JPH0572701A - Image forming method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an image forming method for stably obtaining an uniform density image without having fluctuations in the density of the base part of an image obtained even at high processing speed when a thermal developing sensitive material is coated with a solvent as image forming auxiliaries. CONSTITUTION:A coating tank 64 and a replenishing tank 86 in which the solvent (for instance, water) as the image forming auxiliaries is stored, are connected by a supplying pipe 78, and the sensitive material supplied to the coating tank 64 is coated with the solvent, for increasing transfer efficiency. At this time, the coating tank 64 is replenished with the solvent of a quantity equivalent to 5-70% of its total solvent quantity from the replenishing tank 86 whenever one piece of sensitive material is processed. Ionic material eluted from the sensitive material can be set at a prescribed quantity or below in the solvent of the coating tank 64 by the replenished solvent, and the quantity of the solvent with which the sensitive material is coated is not fluctuated.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming method for obtaining an image on an image receiving material by transferring the image recorded on the photothermographic material to the image receiving material in the presence of an image forming solvent.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an image recording apparatus for obtaining a color image,
Using a photothermographic material and an image receiving material, after exposing the image to the photothermographic material, send it to the heat developing section, and bring the image receiving material into close contact with the photosensitive material after heat development to obtain an image on the image receiving material by the transfer process. An image recording device having the above-mentioned structure is known.

Before the photothermographic material or the image receiving material processed in such an image recording apparatus is transferred to the transfer section, a transfer aid (image forming solvent) such as water is previously added in order to improve transfer efficiency. It is designed to be applied.

Therefore, in a conventional image recording apparatus, a water supply pipe is connected and a coating tank filled with water as an image forming solvent and a roller partially immersed in the water filled in the coating tank are arranged. Then, the roller may be soaked with water to contact the heat-developable photosensitive material or the image-receiving material to apply the water, or the heat-developable photosensitive material or the image-receiving material may be directly conveyed into the coating tank. It was made to immerse and apply water.

[0005]

By the way, in such a conventional solvent coating device for image formation, when the processing speed of solvent coating of the photothermographic material is slow, a new solvent is prepared for each sheet of the photothermographic material. Was supplied to the coating tank, the solvent temperature was kept constant by a heater fixed to the bottom of the coating tank, and all the solvent in the coating tank was returned to the solvent supply tank.

Further, as the processing speed of the solvent coating of the photothermographic material becomes faster, the temperature of the solvent in the coating tank is kept constant in advance, and then the solvent coating treatment of the photothermographic material is carried out,
The solvent in the coating tank is repeatedly used without being returned to the solvent supply tank, and the coating tank is replenished with only the solvent substantially equivalent to the amount insufficiently applied to the photothermographic material.

However, in the above-described operation when the processing speed of solvent coating of the photothermographic material is increased, when a large number of photothermographic materials are continuously processed, the density of the white background portion of the image of the image receiving material is gradually increased. There is a problem in that the same image cannot be obtained on a large number of image receiving materials.

In consideration of the above facts, the present invention does not fluctuate the density of the white background portion of the obtained image even when the solvent coating speed of the photothermographic material is increased, and continuously produces the same image. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming method which can be obtained.

[0009]

In the image forming method according to the present invention, a photothermographic material coated with a solvent as an image forming auxiliary in a coating tank is superposed on an image receiving material and then conveyed to a heating section. In heat development, and an image forming method of transferring an image recorded on the photothermographic material to an image receiving material,
It is characterized in that the amount of solvent corresponding to 5 to 70% of the total amount of solvent in the coating tank is replenished in the coating tank for each sheet of the photothermographic material processed in the coating tank.

[0010]

When the solvent is continuously applied to the photothermographic material in the coating tank, the amount of the solvent applied to the photothermographic material is reduced due to the influence of the ionic substance eluted from the photothermographic material. 5 to 70% of the total amount of solvent in the coating tank
When the solvent is replenished, the concentration of the ionic substance in the solvent in the coating tank becomes equal to or less than the specified amount, and the decrease in the amount of solvent applied to the photothermographic material is eliminated. Since the solvent to be replenished is 5% to 70% of the total amount of solvent in the coating tank, the amount of solvent is sufficient to eliminate the decrease in the amount of solvent applied to the photothermographic material and the solvent temperature in the application tank. The amount of solvent that can hold the value constant is suppressed.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration diagram of an image recording apparatus 10 for carrying out an image forming method according to the present invention. 2 and 3 are overall external views of the image recording apparatus 10.

The image recording apparatus 10 is formed in a box shape as a whole, and the machine base 12 is provided with front doors 13A, 13B, side doors 15A, 15B and a lower door 17. The inside of the machine base 12 can be exposed by opening each door. Note that each door is provided with a safety device by a so-called interlock mechanism (not shown) so that the power of a predetermined portion can be turned off at the same time when the door is opened.

A photosensitive material magazine 14 is arranged in a machine base 12 of the image recording apparatus 10, and a photosensitive material 16 is wound and stored in a roll shape. The widthwise dimension of the photosensitive material 16 is, for example, 310 mm. The photosensitive material 16 has a photosensitive silver halide, a binder, a dye-donating substance, and a reducing agent on a support, and its photosensitive (exposure) surface is wound toward the lower side of the apparatus.

As shown in detail in FIGS. 4 and 5, the photosensitive material magazine 14 is fixed to the body portion 14A having a length corresponding to the widthwise dimension of the photosensitive material 16 and both end portions of the body portion 14A. It is composed of a pair of side frame parts 14B and is housed in a housing part 200 provided in the machine base 12. A guide plate 202 for holding a magazine is arranged in the storage section 200. A pair of leaf springs 204 for pressing and holding the photosensitive material magazine 14 are attached to the guide plate 202. In addition, a protrusion 206 is provided on one end of the guide plate 202.
Is formed, and is adapted to enter into the through hole 208 of the housing portion 200. A nail latch 210 is attached to an end portion of the guide plate 202 opposite to the protrusion 206, and can be fitted into a locking hole 212 formed in a side wall of the housing portion 200. When the sensitive material magazine 14 is set in the accommodating portion 200 with the projection 206 entering the through hole 208 and the nail latch 210 fitted in the locking hole 212, the leaf spring 204 presses the sensitive material magazine 14 and the sensitive material magazine 14 is pressed. Magazine 14
Is held by the housing portion 200. In addition, the nail latch 210 is pulled out from the locking hole 212 to remove the guide plate 20.
By removing 2, the photosensitive material magazine 14 is moved slightly to the right side of the paper surface of FIG. 1, that is, in the longitudinal direction of the wound photosensitive material 16, and then the front side of the machine base 12 (front side of the paper surface of FIG. 1; It is possible to pull out in the width direction of the photosensitive material 16 and is pulled out when the photosensitive material 16 is jammed.

Further, the photosensitive material magazine 1 of the accommodating portion 200
An inner door 214 is arranged in the drawer portion of No. 4, and in the state where the sensitive material magazine 14 is accommodated in the accommodating portion 200, even if the front doors 13A and 13B of the machine base 12 are opened, the accommodating portion is External light does not enter the inside of 200, and the contained photosensitive material 16 is prevented from being inadvertently exposed to light.

Further, the accommodating portion 200 of the photosensitive material magazine 14
Is provided with an optical sensor (not shown), which can detect either the sensitive material magazine 14 or the receiving material magazine 106 having a different length dimension to be described later, thereby preventing erroneous insertion. There is.

