 168 accelerates the drying. The drum fan 168 operates when necessary according to the atmospheric conditions. This is to keep the temperature distribution of the heating drum 116 uniform.

The image receiving material 108 peeled off from the outer periphery of the heating drum 116 by the peeling claw 176 while being dried by the drum fan 168 is used as the material receiving guide 1.
70 and the receiving material discharge roller 172, and is discharged to the tray 177. In this case, the downstream end of the material receiving guide 170 in the transport direction is arranged at a position lower than the lower transport guide plate 184 of the image receiving material transport unit 180 described above, and the image receiving material 108 curls into the gap between them. The tray 177 is prevented from entering and can be reliably stacked on the tray 177. Further, the tray 184 is provided on the front side of the machine base 12 (front side of FIG. 1), and the image receiving material 108 can be guided and accumulated in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction by the heating drum 116.

The heat development transfer section 10 having the above-mentioned structure.
4 is configured as one unit as a whole, and is movable in the direction opposite to the position where the water coating section 62 is disposed with respect to the machine base 12 (the side opposite to the photosensitive material magazine 14 and the receiving material magazine 106). .. Therefore, the side door 1 of the machine base 12
By opening and moving the heat development transfer section 104 after opening 5A, even when the photosensitive material 16 or the image receiving material 108 is jammed during transport (so-called jam), it can be easily repaired. ing.

As shown in FIG. 3, the heat development transfer section 104 is also provided.
An exhaust fan 330 as an exhaust unit is disposed near the (heating drum 116) to ventilate the inside of the machine base 12. On the other hand, as shown in detail in FIG. 19, in the side door 15B on the side opposite to the heat development transfer portion 104 (that is, in the vicinity of the photosensitive material magazine 14 and the receiving material magazine 106), a blowing fan as a blowing means having a filter built therein. 332 is attached, and external air can be fed into the machine base 12. In this case, both capacities are set such that the amount of air supplied by the blower fan 332 is larger than the amount of air discharged by the exhaust fan 330. Therefore, the inside of the machine base 12 is ventilated and cooled, and is constantly in a pressurized state, thereby preventing dust from entering the machine base 12 from the outside.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. here,
FIG. 22 shows the operation of each main part of the image recording apparatus 10 in a timing chart, which will be described together with this timing chart.

In the image recording apparatus 10 having the above structure, after the sensitive material magazine 14 is set in the accommodating portion 200, the sensitive material feeding motor 406 and the sensitive material feeding clutch 404 are actuated to actuate the nip roller 18. The photosensitive material 16 is pulled out by the nip roller 18. When the photosensitive material 16 is pulled out by a predetermined length and the tip of the photosensitive material 16 is detected by the photosensitive material cut sensor, the cutter motor 402 is rotated in the normal direction to operate the cutter 20, and the photosensitive material 16 is cut into a predetermined length.

After the cutter 20 is operated, the home position of the cart 20 is detected by the cutter home position sensor 440, the photosensitive material feeding motor 406 is activated again, and the photosensitive material 16 after cutting is conveyed to the conveying rollers 19, 21 and 2.
3 is conveyed. The photosensitive material 16 transported by the transport rollers 19, 21, and 23 is inverted and transported to the exposure unit 22 with its photosensitive (exposure) surface facing upward. When the photosensitive material 16 is nipped by the conveying roller 24, this is detected by the photosensitive material standby sensor 410, the photosensitive material feeding motor 406 is stopped, the driving of the conveying roller 24 is once stopped, and the photosensitive material 16 is exposed. Immediately before 22 is in a standby state.

On the other hand, while the photosensitive material 16 is being conveyed, the document 54 on the document placing plate is pre-scanned.

By the way, normally, the reflecting mirror 46 is the exposure unit 2
2 is in a state where it has entered the optical path of the image light to be irradiated onto the optical disc 2. Therefore, the light source 40 is activated and the scan motor 442 is activated to move the movable mirrors 42A and 42B and the lens unit 48, and the standard white plate. When the light is irradiated to
The light emitted through the fixed mirror 44 and the fixed mirror 44 is reflected in a substantially perpendicular direction. The reflected light is incident on and detected by the light detection sensor 56, whereby the image density of the image of the document 54 (in other words, whether the image of the document 54 is a print document or a photo document). Is measured, and the exposure conditions of the color adjustment filter (CC filter) and the aperture slit plate 52 are set based on the measured values. The diaphragm motor 444 and the filter motor 446 are operated according to this exposure condition to set the color adjustment filter and the diaphragm slit plate 52.

