JPH06242580A - Image recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain an image recording device free from image default caused by the deterioration of water by preventing the deterioration of water of a solvent for image forming. CONSTITUTION:A supply pipe 78 is connected to a through hole 72 of a guide plate 70 in a water coating part 62. One end of the supply pipe 78 is positioned in a replenishing tank 86, in which water is filled. A ceramic heater 102 controlled to keep at >=40 deg.C is attached to the guide plate 70 and the temp. of water supplied into a coating tank 64 and filled in the coating tank 64 is kept at >=40 deg.C. Furthermore, a heater built-in type pipe 210 is used at a part of a discharge pipe 96 and the water passing through the part is heated at 80 deg.C for 5sec and is sterilized.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention uses two types of image recording materials to transfer an image recorded on one image recording material to the other image recording material in the presence of an image forming solvent to form an image. To obtain an image recording apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an image recording apparatus for obtaining a color image,
Using a photothermographic material and an image receiving material, after exposing the image to the photothermographic material, it is sent to the heat developing section, and the image receiving material is brought into close contact with the exposed photosensitive material to obtain an image on the image receiving material by the heat development transfer step. An image recording device configured as described above is known.

Before the heat-developable photosensitive material or image-receiving material processed in such an image recording apparatus is transferred to the heat-development transfer section, in order to improve the heat-development transfer efficiency, a transfer aid such as water (image formation) is previously prepared. Solvent) is applied.

Therefore, in the conventional image recording apparatus, a coating tank filled with water as an image forming solvent is provided, and a guide plate to which a water supply pipe is connected is fixed to the upper portion of the coating tank. A guide transport path is formed between the guide plate and the guide plate so that the coating tank is filled with water and the photothermographic material or image receiving material is directly immersed in the coating tank (guide transport path) while being transported. It is configured to apply water.

Further, since water is used as an image forming solvent, water stains are generated due to deterioration such as water spoilage. In order to filter this scale, the supply pipe system for the image forming solvent is equipped with a filter.

[0006]

By the way, in a coating tank for water-coating such a photothermographic material or an image receiving material, in a replenishing tank, and in a water transfer path, water as an image forming solvent is used. Scales are generated due to decay.
This water stain adheres to the photothermographic material or the image receiving material,
There has been a problem that image defects such as so-called white spots (small-diameter white portion) occur. In order to filter this scale, the supply pipe system that is the supply route is equipped with a filter, but the low mesh filter that can effectively remove scale causes clogging in a short time due to scale generated, Since the amount of water supply decreases, water application becomes defective, and an image failure called water application unevenness occurs, resulting in a decrease in commercial value of the obtained photograph.

In consideration of the above facts, the present invention is not only capable of reliably applying the image forming solvent to the image recording material, but is also caused by the deterioration of water by preventing the deterioration of water which is the image forming solvent. An object is to obtain an image recording device without image failure.

[0008]

The image recording apparatus of the present invention uses two different types of image recording materials. One image recording material is imagewise exposed and then passed through the coating tank to apply the image forming solvent. After that, the other image recording material is brought into close contact with the one image recording material and superposed by heat development transfer processing to obtain an image on the other image recording material. It is characterized in that a means for heating a part or all of the path and the image forming solvent application section to 40 ° C. or more is provided.

[0009]

[Function] The cause of the scale is considered to be mainly bacteria that have propagated in water, excrements of bacteria, dead bodies of bacteria, etc., and the bacteria are nutrients for the components of the light-sensitive material dissolved in the image forming solvent. Presumed to breed as. Since the temperature suitable for the propagation of bacteria is usually 20 to 40 ° C., the image recording apparatus of the present invention has a part or all of the image forming solvent replenishing tank, the supply route, and the image forming solvent applying section.
By providing a means for heating above ℃, keeping the temperature of the solvent above the temperature suitable for the inhabitation of bacteria that cause water spoilage, and sterilizing it, deterioration of the solvent, especially the generation of scale due to water spoilage It is possible to prevent the occurrence of image defects due to water stains.

As for the installation location of the means for heating to 40 ° C. or higher, if the temperature of the solvent can be kept at a high temperature, for example, a solvent replenishment tank, a supply pipe as a supply path, a discharge pipe, a coating tank, a coating apparatus guide It is possible to arbitrarily select parts and the like, and it is also possible to install them in some or all of them.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a schematic overall configuration diagram of an image recording apparatus 10 according to the present invention, and FIG.
0 perspective view is shown.