A nipping roller 18 and a cutter 20 are arranged in the vicinity of the photosensitive material take-out port of the photosensitive material magazine 14 so that the photosensitive material 16 can be pulled out from the photosensitive material magazine 14 by a predetermined length and then cut. The cutter 20 is, for example, a guillotine type cutter including a fixed blade and a movable blade, and has a configuration in which the movable blade is moved up and down by a rotating cam or the like to cut the photosensitive material 16 in mesh with the fixed blade. Here, FIG. 6 shows a schematic configuration diagram of a drive system for driving the cutter 20 (moving blade). That is, the drive shaft 220 of the cutter 20 is connected to the timing belt 22.
The gear 226 is connected to the gear 224 through the gear 224, and the gear 226 that rotates integrally with the gear 224 meshes with the gear 228. The gear 228 is coaxially connected to the gear 230 via two one-way clutches having a rotation characteristic of a forward rotation transmission characteristic and a rotation characteristic of a reverse rotation transmission characteristic, and further, a gear of the cutter motor is connected via a timing belt 232. It is connected to the rotating shaft 234. by this,
The driving force is transmitted only when the rotary shaft 234 of the cutter motor is normally rotated, the drive shaft 220 is rotated, and the cutter 20 is operated. Further, a cutter 112 for cutting the image receiving material 108, which will be described in detail later, is connected to a gear 228 provided through the two one-way clutches, whereby a single cutter motor is used for the photosensitive material 1.
This is a configuration in which both 6 and the image receiving material 108 can be cut.

After the operation of the cutter 20, the nip roller 1
8 reverses and is rewound to the nip roller 18 to such an extent that the tip of the photosensitive material 16 is slightly nipped.

A plurality of transport rollers 19, 21, 23, 24, 26, 29, 31, 33, 3 are provided on the side of the cutter 20.
5 and the guide plate 27 are arranged so that the photosensitive material 16 cut into a predetermined length can be conveyed to the exposure unit 22. Here, the plurality of transport rollers 19, 21, 2
3, 24, 26, 29, 31, 33, 35 and the guide plate 27 are arranged so as to circulate around the photosensitive material magazine 14, whereby the photosensitive material 16 after cutting is
Conveyor rollers 19, 21, 23, 24, 26, 29, 3
While being guided by the 1, 33, 35 and the guide plate 27, it is configured to move on a transport path that circulates around the photosensitive material magazine 14 in which it is housed (“shaped” transport path in a side view). ..

An exposure unit 22 is arranged at a position directly above the photosensitive material magazine 14 on the way of the conveying path of the photosensitive material 16.
The exposure section 22 is located between the transport rollers 24 and 26, and an interval between these transport rollers is an exposure section (exposure point) so that the photosensitive material 16 can pass therethrough. Further, a guide plate 28 is arranged between these conveying rollers, and an exposure surface glass 30 is arranged on the upper side of the conveying path of the photosensitive material 16, whereby the photosensitive material 16 becomes flat (deformation is corrected). (While being exposed), it passes between both transport rollers (exposure section). The transport speed of the photosensitive material 16 by the transport rollers 24 and 26 (passing speed of the exposure unit) is, for example, 100 mm / se.
It is c.

The guide plate 28 and the exposure surface glass 30 serve as a mechanism for separating when the shell of the exposure section 22 described later is opened, and the photosensitive material 16 being conveyed is clogged (so-called jam).
If this happens, this can be easily resolved.

An exposure device 38 is provided directly above the exposure unit 22. A light source 40, a moving mirror 42A, a moving mirror 42B, a fixed mirror 44, a reflecting mirror 46, and a lens unit 48 are arranged in the exposure device 38. Further, above the parts above the machine base 12 made of glass. A document placing plate 50 is provided.

The light source 40 is a cylindrical halogen lamp (for example, power supply voltage 80V, 380W), and has an illuminance of about 5 × 10 ⁵ Lx on the document surface, for example. Further, the light amount distribution of the light source 40 (halogen lamp) is set to be slightly smaller at both ends in the axial direction than in the central part. This is to make the density distribution of the image uniform in correspondence with the temperature distribution of the heat development transfer unit 104 described later.

A plurality of lens units 48 (for example, 6
It is composed of a lens group of (sheets), and further incorporates a color adjustment filter (CC filter) (not shown). A movable diaphragm slit plate 52 is arranged on the rear side (fixed mirror 44) of the lens unit 48.

These light source 40, moving mirrors 42A, 4
2B and the lens unit 48 are movable along the document placing plate 50 by the amount of movement associated with the magnification change. The document 54 placed on the document placing plate 50 is irradiated with light and its reflected image light ( The image light) is scanned and exposed through the fixed mirror 44 onto the photosensitive material 16 located in the exposure section 22. In this case, the moving speed of the moving mirror 42B depends on the light source 40.
It is 1/2 of the moving speed of the moving mirror 42A.

The reflecting mirror 46 is the moving mirror 42 described above.
It is arranged so that it can enter or leave the optical path of the image light irradiated to the exposure unit 22 via the A, 42B and the fixed mirror 44. That is, normally, the moving mirrors 42A, 42B and the fixed mirror 4 are in a state of entering the optical path of the image light.
The light radiated via 4 is reflected in a substantially right-angled direction. On the other hand, when scanning and exposing the image of the document 54 onto the photosensitive material 16 located in the exposure section 22, the light is separated from the optical path. So that the image can be exposed. When the reflection mirror 46 enters the optical path of the image light, the reflected light enters the light detection sensor 56.

The light detecting sensor 56 is provided with a total of six photosensitive heads capable of detecting two kinds of wavelengths of blue, green and red respectively, and is further connected to a control device (not shown). The light detection sensor 56 measures the image density of the image of the original 54, and the exposure conditions of the color adjustment filter (CC filter) and the aperture slit plate 52 are set based on the measured value. ..

The exposure apparatus 38 having such a structure is constructed as one unit as a whole and is releasably attached to the machine base 12 by the hinge 58 (so-called clam shell type, see FIG. 3). Therefore, by opening the exposure device 38, it is possible to easily inspect the inside of the exposure unit 22 and the like, and perform so-called jam processing when a paper jam occurs.

The "no" of the light-sensitive material 16 formed around the photosensitive material magazine 14 and under the photosensitive material magazine 14.
A water coating unit 62 as an image forming solvent coating device is arranged at the end of the character-shaped transport path. The photosensitive material 16 on which the image has been exposed in the exposure section 22 is circulated around the photosensitive material magazine 14 by a “” -shaped conveying path, and then conveyed by the conveying rollers 29, 31, 33, 35 and guided by the guide plate 27.
And is fed to the water application section 62. Here, a dust removing sheet is attached to the guide plate 36 on the side of the transport roller 35 (immediately before the water application section 62) to remove dust adhering to the photosensitive material 16.

As shown in detail in FIG. 7, in the water coating section 62, a coating tank 64 serving as a solvent-filled dish member formed in a dish shape is arranged. Further, a pair of supply rollers 6 are provided at the end of the coating tank 64 on the upstream side in the conveying direction of the photosensitive material 16.
6 is arranged, and a pair of squeeze rollers 68 are arranged at the end portion on the downstream side in the conveying direction of the photosensitive material 16.

Supply roller 66 and squeeze roller 68
Are both silicon rubber rollers having an outer diameter of 20 mm, and the rubber hardness of the supply roller 66 is, for example, 60 ± 5 and the squeeze roller 68 is, for example, 40.
It is set to ± 5. In addition, a predetermined pressing force (for example, 1 kg) is applied to both ends of each roller in the longitudinal direction.

