JPH09131906A - Thermal recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To widely reduce recording sound caused by intermittent sending of a thermal recording film by providing a vibration absorbing member which comes in contact with a thermal recording material during recording at the upstream side and/or the downstream side of a platen roller in the conveying direction. SOLUTION: In a recording device 10, when an instruction to start recording is given, a lid body 26 is opened, a sheet mechanism using a suction cup 40 takes out a sheet of thermal film A from a magazine 24 so as to supply to a conveying means 42. The thermal film A is conveyed being guided by conveying guide 44. When temperature of a thermal head 66 is at a predetermined temperature, a pair of regulating rollers 52 are rotated and the thermal film A is printed by the thermal head 66. At this time, when conveying by the regulating rollers 52 is started, the thermal film A is conveyed being pinched by a pair of vibration absorbing rollers 56 which use a sponge roller, so that the vibration of the thermal film A due to intermittent conveyance of the thermal film A is absorbed and recording sound to be generated in recording of thermal images is largely reduced.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention belongs to the technical field of a thermal recording apparatus using a thermal recording material.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Image recording using a heat-sensitive recording film (hereinafter referred to as a heat-sensitive film) formed by forming a heat-sensitive recording layer with a film as a support for recording an ultrasonic diagnostic image (hereinafter also referred to as a heat-sensitive image recording) ) Is used. Also,
Since such a thermal image recording does not require a wet development process and has advantages such as easy handling,
In recent years, in addition to small image recording such as ultrasonic diagnosis, use for image recording for medical diagnosis is also considered in applications requiring large and high quality images such as MRI diagnosis and X-ray diagnosis. Has been done.

As is well known, the thermal image recording uses a thermal head having a glaze in which heating recording points (recording dots) for heating the thermal recording layer of the thermal film to record an image are arranged in one direction, By slightly pressing the glaze on the heat-sensitive film (heat-sensitive recording layer), while moving the both relatively in the direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the recording dots, by heating each recording dot of the glaze according to the recorded image. An image is recorded by heating the heat-sensitive recording layer of the heat-sensitive film.

[0004]

As described above, in thermal image recording, the thermal recording layer is heated while the thermal head is pressed against the thermal film and the thermal recording layer is heated to perform image recording. Sometimes there is a problem that a comparatively loud recording sound is produced. In thermal image recording, the transport speed of the thermal film by the platen roller is constant, but since the surface of the thermal recording layer is slightly melted during heating recording, the coefficient of friction between the thermal head (glaze) and the thermal film becomes small, The transport speed becomes faster than when not heated.
Therefore, the transport speed of the thermosensitive film changes between recording and non-recording, resulting in intermittent transport, and the vibration due to this intermittent transport is transmitted to the film and magnified, resulting in a large recording sound.

Further, as described above, thermal image recording is
Utilization for RI image diagnosis and X-ray image diagnosis has been studied, but in these applications, since it is directly used as a diagnostic image, a silver salt photographic light-sensitive material that can obtain a high quality image has been conventionally used. The image record used is used. Therefore,
The heat sensitive film for medical use is required to have an image quality corresponding to that of a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material. However, since such a heat-sensitive film for medical use is intended to be used for diagnosis equivalent to silver salt photographic image recording, it is necessary to use a film (about 200 μm) having the same thickness as the silver salt photographic film. Therefore, the rigidity is higher than that of a normal thermosensitive film, and the recorded sound becomes louder. Moreover, in applications requiring high image quality such as medical use, thermal recording,
More specifically, energy supply to the thermal head for recording (heating of recording dots) is usually performed by digitally controlled pulse width modulation instead of analog intensity modulation, so the heating time It becomes the same as sending a pulse at a constant frequency with and without time,
Intermittent conveyance becomes more noticeable and recording sound becomes louder.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and in image recording using a heat-sensitive recording film, particularly a medical heat-sensitive recording film, a recording sound caused by intermittent feeding of the heat-sensitive recording film. Another object of the present invention is to provide a heat-sensitive image recording device capable of significantly reducing the temperature.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a thermal head having a glaze in which thermosensitive recording points are arranged in one direction, and a thermosensitive recording material sandwiched between the thermal head and the glaze. A platen roller that conveys the heat-sensitive recording material in a direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the heat-sensitive recording points while holding the heat-sensitive recording material at a predetermined position, and a platen roller that is arranged upstream and / or downstream in the conveyance direction of the platen roller. A heat-sensitive recording apparatus comprising: a vibration absorbing member in contact with the heat-sensitive recording material.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The thermal image recording apparatus of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an example of the thermal image recording apparatus of the present invention. A thermal image recording apparatus 10 (hereinafter referred to as recording apparatus 10) shown in FIG. 1 records a thermal image on a thermal recording film (hereinafter referred to as thermal film A) which is a cut sheet having a predetermined size such as B4 size. The heat-sensitive image recording is performed on the heat-sensitive film A by the thermal head 66, which is a characteristic part of the loading section 14, the feeding / conveying section 16, and the magazine 24 in which the heat-sensitive film A is stored. The recording unit 20 and the discharge unit 22 are provided.

