JPH077203B2 - Image forming solvent coater - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an image forming solvent coating device (hereinafter referred to as coating device) for coating a sheet-shaped recording material with an image forming solvent, and particularly to a sheet. It is suitable to be applied to an image recording apparatus for recording a color image on a pattern recording material.

[Conventional technology]

As the image recording material, a photothermographic material is known, and the photothermographic material and the process thereof are described in, for example, 242 to 2 of Basic non-silver photography of photographic engineering (published by Corona Publishing Co. in 1982).
55 pages, 40 pages of video information issued in April 1978, Neblett's Handb
ook of Photography and Reprography) 7th edition (7th E
d.) Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, pages 32-33.

Many methods have been proposed for obtaining a color image (color image) by thermal development.

This is because when heated, it releases an image-wise movable dye,
A method of transferring this movable dye to a dye fixing material (image receiving material) having a mordant with a solvent such as water, a method of transferring it to a dye fixing material with a high boiling organic solvent, and a hydrophilic thermal solvent incorporated in the dye fixing material. Have been proposed, and a method in which a movable dye has thermal diffusivity or sublimability and is transferred to a dye receiving material such as a support has been proposed. (U.S. Pat.Nos. 4,463,079 and 4,474,867,
No. 4,478,927, No. 4,507,380, JP-A-58-149046
No. 58, No. 58-149047, No. 59-152440, No. 59-154445.
No. 59-165054, 59-180548, 59-168439.
No. 59-174832, 59-174833, 59-174834
No. 59-174835, etc.) As an apparatus for carrying out this type of image forming method, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-75247, an exposure head uses an exposure head. After exposing the color image to the photothermographic material, the photothermographic material is coated with an image forming solvent such as water on a roller and sent to the heat developing section, and the image receiving material is applied to the photothermographic material after heat development. An image recording apparatus has been proposed in which the image is closely contacted and sent to a transfer unit, and the image is thermally transferred to the image receiving material at the transfer unit.

As another coating device for coating the image forming solvent, for example, the photothermographic material is conveyed while being immersed in the image forming solvent contained in a water tank, and the photothermographic material is sandwiched between a pair of squeeze rollers. However, it is conceivable that the excess image forming solvent is scraped off from the swollen photothermographic material.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

When an image is recorded by the image recording apparatus for a long period of time, the peripheral surface of the squeeze roller becomes dirty, and this dirt adheres to the photothermographic material and adversely affects the image.

Therefore, the conventional coating device is configured to be attachable to and detachable from the image recording device, and is configured to perform maintenance such as replacement of the image forming solvent and cleaning of the water tank and the squeeze roller.

Here, a heater for controlling the image forming solvent to a predetermined temperature, a temperature detecting element, and the like are provided waterproofly on the bottom surface of the water tank, and these are a temperature not shown from the bottom surface or side portion of the water tank. The control circuit is touched.

Therefore, at the time of maintenance, it is necessary to disconnect the heater and the temperature detecting element from each other, perform the predetermined work, and then reconnect them, which requires time and effort for maintenance, and there is a risk of leakage.

The present invention solves the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a coating apparatus that can be easily inspected and maintained.

[Means and Actions for Solving the Problems]

The above-mentioned object of the present invention is to convey a sheet-shaped recording material while immersing it in an image-forming solvent in a water tank, and sandwich the sheet-shaped recording material between a pair of squeeze rollers to scrape off excess image-forming solvent. An image forming solvent coating device, comprising a pair of guide members for guiding the sheet-shaped recording material to the squeeze roller in the water tank, the guide member being above the guide member in the direction of gravity and the liquid surface of the solvent. The image forming solvent coating device is provided with a heater for heating the image forming solvent to a predetermined temperature in the vicinity of the conveying path of the sheet-shaped recording material, the upper guide member being in contact with.

That is, by providing the upper guide member with a heater, it is possible to attach only the upper guide member to the housing of the image recording device and separate the water tank and the heater of the coating device from each other. No need to remove the parts, and maintenance work becomes easier.

Further, since the opening of the water tank is covered by the upper guide member during image recording, it is possible to reduce evaporation of the image forming solvent such as water in the water tank.