A guide plate 70 as a guide member is attached above the coating tank 64 so as to face the coating tank 64. The guide plate 70 is made of a metal material such as aluminum, and the space between the guide plate 70 and the coating tank 64 is a passage for the photosensitive material 16.
Therefore, when the coating tank 64 is filled with water, the photosensitive material 16 fed between the guide plate 70 and the coating tank 64 by the supply roller 66 is coated with water, and is further sandwiched by the squeeze roller 68. Excess water is removed by being transported.

In this case, the water coating length of the photosensitive material 16 between the guide plate 70 and the coating tank 64 (the length that the photosensitive material 16 passes through water) is, for example, 70 mm. The immersion time is, for example, 3.5 seconds. Further, the photosensitive material 16 after the water coating process (that is, after passing through the squeeze roller 68) has 15 ± 1 gr / m 2.
² water is to be applied.

A photosensitive material sensor 74 is arranged near the upstream side of the supply roller 66 in the conveying direction of the photosensitive material 16 and can detect the photosensitive material 16 conveyed from the reversing section 60. As a result, the drive speeds of the supply roller 66 and the squeeze roller 68 are changed when the photosensitive material sensor 74 detects the photosensitive material 16 conveyed from the reversing unit 60. Therefore, the photosensitive material 16 is fed between the guide plate 70 and the coating tank 64 at a low transport speed, and is further sandwiched and transported by the squeeze roller 68.

As shown in FIG. 7, a plurality of rows of ribs 76 are formed on the bottom surface of the coating tank 64, that is, the surface through which the photosensitive material 16 passes, so as to be inclined with respect to the conveying direction of the photosensitive material 16. It is possible to reduce the frictional resistance when passing between the guide plate 70 and the coating tank 64 and prevent the photosensitive material 16 from being scratched at a certain position. Further, the coating tank 64 includes a squeeze roller 6
Drainage port 90 communicating with the housing part of No. 8 and the overflow tank 9
An overflow port 94 and an auxiliary overflow port 95, which communicate with 2, are formed.

On the other hand, a through hole 72 is formed in the central portion of the above-mentioned guide plate 70 to serve as a water supply path. A ceramic heater 102 as a temperature raising means is attached to the upper part of the guide plate 70, and the water passing through the through hole 72 is heated (for example, 40 ± 2 ° C.) to apply the coating tank 64.
It can be filled in.

The coating tank 64, the guide plate 70 and the squeeze roller 68 having the above-mentioned structure are constructed as one unit as a whole.

Here, FIG. 8 shows a schematic configuration diagram of a drive system for driving the supply roller 66 and the squeeze roller 68. That is, the rotation shaft 2 of the supply roller 66
Reference numeral 40 is connected to a gear 244 via a timing belt 242, and the gear 244 is coaxially connected to a gear 246 via a one-way clutch.
The gear 246 meshes with the rotating shaft 248 of the water application motor. As a result, when the rotary shaft 248 of the water application motor rotates, the driving force is transmitted, the rotary shaft 240 rotates, and the supply roller 66 rotates. Further, the rotation shaft 250 of the squeeze roller 68 meshes with the gear 244 provided via the one-way clutch, and the squeeze roller 68 is rotated by the transmission of the driving force similarly to the supply roller 66. Therefore, the squeeze roller 68
The photosensitive material 16 nipped and conveyed by is maintained at a predetermined tension.

Further, a shaft 254 of a receiving material discharging roller 172 and a shaft 256 of a sensitive material discharging roller 158, which will be described later, are connected to a gear 244 provided via the one-way clutch, via a timing belt 252. The drive force is transmitted to rotate. Furthermore, the gear 258 meshing with the shaft 256 is
Similarly, it is connected to a shaft 262 of a sensitive material discharge roller 160, which will be described later, via 60, and is rotated by receiving a driving force. That is, the water application motor has a plurality of drive units (supply roller 66 and squeeze roller 68,
The material receiving roller 172, the photosensitive material discharging roller 158, and the photosensitive material discharging roller 160) are driven together.

The feeding speed of the photosensitive material 16 by the supply roller 66 and the squeeze roller 68 (passing speed between the guide plate 70 and the coating tank 64) is, for example, about 20 m.
It is m / sec. That is, in the exposure unit 22, the photosensitive material 16 is, for example, 100 mm / se as described above.
Although the sheet is conveyed by c, when the photosensitive material sensor 74 detects the photosensitive material 16, the conveying speed of the conveying rollers 29, 31, 33, 35 is also reduced to about 20 mm / sec and sent to the water coating section 62.

A plurality of pipes are connected to the water application section 62 configured as described above so that water can be supplied. Here, FIG. 9 shows a water supply system diagram of the water application unit 62.

Through hole 72 of guide plate 70 of water application section 62
A supply pipe 78 is connected to the. A pump 80 and a filter 82 are arranged in the middle of the supply pipe 78, and the other end of the supply pipe 78 is provided with an open lid 84.
And is located in the replenishment tank 86. The refill tank 86 is filled with water as an image forming solvent. Therefore, by driving the pump 80, the water in the replenishment tank 86 can be filled (replenished) into the coating tank 64 via the guide plate 70.

Ion exchange resin is added to the water in the replenishment tank 86 as needed. The ion exchange resin is preferably one that traps ionic substances eluted from the photosensitive material 16. Therefore, the ion exchange resin can be appropriately selected according to the components in the photosensitive material 16.

Examples of the ion exchange resin include cation exchange resins. The cation exchange resin is preferably a strongly acidic Na-type cation exchange resin and also an H-type cation exchange resin, or a combination of a strongly acidic H-type cation exchange resin and a strongly basic OH-type anion exchange resin is also a preferred embodiment. ..

The ion exchange resin is styrene-
A strongly acidic cation exchange resin having a divinylbenzene copolymer as a base and having a sulfone group as an ion exchange group is preferable. As an example of such an ion exchange resin, for example,
Mitsubishi Kasei Co., Ltd. make, a brand name Diaion SK-1B, or Diaion PK-216 etc. can be mentioned. These ion-exchange resin substrates have a divinylbenzene charge of 4 to 1 relative to the total monomer charge at the time of production.
It is preferably 6%.

As the anion exchange resin which can be used in combination with the H-type cation exchange resin, a styrene-divinylbenzene copolymer is used as a base and an anion exchange resin is used as an exchange group.
Strongly basic anion exchange resins having secondary amine or quaternary ammonium groups are preferred. Examples of such anion exchange resin include those manufactured by Mitsubishi Kasei Co., Ltd. under the trade name Diaion SA-10A or Diaion PA-.
418 etc. can be mentioned.

On the other hand, at the drainage port 90 of the coating tank 64,
The discharge pipe 96, one end of which is connected to the replenishment tank 86, is connected to the other end, and a solenoid valve 98 is arranged in the middle of the discharge pipe 96. This solenoid valve 98
Is normally in a closed state, but when in an open state, the water in the coating tank 64 can be discharged to the replenishment tank 86 via the discharge pipe 96. Further, the solenoid valve 98 is fixed in a state of being slightly inclined with respect to the machine base 12, and prevents drainage from remaining inside. Further, one end of the overflow port 94 of the coating tank 64 is located at an intermediate portion of the drain pipe 96 (the solenoid valve 9).
8 and the replenishment tank 86) connected to the discharge pipe 1
The other end of 00 is connected. Furthermore, a drain pipe 101 is connected to the auxiliary overflow port 95, and the other end of the drain pipe 101 is guided into the tank tray 103.