The image recording apparatus 10 is formed in a box shape as a whole, and a machine base 12 is provided with a front door 13, a side door 15 and the like. 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, 224 mm. Further, the light-sensitive material 16 is a photosensitive silver halide, a binder, a
It has a dye-providing substance and a reducing agent, and its photosensitive (exposure) surface is wound toward the lower side of the apparatus.

The photosensitive material magazine 14 is composed of a body (not shown) having a length corresponding to the widthwise dimension of the photosensitive material 16 and a pair of side frame portions fixed to both ends of the body. And is housed in a housing portion provided on the machine base 12.

Further, an inner door (not shown) is arranged at the drawn-out portion of the photosensitive material magazine 14 of the accommodating portion, and when the photosensitive material magazine 14 is accommodated in the accommodating portion, the machine base 1
Even when the front door 13 of No. 2 is opened, external light does not enter the accommodation portion, and the accommodated photosensitive material 16 is prevented from being inadvertently exposed to light.

A nip roller 18 is arranged in the vicinity of the photosensitive material take-out port of the photosensitive material magazine 14 so that the photosensitive material 16 can be pulled out from the photosensitive material magazine 14 and conveyed. The speed at which the photosensitive material 16 is drawn out and conveyed by the nip roller 18 is, for example, 50 mm / sec.

A cutter 20 is provided on the side of the nip roller 18.
Is disposed, and the photosensitive material 16 pulled out from the photosensitive material magazine 14 by a predetermined length can be cut by the nip roller 18. The cutter 20 is, for example, a cutter including a fixed blade and a movable blade, and the movable blade can be moved up and down by a rotating cam or the like to engage with the fixed blade and cut the photosensitive material 16. The cutter 20
After the operation, the nip roller 18 is rotated in the reverse direction, and is rewound to the extent that the tip of the photosensitive material 16 is slightly nipped by the nip roller 18.

On the upper side of the cutter 20, the conveying roller 1
9, a conveyance roller 21, and a guide plate 27 are arranged, and the photosensitive material 16 cut into a predetermined length can be conveyed to the exposure unit 22. These transport rollers 19 and 21 have a transport speed of, for example, 50 mm / sec or 11 mm.
The photosensitive material 16 can be conveyed by switching to mm / sec.

The exposing section 22 is located between the carrying rollers 23 and 24, and the exposing material (exposure point) is defined between the carrying rollers to allow the photosensitive material 16 to pass therethrough. The transport speed of the photosensitive material 16 by the transport rollers 23 and 24 (passing speed of the exposure unit) is
For example, it is 11 mm / sec.

An exposure device 38 is provided directly above the exposure unit 22. The exposure device 38 is provided with three types of LDs, a lens unit, a polygon mirror, and a mirror unit (all are not shown).

A switchback unit 4 is provided on the side of the exposure unit 22.
0 is provided, and a water application section 62 is provided below the exposure section 22. The photosensitive material 16 that has risen to the side of the photosensitive material magazine 14 and has been exposed in the exposure unit 22 is provided below the exposure unit 22 by the reverse rotation of the transport roller 26 after being fed into the switchback unit 40 once. It is configured to be fed to the water coating section 62 via the above-mentioned transport path.

Here, FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the water applying section 62, and FIGS. 4 and 5 show sectional views of the water applying section 62.

In the water application section 62, an application tank 64 as a solvent filling plate member is arranged. The coating tank 64 is formed in a dish shape and is filled with water as an image forming solvent. The bottom wall of the coating tank 64 is slidably supported by the rail 65 of the machine base 12, and can be detached by sliding it to the front side of the machine base 12 with the front door 13 open. There is.

A plurality of rows of ribs 76 are formed on the bottom surface of the coating tank 64, that is, the surface on which the photosensitive material 16 passes, inclining with respect to the conveying direction of the photosensitive material 16, and the photosensitive material 16 serves as a guide plate 70 described later. It is possible to reduce the frictional resistance when passing between the coating tank 64 and the coating tank 64 and prevent the photosensitive material 16 from being scratched at a certain position.

Further, a pair of squeeze rollers 68 is arranged at the end of the coating tank 64 on the downstream side in the conveying direction of the photosensitive material 16. The squeeze roller 68 has, for example, an outer diameter of 2
A silicon rubber roller having a rubber hardness of 0 mm and a hardness of 40 ± 5 is applied with a predetermined pressing force (for example, 1 kg) at both ends in the longitudinal direction. The squeeze roller 68 is supported and covered by a cover 69 fixed to the coating tank 64. This prevents water from evaporating from the squeeze roller 68, and the squeeze roller 68 is integrated with the coating tank 64 as a unit.