Therefore, even if the temperature of the image forming solvent is raised by using a heater to increase the degree of swelling, the decrease in the image forming solvent due to evaporation can be suppressed and the supply frequency and the supply amount can be reduced.

Further, the image forming solvent includes, for example, water, and the water is not limited to so-called pure water, but includes water in a widely and commonly used meaning. Further, a mixed solvent of pure water and a low boiling point solvent such as methanol, DMF, acetone or diisobutyl ketone may be used. Further, it may be a solution containing an image formation accelerator, an antifoggant, a development terminator, a hydrophilic thermal solvent and the like.

[Embodiment]

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

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

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image recording apparatus equipped with a coating device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment,
As the sheet-shaped recording material, a case is shown in which a photosensitive material of the type that requires a heat development step and is capable of transferring and forming an image on an image receiving material having an image receiving layer in the presence of an image forming solvent such as water is used.

In the housing 12 that constitutes the image recording apparatus, a photosensitive material supply unit 13 that stores the photosensitive material A, an image reading unit 15 that reads the image information carried on the document S, and a latent image is formed on the photosensitive material A. Exposure unit 16, water application unit 17 for applying water to photosensitive material A, image receiving paper supply unit 41 containing image receiving paper C, and superposition unit for superimposing image receiving paper C on photosensitive material A
19, a heat-development and transfer unit 21 that heats the photosensitive material A and the image receiving paper C, and a peeling unit 23 that peels the image receiving paper C from the photosensitive material A are provided.

A transparent document supporting glass plate 14 on which the document S is placed is arranged on the upper surface of the housing 12, and the image reading unit 15 is arranged below the document supporting glass plate 14.

That is, the image reading section 15 is the same as the light source 18 that integrally scans the entire surface of the original supporting glass plate 14, the mirror 20a and the assembly 30 of the imaging lens / filter unit, and half the scanning distance of the light source 18 and the like. It includes directionally moving mirrors 20b, 20c and fixed mirrors 20d, 20e, 20f, which are surrounded by a partition wall 22 and optically shielded from other parts. However, in this case, in the partition wall 22, an exposure opening 34 for the exposure unit 16 of the photosensitive material A is defined in a portion where the optical axis 32 of the image reading unit 15 reflected by the fixed mirror 20f passes. A shutter device 35 and a shutter control device 36 are arranged in the exposure opening 34.

A standard white plate 302 is provided near the document supporting glass plate 14 so that it can be exposed to the light source 18.

On the other hand, the photosensitive material supply unit 13 is provided on the left side of the housing 12 and is kept light-tight. The photosensitive material supply section 13 is provided with a photosensitive material magazine 54 in which the photosensitive material A is wound.
Is loaded.

The photosensitive material supply unit 13 has roller pairs 56a to 56d for conveying the photosensitive material A from the magazine 54 to the exposure unit 16. In this case, a cutter 58 that cuts the photosensitive material A at a predetermined length is provided between the roller pair 56a and 56b. Also, roller pair 56c, 56
The exposure table 60 disposed between d faces the exposure opening 34 defined on the bottom surface of the partition wall 22 surrounding the image reading unit 15.

A pair of rollers 56 is provided in front of the exposure section 16 (hereinafter, the front side means the downstream side in the traveling direction of the photosensitive material or the like).
A transport path consisting of e and a guide plate is provided.

The exposure section 16 performs imagewise exposure on the photosensitive material A to form a latent image, and the photosensitive material A on which the latent image is formed is conveyed to the water coating section 17 through the conveyance path.

The water application section 17 is for facilitating the transfer of the latent image formed on the photosensitive material A, and includes a roller pair 56f, a squeeze roller pair 176, a guide plate 172, and a water tank 174. Then, the water tank 174 is filled with water, and the photosensitive material A is transported while being immersed in the water.

The photosensitive material A coated with water is conveyed to the superposing section 19 by the squeeze roller pair 176.

