JPS63194259A - Method and device for copying - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To permit formation of a high-quality positive image with distinct discrimination of the image by subjecting a diffusion transfer type heat developable photosensitive material to heating and developing in the presence of water. CONSTITUTION:The water is supplied to the diffusion transfer type heat developable photosensitive material before or after exposing and thereafter, the diffusion transfer type heat developable photosensitive material is superposed on an image receiving material in such a manner that the photosensitive layer of the diffusion transfer type heat developable photosensitive material and the image receiving layer of the image receiving material are respectively held in tight contact with each other. The diffusion transfer type heat developable photosensitive material is subjected uniformly to exposing over the entire surface in the stage when the development is substantially not progressed during or after the water supply stage after the color image formed imagewise on the diffusion transfer type heat developable photosensitive material is diffusion-transferred to the image receiving material by subjecting said photosensitive material to heat development. The volume of the water to be supplied is preferably in the range of at least 0.1 times the weight of the total coating film of the heat developable photosensitive material and the image receiving material and the weight of the water corresponding to the max. swelling volume of the entire coated film. The high-quality image is thus reproduced by the simple method.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a copying method and a copying apparatus for forming a positive image using a diffusion transfer type heat-developable photosensitive material.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, to copy a color original, for example, an electrophotographic method, an inkjet method, or the like has been used.

In the electronic copying method, a color original is generally exposed to light using blue, green, and red color separation filters to form an electrical latent image on a photosensitive drum charged in accordance with the original. yellow in sequence.

Development is performed using color toners of various colors, such as magenta or cyan, and after the color toners are aligned and transferred onto the same recording paper for each color toner, they are fixed by heat or the like to reproduce a color image.

On the other hand, in the inkjet method, a color document is separated into colors using a color filter or the like, and amounts corresponding to the intensities of the colors are stored in a memory. Then, ink is ejected from each color nozzle according to the contents of the memory to reproduce a color image.

On the other hand, an apparatus for copying a desired color original using a silver halide color photosensitive material is known.

For example, the product name “Cibachrome Color Copy CC-0O
A color discarding device commercially available as IJ (Ciba Geigy Co., Ltd.) processes color photosensitive materials using the so-called silver dye bleaching method (Silver Dye Bleach (SDB') method) in which a photosensitive silver halide and an azo dye are combined. This is a copying device that reproduces color images using a printer. Copying devices that use color photosensitive materials require memory to record one image + S information like the inkjet method, or color blurring caused by overlapping toner images multiple times like the electrophotographic method. This method has the advantage that a high-quality color image can be reproduced with a single exposure without causing the above-mentioned roughness.

Normally, a copying machine uses a color positive original as an original, and as a multilayer color photosensitive material, a reversal color photosensitive material is required, since a color positive image can be obtained from a color positive original.

Multilayer color photosensitive materials consisting of photosensitive silver halide emulsion layers generally undergo an alkaline photochemical treatment after exposure to form a color image, but in the case of conventional reversal color photosensitive materials, the halogen on the side base is removed after exposure. A step of developing a silver halide emulsion layer in black and white, a step of exposing an unexposed part of the silver halide emulsion layer, a step of performing a color development process on the unexposed part of the silver halide emulsion layer that has been exposed to light, Such as a bleach-fixing process to remove the e-image.
Color positive images can be obtained through complicated processing steps. Furthermore, when obtaining a color image from a color photosensitive material using the previous jlQsDB method, at least three or more complicated processing steps are usually required.

(Same point to be solved by the invention) As mentioned above, in the electrophotographic method and the inkjet method, a color original must be color-separated to reproduce a color image, and therefore, at least three exposures, A large amount of memory is required to store image information, and the electrophotographic method has the disadvantage that image quality deteriorates due to color shift, and the inkjet method requires a long time to form a copy image. In addition, in a copying apparatus that uses color photosensitive materials, the development process after exposure is complicated, and not only does the management of the processing solution require skill, but the apparatus itself becomes large and the manufacturing cost is high. On the other hand, with the progress of OA, the space occupied by equipment is becoming larger and smaller, and miniaturization of equipment has become an essential requirement.

And what was proposed to solve these problems,
JP 1986-21'! A copying method and a copying apparatus described in Japanese Patent No. 283F1 are known.