Next, the light source 40, the moving mirrors 42A, 4
2B and the lens unit 48 return to the home position (image scanning start position).

Here, the reflecting mirror 46 is removed from the optical path of the image light, and the photosensitive material feeding motor 406 is driven again to start driving the transport rollers 24 and 26, and the photosensitive material 16 is exposed. It passes through 22 at a predetermined speed (for example, 100 mm / sec). In this case, since the guide plate 28 and the exposure surface glass 30 are arranged in the exposure section 22, the photosensitive material 16 becomes flat (while the deformation is corrected) and passes between both the transport rollers (exposure section). ..

At the same time when the photosensitive material 16 is conveyed (passes through the exposure section 22), the light source 40, the moving mirrors 42A and 42B, and the lens unit 48 are moved along the original placing plate 50 by the drive of the scan motor 442, and the original is placed. Mounting plate 50
The original 54 placed on the original is irradiated with light, and the reflected image light (image light) is scanned and exposed on the photosensitive material 16 located in the exposure unit 22 via the fixed mirror 44.

After the exposure is started, the photosensitive material 16 after the exposure is sequentially guided by the guide plate 27 and inverted (that is, the image exposure surface is directed downward), and then the conveying roller 2 is used.
It is sent to the water application part 62 by 9, 31, 33, and 35.

In the water coating section 62, the conveyed photosensitive material 1
When 6 is detected by the photosensitive material speed sensor 74, the conveying speed of the conveying rollers 29, 31, 33, 35 is decelerated, and the supply roller 66 and the squeeze roller 68 are driven to move the photosensitive material 16 to the guide plate 70 and the coating tank. 64
And is sandwiched and conveyed by the squeeze roller 68. Here, the coating tank 64 is filled (replenished) with water in the replenishment tank 86 by the drive of the pump 80. Therefore, the photosensitive material sent to the space between the guide plate 70 and the coating tank 64 by the supply roller 66. Water is applied to the material 16, and the squeeze roller 68 removes excess water, while the water applying section 62 is being applied.
Pass through.

In this case, since a plurality of rows of ribs 76 are formed on the bottom of the coating tank 64 so as to be inclined with respect to the conveying direction of the photosensitive material 16, the photosensitive material 16 is formed between the guide plate 70 and the coating tank 64. The frictional resistance when passing between the two is reduced, and scratches at certain positions of the photosensitive material 16 are prevented. Furthermore, since the ceramic heater 102 is attached to the guide plate 70 to raise the temperature of the water filled in the coating tank 64 to a predetermined temperature (for example, 40 ± 2 ° C.), the photosensitizer passing through the coating tank 64 is exposed. The permeation amount (infiltration amount) of water into the emulsion surface of the material 16 increases and the saturation amount is surely reached.

The photosensitive material 16 coated with water as the image forming solvent in the water coating section 62 is squeeze roller 6
Then, it is sent to the heat development transfer section 104.

On the other hand, as the scanning exposure of the photosensitive material 16 is started, the receiving material feeding motor 416 and the receiving material conveying motor 418 are driven, whereby the image receiving material 108 is also pulled out from the receiving material magazine 106 by the nip roller 110. And is conveyed by the conveying roller 181. Image receiving material 10
When 8 is pulled out for a predetermined length and its tip is detected by the receiving material cut sensor 420, the cutter motor 402 rotates in the reverse direction, the cutter 112 operates, and the image receiving material 108 is cut to a predetermined length.

After the cutter 112 is operated, the home position of the carter 112 is detected by the cutter home position sensor 448 and the image receiving material conveying motor 418 is operated again, so that the image receiving material 108 after cutting is transferred to the image receiving material conveying section 180.
It is guided by the upper transport guide plate 182 and the lower transport guide plate 184, and is transported by the transport roller 114.

In this case, after cutting the image receiving material 108, the nip by the nip roller 110 is released, and the image receiving material 1
Deformation and change in physical properties due to nipping of the tip portion (image forming surface) of 08 for a long time are prevented. Further, a plurality of ribs 188 and 192 are formed on the upper transport guide plate 182 and the lower transport guide plate 184 of the image receiving material transport unit 180, and further, Teflon processing is applied to reduce friction with the image receiving material 108. Therefore, the image receiving material 108 is quickly conveyed without being scratched.

When the front end of the image receiving material 108 is detected by the material receiving standby sensor 422, the material receiving conveyance motor 418 is stopped after a predetermined time, and the image receiving material 108 is in a standby state immediately before the heat development transfer section 104.