Further, the coating tank 64 is provided with a drainage port 90 which communicates with the accommodating portion of the squeeze roller 68, and an overflow tank 92 and an overflow port 94 which communicates therewith at the end.

On the other hand, a supply roller 66 is arranged at the end of the coating tank 64 on the upstream side in the conveying direction of the photosensitive material 16. The supply roller 66 is, for example, a silicon rubber roller having an outer diameter of 20 mm and a rubber hardness of 60 ± 5, and has a predetermined pressing force (eg, 1 k) at both ends in the longitudinal direction.
g) has been added. This supply roller 66 is used for the machine base 1.
Therefore, when the coating tank 64 is slid along the rail 65 and is removed, the coating tank 64 is separated from the coating tank 64. Also,
The supply roller 66 also serves as a registration roller for correcting so-called skew of the photosensitive material 16 conveyed from the switchback unit 40.

Above the coating tank 64, the coating tank 6 is provided.
A guide plate 70 as a guide member is attached so as to oppose to 4. The guide plate 70 is formed of a metal material such as aluminum, and is rotatably supported by a shaft 71 coaxially with the supply roller 66, so that the guide plate 70 can move toward and away from the coating tank 64.

When the guide plate 70 is close to the coating tank 64, the passage gap for the photosensitive material 16 is formed by the facing gap between the guide plate 70 and the coating tank 64. Therefore, when the coating tank 64 is filled with water in this state, the photosensitive material 16 whose skew is corrected by the supply roller 66 is sent between the guide plate 70 and the coating tank 64 to be coated with water, and The excessive water is removed by being nipped and conveyed by the squeeze roller 68. 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 the photosensitive material 16 passing through water) is, for example, 100 mm, and the water immersion time is For example, it is 2.5 seconds. Further, the photosensitive material 16 after the water coating treatment (that is, after passing through the squeeze roller 68) has 11 ± 1 gr / m.
² water is to be applied.

On the other hand, when the guide plate 70 is separated from the coating tank 64, the guide plate 70 is separated and independent of the coating tank 64, whereby the rail 65 of the coating tank 64 is provided.
This is a configuration that allows slide movement along the.

At the center of the guide plate 70, a plurality of through holes 72 are formed in parallel with each other to serve as water supply paths. Further, a ceramic heater 102 as a temperature raising means is attached to the upper part of the guide plate 70, and the water passing through the through hole 72 is heated (for example, 40 ± 2 ° C.) and filled in the coating tank 64. be able to.

An auxiliary overflow tank 103 is arranged on the machine base 12 below the coating tank 64, and an overflow port 95 is formed in the auxiliary overflow tank 103.

A plurality of pipes are connected to the water application section 62 configured as described above so that water can be supplied. Here, FIG. 6 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 located in the replenishment tank 86. The replenishment tank 86 is filled with water as an image forming solvent.

As will be described later, in order to improve the amount of water permeating into the emulsion surface of the light-sensitive material 16, the guide plate 70 is
Although the shellac heater 102 is attached, by adjusting the temperature of the shellac heater 102 to 40 ° C. or higher, the water supplied into the coating tank 64 and the water filled in the coating tank 64 are adjusted. The temperature is always kept above 40 ° C.

Further, if desired, by providing a means for heating the water temperature to 40 ° C. or more in the supply pipe 78 and the replenishment tank 86, the generation of scale can be prevented more effectively.

The heating temperature is 40 ° C. or higher, and when water is used as the image forming solvent, the upper limit is 100 ° C. However, since it is difficult to handle when the boiling point is reached, 90 ° C. or lower is preferable. . Usually, the upper limit is a temperature about 10 ° C below the boiling point of the solvent. When water is used as the image forming solvent,
A preferred temperature range is 50 to 90 ° C. If the temperature is lower than 40 ° C, the bactericidal effect against bacteria is insufficient and the effect of preventing scale formation is inferior. If the temperature is 90 ° C or higher, it becomes difficult to handle the solvent, and the device parts formed of rubber, plastic, etc. in the device are This is not preferable because it may adversely affect the durability.