However, in this copying method and equipment, 80
In addition to requiring a high heating temperature of ~250° C. and a long heating time, there is a problem that the boundaries of the developed image file are unclear and discrimination is low.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and to provide a copying method that can reproduce high-quality images using a simple method, and a copying apparatus for carrying out this method.

(Means and effects for solving the problems) The above-mentioned objects of the present invention include a step of exposing an image of an original to a positive type diffusion transfer type heat-developable photosensitive material, and a step of exposing an image of an original to a positive type diffusion transfer type heat-developable photosensitive material, and a step of exposing the image of an original document to a positive type diffusion transfer type heat-developable photosensitive material. A step of supplying water to the diffusion transfer type photothermographic material, and then adding the diffusion transfer type photothermographic material to the image receiving material so that the photosensitive layer of the diffusion transfer type photothermographic material and the image receiving layer of the image receiving material are brought into close contact with each other. a heating step of thermally developing the diffusion transfer type heat-developable photosensitive material and diffusing and transferring the imagewise formed color image to the image-receiving material; and during or after the water supply step. This is achieved by a copying method comprising the step of uniformly exposing the entire surface of the diffusion transfer type photothermographic material to light up to a stage where development does not substantially proceed.

The above object further provides a means for exposing an image of an original onto a positive diffusion transfer type heat developable photosensitive material, a means for supplying water to the diffusion transfer type heat developable photosensitive material before or after exposure, and a means for supplying water to the diffusion transfer type heat developable photosensitive material before or after exposure. means for overlapping the diffusion transfer type thermal block f-image photosensitive material with the image receiving material so that the photosensitive layer of the transfer type heat developable photosensitive material and the image receiving layer of the image receiving material are in close contact with each other, and then the diffusion transfer type heat developable photosensitive material A heating means for thermally developing the material and diffusing and transferring the color image formed in an imagewise manner onto the image-receiving material, and a heating means for diffusing and transferring a color image formed in an imagewise manner onto the image-receiving material, and during or after water being supplied by the water supplying means, substantially no thermal development is performed. This is not achieved by a copying apparatus characterized in that it has a means for uniformly exposing the entire surface of the diffusion transfer type photothermographic material to light up to the stage where the photothermographic material does not proceed.

In other words, by heat-developing a diffusion transfer photothermographic material in the presence of water, heat development can be performed quickly and efficiently without requiring high temperatures, and high-quality images with clear discrimination can be achieved. A positive image can be formed.

Copying machines often use color positive originals,
As the diffusion transfer type heat developable photosensitive material used in the present invention, a positive type diffusion transfer type heat developable color photosensitive material is preferably used. For example, JP-A-61-159641, JP-A-61-159641;
Useful are heat-developable photosensitive materials using internally latent convoluted silver halide whose interior has not been fogged in advance, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 159643 and Japanese Patent Application No. 60-209805. Specifically, it contains an internal latent image type silver halide whose interior has not been fogged in advance, and a dye-donating substance that releases or forms a diffusible dye in response to a reaction in which silver ions are reduced to silver by heating. It is a photosensitive material.

Examples of dye-donating substances that can be used in the present invention include:
Compounds that form pigments by oxidative coupling reactions (
couplers).

The coupler may be a 4-equivalent coupler or a 2-equivalent coupler. Also preferred are two-equivalent couplers that have a diffusion-resistant group as a leaving group and form a diffusible dye through an oxidative coupling reaction. Specific examples of developers and couplers can be found in “The Theory of the Photographic Process” by James, 4th edition (T. H. James “The
Theory of the Photography-ph
ic Process-) pages 291-334 and pages 354-361, JP-A-58-123533, 5
No. 8-149046, No. 58-149047, No. 59
-111148, 59-124399, 59-
No. 174835, No. 59-231539, No. 59-2
No. 31540, No. 60-2950, No. 60-2951
No. 60-14242, No. 60-23474, No. 60-66249, etc.

Further, as another example of a particularly preferable dye-donating substance, there may be mentioned a compound having a function of releasing or diffusing a diffusible dye in an imagewise manner. This type of compound can be represented by the following general formula (Ll).

(Dye-X)-Y (LI) Dye represents a dye group, a temporarily filtered dye group or a dye precursor group, X represents a simple bond or linking group, and Y represents an imagewise latent image. (Dye-X)
-Due is created by creating a difference in the diffusivity of the compound represented by Y, or Dye is released, and the released Dye and (D
ye-X) represents a group having the property of causing a difference in diffusivity between n-Y, n represents 1 or 2, and when n is 2, the two Dye-Xs may be the same or different. You can leave it on.