The open lid 84 for supporting the supply pipe 78 is attached to the machine base 12 by a hinge 88 so that the inside of the replenishment tank 86 can be opened. Also, FIG.
As shown in detail in FIG. 0, a water amount sensor 81 is attached to the tip of the supply pipe 78 located in the refill tank 86 with a bracket 79 holding the base end and the tip. The water amount sensor 81 is a self-heating type thermistor and can detect the amount of water in the refill tank 86 by generating heat according to the amount of water. It goes without saying that the water amount sensor 81 may be a sensor of other configuration such as a float type.

On the side of the water coating section 62, the heat development transfer section 10 is provided.
4 is arranged and is coated with water (squeeze roller 6
The photosensitive material 16 (after 8 passes) is fed in.

On the other hand, the machine base 12 immediately below the photosensitive material magazine 14
An image receiving material 106 is provided in the image receiving material 1
08 is rolled up and stored. The size of the image receiving material 108 in the width direction is smaller than that of the photosensitive material 16 (for example, 297 mm). Further, the image receiving material 10
A dye fixing material having a mordant is applied to the image forming surface of No. 8, and the image forming surface is wound toward the upper side of the apparatus.

The receiving material magazine 106 is the sensitive material magazine 14
Similarly, it is composed of a body portion 106A and a pair of side frame portions 106B fixed to both ends of the body portion 106A,
It can be pulled out to the front side of the machine base 12 (the front side in FIG. 1, that is, the width direction of the wound image receiving material 108). Here, the body portion 106A of the material receiving magazine 106 is formed to have a length corresponding to the widthwise dimension of the image receiving material 108, and thus is formed shorter than the body portion 14A of the photosensitive material magazine 14. For this reason, the length dimensions of the photosensitive material magazine 14 and the receiving material magazine 106 are different.

An optical sensor (not shown) is arranged in the receiving portion of the receiving material magazine 106 to detect either one of the photosensitive material magazine 14 and the receiving material magazine 106 having different lengths. This prevents erroneous insertion.

A nipping roller 110 is arranged in the vicinity of the image receiving material take-out port of the receiving material magazine 106, so that the image receiving material 108 can be pulled out from the receiving material magazine 106 and the nip thereof can be released. Here, FIG. 11 shows a schematic configuration diagram of the nip roller 110 portion, and FIG. 12 shows a schematic configuration diagram of a drive system for driving the nip roller 110. That is, the upper roller 110A of the nip roller 110 is supported by the tip of the L-shaped bracket 272 that is rotatably supported by the shaft 270, and can move up and down together with the bracket 272. A tension spring 274 is connected to the bracket 272 so that the upper roller 110A is always connected to the lower roller 110B.
It is pressed against to apply a predetermined nip pressure. A nip releasing cam 276 is arranged above the upper roller 110A and can be engaged with the upper wall of the bracket 272. The nip releasing cam 276 has a role of pressing the upper wall of the bracket 272 by rotating and rotating the bracket 272 around the axis 270 against the biasing force of the tension spring 274, whereby the upper roller 110 is rotated.
A is configured to be separated from the lower roller 110B. The rotating shaft 278 of the nip releasing cam 276 is coaxially connected to the gear 280 via a one-way clutch. Further, the gear 280 has a gear 282 and a lower roller 110B.
The timing belt 286 is wound around the rotary shaft 284 of the. The gear 282 is coaxially connected to the gear 288, and the gear 288 meshes with the rotation shaft 290 of the paper feeding motor. As a result, when the rotation shaft 290 of the paper feeding motor rotates forward, the lower roller 110
When the driving force is transmitted only to B and the nip roller 110 (upper roller 110A, lower roller 110B) operates, while the rotary shaft 290 of the paper feeding motor rotates in the reverse direction,
The driving force is transmitted to the nip release cam 276, the nip release cam 276 rotates, and the bracket 272 moves to the upper roller 11.
It is configured to move away from the lower roller 110B together with 0A. The upper roller 110A moves to move the nip roller 11
By releasing the nip of 0, the tip of the image receiving material 108 is prevented from being nipped for a long time to deform the surface (image forming surface) and change the physical properties.

A one-way clutch may be provided on the rotating shaft of the lower roller 110B. In this case, it is possible to prevent unnecessary rotation of the lower roller 110B when releasing the nip (when rotating the nip releasing cam 276).

A cutter 11 is provided on the side of the Nipro roller 110.
2 are arranged. The cutter 112 is, for example, a guillotine type cutter composed of a fixed blade and a movable blade, like the above-described cutter 20 for the photosensitive material, and the movable blade is moved up and down by a rotating cam or the like to be engaged with the fixed blade. Thus, the image receiving material 108 drawn from the receiving material magazine 106 is cut into a length shorter than the photosensitive material 16. Here, as shown in FIG. 6 described above, a gear 236 is meshed with a gear 228 provided via two one-way clutches, and a gear 237 that rotates integrally with this gear 236 is cut via a timing belt 238. It is connected to the drive shaft 239 of 112. As a result, the driving force is transmitted only when the rotary shaft 234 of the cutter motor is reversely rotated, the drive shaft 239 is rotated, and the cutter 112 is operated. That is, the cutter 112 for cutting the image receiving material 108 as well as the photosensitive material 16 can be operated by a single cutter motor.

The image receiving material 108 cut into a predetermined length is
The image receiving material conveying section 180 guides and conveys the image receiving material to the heat development transfer section 104. Here, FIG.
14 shows a sectional view of an image receiving material conveying section 180 which conveys the cut image receiving material 108 to the heat development transfer section 104. FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the image receiving material conveying section 180 corresponding to FIG. The figure is shown.

In the image receiving material conveying section 180, an upper conveying guide plate 182 and a lower conveying guide plate 184 are arranged. The upper conveyance guide plate 182 is a fixed plate, and further, a conveyance roller 186 is arranged. This upper conveyance guide plate 1
Reference numeral 82 denotes the image receiving material 1 drawn from the receiving material magazine 106.
08 corresponds to the image forming surface. Upper transport guide plate 18
2 includes a plurality of ribs 1 along the conveyance direction of the image receiving material 108.
88 is formed, and Teflon processing is further applied,
Friction with the image receiving material 108 is reduced to improve sliding and prevent scratches. Not limited to the Teflon process, the surface may be embossed to form irregularities or a Teflon tape may be attached to reduce friction with the image receiving material 108.

On the other hand, the lower transport guide plate 184 is rotatably supported by a shaft 185, and the upper transport guide plate 18 is rotatably supported.
It is possible to approach and separate from 2. That is, the lower conveyance guide plate 184
Has a so-called downward opening mechanism, and the lower conveyance guide plate 18
When 4 is brought close to the upper transport guide plate 182, a space between the upper transport guide plate 182 and the lower transport guide plate 184 serves as a transport path for the image receiving material 108. A guide roller 190 corresponding to the transport roller 186 is attached to the lower transport guide plate 184. As with the upper conveyance guide plate 182, the lower conveyance guide plate 184 also has
A plurality of ribs 192 are formed along the conveyance direction of the image receiving material 108. A tension spring 194 is housed inside the lower conveyance guide plate 184. One end of the tension spring 194 is locked to the shaft 185, and a wire 196 is connected to the other end of the tension spring 194. The middle portion of the wire 196 is wound around a roller 198 attached to the tip of the lower conveyance guide plate 184, and the other end of the wire 196 is fixed to the machine base 12. As a result, the lower conveyance guide plate 1
84 is always urged in a direction approaching the upper conveyance guide plate 182, and the lower conveyance guide plate 184 is moved downwardly against the urging force of the tension spring 194 to move the lower conveyance guide plate 184 to the shaft 1.
It is a structure that can be moved around 85. Lower transport guide plate 18
When 4 rotates downward and separates from the upper conveyance guide plate 182, the conveyance path of the image receiving material 108 is exposed, and for example, the jam treatment of the image receiving material 108 can be easily performed.