On the other hand, on the right side of the housing 12, an image receiving paper supply section 41 for supplying the image receiving paper C is provided. The image receiving paper supply unit 41 is
An image receiving paper magazine 43 containing the wound image receiving paper C is loaded. The image receiving paper C in the magazine 43 is fed by the roller pair 56h, and the cutter 4 arranged in front of the roller pair 56h.
It is cut into a predetermined length by 4.

The cut image receiving paper C is conveyed to the superposing section 19 by the roller pair 56i.

In front of the superposing section 19, there is provided a heat developing and transferring section 21 which heats the superposed photosensitive material A and the image receiving paper C, develops the latent image on the photosensitive material A, and transfers the latent image onto the image receiving paper C.

The heat development transfer section 21 is surrounded by a heat insulating partition wall 62, and is a hollow cylindrical heating drum 74 containing a halogen lamp 72, and is wound around the outer peripheral surface of the heating drum 74 at an angle of about 270 °. Four belt support rollers 76,77,78,8
The photosensitive material A and the image receiving paper C are heated in a state of including the endless belt 84 supported by 0.
By this heating, the latent image on the photosensitive material A is developed, and at the same time, it is transferred onto the image receiving paper C to develop a color.

A peeling portion 23 is provided in the partition wall 62, and the peeling portion 23 is a first peeling claw 232 for peeling the photosensitive material A from the image receiving paper C.
And a second peeling claw 234 for peeling the image receiving paper C from the heating drum 74, and a roller 56j for discharging the image receiving paper C to the outside of the partition wall 62.

In front of one side of the heat-development and transfer section 21, a waste tray 118 for discarding the heated photosensitive material A separated from the image receiving paper C by the separation claw 232 and a roller pair 56k for introducing the photosensitive material A into the waste tray 118. Is provided. The waste tray 118 is provided below the heat development transfer section 21. Further, in front of the other side of the heat development transfer section 21, there are provided a take-out tray 120 for containing the heated image receiving paper C and a pair of rollers 56l, 56m, 56n for carrying to the take-out tray 120, and the image is transferred. The image receiving paper C is led out to the takeout tray 120.

Further, a color density detection unit 124 for detecting the color density of the image on the image receiving paper C is arranged between the roller pair 56m and 56n. The color density detection unit 124 includes an illuminating device 126 that illuminates the image surface of the image receiving paper C, and a color photosensor 128 that receives the reflected light from the image receiving paper C due to this illumination.

The present apparatus further includes a color density control unit 150 connected to the imaging lens / filter unit assembly 30 and the photosensor 128 and arranged at a proper position in the housing 12,
The color density control unit 150, the photosensitive material supply unit 13, the image reading unit 15, the drive system (not shown) of the image reading unit 15, the image receiving paper supply unit 41, the cutters 44 and 58, the shutter control device 36, the water application unit. A system controller (not shown) connected to the heating / development transfer unit 21 and the peeling unit 23 to control the entire apparatus is provided.

Next, the water application section 17 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

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

The water application section 17 includes a water tank 174 containing water, a pair of upper and lower guide members 172a and 172b for guiding the photosensitive material A into water, and a pair of rollers 56f for conveying the photosensitive material A along the guide members 172a and 172b. , A pair of squeeze rollers 176 for scraping excess water from the swelled photosensitive material A coated with water, and a heater 180 fixed to the upper part of the upper guide member 172a.
Consists of.

The squeeze roller 176 is made of, for example, metal, resin, or the like.

The overall shape of the upper guide member 172a is a plate, and the photosensitive material A
The curved shape is formed toward the bottom surface of the water tank 174 along the transport direction of. And the size of the curved surface is
It is configured to almost cover the upper opening of 174, so to speak, a water tank 1
It is configured so that it can act as a lid for 74.

Therefore, when the upper guide member 172a covers the upper opening of the water tank 174, the upper guide member 172a guides the upper guide member 172a and the upper guide member 172a prevents water from evaporating from the upper opening of the water tank 174. It can be reduced.

On the other hand, one side of the upper guide member 172a is, for example, X in FIG.
It is rotatably attached to a part of the housing 12 at a position. Therefore, when the water tank 174 is taken out of the image recording apparatus, the upper guide member 172a can be rotated in the direction of arrow Y to separate the water tank 174 from the upper guide member 172a.