A substance that releases a diffusible dye in the area where development occurs is a coupler that has a diffusible dye as a leaving group and that releases a diffusible dye upon reaction with an oxidized form of a reducing agent (D
DR coupler) is patented in British Patent No. 1,33Q524, Japanese Patent Publication No. 48-38165, and British Patent No. 443,940.
It is preferably used in the present invention.

In addition, in methods using these reducing agents, image contamination due to oxidized decomposition products of the reducing agent becomes a serious problem. Dye-releasing compounds (DRR compounds) have also been devised and are particularly advantageously used in the present invention. Typical examples are U.S. Patent No. 3928.312, U.S. Pat.
No., JP 59-65839, JP 59-69839, JP 53-3819, JP 51-104343, Research Disclosure No. 17465, US Patent No. 31725CI62, US Patent No. A72A113, US Pat.
No. 143939, % Kaisho 58-11 to No. 537, 57-
179840, US Pat. No. 450 (1626), etc. Specific examples of this type of dye-donating substances include the aforementioned US Pat. No. 450α62.
Compounds described in columns n to 44 of No. 6 can be mentioned, among which compounds (1) described in the above-mentioned U.S. patent can be mentioned.
~(3), (](e ~(131, αe ~6.g, ■
~(to), can~c3! 'i), e3e ~(4CO1(
4Z~ (Foundation) is preferable. Also, JP-A-61-12494
Compounds described in No. 1, pages ⅅ to 1 are also useful.

By exposing the above-mentioned photothermographic material imagewise and uniformly exposing the whole surface to light during water supply or during a stage in which heat development does not substantially proceed after water supply, the image is in a positive body relation to the original. and a diffusible dye image is obtained.

A color image can be obtained by diffusing and transferring one diffusible dye in five positives to an image-receiving material on an original formed on the above-mentioned heat-developable photosensitive material.

The image-receiving material used in the present invention has an image-receiving layer on a support that can receive the dye released from the photothermographic material. This receptor layer can contain a dye mordant. This mordant can be selected and used depending on the properties of the dye to be released, the components contained in the photothermographic material, the thermal transfer conditions, etc. Examples of mordants include JP-A-60-57836, JP-A-60-60643, JP-A-60-118834, JP-A-60-119557, and JP-A-6.
No. 0-122940, No. 60-122941, No. 60
-122942, 60-235134, 61-
No. 46948, No. 57-IF16744, No. 59-1
No. 81345, Japanese Patent Application No. 58-97907, No. 58-1
Polymer mordants and quaternary mordant polymers described in No. 28600 and the like can be used.

An example of the copying method according to the present invention includes a step of exposing an image of an original onto a positive diffusion transfer type heat-developable photosensitive material, and a step of supplying water to the diffusion transfer type photothermographic material before or after exposure. and then overlapping the diffusion transfer type heat developable photosensitive material with the image receiving material so that the photosensitive layer of the diffusion transfer type photothermographic material and the image receiving layer of the image receiving material are in close contact with each other, and then the step of overlapping the diffusion transfer type photothermographic material with the image receiving material, and then A heating step for diffusing and transferring a color image formed during heat development on a heat-developable photosensitive material onto the image-receiving material, and a step during or after the water supply step in which substantial busy development does not proceed. The process includes a step of uniformly exposing the entire surface of the diffusion transfer type heat-developable photosensitive material.

Examples of typical steps are as follows.

(1) Water supply process → Exposure process Overlapping process → Full-face exposure process → Heating process (Development and transfer) and transfer) f31 @light process → water supply process → superimposition process → whole surface exposure process → heating process (development and transfer) Visible light is used as the light source used in the above @ exposure process or full surface miscellaneous light process, For example, tungsten lamps, mercury lamps, halogen lamps such as iodine lamps,
Examples include xenon lamps.

In addition, as an image exposure method, the entire surface simultaneous exposure method and Surin)K
Any method including an optical method may be used.

The water supplied to the photothermographic material is not limited to so-called "pure water", but includes water in the widely customary sense. Alternatively, a mixed solvent of pure water and a low boiling point solvent such as methanol, DMF, acetone, or diisobutyl ketone may be used.A solution containing an image forming accelerator, an anti-capri agent, a development stopper, a hydrophilic heat solvent, etc. But that's fine.