In the heat-development transfer section 104, when the interleaf paper sensor 424 detects the photosensitive material 16 sent between the outer periphery of the heating drum 116 and the laminating roller 120 by the squeeze roller 68, the receiving material conveying motor 418 and The drum motor 426 is driven, the conveyance of the image receiving material 108 is restarted and sent to the bonding roller 120, and the heating drum 116 is operated.

In this case, the guide plate 122 is arranged between the laminating roller 120 and the squeeze roller 68 of the water applying section 62, and the photosensitive material 16 sent from the squeeze roller 68 is surely adhered. Be guided to. Further, the laminating roller 120 and the image receiving material 1
The blade guide 12
4 is arranged, and the image receiving material 108 is also reliably guided to the laminating roller 120. Further, the photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving material 108 sent to the laminating roller 120.
Since the back tension acts on the paper, it is fed without wrinkles.

Further, here, the image receiving material 108 conveyed to the heat development transfer section 104 is synchronized with the conveyance of the photosensitive material 16,
The photosensitive material 16 has a predetermined length (20 m in this embodiment).
m) In the preceding state, it is sent between the laminating roller 120 and the heating drum 116 to be superposed. Further, in this case, since the image receiving material 108 is smaller than the photosensitive material 16 in both the width direction and the longitudinal direction, the peripheral portion of the photosensitive material 16 has four sides of the image receiving material 108 as shown in FIG. Stacked in a state of protruding from the peripheral portion.

The photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving material 108 superposed by the laminating roller 120 are kept in the superposed state, and the heating drum 116 and the endless pressure contact belt 11 are kept.
8 and is sandwiched between the heating drum 116 and the heating drum 116 (about half the circumference (between the winding roller 134 and the winding roller 140)).
Be transported to. When the photosensitive material 16 is heated during this nip conveyance, it releases a movable dye, and at the same time, this dye is transferred to the dye fixing layer of the image receiving material 108 to obtain an image.

Further, of the photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving material 108 sandwiched between the endless pressure contact belt 118 and the heating drum 116, both ends in the width direction of the photosensitive material 16 located outside the heating drum 116 are located inside. Since the image receiving material 108 protrudes from both end portions in the width direction and is overlapped with each other, the protruding portion is in close contact with the outer periphery of the heating drum 116. Therefore, the image receiving material 108 located inside is held so as to be wrapped by the photosensitive material 16 located outside. Therefore, the necessary frictional force is secured and both materials are firmly adhered. For this reason,
Even if a slight difference in rotational speed occurs between the endless pressure welding belt 118 and the heating drum 116 and a shearing force acts between the two materials, the two materials remain firmly adhered and are not displaced. Therefore, a high-quality image without transfer deviation can be obtained.

Further, since the endless pressure contact belt 118 has conductivity, generation of static electricity due to friction between the heating drum 116 and the endless pressure contact belt 118 or the photosensitive material 16 or the image receiving material 108 is prevented, and the image receiving material 108 is prevented. Fog does not occur in the obtained image.

After that, when the photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving material 108 are nipped and conveyed and reach the lower portion of the heating drum 116, the drum solenoid 450 is operated and the peeling claw 154 is moved, so that the image receiving material 108 is preceded by a predetermined length. The peeling claw 154 engages with the leading end of the photosensitive material 16 conveyed as a result of peeling the leading end of the photosensitive material 16 from the outer periphery of the heating drum 116.

The peeled photosensitive material 16 is wound around the bending guide roller 142 and then conveyed by the photosensitive material discharge roller 158. Further, after being dried by the heater 164 while being guided by the guide roller 162, it is accumulated in the waste photosensitive material storage box 178 by the photosensitive material discharge roller 160.

On the other hand, the heating drum 1 is separated from the photosensitive material 16.
Image receiving material 108 that moves while being in close contact with
Moves between the heating drum 116 and the peeling claw 154 separated from the outer periphery thereof, and is guided by the material receiving guide 166 and sent to the peeling roller 174. In this case, since the material receiving guide 166 is subjected to Teflon processing, the image receiving material 108 does not stick.

Further, here, it is peeled from the outer periphery of the heating drum 116 by the peeling roller 174 and the peeling claw 176, conveyed by the material receiving discharge roller 172 while being guided by the material receiving guide 170, and accumulated on the tray 177. Also in this case, the image receiving material 108 does not stick to the image receiving material guide 170 because the material receiving guide 170 is subjected to Teflon processing.

The receiving material guide 166 and the receiving material guide 1
70 may be a fluorine-containing resin whose surface is blasted.