As a heating means, a ceramic heater,
A heat conduction type heater such as a nichrome wire heater, a heater using radiant heat such as an infrared lamp, a halogen lamp and the like can be mentioned. A heater using radiant heat is suitable for heating a wide range in a non-contact manner, for example, by installing the heater in the vicinity of the supply pipe 78. When using this, the surface of the heated portion is subjected to black alumite treatment or the like. It is preferable to perform blackening treatment. Further, as the replenishing tank 86 and the like, it is possible to use a heater such as a throw-in heater which is installed in a solvent and directly heats the solvent. Further, commercially available heater-incorporated pipes can be used for part or all of the supply pipe 78 and the discharge pipe 96. Each of these heaters is adjusted by a temperature controller such as a thermostat so as to maintain an appropriate temperature range. The heater as a heating means is preferably a ceramic heater from the viewpoint of safety.

The water adjusted to an appropriate temperature is filled (supplemented) into the coating tank 64 from the replenishment tank 86 by driving the pump 80 through the guide plate 70 (through hole 72) by the circulation system. You can At least one place, preferably a plurality of places, in these circulatory systems is provided with means for keeping the temperature of water at 40 ° C. or higher. It is heated and sterilized to a temperature that it cannot.

On the other hand, one end of a discharge pipe 96 is connected to the drainage port 90 of the coating tank 64. Discharge pipe 96
The other end is connected to the replenishment tank 86, and the solenoid valve 98 and the heater built-in pipe 210 are arranged in the middle of the discharge pipe 96. This solenoid valve 9
8 is in a closed state when the guide plate 70 approaches the coating tank 64 and the passage portion of the photosensitive material 16 is configured (normal state), the guide plate 70 is rotated around the shaft 71. When it is separated from the coating tank 64, it is in an open state. Therefore, when the guide plate 70 is rotated and the coating tank 64 is slid and removed, the water in the coating tank 64 is replenished via the discharge pipe 96.
Can be discharged to.

The opening / closing of the solenoid valve 98 is used to detect a jam when the photosensitive material 16 is conveyed, or to turn on / off the power of the apparatus (for example, the front door 13 and the side door 15 of the machine base 12 are unnecessary. When the abnormality occurs, such as when the power is cut off due to the operation of the interlock mechanism due to the opening of the solenoid valve 98, the solenoid valve 98 is opened and the water in the coating tank 64 is discharged to the replenishment tank 86 in these cases. May be configured.

Further, the heater built-in pipe 21
No. 0 is equipped with a temperature controller 212, and when moving in the heater built-in pipe 210, the water temperature is 80 ° C.
Heat for 5 seconds and sterilize. Instead of the heater built-in pipe 210, a heating block incorporating a ceramic heater may be installed around the discharge pipe 96. As described above, in the discharge pipe 96, the water is sterilized at a high temperature, so that it is possible to effectively prevent the generation of scale in the refill tank 86.

One end of a discharge pipe 100 is connected to the overflow port 94 of the coating tank 64. The other end of the drainage pipe 100 is connected to a check valve 88 attached to the refill tank 86. The check valve 88 is opened in a normal state and the drain pipe 100 is filled with the check valve 88.
6 and is in a closed state when the front door 13 of the machine base 12 is opened to shut off the drainage pipe 100 and the replenishment tank 86.

Further, one end of the drain pipe 101 is connected to the overflow port 95, and the drain pipe 101
The other end of the is connected to the check valve 88 like the drain pipe 100.

The heat development transfer section 10 is provided on the side of the water application section 62.
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 on the side of 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 the photosensitive material 16 (for example, 210 mm). Also, the image receiving material 108
The dye-fixing material having a mordant is applied to the image forming surface, 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 to the above, it is composed of a body portion and a pair of side frame portions fixed to both end portions of the body portion, and the front side of the machine base 12 (the front side of the plane of FIG. 1; that is, the width of the rolled image receiving material 108). direction)
It is possible to withdraw to.

A nip roller 110 is arranged in the vicinity of the image receiving material take-out port of the material receiving magazine 106, and the image receiving material 108 can be pulled out from the material receiving magazine 106 and the nip can be released.

A cutter 11 is provided on the side of the nip roller 110.
2 are arranged. Like the cutter 20 for the photosensitive material described above, the cutter 112 is, for example, a cutter of a type including a fixed blade and a moving blade. By moving the moving blade up and down by a rotating cam or the like, the cutter 112 is engaged with the fixed blade. , The image receiving material 10 drawn from the receiving material magazine 106
8 is cut into a length shorter than the photosensitive material 16.