It is necessary to supply a certain amount of water to a photothermographic material in order to obtain a uniform image, but as will be explained later, if a small amount of water is supplied below the maximum swelling amount of the film, repellency on the material surface may occur. Image unevenness is likely to occur due to uneven penetration of water into the film. Therefore, the water may contain a surfactant to improve the spread of the water on the surface of the material.

The amount of surfactant varies depending on the type of surfactant, but it is desirable to add the amount such that the surface tension of the aqueous solution is 40 dyne/cm or less.

Further, the water to be supplied may be heated to an extent that does not exceed the heat development temperature.

The amount of water supplied in the present invention is at least 0.1 times the weight of the entire coating film of the heat-developable photosensitive material and the image receiving material, preferably 0.1 times the weight of the coating film to the maximum swelling of the entire coating film. The weight of the total coating film is within the range of the weight of water corresponding to the volume, more preferably 0.1 times the weight of the total coating film to the weight of water corresponding to the maximum swelling volume of the total coating film. It is within the range of compassion.

The state of the film during swelling is unstable and may cause local bleeding depending on certain conditions.To avoid this, add water equivalent to the volume of the entire coated film of the heat-developable photosensitive material and image-receiving material at the time of maximum swelling. It is preferable that the amount is less than or equal to .

Specifically, 1y to 50#/m, preferably 2 to 1
/m2, more preferably 3 to 251/m2.

Examples of methods for adding water to heat-developable photosensitive materials include:
Roller coating method or wire bar cloth method as described in JP-A No. 58-55907, JP-A-59-Sho.
A method of applying water using a water-absorbing member as described in No. 181354, and a method of forming a bead between a heat-developable photosensitive material and an image-receiving material as described in JP-A-59-181346. Method of applying water by adding water, JP-A-59-
A method of applying water by forming a bead between a water-repellent roller and a photothermographic material as described in No. 181348, other methods include a dipping method, an extrusion method, and a method of applying water by ejecting water from pores as a jet. .

Various methods can be used, such as applying the bod in a compressed manner. Preferably, the water can be recycled and reused. Water may be supplied by measuring an amount in advance within a range as described in fF 1985-164551, or by supplying a sufficient amount.

Afterwards, it can be squeezed out by applying pressure with a roller or the like, or dried by applying heat, and the amount can be adjusted and used.

The step of applying water may be performed before heat development, so to speak, before image exposure and after exposure.

It is preferable to apply pressure when overlapping the photothermographic material and the image-receiving material after applying water.

If they are partially overlapped, image unevenness is likely to occur, which is thought to be due to non-uniform distribution of water-soluble components, such as salts of complex-forming compounds.

The pressure when overlapping the heat-developable photosensitive material and the image-receiving material and bringing them into close contact varies depending on the embodiment and the materials used, but it is 0.
．． 1~100kl? Preferably 1~50k17m2
is suitable (for example, described in JP-A-59-180547).

The heat-developable photosensitive material and the means for applying pressure to the material are
Various methods can be used, such as passing it between a pair of rollers and pressing using a plate with good smoothness.

Furthermore, the rollers and plates used to apply pressure can be heated within a range from room temperature to the temperature of the hot mass [in one step].

The above-mentioned overlapping step can also be preheated if necessary. Preferably, the preheating range is within a range that does not exceed the heat development temperature, and is preferably between A and 95 degrees Celsius, more preferably between and above 95 degrees Celsius. However, the exposure quality, time, etc. at this time are described in JP-A-61-159641 and JP-A-61-15964.
It is described in Publication No. 3 and Japanese Patent Application No. 130-209805. Further, the light source at this time can be the same as the light source used in the above-mentioned image gI buffing process, and it is also possible to use the same light source for the image@fog light exposure and the entire surface exposure.

The heating means used in the above heating step may include, for example, passing between hot plates or contacting the hot plates, heating by rotating a hot drum or roller, heating by passing through hot air, and other known heating means. Can be used arbitrarily. The heating temperature in the heating process is approximately 50'C to 100°C.
℃ range, preferably 60'C to 95C.

It is also possible to provide a layer of conductive material such as graphite, carbon black, or metal in advance on the diffusion transfer photothermographic material, and directly heat this layer by passing an electric current through it.

