JPS63231382A - Image recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a good-quality image without generating air bubbles and roughness with a heater for a bright treating section by setting the heating temp. on the side where an image recording medium enters at the temp. lower than on the exit side. CONSTITUTION:The heater in the bright treating section is provided with 3 pieces of heaters 84, 86, 88. While the temp. necessary for providing sufficient gloss to color developing paper 52 is about 150 deg., the entrance side heater 84 is so controlled as to attain the temp. lower than said temp. (for example, about 140 deg.C) and the central heater 86 is so controlled as to attain an intermediate temp. (prescribed 150 deg.C). The exit side heater 88 is so controlled as to attain 160 deg.C. Generation of the air bubbles and roughness on the surface in the part of the heater 84 is, therefore, obviated. Since the paper 52 is previously heated up to 140 deg.C, the generation of the air bubbles, etc., is obviated even if the paper is heated up to 150 deg.C in the part of the heater 84. In addition, the paper is heated to the much higher temp. on the exit side of a heating surface 94, by which the image having the sufficient gloss is obtd.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus, and more particularly to a gloss processing section that makes an image recording medium appear glossy.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Devices for recording images using image recording media that become glossy upon heating are already known. In this type of image recording apparatus, after an image is recorded on the image recording medium in the recording section, the surface of the image recording medium is melted by heating in which the image recording medium is heated by a heating device while being fed by a feeding device in a gloss processing section.

It softens and becomes glossy, and conventionally, heating devices such as heating rollers and plate-type heaters have been used. The heating roller sandwiches the image recording medium between it and the feed roller, heating the image recording medium while feeding it, and the plate-type heater heats the image recording medium by coming into surface contact with the image recording medium being fed by the feeding device. .

Problems to be Solved by the Invention In either case, it is necessary to heat the image recording medium at a high temperature in order to obtain sufficient gloss. Therefore,
If the heating roller or heater is used to heat the image recording medium at that temperature, the image recording medium will be rapidly heated to the temperature necessary to make it glossy, causing bubbles to form on the surface and roughness. This situation is unavoidable, and the problem arises that the quality of the image deteriorates.

On the other hand, if the heating temperature is lower than the temperature required to produce gloss and the heating time is increased to produce gloss, bubbles etc. will not be generated, but the time required for the gloss treatment will be longer. This results in a problem that the operation rate of the image recording apparatus decreases.

Means for Solving the Problems In the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the heating device of the gloss processing section is configured such that the heating temperature on the image recording medium entrance side is lower than on the exit side.

Functions and Effects The image recording medium is heated at a temperature sufficient to produce gloss on the exit side of the heating device, but on the entry side it is heated at a lower temperature, so it is heated rapidly to a high temperature. It is possible to obtain a high-quality image with a beautiful gloss and a smooth surface without producing bubbles or roughness.

In addition, although the heating is initially performed at a relatively low temperature, it can ultimately be heated to a sufficiently high temperature, so the heating time is shorter than when the overall heating temperature is lowered, resulting in better quality. Good images can be obtained quickly.

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an image recording apparatus which is an embodiment of the present invention, and in the figure, 10 is a housing. The housing 10 has a box shape, and its upper wall 12 is provided with a transparent document placement plate 16 on which a document 14 is placed, and a cover 18 that covers the document 14 placed thereon.

The interior of the housing 10 is partitioned into an irradiation chamber 22 and a dark room 24 by a partition wall 20 hanging down from the upper wall 12. A pair of light sources 26 are provided within the irradiation chamber 22, and a lens 28 is attached to the bottom of the partition wall 20. The light source 26 illuminates the lower surface of the original 14 , and the lens 28 collects the reflected light from the original 14 and guides it into the darkroom 24 via the shutter 32 . The photosensitive pressure sensitive paper 34 is exposed to light, and the original 1
A latent image corresponding to the image recorded in step 4 is formed. In this embodiment, the partition wall 20. The light source 26, lens 28, etc. constitute the exposure section 36. In addition, shutter 3
2 is opened during image recording and allows light to pass through. 38, the light emitted from the lens 28 is transferred to the photosensitive pressure sensitive paper 3.
This is a shielding plate that prevents radiation from being irradiated.

The photosensitive and pressure sensitive paper 34 contains a photosensitive resin that hardens by exposure to light in countless microcapsules, a colorless dye 1 polymerization initiator, etc., and is pressed while being overlapped with a color developing paper having a color developer. This is a transfer type in which an image is transferred onto developer paper.