On the side of the cutter 112, the photosensitive material magazine 1
An image receiving material transporting section 180 is provided at the side of 4. The image receiving material transport unit 180 includes a transport roller 186,
190, 114 and a guide plate 182 are arranged, and the image receiving material 108 cut into a predetermined length can be conveyed to the heat development transfer section 104. Further, the transport roller 114 also serves as a registration roller for correcting a so-called skew of the image receiving material 108 transported from the image receiving material transport unit 180. Therefore, the skew of the image receiving material 108 is corrected by the transport roller 114, and the thermal development transfer section 10 is subjected to the correction.
It is sent to 4.

The heat development transfer section 104 is composed of a heating drum 116 and an endless pressure contact belt 118, and a laminating roller 120 is arranged on the outer periphery of the heating drum 116 on the water application section 62 side.

The laminating roller 120 is a roller having an outer diameter of, for example, 22 mm at the central portion in the axial direction, and the outer peripheral surface thereof is covered with silicon rubber (for example, wall thickness 2.35 mm).
Further, its rubber hardness is set to about 40 degrees. Also,
The laminating roller 120 is pressed against the outer circumference of the heating drum 116 by applying a predetermined pressing force (for example, 9 kg) at both ends in the longitudinal direction. The laminating roller 120 is connected to the drum motor 200 via a drive system (not shown), and the driving force of the drum motor 200 is transmitted to rotate the laminating roller 120. Note that, here, the squeeze roller 68 is used with respect to the conveying speed of the photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving material 108 by the laminating roller 120.
The conveying speed of the photosensitive material 16 or the image receiving material 108 by the conveying roller 114 or the conveying roller 114 is set to be slightly slowed (for example, about 2%), whereby the laminating roller 120 is attached to the photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving material 108. When it is sent to, the back tension is set to work.

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 166 mm, and axial effective width 300 mm. The outer peripheral surface and the inner peripheral surface of the heating drum 116 are both subjected to black alumite treatment.

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 6, the bonding roller 1 with the photosensitive material 16 preceding by a predetermined length (20 mm in this embodiment).
20 and the heating drum 116 are fed so as to be superposed. In this case, the image receiving material 108
Has a dimension in the width direction and a dimension in the longitudinal direction that are smaller than those of the photosensitive material 16. Therefore, the peripheral portion of the photosensitive material 16 is superposed in such a manner that all four sides project from the peripheral portion of the image receiving material 108. .

Further, a cam 130 and a filler 131 are fixed to the side wall of the heating drum 116. The cam 130 includes a peeling claw 154 and a peeling claw 176 described later.
The peeling claw 154 and the peeling claw 176 are rotated with the rotation of the heating drum 116. On the other hand, the filler 131 is the heating drum 11.
6 is used for detecting the alignment between 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. Each of the halogen lamps 132A and 132B has, for example, 400
The outputs are W and 450 W, and the surface of the heating drum 116 can be heated (for example, about 82 ° 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 periphery of the heating drum 116, has a structure in which a woven fabric material is covered with rubber, and in this embodiment, the widthwise dimension is formed to be 224 mm. The woven material is an aromatic polyamide fiber (for example, Kevlar or Nomex: du P
It is sewn with a heat-resistant fiber such as a registered trademark of Ont Co.). Further, the rubber for coating is a silicon rubber containing carbon and has conductivity.

This endless pressure contact belt 118 is wound around five winding rollers 134, 135, 136, 138, 140, and the endless outer side between the winding rollers 134 and 140 is heated. It is pressed against the outer periphery of the drum 116.

The winding rollers 134, 135, 136,
Each of 138 is made of stainless steel. Further, the winding roller 136 is formed in a tapered shape in which both ends in the axial direction expand outward, and 2.0 kg (both in the practical range, 1.0 to 3.0 k) in both ends in the longitudinal direction.
The pressing force of g) is applied in the 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 the drum motor 200 via a drive system (not shown).
The driving force of 0 is transmitted and the winding roller 140 is rotated. 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. It is configured to be transmitted to the heating drum 116 by force, and the heating drum 116 is driven to rotate. In this case, the rotating peripheral speed of the heating drum 116 is 40 mm / sec.