After the heating step, a step of peeling off the image-receiving material from the diffusion transfer photothermographic material can be provided, and any known peeling means can be used in this step. For example, there may be mentioned the one disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 124407/1983.

(Embodiments) Hereinafter, an embodiment polishing machine of the present invention will be described based on the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a copying apparatus for carrying out the method of the present invention.

In the figure, an exposure device 200 is disposed in the upper part of the housing 1, and a portion including the line light device 200 is separated from other portions by a partition wall 224.

The exposure device 200 includes an illumination lamp 208 with a reflection w206 that integrally scans the entire surface of the glass plate 2, and a mirror 2.
10, 212, 214, and an imaging lens/filter unit assembly 216. Furthermore, the above-mentioned illumination lamp 208
Mirror Q18 moving in the same direction by % of the scanning distance of
, 220, and a fixed mirror 222.

An opening 2 is provided in the portion through which the optical axis 226 of the exposure apparatus 200 passes.
80 is provided, and a shutter 240 is disposed in the opening 280.

On the side of the housing 1, there is a diffusion transfer type heat-developable photosensitive material S.
A photosensitive material cartridge 14 containing a photosensitive material roll 12 wound with a photosensitive material (hereinafter referred to as photosensitive material) is removably attached. Sensitive material car) IJ Tsushi 14 photosensitive material S
A pair of photosensitive material drawing rollers 22 housed in a magazine connection dark box 20 are disposed at the outlet 16 of the magazine connection dark box 20, whereby the photosensitive material S wound around the photosensitive material roll 12 is fed out by a certain length at a predetermined time. It will be done. Sensitive material pulling roller n, 22
When the leading edge of the photosensitive material S advances, they move away from each other as shown by imaginary lines to facilitate the advancement of the photosensitive material S. A cutter unit B for cutting the photosensitive material S, a plurality of feed rollers 241, and a plurality of guide plates are provided in front of the magazine connection dark box (hereinafter, "front" refers to the downstream side in the direction of travel of the photosensitive material, etc.). 5 is placed.

Two pairs of nip rollers 28 are disposed on the conveyance path of the photosensitive material S formed by the pair of feed rollers U and the guide plate 5 to allow the photosensitive material S to pass through the exposure position by the exposure device 200. , a pair of feed rollers U and a guide plate 5 are further arranged in front of the pair of nip rollers.

A reversing device 40 for reversing the exposed photosensitive material S is arranged further forward of the nip roller pair.

The reversing device 40 includes four belt support rollers 46 and 47.
.

Supported by 49 and approximately 18 by the feed roller
Endless belt 5 wound to form a 0° arc
0, and nip rollers 45 and 51 that are pressed against support rollers 46 and 49.

The reversing device 40 further includes a guide plate that guides the photosensitive material S fed from the nip roller pair path to the nip roller 45, and a photosensitive material leading edge detection sensor is provided in front of the nip roller 51.

A water applicator 52 is arranged in front of the sensitive material leading edge detection sensor. In the water application section 52, the water in the tank 53 is applied to the photosensitive surface of the photosensitive material S, and the photosensitive material S coated with water is guided by a guide plate group between the cotton image receiving paper 1' and the gluing device. The pressure roller Lot cannot be sent to the ridge contact portion of 102.

On the other hand, a receiving paper supply device 56 is arranged below the reversing device 40. The receiving paper supply device 156 includes a receiving paper supply cassette 57 that protrudes from the housing 1 and is detachably attached, and in order to dispense the receiving paper C in the cassette 57, the receiving paper supplying device 156 has a receiving paper feeding roller 156 and a receiving paper feeding roller 156. It consists of feed rollers 59, 60, 62° 63 that guide the ejected and burnt image receiving paper C along the guide 9 plate 61 to the contact portion of the pressure roller 102 and the nip roller 1030.

Here, the water application section 52 may be disposed in front of the image receiving paper supply device to apply water to the image receiving paper side.

In the photosensitive image-receiving paper stacking device 64 consisting of pressure rollers 101 and 102, the width of the image-receiving paper C is about 6 times smaller than the width of the photosensitive material S, and the image-receiving paper C is in the center of the photosensitive material S in the width direction. They overlap each other like this.