This photosensitive pressure sensitive paper 34 is supplied from a supply roll 40 . The supply roll 40 is housed within a casing 42 and is rotatably mounted around a shaft 43 supported by the casing 42 . The photosensitive and pressure sensitive paper 34 is pulled out from a guide section 44 provided in the casing 42, and guided by a pair of guide rollers 46, 48 to the lens 2.
8 is supplied directly below.

A developing section 50 and a developer paper cassette 54 containing developer paper 52, which is an image recording medium, are provided downstream of the portion of the darkroom 24 where the photosensitive and pressure sensitive paper 34 is exposed in the feeding direction of the light and pressure sensitive paper 34. ing.

The color developer paper 52 has a color developer that reacts with the colorless dye contained in the microcapsules of the photosensitive pressure sensitive paper 34, and this color developer is contained in the color developer paper 52 using, for example, polyvinyl alcohol as a binder. There is. The cassette 54 is provided above the path through which the photosensitive and pressure sensitive paper 34 passes, and the developer paper 52 is taken out of the cassette 54 by a supply roller 56 and guided by a plurality of pairs of feed rollers 57.
The overlapping roller 58, which also serves as a feeder, superimposes the exposed and undeveloped photosensitive and pressure sensitive paper 34 from above and supplies it together with the photosensitive and pressure sensitive paper 34 to the developing section 50, and the image is transferred (recorded) to the lower surface, which is the image recording surface. ) to be done. The exposing section 36 and the developing section 50 constitute a recording section.

The developing section 50 is equipped with two pressure rollers 60 and 62, which allow the photosensitive and pressure sensitive paper 34. The image is transferred to the color developer paper 52 by applying pressure to the color developer paper 52 . These pressure rollers 60 and 62 are longer than the width of the photosensitive pressure sensitive paper 34 (the dimension in the direction perpendicular to the feeding direction of the light sensitive pressure sensitive paper 34), and are supported by shafts 64 and 66 supported by the housing 10, respectively. It is rotatably supported around a center line extending in the direction. The pressure roller 60 is connected to a motor (not shown), and the pressure roller 62 is urged toward the pressure roller 60 by a pressure mechanism (not shown). The pressure roller 62 is also rotated, and the photosensitive pressure sensitive paper 34. Developing paper 52
It is designed to send while pressurizing it.

After passing through the developing section 50, the photosensitive and pressure sensitive paper 34 is moved to the guide roller 68. Guided by a pair of feed rollers 70, the winding wheel 7
2. This take-up reel 72 is connected to a motor that rotates the pressure roller 60 via a friction clutch, and the length of the photosensitive and pressure-sensitive paper 34 fed by the pressure rollers 60, 62 and the length wound on the take-up reel 72 are connected to the motor that rotates the pressure roller 60. are made to be equal.

On the other hand, the color developing paper 52 is sent to the gloss processing section 76, heated by the heating device 80 while being sent by the feeding device 78, and then discharged onto the tray 82. The color developer paper 52 is heated with charcoal grains to about 150 degrees to melt or soften the color developer, polyvinyl alcohol, and the image recording surface becomes smooth and glossy, and the image is recorded in the developing section 50. The image is fixed.

The heating device 80 includes three heaters 84, 86, and 88, as shown in FIG. These heaters 84, 8
6.88 are arranged on the support stand 90 in the feeding direction of the color developing paper 52. The lower surface of the support base 90 has a partially cylindrical shape whose center line is a line extending in the width direction of the photosensitive pressure sensitive paper 34, and the heaters 84, 86° 88 are fixed to the frame 90 along the lower surface. The partially cylindrical lower surface formed by the lower surfaces of the heaters 84, 86, and 88 is a heating surface 94.
It consists of

Among the three heaters 84, 86, 88, the color developer paper 52
The entrance side heater 84 provided on the entrance side of the heating surface 94
The central heater 86. Exit side heater 88 provided on the exit side
are provided so as to constitute approximately the remaining half of the heating surface 94, respectively. In addition, heaters 84, 86, 88
Controllers 96, 98, and 100 are attached to each of them so that the heating temperature is maintained at a constant level. The temperature required to make the color developing paper 52 have sufficient gloss is about 150 degrees, but the entrance side heater 84
is controlled to have a lower temperature (140 degrees in this example), the central heater 86 is controlled to have an intermediate temperature (150 degrees in this example), and the exit side heater 88 is controlled to have an intermediate temperature (150 degrees in this example). is controlled to have the highest angle of 160 degrees.

