JPH06234227A - Light/heat conversion type heat mode recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To permit high-speed recording having good transfer property by a method wherein a light source is constituted of the array of more than four pieces of light emitting elements while the light output of the light emitting elements at both ends of the array is set higher than the same at the inside of the array. CONSTITUTION:In a light/heat conversion type heat mode recording device, the picture receiving surface of a heat mode picture receiving material 4 is laminated on the color material layer surfaces of heat mode recording materials 3-1-3-4 on the upper surface of a base body 7 so as to be opposed to each other. The color material layer or the color material of the heat mode recording material 3 is transferred on the picture receiving layer of the heat mode picture receiving material 4 by scanning and exposing like a picture. On the other hand, respective supplementing units 5, 6 of both materials 3, 4 are arranged on the device other than a pressure roll 1 and a pressure reducing hole 2. In this case, a light source 8 is constituted of the array of more than four pieces of light emitting elements 11, 11'. The light output of the light emitting element 11 at both ends of the array is set so as to be higher than the light output of the light emitting elements 11 at the inside of the array.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a photothermal conversion type heat mode recording method for forming an image by utilizing light.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a thermal transfer recording technique, a thermal transfer recording material having a heat-meltable coloring material layer or a coloring material layer containing a heat sublimable dye provided on a substrate and an image receiving material are opposed to each other, and a thermal head is used. There is a method of transferring and recording an image by pressing a heat source controlled by an electric signal such as an energizing head from the ink sheet (recording material) side. The thermal transfer recording has features such as noiseless, maintenance-free, low cost, easy colorization, and digital recording, and is used in various fields such as various printers, recorders, facsimiles, computer terminals and the like.

On the other hand, in recent years, in the medical and printing fields, there has been a demand for a recording method having a high resolution, capable of high-speed recording, and capable of image processing, so-called digital recording. However, in the conventional thermal transfer recording method using a thermal head or a current-carrying head as a heat source, it is difficult to increase the density of the heating elements in terms of the life of the head heating element, and it is difficult to obtain a high-resolution image. .

To solve this problem, thermal transfer recording using a laser as a heat source is disclosed in JP-A-49-15437, 49-17743 and 57.
-87399, 59-143659, etc. In thermal transfer recording using a laser as a heat source, the resolution can be increased by narrowing the laser spot. But,
When recording with a laser, it is common to perform recording by scanning a minute spot, and the recording time cannot be shortened unless the spot is scanned on the recording medium at high speed.
Improving the recording speed is generally disadvantageous as compared with the case of using batch exposure or a line thermal head. or,
Generally, the amount of heat given by light is smaller than the amount of heat given by a heating element such as a thermal head. Therefore, in this respect as well, the photothermal conversion type heat mode recording using light from a laser or the like improves the recording speed. The above is in a disadvantageous situation.

As a laser scanning method, a polygon mirror or a galvanometer mirror and an fθ lens are combined to perform main scanning of laser light, and sub-scanning is performed by moving a recording medium, or a so-called plane scanning method while rotating a drum. There is a cylinder scan in which laser exposure is performed and the rotation of the drum is the main scan and the movement of the laser light is the sub-scan, but the cylinder scan is more suitable for high-density recording because the accuracy of the optical system is easily increased. In the case of cylindrical scanning, it is easy to increase the scanning speed by increasing the rotational speed of the drum, but it is difficult to obtain the adhesion between the heat mode recording material and the heat mode image receiving material required for transfer.

In thermal transfer recording using a thermal head, it is possible to obtain close contact between the thermal transfer recording material and the image receiving material by the pressure between the platen and the heating element of the thermal head, but such a method cannot be used in cylindrical scanning. . Further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-112665 discloses laser exposure while applying pressure with a transparent pressing member, etc. However, when the drum is rotated at high speed for high-speed recording, uniform pressing becomes difficult and close contact is achieved. Fogging easily occurs due to unevenness and pressure transfer.

As described above, in order to obtain good transferability in a state where the adhesion is insufficient, a sufficient amount of light is applied to the recording material,
It is necessary to irradiate the image receiving material. When the recording material to be recorded is a sublimation type by giving a sufficient exposure amount,
Even if the adhesion is somewhat insufficient, the coloring material in the coloring material layer sublimes and can be transferred to the image receiving material. Even in the case of the melt type, the expansion or explosion / scattering of the ink layer enables transfer to the image receiving layer.