A thermal development transfer section 104 is arranged beside the image receiving material transport section 180. As shown in FIG. 15, the heat development transfer section 104 includes a heating drum 116 and an endless pressure contact belt 1.
And a water application section 62.
The laminating roller 120 is provided on the outer periphery of the heating drum 116 on the side.
Are arranged.

The laminating roller 120 and the water application section 6
A guide plate 122 is arranged between the two squeeze rollers 68 and above the conveyance path of the photosensitive material 16, and corresponds to the back surface of the photosensitive material 16 sent from the squeeze roller 68 (the side opposite to the image forming surface). Laminating this with a roller 12
We are leading to 0. The guide plate 122 has an uneven surface formed by embossing, which reduces friction with the photosensitive material 16 after water application and prevents sticking. The guide plate 122 is coated with Teflon to prevent unevenness of the tip of the photosensitive material 16.

A blade guide 124 is arranged at a position facing the guide plate 122. The blade guide 124 includes the bonding roller 120 and the image receiving material 1.
It also reaches between the transport roller 114 of No. 08 and guides the image receiving material 108 sent from the transport roller 114 to the bonding roller 120. A dust removing sheet is attached to the surface of the blade guide 124,
The dust adhering to the image receiving material 108 is removed.

The laminating roller 120 is a roller having an outer diameter of, for example, 29 mm at the central portion in the axial direction, the outer peripheral surface of which is coated with silicone rubber (for example, a thickness of 3 mm), and the rubber hardness is approximately 80. Has been done. Further, the bonding roller 120 is pressed against the outer circumference of the heating drum 116 by applying a predetermined pressing force (for example, 15 kg) at both ends in the longitudinal direction. The laminating roller 120 is connected to a drum motor via a drive system to be described later, and the driving force of the drum motor is transmitted to rotate the laminating roller 120. Here, the conveying speed of the photosensitive material 16 or the image receiving material 108 by the squeeze roller 68 or the conveying roller 114 is slightly (eg, about 2%) slower than the conveying speed of the photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving material 108 by the laminating roller 120. Is set so that the photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving material 108 are
The back tension acts on the sheet when it is sent to the laminating roller 120.

The heating drum 116 is made of a thin-walled aluminum pipe. In this embodiment, the heating drum 116 has a thickness of 3 mm.
mm, outer diameter 156 mm, and axial effective width 350 mm. The surface of the heating drum 116 is coated with Teflon, and the inner peripheral surface is coated with heat-resistant black.

The photosensitive material 16 conveyed to the heat development transfer section 104 is sent between the bonding roller 120 and the heating drum 116, and the image receiving material 108 is the photosensitive material 1.
In synchronism with the conveyance of No. 6, the photosensitive material 16 is fed between the laminating roller 120 and the heating drum 116 in a state of being preceded by a predetermined length (20 mm in this embodiment) so as to be superposed. In this case, the image receiving material 10
8 is smaller than the photosensitive material 16 in both the width direction and the longitudinal direction.
The peripheral portions of the four are overlapped with each other in a state of protruding from the peripheral portions of the image receiving material 108 on all four sides.

Furthermore, a cam 130 is fixed to the side wall of the heating drum 116. The cam 130 can be engaged with a peeling claw 176 described later, and the peeling claw 176 is rotated as the heating drum 116 rotates. The cam 130 is also used for detecting the alignment of the heating drum 116 with the photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving material 108.

Inside the heating drum 116, a pair of halogen lamps 132A and 132B are arranged. The halogen lamps 132A and 132B each have, for example, 350
The outputs are W and 350 W, and the surface of the heating drum 116 can be heated (for example, about 78 ° C.). In this case, the two halogen lamps 1
32A and 132B are used together, and only one halogen lamp 132A is used during the subsequent normal operation.

The endless pressure contact belt 118, which is in pressure contact with the outer circumference of the heating drum 116, has a structure in which a woven material is covered with rubber, and in this embodiment, the widthwise dimension is 340 mm. The woven material is an aromatic polyamide fiber (for example, Kevlar or Nomex: both du
It is sewn with a heat-resistant fiber such as Pont's registered trademark). Further, the coating rubber is silicon rubber containing carbon and has conductivity.

The endless pressure contact belt 118 is wound around four winding rollers 134, 136, 138 and 140. The winding roller 134 and the winding roller 1
The endless outer side between 40 and 40 is pressed against the outer circumference of the heating drum 116.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 16 and FIG.
The endless pressure contact belt 118 is used for the photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving material 10.
8 is sandwiched by the heating drum 116, and both ends in the width direction of the photosensitive material 16 located outside the heating drum 116 project from the both ends in the width direction of the image receiving material 108 located inside, and are thus overlapped. The projecting portion is closely attached to the outer circumference of the heating drum 116. Therefore, the image receiving material 108 located on the inner side is held so as to be wrapped by the photosensitive material 16 located on the outer side, and the two materials are prevented from firmly adhering to each other.

The winding rollers 134, 136, 138 are made of aluminum. Further, the winding roller 136 is formed in a taper shape in which both axial ends thereof are expanded outward, and a pressing force of 0.6 kg (practical range: 0.3 to 1.7 kg) is applied to both longitudinal end portions thereof. Is added in a direction away from the heating drum 116.
As a result, the endless pressure contact belt 118 is maintained at a predetermined tension and the deviation is prevented.

On the other hand, the winding roller 140 is a rubber roller, and is further connected to a drum motor through a drive system described later so that the driving force of the drum motor is transmitted to rotate the winding roller 140. It has become. When the winding roller 140 is rotated, the endless pressure contact belt 118 wound around the winding roller 140.
Is rotated, and along with this, this endless pressure welding belt 118
Is transmitted to the heating drum 116 by the frictional force with the heating drum 116, and the heating drum 116 is driven to rotate.

Here, the winding roller 140 is shown in FIG.
A schematic configuration diagram of a drive system for driving the is shown. That is, the rotation shaft 300 of the winding roller 140
Meshes with the gear 302, and the gear 30
Reference numeral 2 is connected to a gear 306 via a timing belt 304. A gear 308 that rotates integrally with the gear 306
The drive shaft 310 of the drum motor is meshed with. As a result, when the drive shaft 310 of the drum motor rotates, the driving force is transmitted, the rotation shaft 300 rotates, and the winding roller 140 rotates. Further, the timing belt 304 has the gears 312, 314, 316, 3 and 3.
It is wrapped around each of the 18. The gear 312 meshes with the shaft 320 of the laminating roller 120 in which a one-way clutch is incorporated. As a result, as described above, the photosensitive material 16 formed by the bonding roller 120 is used.
And the conveying speed of the image receiving material 108, the squeeze roller 6
The conveying speed of the photosensitive material 16 or the image receiving material 108 by the roller 8 and the conveying roller 114 is set to be slightly slower so that the back tension acts on the photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving material 108.

A shaft 322 of a bending guide roller 142, which will be described later, meshes with the gear 318, and the driving force is transmitted to rotate the gear 318. Further, the gear 316
Similarly, a shaft 324 of the peeling roller 174, which will be described later, meshes with the shaft 324, and the driving force is transmitted to rotate the shaft. That is, the drum motor drives together these driving units (the winding roller 140, the laminating roller 120, the bending guide roller 142, and the peeling roller 174).

The photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving material 108 superposed by the laminating roller 120 remain in the superposed state, and the heating drum 116 and the endless pressure contact belt 11 are kept.
8 and the heating drum 116 are sandwiched and conveyed over approximately 1/2 circumference of the heating drum 116 (between the winding roller 134 and the winding roller 140). When the photosensitive material 16 is heated during this nip conveyance, it releases a movable dye, and at the same time, this dye is transferred to the dye fixing layer of the image receiving material 108 to obtain an image.

A bending guide roller 142 is provided below the heating drum 116 on the downstream side of the endless pressure contact belt 118 in the material supply direction.
Are arranged. As described above, the bending guide roller 142 is configured so that the shaft 322 is rotated by transmitting the driving force of the drum motor. Further, the bending guide roller 142 is pressed against the outer circumference of the heating drum 116. Therefore, the photosensitive material 16 or the image receiving material 108 conveyed by the heating drum 116 and the endless pressure contact belt 118 can be further nipped and conveyed.

A peeling claw 154 is provided below the heating drum 116 on the downstream side of the bending guide roller 142 in the material supply direction.
It is rotatably supported by 6. The peeling claw 154 corresponds to the outer circumference of the heating drum 116, and can be brought into contact with and separated from the heating drum 116 by the operation of a solenoid (not shown). The peeling claw 154 is provided on the heating drum 11
When the cam 6 rotates and the cam 130 reaches a predetermined position, the cam 6 rotates to come into contact with the outer periphery of the heating drum 116. In this case, when the heating drum 116 rotates to a predetermined position and the leading end of the photosensitive material 16 reaches the peeling position,
The dimensions of each part such as the fixed position of the cam 130 detected by the sensor for operating the solenoid are set so that the peeling claw 154 rotates and comes into contact with the heating drum 116.

When the peeling claw 154 is in contact with the heating drum 116, the endless pressure contact belt 118 and the heating drum 116 are in contact with each other.
The photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving material 108 which are nipped and conveyed between
Among these, only the tip of the photosensitive material 16 superposed in a state of preceding by a predetermined length can be engaged, and this tip can be peeled from the outer periphery of the heating drum 116. It is configured to be moved downward while being wound around the bending guide roller 142.

Below the bending guide roller 142 and the peeling claw 154, sensitive material discharge rollers 158 and 160 and a plurality of guide rollers 162 are arranged.
Photosensitive material 1 moved downward while being wound around 42
6 can be further transported and accumulated in the waste photosensitive material storage box 178. The sensitive material discharge rollers 158 and 160 are configured to rotate by receiving the driving force of the water application motor for driving the water application section 62 as described above. In addition, the guide roller 1
A heater 164 (drying plate) is arranged around 62, and the photosensitive material 16 can be conveyed while being dried. The temperature of the heater 164 is set to about 90 ° C. Further, a drying fan 165 is arranged near the photosensitive material discharge roller 10 to accelerate the drying of the photosensitive material 16.

On the other hand, a material receiving guide 166 is arranged above the peeling claw 154 to guide the image receiving material 108 which is separated from the photosensitive material 16 and moves together with the heating drum 116. This material receiving guide 166 is also provided with a Teflon material, a Teflon processing, or a Teflon processing on the embossed plate, etc. to reduce friction, thereby improving the slip of the image receiving material 108 and preventing the image receiving material 108 from sticking. ing.

Heating drum 11 above receiving material guide 166
A peeling roller 174 and a peeling claw 176 are arranged in the vicinity of 6. The peeling roller 174 also has the shaft 3 as described above.
24 is configured to rotate by receiving the driving force of the drum motor, and removes the image receiving material 108 which is guided by the material receiving guide 166 and moves together with the heating drum 116.
6 together with 6 to peel off from the outer periphery of the heating drum 116 to guide the bending.

On the side of the peeling roller 174 and the peeling claw 176, a material receiving guide 170 is arranged, and a material receiving discharge roller 172 is arranged. The material receiving guide 170 is also subjected to a friction reducing treatment such as Teflon processing to prevent sticking, like the above-described transport guides for the image receiving material 108. In this case, a resin containing fluorine is preferred when doing this with a resin. As described above, all the conveyance guides of the image receiving material 108 are subjected to the friction reducing treatment to improve the slip of the image receiving material 108 and prevent the image receiving material 108 from sticking.

A drum fan 168 is arranged near the peeling roller 174. Therefore, the heating drum 116
The image receiving material 108 moving along the heating drum 116 is
Not only is it dried by the heat of, but also this drum fan 168 accelerates the drying. The drum fan 168 operates when necessary according to the atmospheric conditions. This is to keep the temperature distribution of the heating drum 116 uniform.

The image receiving material 108 peeled off from the outer periphery of the heating drum 116 by the peeling claw 176 while the drying is accelerated by the drum fan 168.
70 and the receiving material discharge roller 172, and is discharged to the tray 177. In this case, the downstream end of the material receiving guide 170 in the transport direction is arranged at a position lower than the lower transport guide plate 184 of the image receiving material transport unit 180 described above, and the image receiving material 108 curls into the gap between them. The tray 177 is prevented from entering and can be reliably stacked on the tray 177. Further, the tray 184 is provided on the front side of the machine base 12 (front side of FIG. 1), and the image receiving material 108 can be guided and accumulated in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction by the heating drum 116.

The heat development transfer section 10 having the above-mentioned structure.
4 is configured as one unit as a whole, and is movable in the direction opposite to the position where the water coating section 62 is disposed with respect to the machine base 12 (the side opposite to the photosensitive material magazine 14 and the receiving material magazine 106). .. Therefore, the side door 1 of the machine base 12
By opening and moving the heat development transfer section 104 after opening 5A, even when the photosensitive material 16 or the image receiving material 108 is jammed during transport (so-called jam), it can be easily repaired. ing.

As shown in FIG. 3, the heat development transfer section 104 is also provided.
An exhaust fan 330 as an exhaust unit is disposed near the (heating drum 116) to ventilate the inside of the machine base 12. On the other hand, as shown in detail in FIG. 19, in the side door 15B on the side opposite to the heat development transfer portion 104 (that is, in the vicinity of the photosensitive material magazine 14 and the receiving material magazine 106), a blowing fan as a blowing means having a filter built therein. 332 is attached, and external air can be fed into the machine base 12. In this case, both capacities are set such that the amount of air supplied by the blower fan 332 is larger than the amount of air discharged by the exhaust fan 330. Therefore, the inside of the machine base 12 is ventilated and cooled, and is constantly in a pressurized state, thereby preventing dust from entering the machine base 12 from the outside.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. In the image recording apparatus 10 having the above-described configuration, the sensitive material magazine 14 has the storage unit 2
After being set within 00, the photosensitive material 16 is pulled out by the nip roller 18 and cut into a predetermined length by the cutter 20. The cut photosensitive material 16 is conveyed and inverted by the conveying rollers 19, 21, and 23, and is conveyed to the exposure unit 22 with its photosensitive (exposure) surface facing upward. When the photosensitive material 16 is nipped by the conveying roller 26, the driving of the conveying roller 26 is temporarily stopped, and the photosensitive material 16 is in a standby state immediately before the exposure unit 22.

On the other hand, while the photosensitive material 16 is being conveyed, the document 54 on the document placing plate is press-cleaned.