Below the heating device 82, as shown in FIG. 2, a feeding device 78 whose main components are a pair of annular feeding belts 104, 106 is provided. These bells) 1
04 and 106 are provided so as to contact two locations separated in the width direction of the heating surface 94, and the developer paper 52
The image recording surface is made to come into contact with a portion of the image recording surface that is outside the area on which the image is recorded. Feed belt 104, 106
are each rotatably supported by a shaft 108.
The support base 90 is applied to the feed belt 1 by a pressure mechanism (not shown).
04, 106, the heating surface 94
It is arranged so that it is in close contact with the feed roller 1
Among the rollers 10 and 112, the roller 110° 112 on the downstream side in the paper feeding direction is rotated by a motor, so that the feeding belts 104 and 106 are fed in the longitudinal direction and the other rollers 110° 112 are rotated. The developing paper 52 is fed while being rotated and pressed against the heating surface 94.

In the image recording apparatus configured as described above, when the color developing paper 52 is heated in the gloss processing section 76, it is first heated by the portion of the heating surface 94 constituted by the entrance side heater 84; Since the temperature of the area is lower than the temperature required to produce sufficient gloss, no bubbles or roughness will occur on the surface, and the heated surface 94
Since approximately half of the surface is set at 140 degrees, the developing paper 52 is raised to that temperature while passing through this portion, and then heated to 150 degrees. If the temperature required to give sufficient gloss to the color developer paper 52 is about 150 degrees, the temperature at which bubbles and roughness are likely to occur is between 140 degrees and 15 degrees.
In contrast, the temperature of the color developing paper 52 is raised to 140 degrees in advance, so even if it is heated to 150 degrees, bubbles will not be generated. By heating at a higher temperature on the exit side of the heating surface 94, an image with sufficient gloss and a smooth surface can be obtained.

Furthermore, since the feed belts 104 and 106 that feed the color developer paper 52 are configured to come into contact with a portion of the image recording surface that is outside the area where the image is recorded, the belts 104 and 106 touch the image that is in a melted state due to heating. Touching it will not interfere with the generation of gloss or cause image transfer, and in this respect as well, the effect of improving the quality of the image can be obtained.

Another embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. In this embodiment, one heater 118 constitutes a heating device. The upper surface of the heater 118 has a partially cylindrical shape, and there are three types of thermally conductive sheets 12 having the same thickness but different thermal conductivity.
0, 122, and 124 are fixed to form a partially cylindrical heating surface 126. Sheet with the lowest thermal conductivity 1
20 is the developer paper entrance side of the heating surface 126 and is fixed to form a surface slightly wider than half of the whole, with a sheet 122 having an intermediate thermal conductivity in the center and
The sheets 124 having the highest thermal conductivity are fixed to each exit side so as to form approximately half of the remaining portion of the heating surface 126.

A controller 128 is attached to the heater 118 so that the temperature is always maintained at a constant level. The thermal conductivity of the thermally conductive sheets 120, 122 and 124 is such that when heated by the heater 118, the temperature of the heating surface 126 that they constitute is 140 degrees, 150 degrees, and 160 degrees.
It has been selected so that the Therefore, heating surface 1
The temperature of the color developer paper 52 is lower on the entrance side of the color developer paper than on the exit side, so that the color developer paper 52 is not rapidly heated to the temperature required to obtain gloss, and an image with a smooth surface and beautiful gloss can be obtained. becomes.

Note that instead of fixing three types of sheets to the heater, a sheet having relatively low thermal conductivity, thick on the developer paper entrance side, and thin on the exit side may be fixed. Even in this case, the temperature of the heating surface formed by the sheet can be made lower on the developer paper entrance side than on the exit side. If the thickness of the sheet is changed stepwise, the heating temperature will be changed stepwise, and if the thickness is changed gradually, the temperature will be changed gradually.

Further, the exposure section 36 is configured to form a latent image on the photosensitive pressure sensitive paper 34, which has the same left and right orientation when viewed from the lens 28 side as when the image of the original 6 is viewed from the front side. Alternatively, the developing paper cassette 54 may be provided below the passage of the photosensitive and pressure sensitive paper 34 and overlapped with the photosensitive and pressure sensitive paper 34 from below.