A full-surface exposure device 111 is disposed in front of the photosensitive material image-receiving paper stacking device 64, and uniformly exposes the entire surface of the photosensitive material S to a beam of light. A pair of light sources 112 and a reflecting mirror 113 are arranged in the all-locking light device 111 so that exposure can be performed from either the support surface of the photosensitive material, the support surface of the image-receiving material, or both.

In front of the entire surface exposure device ft1ll, there is a thermal development transfer device 10.
0 is being placed. The thermal development transfer device 100 includes a pair of first heating rollers (equipment) and a pair of second heating rollers 67.
and a pair of third heating rollers are arranged at a predetermined distance.

A heating guide plate 78 is provided between the first heating roller 66 and the second heating roller 267 and between the second heating roller 67 and the third heating roller 267, sandwiching the pass line of the photosensitive material S and the image receiving paper C, respectively. 80 are placed. Each of the heating guide plates 78 and 80 is equipped with a heater. First heating roller closed, second heating roller (j7, third heating roller 6
8 are all adapted to be rotated and driven in synchronization by a motor (not shown) serving as a driving device.

The first heating roller close, the second heating roller 67, and the third heating roller 68 are made of rubber, and each has a drive shaft made of a conductive material. This first heating roller 66,
Heaters 72, 74, 76 are installed on the outer periphery of the heating roller 67 and the third heating roller b8 along the axial direction of each heating roller.
are arranged respectively.

Each heater 72, 74, 76 closes each heating roller, 6
A plurality of heating elements (not shown) are provided along the axial direction of the heating rollers 66 , 67 , 6 .
8 can be heated at multiple locations.

These heaters 72, 74, and 76 are connected to a power source (not shown) via a control device (not shown).

In front of the thermal development transfer device 100, a separate sensitive material receiving paper peeling device is provided via a guide plate 82. Separate photosensitive material receiving paper peeling device includes a first feed roller, a second feed roller 86, and guide rollers 87 and 88 so as to press only the photosensitive material S at the outer end portion of the first feed roller portion. It consists of a rotated peeling belt 89.

A photosensitive material disposal section 93 is provided on the upper side of the peeling device 84, and a receiver paper take-out section 97 is provided on the lower side. The photosensitive material disposal section 93 consists of a guide member, a pair of feed rollers 91 and 92, and a waste box 94, and the photosensitive material S is sent from a separate peeling device and guided by the member (a). The materials are fed into a waste box 94 by feed rollers 91 and 92. The image-receiving paper take-out section 97 has a pair of feed rollers 95 and 96 and a take-out tray 98 for receiving the image-receiving paper C protruding from the housing 1 and attached thereto.

The image recording device further includes an illumination lamp 208, a cutter unit), a scanning drive unit (not shown) of the 23% exposure device 200, a sensor for detecting the leading edge of the photosensitive material, a photosensitive material receiving paper stacking device, and a shutter drive. A control device t (not shown) connected to the solenoid 242 is provided, and the following operations are performed. That is, in the operation preparation stage of the copying apparatus, the so-called copy preparation stage, the leading end of the photosensitive material S is positioned near the cutting part of the cutter unit or in the dark box connected to the magazine.

Next, when the copy start button (not shown) is pressed, the photosensitive material take-out roller n is operated to feed the photosensitive material S, and just before the leading end of the photosensitive material S reaches the light position 32, the illumination lamp 208 is turned on. to illuminate the original.

Then, when the tip reaches position 32, the shutter 240, which had been closed until the end, is released by the solenoid 242, and the exposure device 200 is activated t7. The material S is projected and exposed. On the other hand, when the photosensitive material S is fed a distance equal to the length of the document, the cutter unit 23 is activated to cut the photosensitive material S. Further, the shutter 240 closes and the partition wall 2
The inside and outside of 24 are optically blocked.

The exposed and cut photosensitive material S is sent to a reversing device 40, and is reversed while being pressed against a feed roller by an endless belt. When the leading edge of the photosensitive material S is turned over, it is detected by a sensitive material leading edge detection sensor U, and then water is applied to the photosensitive surface of the photosensitive material S in a water application section 52.

On the other hand, in the receiving paper supply device fi 156, the receiving IJlI paper C is fed out by pressing the copy start button or in synchronization with the exposure start timing, until the leading edge thereof is nipped by the pressure roller 102 and the nip roller 103. The image receiving paper C cannot be stopped after being fed.