That is, first, the light source 40 is activated, and the reflecting mirror 46 enters the optical path of the image light with which the exposure unit 22 is irradiated, and the moving mirrors 42A and 42A.
The light emitted through B or the fixed mirror 44 is reflected in a substantially right angle direction. The reflected light is incident on and detected by the light detection sensor 56, whereby the image density of the image of the document 54 (in other words, whether the image of the document 54 is a print document or a photo document). Is measured, and the exposure conditions of the color adjustment filter (CC filter) and the aperture slit plate 52 are set based on the measured values.

Then, the reflecting mirror 46 is removed from the optical path of the image light, and the light source 40, the moving mirrors 42A, 4 and
2B and the lens unit 48 return to the home position (image scanning start position).

At this point, the driving of the carrying rollers 24 and 26 is started again, and the photosensitive material 16 is exposed to the exposing section 22.
At a predetermined speed (for example, 100 mm / sec). In this case, since the guide plate 28 and the exposure surface glass 30 are arranged in the exposure section 22, the photosensitive material 16 becomes flat (while the deformation is corrected) and passes between both the transport rollers (exposure section). ..

At the same time when the photosensitive material 16 is conveyed (passes through the exposure section 22), the light source 40, the moving mirrors 42A and 42B, and the lens unit 48 move along the document placing plate 50 and are placed on the document placing plate 50. The document 54 placed is irradiated with light, and the reflected image light (image light) is scanned and exposed on the photosensitive material 16 located in the exposure section 22 via the fixed mirror 44.

After the exposure is started, the exposed photosensitive material 16 is sequentially guided by the guide plate 27 and inverted (that is, the image exposure surface is directed downward), and then the conveying roller 2 is used.
It is sent to the water application part 62 by 9, 31, 33, and 35.

In the water application section 62, the conveyed photosensitive material 1
When 6 is detected by the photosensitive material sensor 74, the conveying speed of the conveying rollers 29, 31, 33, 35 is decelerated, and the supply roller 66 and the squeeze roller 68 are driven so that the photosensitive material 16 is guided by the guide plate 70 and the coating tank 64. And is sandwiched and conveyed by the squeeze roller 68. Here, the coating tank 64 is filled (replenished) with water in the replenishment tank 86 by the drive of the pump 80, and therefore, the photosensitive member sent between the guide plate 70 and the coating tank 64 by the supply roller 66. Material 1
6 is coated with water, and the squeeze roller 68 removes excess water and passes through the water coating section 62.

Here, the total amount of water in the coating tank 64 is 5 to 5.
70% of water is replenished from the replenishment tank 86 to the coating tank 64. Generally, various ionic substances are eluted from the light-sensitive material, and among them, calcium ions particularly affect the density of the white background portion of the image.

FIG. 20 shows the relationship between the concentration of calcium ions contained in the coating water and the concentration of the white background portion of the image. As is clear from FIG. 20, the concentration in the white background portion decreases in proportion to the water replenishment amount, and when the water replenishment amount exceeds 5%, the concentration is ⅔ of the non-replenishment amount. Therefore, if the water replenishment amount exceeds 5%, the concentration of the ionic component eluted from the light-sensitive material at the time of water application becomes less than the specified amount, and it is possible to prevent the image density during continuous processing from increasing. On the other hand, the concentration of the white background portion is about 2/3 of that at the time of no replenishment up to the water replenishment amount of 70%, but when the water replenishment amount exceeds 70%, the concentration of the white background portion gradually increases. There is. The reason for this is that if the water replenishment amount exceeds 70%, the temperature of the coating water cannot be kept at 40 ° C. due to the effect of cooling the coating water by the replenishing water, so that the water coating amount on the photosensitive material 16 decreases due to the decrease in water temperature. This is because the density of the white background increases.

Therefore, when the replenishment amount of water is 5 to 70%, the concentration becomes 2/3 of that at the time of no replenishment, but the replenishment amount of water is 10%.
In the case of ˜50%, as is apparent from FIG. 20, the density increase in the white background portion is smaller and it is effective.

When the calcium concentration in the coating water exceeds 150 PPM by the calcium concentration meter, the concentration in the white background increases, so that the calcium concentration in the coating water should be 150 PPM or less within the range in which the coating water can be kept at about 40 ° C. The amount of water replenishment can be selected as follows. In addition, ion exchange resin is added to the water in the refill tank 86,
Ionic substances that are eluted from the photosensitive material 16 and are present in water are captured by the ion exchange resin. Therefore, the ionic substance in the water returned from the coating tank 64 to the replenishment tank 86 is captured by the ion exchange resin, and the water replenished in the coating tank 64 again contains substantially no ionic substance. Becomes In this way, the water in the coating tank 64 can always hold the amount of the ionic substance below the specified amount.

Further, from the viewpoint of preventing clogging or blockage of the water circulation system by the ion exchange resin in the replenishment tank 86, the ion exchange resin is stored in a desired member such as a filter and the stored items are replenished. It can also be installed in the tank 86.

In this case, since a plurality of rows of ribs 76 are formed on the bottom of the coating tank 64 so as to be inclined with respect to the conveying direction of the photosensitive material 16, the photosensitive material 16 is guided by the guide plate 70 and the coating tank 64. The frictional resistance when passing between the sheet and the sheet is reduced, and scratches at certain positions of the photosensitive material 16 are prevented.

Furthermore, a ceramic heater 102 is attached to the guide plate 70, and the water sent to the through hole 72 by the supply pipe 78 is heated to a predetermined temperature (eg,
(40 ± 2 ° C.) to fill the inside of the coating tank 64, and the guide plate 70 itself keeps the temperature of the filled water to maintain a predetermined temperature. The amount of water permeation (infiltration amount) into the emulsion surface increases and the saturated amount is reached without fail. In this case, as compared with the case of heating a large amount of water at once to raise the temperature, the temperature can be raised in a short time, and accurate temperature control can be easily performed.

The photosensitive material 16 coated with water as the image forming solvent in the water coating section 62 is squeeze roller 6
Then, it is sent to the heat development transfer section 104.

On the other hand, the image receiving material 108 is also the receiving material magazine 10.
The cutter 1 is pulled out from the 6 by the Nipro roller 110.
After being cut to a predetermined length by 12, the upper conveyance guide plate 182 and the lower conveyance guide plate 18 of the image receiving material conveying section 180 are cut.
4 and is fed to the heat development transfer section 104.

In this case, after cutting the image receiving material 108, the nipping by the nipping roller 110 is released, and the image receiving material 1
Deformation and change in physical properties due to nipping of the tip portion (image forming surface) of 08 for a long time are prevented. Further, a plurality of ribs 188 and 192 are formed on the upper transport guide plate 182 and the lower transport guide plate 184 of the image receiving material transport unit 180, and further, Teflon processing is applied to reduce friction with the image receiving material 108. Therefore, the image receiving material 108 is quickly conveyed without being scratched.

In the heat development transfer section 104, the heating drum 11
6 between the outer circumference and the laminating roller 120
And the image receiving material 108 is fed.

In this case, a guide plate 122 is arranged between the laminating roller 120 and the squeeze roller 68 of the water applying section 62, and the photosensitive material 16 sent from the squeeze roller 68 is surely bonded to the laminating roller 120. Be guided to. Further, the laminating roller 120 and the image receiving material 1
The blade guide 12
4 is arranged, and the image receiving material 108 is also reliably guided to the laminating roller 120. Further, the photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving material 108 sent to the laminating roller 120.
Since the back tension acts on the paper, it is fed without wrinkles.