In this case, the heating device is provided below the path through which the color developer paper 52 passes, and by heating the color developer paper 52 from below, the heating effect can be improved.

The heating device 130 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 is an example of a heating device provided below the passage path of the color developing paper 52, and this heating device 130 includes a main heating member 132 and an auxiliary heating member 134. We are prepared. The main heating member 132 is provided on the downstream side in the feeding direction of the color developing paper 52, and the auxiliary heating member 134 is provided on the upstream side, and are arranged with a small gap in the feeding direction. These main heating members 132. The upper surfaces 136 and 138 of each of the auxiliary heating members 134 are curved so as to form part of a cylindrical surface centered on a center line extending in a direction perpendicular to the feeding direction, and these upper surfaces 136 and 138 form a heating surface. is formed.

The main heating member 132 includes a halogen lamp 140 as a heat source. The main heating member 132 is also equipped with a thermistor 142 that converts the temperature into an electrical signal and outputs it, and the output of the halogen lamp 140 is adjusted based on the output signal, so that the temperature of the main heating member 132 is always maintained. The temperature is kept constant (180 degrees in this example).

The auxiliary heating member 134 is heated by the heat of the main heating member 132 conducted by the thermal conductor 144 . A thermal conductor 144 is disposed below both heating members 132, 134,
A tension spring 146 stretched between the auxiliary heating member 134 urges the tension spring 146 upwardly, while the other end of the tension spring 148 made of a shape memory alloy whose one end is locked to the support member 147 pushes the heat insulating material 150. It is configured to be locked and urged downward. This tension spring 14
8 is in an extended state as shown in FIG. 5 at room temperature, and when the temperature rises (in this example, 80
The spring 146 returns to its original shape and contracts as shown in FIG. 6, and its tensile force is smaller than that of the spring 146 in the extended state, but becomes larger in the contracted state. Although not shown in the drawings, in this embodiment, the color developing paper 52 is fed by a pair of feeding belts as in the previous embodiment.

In the heating device 130 configured as described above, in the state before heating, the thermal conductor 144 is connected to the main heating member 132, as shown in FIG. It is in a state where it is in contact with the auxiliary heating member 134. During heating, the main heating member 132 is heated and the auxiliary heating member 134 is heated.
At this time, the spring 148 is also heated by the heat transmitted from the auxiliary heating member 132 via the support member 147, and when the temperature reaches 80 degrees, the spring 148 contracts, and the heat conductor 144 connects both heating members 132, 132. By being separated from the auxiliary heating member 134, the auxiliary heating member 134 enters a non-heating state and its temperature decreases. Then, the temperature of the spring 148 decreases and expands, and the thermal conductor 144 becomes the heating member 132,
134, the auxiliary heating member 134 is heated again.

In this way, the spring 148 repeatedly expands and contracts,
Thermal conductor 144 is the main heating member 132. Auxiliary heating member 13
4, the temperature of the auxiliary heating member 134 is maintained at around 80 degrees, which is the set temperature for restoring the shape of the spring 148.

Therefore, the color developing paper 52 is first heated by the low-temperature auxiliary heating member 13.
4 and then heated by the high-temperature main heating member 132, so that a beautiful image with a glossy surface can be obtained without being rapidly heated at a high temperature. In addition, the auxiliary heating member 134 is the main heating member 13
Since the heating device 130 is heated by the heat conducted from the heating device 2, only one heat source is required, and the heating device 130 can be constructed at low cost.

Note that the spring 148. The tension spring 148 may be heated in an atmosphere surrounding the support member 147 and heated by heat conduction from the auxiliary heating member 134.

In addition, a bimetal member is used instead of the shape memory alloy tension spring 148, and the heat conductor 144 is connected to the main heating member 132. It may be repeatedly brought into close contact with and separated from the auxiliary heating member 134.

Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a solenoid 152 is used instead of the shape memory alloy spring 148.
The temperature of the auxiliary heating member 134 may be maintained at a constant level by moving the heat conductor. The plunger 154 of the solenoid 152 is connected to a heat conductor 156, and the solenoid 15 is activated based on the output signal of a thermistor 158 attached to the auxiliary heating member 134.
2 is switched and the plunger 154 is reciprocated, the thermal conductor 156 is repeatedly brought into close contact with and separated from the main heating member 132 and the auxiliary heating member 134, and the temperature of the auxiliary heating member 134 is kept constant. be.

