JPS625240A - Image recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To increase the adhesive power between a photosensitive material and image receiving paper and to easily control the temp. for development by feeding the exposed photosensitive material and image receiving paper to a contact part, heating the same to the extent of prohibiting the progression of the development and subjecting the same to the heat development and diffusion transfer in a heat treating part. CONSTITUTION:The photosensitive material 1 having a diffusion transfer type heat developable photosensitive layer is used. The exposed material 1 and the image receiving paper 3 are carried into the space between contact rollers 5 and 6 of the contact part 2. A heating element 7 is incorporated to the lower roller 6 to heat the contact part 2. The surface of the rollers 5, 6 is heated to such a temp. at which the material 1 is not developed. The material 1 and the paper 3 which are held into contact with each other are fed to the heat treating part 4 provided with a heater 9. The materials and paper are heated to the temp. necessary for the development and transfer to develop the material 1. The silver image thereof is transferred to the paper 3. The photosensitive material and the image receiving paper are heated to the extent of not allowing the development to progress in the contact part in the above-mentioned manner and therefore the tight contact with the photosensitive material and the image receiving paper is improved and the transfer is easily executed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus equipped with a contact area between an exposed photosensitive material and an image-receiving paper, and a heat treatment area for performing development and transfer.

[Conventional technology]

In general, in the case of photosensitive materials that have a heat-developable photosensitive layer that develops color themselves to express an image, there is a possibility that the material itself will change color due to heat, resulting in poor image preservation. A light-sensitive material having a diffusion transfer type heat-developable photosensitive layer (for example, JP-A-57-17
9840, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 57-198458, and Japanese Patent Application No. 104900/1989 filed by the present applicant, etc.) were developed, and along with this, the use of photosensitive materials having a diffusion transfer type heat-developable photosensitive layer was developed. The image recording device that was previously used is also currently under development.

Image recording devices using the above-mentioned photosensitive materials are developed and transferred by placing an image receiving paper in close contact with the exposed photosensitive material and passing it through a heat treatment section, but the adhesion between the photosensitive material and the image receiving paper can only be achieved by applying pressure. Moreover, when the sensitive material and image receiving paper are cold when they are supplied to the heat processing section, heat is absorbed by them, making it difficult to control the temperature during development and diffusion transfer. .

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image recording apparatus in which the adhesion between a photosensitive material and an image-receiving paper is improved, and the temperature can be easily controlled during development and diffusion transfer.

[Structure of the invention]

This invention provides an image recording apparatus that includes a contact area between an exposed photosensitive material and an image-receiving paper, and a heat treatment section for performing development transfer. The image-receiving paper is heated and pressurized when it is brought into close contact with the image receiving paper, and is configured so that it can be supplied to the heat treatment section in a heat-retained state, thereby increasing adhesion and facilitating temperature control during development and diffusion transfer. ing.

〔Example〕

Next, the present invention will be described based on an embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a photosensitive material having a diffusion transfer type heat-developable photosensitive layer. The photosensitive material 1 is exposed by an appropriate exposure means (not shown) and supplied to the contact portion 2 through a conveying means. Reference numeral 3 denotes an image-receiving paper which is not itself photosensitive but has a specially treated image-receiving layer that receives the dye formed by developing the photosensitive material 1. It is brought into close contact with the photosensitive material 1 at the contact portion 2 . The photosensitive material 1 and image receiving paper 3 that have been brought into close contact with each other are supplied to a heat treatment section 4 that is disposed immediately after the close contact section 2, where they are developed and transferred.

The close contact s2 consists of a pair of rollers 5 and 6 that sandwich the photosensitive material 1 and the image-receiving paper 3 from above and below, and at least one of the rollers 25.6 (lower roller 6 in the figure) is equipped with a heating element such as a heating wire. A heating means 8 having a built-in heating means 7 is provided, and the surface temperature is, for example, 60 to 200°C (preferably 100°C to 160°C).
It can be heated as desired. If the melt 7 ohm in one layer of the binder of the photosensitive material 1 is one that melts at around 100°C, the adhesion will be stable if the photosensitive material 1 and the image receiving paper 3 are brought into close contact at a temperature above this temperature. Normally, when the temperature of photosensitive material 1 is 150℃, the temperature is 160℃ for about 30 seconds to 2 minutes.
℃, 140℃ for 15 seconds to 1 minute
In this case, development and transfer can be performed by heating for about 1 to 4 minutes, so by adjusting both the temperature and time conditions, it is possible to stop the progress of development in the contact area.For example, if the temperature is high, the development By shortening the time of
The progress of development can be stopped.

Although not shown, a means for preheating the image receiving paper 3 may be provided before the contact section 2. Preheating the image receiving paper 3 to be supplied to the contact section 2 will prevent the contact between the photosensitive material 1 and the contact section 2. This is effective for further increasing adhesion. Although not shown, it is also effective to install a touch illuminator and an air cleaner in front of the contact area 2 to remove static electricity and dust from the contact surfaces of the photosensitive material 1 and the image receiving paper 3 in order to obtain good images. It is what it is.