The drum motor 200 includes a plurality of driving portions, that is, a winding roller 140, a laminating roller 120, a squeeze roller 68, and a bending guide roller 142, a peeling roller 174, and a sensitive material discharge roller 1 which will be described later.
58, 160, peeling roller 174, receiving material discharging roller 17
2, 173, and 175 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 is sandwiched and conveyed over approximately 2/3 of the heating drum 116 (between the winding roller 134 and the winding roller 140). Furthermore, at the time when the photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving material 108, which are superposed, are completely set between the heating drum 116 and the endless pressure contact belt 118,
The heating drum 116 temporarily stops rotating (for example, 5 to 1).
The sandwiched photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving material 108 are heated for 5 seconds. When the photosensitive material 16 is heated during the nip and conveyance and when stopped, it releases a movable dye, and at the same time, the 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 downstream of the endless pressure contact belt 118 in the material supply direction.
Are arranged. The bending guide roller 142 is a rubber roller made of silicon rubber, and is used for the drum motor 200.
The driving force is transmitted to rotate. The bending guide roller 142 is pressed against the outer circumference of the heating drum 116 at a predetermined pressure (for example, 800 g). Therefore, the photosensitive material 16 or the image receiving material 108 conveyed by the heating drum 116 and the endless pressing belt 118. Can be further nipped and conveyed.

A peeling claw 154 is rotatably supported on the lower portion of the heating drum 116 on the downstream side of the bending guide roller 142 in the material supply direction, and a pinch roller 157 is further arranged.

The peeling claw 154 corresponds to the outer circumference of the heating drum 116 and can be brought into contact with or separated from the heating drum 116 by the operation of the cam 130. When the peeling claw 154 is in contact with the heating drum 116, the endless pressure welding belt 1
Of the photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving material 108 that are nipped and conveyed between the 18 and the heating drum 116, engage only with the leading end portion of the photosensitive material 16 that is superposed in a state of preceding by a predetermined length,
This tip can be separated from the outer periphery of the heating drum 116. On the other hand, the pinch roller 157 has the peeling claw 15
4 and the peeling claw 154 is operated in association with the heating drum 11.
6 is pressed against the bending guide roller 142 with a predetermined pressure (for example, 600 g). Therefore, the photosensitive material 16 peeled by the peeling claw 154 is
While being pressed by the pinch roller 157, it is wound around the bending guide roller 142 and moved downward.

Below the bending guide roller 142 and the peeling claw 154, the photosensitive material discharge rollers 158 and 160 and a plurality of guide rollers 162 are arranged.
Photosensitive material 1 that is moved downward while being wound around 42
6 can be further conveyed and accumulated in the waste photosensitive material storage box 178. The photosensitive material discharge rollers 158 and 160 are configured to rotate by receiving the driving force of the drum motor 200 for driving the thermal development transfer unit 104 as described above. The rotation speeds of the photosensitive material discharge rollers 158 and 160 are set to be 1 to 3% slower than the rotation peripheral speed of the heating drum 116, thereby preventing the photosensitive material 16 from being tensioned.

A drying fan 165 is arranged near the guide roller 162 to promote the drying of the photosensitive material 16.

A peeling roller 174 and a peeling claw 176 are arranged near the heating drum 116 on the side of the bending guide roller 142. The peeling roller 174 is a rubber roller made of silicon rubber and has a surface roughness of 25 S or more, and is rotated by receiving the driving force of the drum motor 200 as described above. Further, the peeling roller 174 has a predetermined pressure (for example, 800 g) on the outer circumference of the heating drum 116.
It is pressure contacted with. Therefore, the peeling roller 174 can act together with the peeling claw 176 to peel the image receiving material 108 that moves together with the heating drum 116 from the outer periphery of the heating drum 116 and guide the image receiving material 108 by bending.

Below the peeling roller 174 and the peeling claw 176, a receiving material guide 170 is arranged, and also receiving material discharge rollers 172, 173, 175 are arranged, and the heating drum 1 is constituted by the peeling roller 174 and the peeling claw 176.
The image receiving material 108 separated from 16 can be guided and conveyed. Receiving material discharge rollers 172, 173, 175
Has a clamping force (nip force) of 100 g to 300 g (pressure of 50 g to 150 g at both ends in the longitudinal direction).

A drum fan 168 as a drying means is arranged near the peeling roller 174. Therefore, the image receiving material 108 moving along the heating drum 116.
Is not only dried by the heat of the heating drum 116, but is also accelerated by the drum fan 168. 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. Further, the receiving material guide 170 has a ceramic heater 2 as a drying means.
10 is provided to further accelerate the drying of the conveyed image receiving material 108. The ceramic heater 210
Is set to 70 ° C.

The image receiving material 108 peeled off from the outer periphery of the heating drum 116 by the peeling claw 176 while the drying is promoted by the drum fan 168.
70 and the receiving material discharge rollers 172, 173, and 175, and the sheet is discharged to the tray 177.