In the play, the photosensitive material receiver paper C
is at the center in the width direction of the wider photosensitive material S, and the leading edge of the photosensitive material S is aligned with or a few millimeters ahead of the leading edge of the image receiving paper C, and is passed through the entire surface exposure device 111. Thereafter, the photosensitive material S is sent to a thermal development transfer device 100, and the image on the photosensitive material S is thermally transferred onto an image receiving paper C.

The photosensitive material S after transfer is peeled off in a peeling device (rot 8).
9, the photosensitive material is peeled off from the image receiving paper C and sent to the photosensitive material disposal section 93. On the other hand, the image-receiving paper C is sent to the take-out tray 98 by the feed roller 95%.

In the whistle 1 embodiment described above, the thermal development transfer device 100 is heated by heating rollers 66 , 67 , and 68 .
Alternatively, belt heating, heating using a thermal head formed by arranging heating elements in a line, insertion heating, drum heating, or irradiation with microwaves or infrared rays can be used. Depending on the photosensitive material S, it can also be heated using eddy currents generated by electromagnetic induction, or it may be heated in a bath containing a liquid inert to the photosensitive material SK, such as a fluorine-based liquid. good. The heating temperature in these cases generally ranges from 50 to 100°C, preferably from 60 to 95°C.

FIG. 2 shows another aspect of the copying apparatus, and is a sectional view of the copying apparatus equipped with an exposure device 3 of an original moving type.

The copying apparatus includes an original support glass plate 2 on the top surface of a housing 1.
is attached so that it can slide back and forth in the direction of arrow A. That is, the glass plate 2 is moved back and forth in the direction of arrow A with the document placed face down.

At the bottom of the glass plate 2, there is a reflecting mirror 6 for illuminating the original.
An illumination lamp 8 is provided, and a fiber lens array 10 is provided for forming an original image on a photosensitive material S at a predetermined position.

The configuration of the illustrated device is the same as the copying device shown in Figure 1, but the copying device basically consists of an illumination lamp 8, a photosensitive material feeding roller n1, a cutter unit B, a document support glass plate 2, and a tip of the photosensitive material. A control device (not shown) connected between the detection sensor A and the photosensitive paper superimposing device is not provided, and the following operations are performed. In the copy preparation stage, the leading edge of the photosensitive material S is placed in the magazine connection dark box whitening.

Next, press the copy start button (not shown).
The photosensitive material feeding roller n operates and the photosensitive material S is fed.
Immediately before the leading end reaches position 32, the illumination lamp 8 is turned on to illuminate the document. Then, when the leading edge reaches position 32, the document support glass plate 2 moves to correspond to the -
[The photosensitive material S is sent, and the original image is projected onto the photosensitive material S for imagewise exposure. On the other hand, when the photosensitive material S is fed by a distance equal to the length of the document in the moving direction, the cutter unit n is activated to cut the photosensitive material S. Thereafter, the photosensitive material feeding roller n rotates in a direction to retract the photosensitive material S so that the leading end of the photosensitive material S is located in the magazine connection dark box whitening.

Thereafter, it operates in the same manner as the copying machine shown in FIG.

The above two embodiments are copying apparatuses that perform slit exposure of the Sowazo t1 movable device type and document platen movable type.
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and the entire surface of the document may be irradiated with light simultaneously to form an image on the photosensitive material.

In addition, in the embodiment described above, the photosensitive phase material S was cut into five pieces by the cutter unit 23 for each exposure, but a winding hole is arranged in place of the waste box 94 and the cutter unit n is omitted. It is also possible.

Further, instead of a roll-shaped photosensitive material, a sheet-shaped photosensitive material that has been cut into a predetermined length in advance may be used. In this case, a cutter unit for cutting the photosensitive material is omitted.

Further, instead of the sheet-like image-receiving paper, a roll-shaped image-receiving paper may be cut into a predetermined length and used. In this case, a cutter unit for cutting the receiving paper is disposed in front of the receiving paper supply device.

Furthermore, in the above two embodiments, after applying water to the photosensitive material S,
After overlapping with the image receiving paper C, the entire surface of the photosensitive material S is uniformly exposed to light, but the entire surface exposure step may be carried out during the water application or after that until the stage at which development does not substantially proceed. Well, any time is fine.

Note that in the above embodiment, the entire surface of the photosensitive material S is exposed from either the support side or the photosensitive surface side of the photosensitive material S, so it is preferable that the supports of the photosensitive material S and the image receiving paper C are transparent. However, it does not have to be transparent as long as it is non-light blocking.