Said Mature Heat I! ! @4 is usually heated by a surface heater 10 having a built-in heating element 9 such as a heating wire, as shown in the first diagram, and two wheels 11 and 11' (transfer bells) 12 stretched in the dark so as to face the surface heater 10. A conveyance path 13 for the material 1 and the image-receiving paper 3 is formed, and as shown in the second figure, the conveyance path 13 is formed by a surface heater 10 and a plurality of conveyance rollers 12a arranged in a row opposite thereto.
Even if it is formed with a surface heater 10 as shown in @3
A plurality of guide rows 214 pass through the heat dissipation surface IQa of
A belt 15 stretched over the belt 15 is provided, and a conveyance path 13 is formed in which the photosensitive material 1 and the image-receiving paper 3 can be conveyed while being sandwiched between the belt 15 and the conveyance belt 12.
Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of small rollers 16... are embedded in the heat radiation surface 10a of the surface heater 10,
The conveying path 13 may be formed by the conveyor belt 12 and the conveyor belt 12 to further reduce the coefficient of friction. Of course, other suitable means may be used (for example, the surface heater may be abolished and a heat roller may be used). It is also possible to form a conveyance path by opposing conveyor belts stretched between two axes.

17 connects the surface heater 10 of the heat treatment section 4 to its heat radiation surface 10.
The heat insulating member 1 covers all but a, and the heat insulating member 1F prevents the heat from the surface heater from diffusing and improves the efficiency of heating the photosensitive material 1 and 1 image-receiving paper 3. In order to further increase heating efficiency, in this embodiment, the conveyor belt 12 facing the surface heater 10 is made of a material with low thermal conductivity, for example, a material with a thermal conductivity of 3×
We select and use those with a power rating of 1O-3J/cffl-8.K or less (for example, a belt made of polyester cord as a core). Reference numeral 18 denotes a thermocouple provided in the surface heater 10 of the heat treatment section 4, and the thermocouple 18 operates a control mechanism (not shown) that controls energization to the heating element using superpower generated by the heat of the surface heater 10. It is something. That is, as mentioned above, since the photosensitive material 1 can be developed and transferred by heating at 150 DEG C. or higher for about 30 seconds, it is possible to control the temperature above that temperature.

Note that as heating means for the contact portion 2 that brings the image-receiving paper 3 into close contact with the photosensitive material 1, this embodiment shows an example in which a heating element 7 is built into at least one of the contact rollers 5 and 6.
If necessary, a close contact row 26 is rotatably embedded in the upper surface of the surface heater 10 of the heat treatment section 4 to configure the close contact section 2 and the heat treatment section 4 as one block, and effectively utilize the heat of the heat treatment section. It may be configured to do so.

Next, to describe the operation of the above embodiment, the photosensitive material 1 and the image receiving paper 3 are heated and brought into close contact with each other in the contact area 2 at a temperature (60 to 200° C.) within a range that does not allow development to proceed.
The sheet passes through the subsequent conveyance path 13 of the heat treatment section 4 while being held in place with an appropriate adhesion force.

This passing time is set within the range of 2 seconds to 3 minutes in relation to the heating temperature, and the conveyance speed of the contact portion 2 is also synchronized with this. Further, when a sensor (not shown) detects that the leading edge of the photosensitive material 1 has passed a predetermined position, the image receiving paper 3 supplied to the contact section 2 is fed out at a certain time lag, and the leading edge of the image is aligned. Or, one side overlaps the other with a slight delay due to the relationship with the peeling means in the subsequent peeling process.

During this time, the photosensitive material 1 and the image receiving paper 3 passing through the heat treatment section 4 are heated to a temperature required for development and transfer (for example, 120°C to 2°C).
00°C) is applied. As a result, the latent image formed on the photosensitive surface of the photosensitive material 1 by the exposure means is thermally developed and a silver image appears in the exposed area, and accordingly, a diffusive dye is formed and the dye is transferred to the image receiving surface of the image receiving paper 3. It will be diffusely transferred to.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, the image recording apparatus according to the present invention is provided with a heating means capable of heating at a temperature that does not allow development to proceed in the contact portion, and is able to heat and press the sensitive material and image receiving paper when they are brought into close contact, thereby increasing the adhesion force. At the same time, it can be supplied to the heat treatment section in a heat-retained state, and has various excellent effects such as easy temperature control during development and diffusion transfer.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. ttS1 is a schematic sectional view of the main part, and Figs. fjIJ2 to 4 are schematic sectional views showing modified examples of the heat treatment section. 1...Sensitive material 2...Adhesion part 3
... Image receiving paper 4 ... Heat treatment section 5
．． 6... Roller 7, 9... Heating element 8... Heating means 10... Surface heater 10
a... Heat dissipation surface 12... Conveyor belt 12a... Conveyance roller 13... Conveyance path 1f... Insulation member applicant Roku Konishi Photo Kogyo Co., Ltd. Figure 1 Procedural amendment (method) % formula % 1. Indication of the case 1985 Patent Application No. 145102 2. Name of the invention Image recording device 3. Person making the amendment Relationship to the case Patent applicant Patent Part 5, Description subject to amendment 6, Contents of amendment

Claims (6)

[Claims] (1) An image recording apparatus comprising a contact area between the exposed light-sensitive material and the image-receiving paper and a heat treatment unit for performing development and transfer, characterized in that the contact area is provided with a heating means capable of heating the contact area to an extent that development does not proceed. image recording device. (2) The contact portion comprises a pair of rollers that sandwich the photosensitive material and the image-receiving paper, and the surface temperature of at least one of the rollers can be heated to 60 to 200°C. The image recording device described in Section 1. (3) The heat treatment section includes a conveyor belt or roller and a surface heater, and the surface heater is covered with a heat insulating member except for its heat radiation surface. Image recording device. (4) The thermal conductivity of the conveyor belt is 3×10^-^
The image recording device according to claim 2 or 3, which uses a material of 3 J/cm·S·K or less. (5) The image recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the heat treatment section is capable of adjusting the passage time of the photosensitive material and the image receiving paper within a range of 2 seconds to 3 minutes. (6) The image recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a pre-heating section for preheating the image receiving paper immediately before the contact section.