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

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. In the image recording apparatus 10 having the above-described configuration, after the photosensitive material magazine 14 is set, the photosensitive material 16 contained in the photosensitive material magazine 14 is pulled out by the nip roller 18, and the cutter 2
After being cut by 0, it is transported by the transport rollers 19 and 21.

After that, the carrying roller 19 and the carrying roller 2
The photosensitive material 16 transported by 1 is further transported by the transport rollers 23, 24, 26 and is transported to the exposure unit 22, and the exposure unit 22 is driven at a predetermined speed (for example, 11 mm / sec).
Pass by. At the same time when the photosensitive material 16 is conveyed (passing through the exposure section 22), the exposure device 38 is operated to scan and expose the photosensitive material 16 located in the exposure section 22. After the exposure is started, the exposed photosensitive material 16 is temporarily transferred to the switchback unit 4
After being sent to 0, it is sent to the water application section 62 by the reverse rotation of the carrying roller 26.

In the water application section 62, the guide plate 70 is in a state of approaching the application tank 64.
0 and the coating tank 64 face each other, the photosensitive material 16
The passage is constructed. Therefore, the conveyed photosensitive material 16 is guided by the supply roller 66 to the guide plate 7.
0 is fed between the coating tank 64 and the coating tank 64, and is nipped and conveyed by the squeeze roller 68.

A pump 80 is provided in the coating tank 64.
The water supplied from the replenishment tank 86 is filled (replenished) by the driving of the photosensitive material. Therefore, the photosensitive material is fed by the supply roller 66 between the guide plate 70 to which the shellac heater 102 is attached and the coating tank 64. 16 is coated with heated water, and the squeeze roller 68 removes excess water while the water coating section 62
Pass through.

In this case, since the shellac heater 102 is attached to the guide plate 70 as described above, the water is directly heated to the coating tank 64 in this state while being heated to a predetermined temperature (appropriate temperature of 40 to 90 ° C.). It is supplied and filled in the coating tank 64. Further filled water is the guide plate 70.
Is also heated through and maintained at a predetermined temperature. For this reason,
The temperature of the water can be maintained within a range that prevents the growth of bacteria, and the occurrence of scale due to bacteria can be prevented. Also,
The permeation amount (infiltration amount) of water into the emulsion surface of the light-sensitive material 16 passing through the coating tank 64 increases, and the saturation amount is certainly reached.

Furthermore, since the squeeze roller 68 is covered by the cover 69, the squeeze roller 68 is
Evaporation of water from is prevented. Therefore, the coating tank 6
The decrease in water in the water 4 is reduced, and the water vapor is prevented from flowing into other parts such as the exposure part 22 located above the water application part 62.

The photosensitive material 16 coated with water as the image forming solvent in the water coating section 62 is squeeze roller 6
It is sent to the heat developing and transferring section 104 by 8.

On the other hand, as the scanning exposure of the photosensitive material 16 is started, the image receiving material 108 is also pulled out from the material receiving magazine 106 by the nip roller 110 and conveyed. When the image receiving material 108 is pulled out by a predetermined length, the cutter 112 operates and the image receiving material 108 is cut into a predetermined length. After the operation of the cutter 112, the image receiving material 108 after cutting
Is transported by the transport rollers 190, 186, 114 while being guided by the guide plate 182 of the image receiving material transport unit 180, and is in a standby state immediately before the thermal development transfer unit 104.

In the heat development transfer section 104, when it is detected that the photosensitive material 16 has been fed between the outer periphery of the heating drum 116 and the bonding roller 120 by the squeeze roller 68, the conveyance of the image receiving material 108 is restarted. The heating drum 11 is fed to the laminating roller 120 as well.
6 is activated. As a result, the bonding roller 120
The light-sensitive material 16 and the image-receiving material 108 superposed by
Means that the heating drum 116 and the endless pressure welding belt 118 are sandwiched between the heating drum 11 and the heating drum 11.
It is conveyed over almost 2/3 of the circumference of 6 (between the winding roller 134 and the winding roller 140). Further, the light-sensitive material 16 and the image receiving material 108, which are superposed, are heated by the heating drum 116. When the photosensitive material 16 is heated during the sandwiching conveyance and at the time of stopping, it releases a movable dye, and at the same time, the dye is transferred to the dye fixing layer of the image receiving material 108 to obtain an 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 peeling claw 154 is moved by the cam 130 and the image receiving material 1
08, the peeling claw 154 engages with the leading end of the photosensitive material 16 that is conveyed by a predetermined length, and peels the leading end of the photosensitive material 16 from the outer periphery of the heating drum 116. Further, the pinch roller 157 presses the photosensitive material 16 by the returning movement of the peeling claw 154, and the photosensitive material 16 is wound around the bending guide roller 142 while being pressed by the pinch roller 157, and is moved downward. The photosensitive material 16 wound around the bending guide roller 142 is further guided by the guide roller 162, and then the photosensitive material discharge roller 15
8 and 160, in which case the drying fan 16
5 and dried and accumulated in the waste photosensitive material storage box 178.