That is, since the heater 180 is attached to the upper guide member 172a, when removing the water tank 174, work such as disconnecting the connection line with the heater 180 is not required, workability is improved, and there is a risk of electrical leakage. Nor.

Then, after cleaning the water tank 174 or the like, the water tank 174 is stored and fixed in the original position, and the upper guide member 172a is rotated again to the original position, whereby the image can be recorded. Therefore, even at this time, the connection of the heater 180 is irrelevant and the workability is improved.

By the way, the swelling amount Q when the photosensitive material A contains water
It is known that the appropriate amount is about 15 g / m ² to 17 g / m ² . And, as shown in FIG.
Adjusted using heater 180 to achieve water temperatures of 30 ° C to 40 ° C.

Thus, the heater 180 is indispensable, and by attaching the heater 180 to the upper guide member 172a that functions as a lid as in the present embodiment, the minus element of the heater 180 can be eliminated.

Further, a connector or the like for connecting the heater is not required, and the cost can be reduced accordingly.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made.

For example, a handle may be provided on a part of the upper guide member 172a serving as a lid so that the rotating work can be performed easily.

Further, the upper guide member 172a serving as a lid may have a structure that moves up and down in the upper part of the water tank 174. In this case, the connection of the heater 180 may be set to a length with a margin according to the amount of vertical movement.

Further, the upper guide member 172a and the heater 180 may be combined into one heater.

Besides removing only the water tank 174, the squeeze roller can also be removed at the same time.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and may be an apparatus for applying an image forming solvent to an image receiving material.

〔The invention's effect〕

According to the present invention, the heater is provided on the upper guide member as described above, and the upper guide member is operated by an operation independent of the operation of attaching / detaching the water tank for accommodating the image forming solvent to / from the image recording apparatus. By making it a lid that opens and closes the opening, it is not necessary to detach or reconnect the connecting wire for the heater when the water tank is attached or detached, and maintenance work is facilitated.

Moreover, since the upper guide member also serves as the lid as described above, the structure of the coating device can be simplified and the structure of the entire image recording device to which the coating device is applied can be simplified. You can expect cost reduction.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image recording apparatus equipped with a coating device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a coating section, and FIG. 3 is a graph showing swelling amount with respect to immersion time. . Reference numeral in the drawing: 10 ... Image recording device, 12 ... Housing 13 ... Photosensitive material supply section 14 ... Original supporting glass plate, 15 ... Image reading section 17 ... Water application section, 18 ... Light source 19 ... Superimposing section 21 …… Heat development transfer section, 23 …… Peeling section 30 …… Imaging lens / filter unit assembly 32 …… Optical axis 36 …… Shutter controller 41 …… Receiving paper supply section, 43 …… Receiving paper magazine 44,58 …… Cutter, 54 …… Sensitive material magazine 56a to 56n …… Roller pair 60 …… Exposure stand 72 …… Halogen lamp 74 …… Heating drum 76,77,78,80 …… Belt support roller 84 …… Endless belt 118 …… Waste tray 120 …… Eject tray 124 …… Color density detection unit 126 …… Lighting device 128 …… Color photo sensor 150 …… Color density control unit 172a …… Upper guide plate, 172b …… Lower guide plate 174 …… water tank 176 …… squeeze roller 180 …… heater 232,234 …… peeling Pawl 302 ...... white plate A ...... photosensitive material, C ...... receiving paper X ...... rotational position, Y ...... rotational direction

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus for transporting a sheet-shaped recording material while being immersed in an image-forming solvent in a water tank, and sandwiching the sheet-shaped recording material between a pair of squeeze rollers to scrape off excess image-forming solvent. A solvent coating device, comprising a pair of guide members for guiding the sheet-shaped recording material to the squeeze roller in the water tank, the guide members being above the guide members and in contact with the liquid surface of the solvent. An image forming solvent applying device, wherein a guide member is provided with a heater for heating the image forming solvent in the vicinity of the sheet-shaped recording material conveying path to a predetermined temperature.