Further, here, the image receiving material 108 conveyed to the heat development transfer section 104 is synchronized with the conveyance of the photosensitive material 16,
The photosensitive material 16 has a predetermined length (20 m in this embodiment).
m) In the preceding state, it is sent between the laminating roller 120 and the heating drum 116 to be superposed. Further, in this case, since the image receiving material 108 is smaller than the photosensitive material 16 in both the width direction and the longitudinal direction, the peripheral portion of the photosensitive material 16 has four sides of the image receiving material 108 as shown in FIG. Stacked in a state of protruding from the peripheral portion.

The photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving material 108, which are superposed by the laminating roller 120, remain in the superposed state with the heating drum 116 and the endless press belt 11.
8 and is sandwiched between the heating drum 116 and the heating drum 116 (about half the circumference (between the winding roller 134 and the winding roller 140)).
Be transported to. When the photosensitive material 16 is heated during this nip conveyance, it releases a movable dye, and at the same time, this dye is transferred to the dye fixing layer of the image receiving material 108 to obtain an image.

Further, of the photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving material 108 sandwiched between the endless pressure contact belt 118 and the heating drum 116, both widthwise end portions of the photosensitive material 16 located outside the heating drum 116 are located inside. Since the image receiving material 108 is overlapped by projecting from both ends in the width direction, this projecting portion is in close contact with the outer periphery of the heating drum 116. Therefore, the image receiving material 108 located inside is held so as to be wrapped by the photosensitive material 16 located outside. Therefore, the necessary frictional force is secured and both materials are firmly adhered. For this reason,
Even if a slight difference in rotational speed occurs between the endless pressure welding belt 118 and the heating drum 116 and a shearing force acts between the two materials, the two materials remain firmly adhered and are not displaced. Therefore, a high-quality image without transfer deviation can be obtained.

Further, since the endless pressure contact belt 118 has conductivity, generation of static electricity due to friction between the heating drum 116 and the endless pressure contact belt 118 or the photosensitive material 16 or the image receiving material 108 is prevented, and the image receiving material 108 is prevented. Fog does not occur in the obtained image.

After that, when the photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving material 108 are nipped and conveyed and reach the lower part of the heating drum 116, the peeling claw 154 is moved by a solenoid (not shown) and precedes the image receiving material 108 by a predetermined length. The peeling claw 154 engages with the front end of the conveyed photosensitive material 16 to separate the front end of the photosensitive material 16 from the outer periphery of the heating drum 116.

The peeled photosensitive material 16 is wound around the bending guide roller 142 and then conveyed by the photosensitive material discharge roller 158. Further, after being dried by the heater 164 while being guided by the guide roller 162, it is accumulated in the waste photosensitive material storage box 178 by the photosensitive material discharge roller 160.

On the other hand, the heating drum 1 separated from the photosensitive material 16
Image receiving material 108 that moves while being in close contact with
Moves between the heating drum 116 and the peeling claw 154 separated from the outer periphery thereof, and is guided by the material receiving guide 166 and sent to the peeling roller 174. In this case, since the material receiving guide 166 is subjected to Teflon processing, the image receiving material 108 does not stick.

Further, here, it is peeled from the outer periphery of the heating drum 116 by the peeling roller 174 and the peeling claw 176, conveyed by the material receiving discharge roller 172 while being guided by the material receiving guide 170, and accumulated on the tray 177. Also in this case, the image receiving material 108 does not stick to the image receiving material guide 170 because the material receiving guide 170 is subjected to Teflon processing.

In the above image recording processing, the exhaust fan 330 and the blower fan 332 are constantly driven to ventilate the inside of the machine body 12. Therefore, the inside of the machine body 12 can always be maintained at a constant temperature condition. Also here
The amount of air supplied by the blower fan 332 is equal to that of the exhaust fan 3
Since it is set to be larger than the amount of air discharged by 30,
The inside of the machine body 12 is always in a pressurized (positive pressure) state. Therefore, dust is not sucked together with air from the gap of the machine wall of the machine body 12 and does not enter the inside. In other words, the outside air is not sucked through the gap of the machine wall of the machine body 12, and the blower fan 3 is always used.
Only by 32 is the dust-removed outside air fed into the body 12.

Therefore, the photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving material 10
No dust is attached to the image forming surface of No. 8, a good image is formed, and it does not cause a malfunction of the apparatus.

In this embodiment, the photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving material 108 are used as the image recording material, and the photosensitive material 16 is conveyed so as to be located outside the image receiving material 108. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied even when the photosensitive material 16 is positioned inside and conveyed. Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to these materials and can be applied to other sheet-shaped image recording materials.

Although water is used as the solvent in the above-mentioned embodiments, another solvent that can improve the transfer efficiency in the transfer step of bringing the image receiving material into close contact with the photosensitive material after heat development is used. May be.

[0118]

As described above, according to the image forming method of the present invention, even when the processing speed in the step of applying the solvent to the photothermographic material is high, the photothermographic material in the solvent in the coating tank is high. The concentration of the ionic substance eluted from the can be set to a specified amount or less, and a stable and uniform image can be obtained without changing the concentration of the white background portion of images obtained in succession on a large number of sheets.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image recording apparatus for carrying out an image forming method according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an overall external view of the image recording apparatus.

FIG. 3 is an overall external view of the image recording apparatus showing a state in which each door is opened.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a photosensitive material magazine and a storage portion thereof.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a photosensitive material magazine and its accommodating portion, corresponding to FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram of a drive system for driving a cutter.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view showing a coating tank of a water coating section and peripheral components.

FIG. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram of a drive system for driving a supply roller and a squeeze roller.

FIG. 9 is a water supply system diagram of a water application unit.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a mounting state of the water amount sensor arranged in the refill tank.

FIG. 11 is a schematic configuration diagram of a nickel roller portion.

FIG. 12 is a schematic configuration diagram of a drive system for driving a nip roller.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of an image receiving material transporting unit that transports the image receiving material after cutting.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of an image receiving material transport unit corresponding to FIG.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a heating drum of a heat development transfer section.

FIG. 16 is a plan view showing a superposed state of a photosensitive material and an image receiving material.

FIG. 17 is a partial cross-sectional view of a heating drum and an endless pressure-contacting belt, showing a close contact state between a photosensitive material and an image receiving material.

FIG. 18 is a schematic configuration diagram of a drive system for driving a winding roller.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view showing an open state of a side door and a blower fan.

FIG. 20 is a graph showing the relationship between the amount of water replenishment and the density of white background.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Image Recording Device 16 Photosensitive Material 38 Exposure Device 62 Water Application Section (Image Forming Solvent Application Device) 64 Application Tank (Solvent Filling Dish Member) 70 Guide Plate (Guide Member) 72 Through Hole (Water Supply Channel) 86 Replenishment Tank 102 Ceramic Heater (heating means) 104 Thermal development transfer section 108 Image receiving material

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A heat-developable photosensitive material coated with a solvent as an image-forming auxiliary in a coating tank is superposed on an image-receiving material, and then conveyed to a heating portion for heat-development, and an image recorded on the heat-developable photosensitive material. In the image forming method for transferring the image to the image receiving material, the coating tank is replenished with an amount of solvent corresponding to 5 to 70% of the total amount of solvent in the coating tank for each photothermographic material processed in the coating tank. An image forming method comprising: 2. The image forming method according to claim 1, wherein an ion exchange resin is added to the solvent in the solvent tank for supplying the solvent to the coating tank.