On the other hand, the heating drum 1 is separated from the photosensitive material 16.
The image receiving material 108 that moves while being in close contact with 16.
Are sent to the peeling roller 174. When the tip of the image receiving material 108 is nipped by the peeling roller 174 (between the heating drum 116), the peeling claw 1 is again moved by the cam 130.
76 is moved, and the peeling nail 17 is attached to the tip of the image receiving material 108.
6 is engaged and the image receiving material 108 is peeled off from the outer periphery of the heating drum 116.

The image receiving material 108 peeled from the outer periphery of the heating drum 116 by the peeling claw 176 is further wound around the peeling roller 174 and moved downward, and guided by the material receiving guide 170 while receiving the material receiving rollers 172, 1.
73, 175, and is discharged to the tray 177 while being dried by the drum fan 168 and the ceramic heater 210 at this time.

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

Here, the coating tank 6 of the image recording apparatus 10
4, supply pipe 78, replenishment tank 86, discharge pipe 96
At least 1 point in the water circulation system such as
The above is heated and sterilized. The sterilized water does not spoil on repeated use and thus does not form scales. As a result, image defects such as water stains adhering to the image recording material, and filter 82 installed on the supply pipe 78 due to water stains cause a decrease in the amount of water supply such as uneven water application. Image failure can be prevented. Further, in order to prevent water deterioration, it is possible to reduce the frequency of maintenance of the image recording apparatus such as cleaning of the coating tank 64 and the replenishment tank 84 and replacement of the filter 82.

As described above, the image recording apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment can not only surely apply water to the photosensitive material 16 but also there is no image failure due to deterioration of water and the application tank 6
The frequency of cleaning of No. 4 and replacement of the filter 82 can also be reduced.

In this embodiment, the photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving material 108 are used as the image recording material, but the present invention is not limited to this, and other sheet-shaped image recording materials can be applied. Is.

In the above embodiment, the shellac heater 102 as a heating means is installed on the guide plate 70 in the coating tank 64, and the heater built-in type pipe 210 as another heating means is one of the discharge pipes 96. Although the water is used as an image forming solvent, the heating means may be installed at any place as long as it can effectively sterilize by heating water as an image forming solvent to 40 ° C. or higher. For example, the heating means is the supply pipe 7.
8, the discharge pipe 96 or the like may be arranged at an appropriate position in the supply path, inside the coating tank 64 and / or outside thereof, or inside the replenishing tank 86 and / or outside thereof, image formation If the solvent for use can be heated to a predetermined temperature, the effect of the present invention can be achieved.

[0090]

As described above, the image recording apparatus according to the present invention can not only surely apply the image forming solvent to the image recording material, but also prevent deterioration of water which is the image forming solvent. It has an excellent effect that there is no image failure due to water deterioration.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

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

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a coating tank of a water coating section, a guide plate, a ceramic heater, and peripheral parts.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a normal state in which the guide plate of the water application section is close to the application tank.

5 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 4, showing a state in which the guide plate of the water application unit rotates and is separated from the application tank.

FIG. 6 is a water supply system diagram of a water application unit of an image recording apparatus in which a ceramic heater is installed on a guide plate of an application tank and a heater built-in pipe is installed on a part of a discharge pipe.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 image recording device 12 machine base (device main body) 16 photosensitive material (image recording material) 62 water coating section 64 coating tank (solvent filling plate member) 70 guide plate 78 supply pipe 82 filter 96 discharge pipe 102 ceramic heater (heating means) 108 image receiving material (image recording material) 210 heater built-in pipe (heating means) 212 temperature controller

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Two different types of image recording materials are used, one of the image recording materials is imagewise exposed and then passed through an inside of a coating tank to apply an image forming solvent, and then the other image recording material is used. One of the image forming solvent replenishing tank, the supply path, and the image forming solvent applying section in an image recording apparatus that obtains an image on the other image recording material by closely superimposing it on the image recording material and performing heat development transfer processing. An image recording apparatus comprising means for heating a part or the whole to 40 ° C. or higher.