In each of the above embodiments, a case has been described in which a member having a heating surface that is in surface contact with the color developing paper 52 is used as the heating device, but it may also be configured with a heating roller as shown in FIG. 9.

The heating device of this embodiment has four heating rollers 162°16
4.166.168. These heating rollers 1
62 to 168 each have a heat source inside, are rotatable about a line extending in the width direction of the color developer paper 52 as a center line, and are arranged at predetermined intervals in the feeding direction of the color developer paper 52. There is. These heating rollers 1
The heating temperature of each of the heating rollers 62 to 168 is, for example, 140 degrees for the heating roller 162 on the developer paper entrance side, 145 degrees for the next heating roller 164, and 150 degrees for the next heating roller 166.
The temperature of the heating roller 168 on the developer paper exit side is set to 200 degrees. In addition, the heating rollers 162 to 16
8 are rotatably provided on the upper side thereof, and feed rollers 170, 172, 174, 17 constituting a feeding device.
A developing paper 52 is sandwiched together with the paper 6 and fed while being heated.

Even if the color developer paper 52 is heated using a heating roller in this way, the temperature of the heating roller 162 on the entry side is set lower than the temperature at which air bubbles, etc. are generated.
is not heated rapidly at high temperatures, and
By heating the color developing paper 52 in small increments of 5 degrees until it is heated to 150 degrees, the temperature of the color developing paper 52 gradually increases, and the generation of bubbles and roughness can be better avoided.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 10, the heating device may be composed of three heating rollers 180, 182, and 184. These heating rollers 180, 182, 18
In No. 4, the heating temperature of the heating roller 180 on the developer paper entrance side and the heating roller 182 in the middle is 145 degrees, and the heating temperature of the heating roller 184 on the developer paper entrance side is 160 degrees.

186, 188, 190 are heating rollers iso, i82.
Together with 184, this is a feed roller that pinches and feeds the developing paper 52.

In this way, the developing paper 52 is heated twice by the heating roller at the same temperature, and is gradually and completely heated to 145 degrees, so even if it is subsequently heated to 160 degrees, bubbles etc. will not be generated. (Produces a glossy, smooth image.)

In addition, each of the embodiments described in detail above can be realized by appropriately setting the configuration of the exposure section 36 and the position of the color developer paper cassette 54.
The heating device and the feeding device may be placed in the opposite positions vertically.

In each of the above embodiments, the case where the photosensitive pressure-sensitive medium is a transfer type is explained, but it is also possible to use a self-coloring type photosensitive pressure-sensitive medium or a photosensitive pressure-sensitive medium in which the photosensitive resin contained in the microcapsules is softened by exposure. The present invention can also be applied to a recording device that records images using a pressure-sensitive medium.

Although not illustrated in detail, the present invention can be implemented in various modifications and improvements based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a gloss processing section consisting of a heating device and a feeding device of an image recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a bottom view thereof. FIG. 3 is a front sectional view showing the entire image recording apparatus. FIG. 4 is a front view showing another aspect of the gloss treatment section. FIG. 5 is a front view showing still another aspect of the heating device, and FIG. 6 is a front view showing the heating device in different operating states. FIG. 7 is a front view showing still another aspect of the heating device, and FIG. 8 is a front view showing the heating device in different operating states. FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 are front views showing still another aspect of the gloss treatment section, respectively.

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A recording section that records an image on an image recording medium that becomes glossy when heated; and a gloss processing section that heats the image recording medium with a heating device while feeding the image recording medium after the image is recorded with a feeding device to make the surface glossy. An image recording apparatus comprising: The heating device has a heating temperature lower on the image recording medium entrance side than on the exit side. (2) The heating device has a heating surface that makes surface contact with the image recording medium, and the temperature of the heating surface is lower on the image recording medium entrance side than on the exit side. Image recording device. (3) The heating device includes a plurality of heating rollers rotatable around a center line perpendicular to the feeding direction of the image recording medium and arranged in parallel in the feeding direction, and the heating roller is arranged on the image recording medium entrance side. 2. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the temperature of the heating roller is lower than the temperature of the heating roller on the exit side.