The heat sensitive film A comprises a transparent film such as a transparent polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film as a support and a heat sensitive recording layer formed on one surface thereof. Such a heat-sensitive film A is usually formed into a laminated body (bundle) of a predetermined unit such as 100 sheets and packaged in a bag or a band. In the illustrated example, the heat-sensitive recording layer is kept in a predetermined unit bundle. Is placed in the magazine 24 of the recording device 10 with the lower side as the lower surface, and is taken out one by one from the magazine 24 to be used for thermal image recording.

The magazine 24 is a casing having a lid 26 that can be opened and closed, and accommodates the thermosensitive film A to store the recording device 1 therein.
0 is loaded into the loading section 14. The loading section 14 has an insertion port 30, a guide plate 32, guide rolls 34, 34, and a stop member 36 formed in a housing 28 of the recording apparatus 10, and the magazine 24 is arranged such that the lid 26 side is first. It is inserted into the recording device 10 from the insertion opening 30 and is pushed to a position where it comes into contact with the stop member 36 while being guided by the guide plate 32 and the guide roll 34, so that the recording device 10 is loaded at a predetermined position.

The feeding / conveying means 16 takes out the thermosensitive film A from the magazine 24 loaded in the loading section 14 and conveys it to the recording section 20, and uses a sucker 40 for adsorbing the thermosensitive film A by suction. It has a mechanism, a conveyance means 42, a conveyance guide 44, and a regulation roller pair 52 located at the exit of the conveyance guide 44. The transport means 42 is
The conveying roller 46, a pulley 47 a coaxial with the conveying roller 46, a pulley 47 b connected to a rotation drive source, and a tension pulley 47 c, an endless belt 48 stretched over the three pulleys, and pressed by the conveying roller 46 Nip roller 50, and the leading end of the heat-sensitive film A sheet-leaved by the suction cup 40
6 and the nip roller 50 to convey the heat-sensitive film A.

When a recording start instruction is issued in the recording apparatus 10, the lid 26 is opened by an opening / closing mechanism (not shown), and the sheet-fed mechanism using the suction cup 40 takes out one thermal film A from the magazine 24, The leading end of A is supplied to the conveying means 42 (conveying roller 46 and nip roller 50). When the heat-sensitive film A is nipped by the conveyance roller 46 and the nip roller 50, the suction by the suction cup 40 is released, and the supplied heat-sensitive film A is guided by the conveyance guide 44 to the regulating roller pair 52 by the conveyance means 42. Conveyed. When the heat-sensitive film A to be used for recording is completely discharged from the magazine 24, the lid 26 is closed by the opening / closing means.

The distance from the conveying means 42 defined by the conveying guide 44 to the regulation roller pair 52 is set to be slightly shorter than the length of the heat sensitive film A in the conveying direction, and the heat sensitive film A is conveyed by the conveying means 42. The leading end of the sheet reaches the regulating roller pair 52, but the regulating roller pair 52 is initially stopped, and the leading edge of the heat-sensitive film A is stopped here. When the leading end of the thermal film A reaches the regulating roller pair 52, the temperature of the thermal head 66 is confirmed. If the temperature of the thermal head 66 is a predetermined temperature, the transport of the thermal film A by the regulating roller pair 52 is started. Then, the heat-sensitive film A is transported to the recording unit 20.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of the recording unit 20. The recording unit 20 includes a thermal head 66, a platen roller 60,
A cooling fan 7 for cooling the vibration absorbing roller pair 56, the guide 58, and the thermal head 66, which are characteristic members of the present invention.
6 (see FIG. 1, omitted in FIG. 2) and a guide 62. The thermal head 66 performs thermal image recording with a recording (pixel) density of about 300 dpi capable of recording an image of up to B4 size, for example, and has one recording dot for performing thermal recording on the thermal film A. Thermal head main body 66b in which glazes 66a are arranged in the direction (perpendicular to the paper surface in the figure), and thermal head main body 6
6b fixed to the heat sink 66c. The thermal head 66 is supported by a support member 68 that is rotatable about a fulcrum 68a in the direction of arrow a and in the opposite direction.
The platen roller 60 rotates at a predetermined image recording speed while holding the heat sensitive film A at a predetermined position, and the glaze 66a
The heat-sensitive film A is conveyed in the direction orthogonal to the extending direction (direction of arrow b in FIG. 2). The vibration absorbing roller pair 56 includes an elastic sponge roller 56a and a normal roller 56a.
It is a roller pair consisting of b and b.

Before the heat-sensitive film A is conveyed, the support member 68 is rotated upward (the direction opposite to the arrow a), and the thermal head 66 (glaze 66a) and the platen roller 60 are in contact with each other. Absent. The above-mentioned regulating roller pair 5
When the conveyance by 2 is started, the heat-sensitive film A is then nipped by the vibration absorbing roller pair 56, and the guide 5
8 is guided and conveyed. The leading edge of the thermal film A is the recording start position (the position corresponding to the glaze 66a)
When the sheet is conveyed to the inner surface of the thermal head 66, the supporting member 68 rotates in the direction of the arrow a so that the heat-sensitive film A moves toward the glaze 6 of the thermal head 66.
While the glaze 66c is pressed against the recording layer by being sandwiched by the 6c and the platen roller 60, the heat sensitive film A is held at a predetermined position by the platen roller 60,
The platen roller 60 (and the regulation roller pair 52 and the conveyance roller pair 63) conveys it in the direction of arrow b. With this conveyance, the recording dots of the glaze 66a are heated according to the recording image, so that the thermal image recording is performed on the thermal film A.