(Effects of the Invention) According to the present invention, a high-quality image can be reproduced by a simple method without requiring complicated processing steps. Furthermore, by heat-developing the diffusion transfer photothermographic material in the presence of water, it can be rapidly developed at a low temperature below the boiling point of water, and high-quality positives with clear image discrimination can be produced. Images can be reproduced.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a copying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a copying apparatus according to another embodiment. Symbols in the figure: S...Diffusion transfer type photothermographic material C...Receiving paper 1...Housing 2...Original support glass plate 3, 200...Exposure device 6, 206...Reflector 8, 208...Illumination lamp 10, puff fiber lens array 12...Sensitive material roll 14...Sensitive material cartridge 16...Exit group...Magazine connection dark box n...Sensitive material feeding roller n. ...Cutter unit prisoner...Feed roller 5...Guide 9 plates 26, 28...Nip roller pair 32...Exposure position...Feed roller A...Sensitive material tip detection sensor 40... Reversing device 45, 51...Nip rollers 46, 47, 48, 49...Belt support roller father...Endless belt 52...Water application section 53
...tank shi, 55...guide 9 plate 5
6...Receiving paper supply device 57...Receiving paper supply cassette 58...Feeding rollers 59, 60, 62, 63...Feeding roller 61
...Guide 9 board diagram...Between sensitive material and image receiving paper overlaying device, 67, 68...Heating rollers 72, 74,
76... Heater 78, 80... Heating guide plate 8
2... Guide plate 84... Sensitive material image receiving paper peeling device blade,
86...Feed roller 87, 88...Guide roller
89... Peeling belt gloss... Guide 4 members
91, 92...Feed roller 93...Sensitivity material disposal section
94...Discard box 95, 96...Feeding roller 97...Receiving paper take-out section 98...Take-out tray 100...Thermal development transfer device 101,
102... Pressure roller 103... Nip roller 11
1...Full surface fog light device 112...Light source 113...
・Reflector 2-10, 212, 214, 218, 220・
・・Moving mirror 222・・Fixed mirror 226・
...Optical axis 240...Shutter 242...Solenoid 280...Opening agent Patent attorney (8t07) Kiyoshi Takashi Sasaki (and 3 others) PA Proceedings Amendment Board 1.1 Timber Cattle 1988 Patent Application No. 26488 2, Name of the invention Copying method and copying device 3, Relationship with the person making the amendment Hanyu; Patent I, Name (520) Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. 4, Agent address: 100 7, Subject of amendment Column 8 of “Detailed Description of the Invention” of the specification, content of amendment → heating process (development and transfer)”

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1) A step of exposing an image of an original to a positive diffusion transfer type heat-developable photosensitive material, and a step of supplying water to the diffusion transfer type photothermographic material before or after exposure, Next, a step of overlapping the diffusion transfer type heat-developable photosensitive material with the image-receiving material so that the photosensitive layer of the diffusion-transfer type heat-developable photosensitive material and the image-receiving layer of the image-receiving material are in close contact with each other; The heating step of thermally developing the photosensitive material and diffusing and transferring the image-wise formed color image onto the image-receiving material, and the water supplying step or thereafter until the stage at which development does not substantially proceed. A copying method comprising the step of uniformly exposing the entire surface of a diffusion transfer type heat-developable photosensitive material. 2) The copying method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of peeling off the image-receiving material from the diffusion transfer photothermographic material after the heating step. 3) means for exposing an image of an original onto a positive diffusion transfer type heat-developable photosensitive material; means for supplying water to said diffusion transfer type photothermographic material before or after exposure; and then said diffusion transfer type heat-developable photosensitive material means for overlapping the diffusion transfer type heat-developable photosensitive material with the image-receiving material so that the photosensitive layer of the developable photosensitive material and the image-receiving layer of the image-receiving material are in close contact with each other, and then thermally developing the diffusion transfer type photothermographic material. a heating means for diffusing and transferring a color image formed in an imagewise manner onto the image receiving material; and a heating means for diffusing and transferring a color image formed in an imagewise manner onto the image receiving material; A copying apparatus comprising means for uniformly exposing the entire surface of the diffusion transfer photothermographic material between the photosensitive materials. 4) The copying apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising means for peeling the image-receiving material from the diffusion transfer photothermographic material after the heating means.