In such an image recording process, the exhaust fan 330 and the blower fan 332 are always driven,
The inside of the airframe 12 is ventilated. Therefore, the inside of the machine body 12 can always be maintained at a constant temperature condition. Further, here, since the air supply amount by the blower fan 332 is set to be larger than the air discharge amount by the exhaust fan 330, the inside of the machine body 12 is always pressurized (positive pressure). Therefore, dust is not sucked together with air from the gap of the machine wall of the machine body 12 and does not enter the inside. In other words, Aircraft 1
The outside air is not sucked through the gap between the two machine walls, and the dust-free outside air is always fed into the body 12 only by the blower fan 332. Therefore, the photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving material 10
No dust is attached to the image forming surface of No. 8, a good image is formed, and it does not cause a malfunction of the apparatus.

When carrying out the image recording process for a plurality of sheets, the above steps are successively carried out.

As described above, in the image recording apparatus 10, the transport drive system for the photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving material 108, the drive system for the water coating section 62, and the drive system for the thermal development transfer section 104 are independently configured. Therefore, each drive system can be independently controlled without using an expensive clutch. Therefore, it is possible to individually perform delicate adjustments such as the conveying speed of the photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving material 108, the amount of back tension, the timing of superposition, and the like, so that the conveying can be appropriately performed in accordance with desired conveying conditions. Can be done easily. Furthermore, since no expensive clutch is used,
The cost can be reduced.

In this embodiment, the photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving material 108 are used as the image recording material, and the photosensitive material 16 is conveyed so as to be located outside the image receiving material 108. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied even when the photosensitive material 16 is positioned inside and conveyed. Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to these materials and can be applied to other sheet-shaped image recording materials.

[0118]

As described above, the image recording apparatus according to the present invention can reduce the cost and can easily adjust the conveying speed of the image recording material, so that the image recording material can be conveyed in accordance with desired conveying conditions. It has an excellent effect of being able to.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an overall external view of the image recording apparatus.

FIG. 3 is an overall external view of the image recording apparatus showing a state in which each door is opened.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a photosensitive material magazine and a storage portion thereof.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a photosensitive material magazine and its accommodating portion, corresponding to FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram of a drive system for driving a cutter.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view showing a coating tank of a water coating section and peripheral components.

FIG. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram of a drive system for driving a supply roller and a squeeze roller.

FIG. 9 is a water supply system diagram of a water application unit.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a mounting state of the water amount sensor arranged in the refill tank.

FIG. 11 is a schematic configuration diagram of a nickel roller portion.

FIG. 12 is a schematic configuration diagram of a drive system for driving a nip roller.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of an image receiving material transporting unit that transports the image receiving material after cutting.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of an image receiving material transport unit corresponding to FIG.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a heating drum of a heat development transfer section.

FIG. 16 is a plan view showing a superposed state of a photosensitive material and an image receiving material.

FIG. 17 is a partial cross-sectional view of a heating drum and an endless pressure-contacting belt, showing a close contact state between a photosensitive material and an image receiving material.

FIG. 18 is a schematic configuration diagram of a drive system for driving a winding roller.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view showing an open state of a side door and a blower fan.

FIG. 20 is a schematic system diagram showing a configuration of a transport system of the image recording apparatus.

21 is a development system diagram of a conveyance system of the image recording apparatus corresponding to FIG.

FIG. 22 is a timing chart showing the operation of each main part of the image recording apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Image Recording Device 14 Sensitive Material Magazine 16 Photosensitive Material 38 Exposure Device 62 Water Application Section 104 Heat Development Transfer Section 106 Receiving Material Magazine 108 Image Receiving Material 116 Heating Drum 406 Sensitive Material Feeding Motor 412 Water Applying Motor 418 Receiving Material Conveying Motor 426 Drum motor

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Two kinds of image recording materials contained in different magazines are used, and one image recording material which is cut out by a predetermined size from the magazine is conveyed and imagewise exposed to expose a solvent for image formation in a water application section. After coating, the image recording material is sent to the heat development transfer section, and the other image recording material, which is cut out by a predetermined size from the magazine, is conveyed in synchronization with the one image recording material and sent to the heat development transfer section. In an image recording apparatus that performs image recording processing by closely adhering both image recording materials in a unit, a drive system for conveying the one image recording material from the magazine to the water application unit, and the water application Drive system for activating the image forming section, a drive system for conveying the other image recording material from the magazine to the heat developing and transferring section, and a heat developing and transferring section. Image recording apparatus comprising: the driving system, by being configured independently with each other driving source for independent.