Here, in the conventional (heat-sensitive image) recording apparatus, the heat-sensitive film A is intermittently conveyed due to the heating for image recording as described above, and its vibration is magnified by the heat-sensitive film A. Recording sound was generated. On the other hand, in the recording apparatus 10 of the present invention, the vibration absorbing roller pair 56 using the sponge roller 56a as the vibration absorbing member is arranged on the upstream side of the platen roller 60 to contact (nip) the heat sensitive film A during recording. By doing so, the vibration of the heat-sensitive film A caused by the intermittent conveyance of the heat-sensitive film A can be absorbed by the sponge roller 56a. Therefore, according to the recording apparatus 10, the recording sound generated at the time of recording a thermal image can be significantly reduced, and even in the case of pulse width modulation thermal image recording using a medical film, compared with the conventional case. It is possible to realize quiet image recording with a significantly low recording sound. In addition, in the recording apparatus 10 of the illustrated example, the sponge roller 56a also serves as a cleaning roller, and removes dust and the like adhering to the heat-sensitive recording layer of the heat-sensitive film A, so that dust and dirt are attached to the glaze 66a. Prevents adverse effects on image recording. In addition,
Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to the vibration absorbing member also serving as the cleaning member.

In the recording apparatus 10 of the present invention, the position of the vibration absorbing member is not limited to the upstream side of the platen roller 60 in the illustrated example as long as it can contact the heat sensitive film A during recording, and the platen is not limited thereto. It may be on the downstream side of the roller 60, or a vibration absorbing member may be arranged on both the upstream and downstream sides. The vibration absorbing member is not limited to be constantly in contact with the heat sensitive film A from the start to the end of recording, but it is preferable to be in contact with the heat sensitive film A as much as possible during recording. Further, the vibration absorbing member is not limited to the roller, and may be arranged, for example, so as to be in sliding contact with the heat-sensitive film A which is conveyed in the form of a pad. Also,
The vibration absorbing member may be configured to press the heat-sensitive film A from above or support the heat-sensitive film A from below, instead of sandwiching the heat-sensitive film A as in the illustrated example. When the vibration absorbing member sandwiches the heat-sensitive film A, it is not limited to one in which only one is used as the vibration absorbing member like the vibration absorbing roller pair 56 in the illustrated example. Both may be used as the vibration absorbing member. Further, the vibration absorbing member may form the conveying means.

As the vibration absorbing member, various elastic materials having a vibration absorbing function other than sponge can be used. Examples thereof include natural or various synthetic rubbers, foamed resins such as urethane foam, and synthetic resins having elasticity. Various known materials can be used.

Thermal film A for which thermal image recording has been completed
While being guided by the guide 62, is transported to the platen roller 60 and the transport roller pair 63 and discharged to the tray 72 of the discharge unit 22. The tray 72 is projected to the outside of the recording apparatus 10 via a discharge port 74 formed in the housing 28, and the thermal film A on which an image is recorded is discharged to the outside via the discharge port 74 and taken out.

The thermal image recording apparatus of the present invention has been described above in detail, but the present invention is not limited to the above examples.
Of course, various improvements and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0022]

As described above in detail, according to the thermal image recording apparatus of the present invention, the recording sound due to the intermittent transport of the thermal film during recording in the thermal image recording can be significantly reduced. Even in the case of pulse width modulation thermal image recording using a medical film, quiet thermal image recording with low recording sound can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of an example of a thermal image recording apparatus of the present invention.

2 is a conceptual diagram of a recording unit of the thermal image recording apparatus shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 (Thermal Image) Recording Device 14 Loading Unit 16 Supplying Conveying Unit 20 Recording Unit 22 Ejecting Unit 24 Magazine 26 Lid 28 Housing 30 Insertion Port 32 Guide Plate 34 Guide Roll 36 Stopping Member 40 Sucker 42 Conveying Means 44 Conveying Guide 48 Endless Belt 50 Nip Roller 52 Control Roller Pair 56 Vibration Absorption Roller Pair 56a Sponge Roller 58, 62 Guide 60 Platen Roller 63 Conveyor Roller Pair 66 Thermal Head 68 Supporting Member 72 Tray 74 Ejection Port 76 Cooling Fan 80 Ejection Portion A Thermal (Recording) Film

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A thermal head having a glaze in which thermal recording points are arranged in one direction, and a thermal recording material is sandwiched together with the glaze, and the thermal recording material is held at a predetermined position while the thermal recording point A platen roller that conveys in a direction orthogonal to the arrangement direction; and a vibration absorbing member that is arranged on the upstream side and / or the downstream side of the platen roller in the conveying direction and that contacts the heat-sensitive recording material during recording. Thermal recording device.