In order to give a sufficient exposure amount to the material, a method of decreasing the scanning speed and a method of increasing the exposure intensity of the light source can be considered. However, the former is not preferable because it reduces the recording speed. On the other hand, in order to increase the exposure intensity of the light source, either a high-intensity light source is used or a plurality of light sources are used to increase the overall high intensity, but a single high-intensity light source is used. There is a drawback that the light source itself becomes large. Therefore, a method capable of exposing a large area by a single scan using a plurality of light sources is preferable from the viewpoint of improving the recording speed and performing good transfer even if the adhesiveness is low.

US Pat. No. 4,804,975 describes a sublimation type heat mode recording method in which a light source is a laser array. However, when exposure is performed using a plurality of light sources, the transfer image will be uneven unless the exposure intensities of the plurality of light sources are the same. Furthermore, as a result of intensive investigations by the present researchers, in the case of photothermal conversion type heat mode recording, a laser array (or an array of other light sources)
The part heated by the laser located inside the
Since the heat of the part heated by the lasers on both sides is transferred, heat transfer is possible with a small amount of heat, while the part heated by the lasers on both ends of the array receives heat from only one side. Because I can't
It became clear that thermal transfer becomes relatively difficult. In order to prevent this lack of transferability at the edges, it is a common solution to increase the exposure intensity as a whole, but this causes the exposure intensity of the inner laser to be wasted unnecessarily and the efficiency is increased. Was bad, which caused the recording speed not to be increased.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems. Specifically, a photothermal conversion type heat mode recording apparatus which can obtain good transferability and can perform high speed recording is provided. To provide.

[0011]

The above object of the present invention is to provide a light source consisting of an array of four or more light emitting elements, and the light output of at least both ends of the array is greater than the light output of the inner light emitting elements. High light-heat conversion type heat mode recorder,
More preferably, the light output of the light emitting elements at least at both ends of the light source composed of an array of four or more light emitting elements is achieved by a photothermal conversion heat mode recording apparatus in which the light output is higher than the light output of the inner light emitting elements by 20% or more.

It is another object of the present invention that the light source is an array of six or more light emitting elements, and the light output of the light emitting elements at least at both ends of the array emits light in synchronization with the adjacent inner light emitting elements. And a light-to-heat conversion type heat mode recording device in which the exposure width of the light emitting element overlaps at least one end light emitting element in the next scanning exposure and is exposed, or the light source is an array of six or more light emitting elements and In the next scanning exposure, the light output of the light emitting element at the end portion which is overlapped and exposed by at least one light emitting element in the next scanning exposure, and the light output of the light emitting element at the next scanning exposure is equal to the light output of the light emitting element in the next scanning exposure. A light-heat conversion type heat mode recording device that emits light in the same pattern, and a light source that is composed of an array of 6 or more light emitting elements, and a plurality of light emitting elements at the ends draw in one scanning exposure. The distance between the light-emitting element adjacent the central portion is achieved by the light-heat converting type heat mode recording system, characterized in that more than 0.5 times the distance between scan lines drawn by scanning exposure.

The present invention will be described in detail below. The photothermal conversion type heat mode recording material, the photothermal conversion type heat mode image receiving material and the photothermal conversion type heat mode recording device may be abbreviated as "recording material", "image receiving material" and "recording device", respectively.

As a contact method in heat mode recording, as shown in FIG. 1, an image receiving layer surface of the image receiving material and a recording material ink surface (color material layer surface) having a larger vertical and horizontal dimension than the image receiving material are provided in a decompressor having fine holes. ) Are superposed on each other, and the recording material portion protruding from the periphery of the image receiving material is decompressed through micropores to bring the image receiving material and the recording material into close contact, and conversely, the ink surface of the recording material and the recording material. It is also possible to bring the image receiving material and the recording material into close contact with each other by superimposing the image receiving surfaces of the image receiving materials having large vertical and horizontal dimensions and reducing the pressure through the fine holes from the image receiving material portions protruding from the periphery of the recording material.

According to this contact method, it is easy to automatically convey and wind the recording material and the image receiving material, and heat mode recording becomes possible by irradiating light after completion of contact.

The decompressor may have a drum shape as shown in FIG. 2 or a flat plate as shown in FIG. When high-precision recording is required, the accuracy of the optical system can be expected to be improved in cylindrical scanning using a drum-shaped pressure reducer, rather than in plane scanning using a flat plate pressure reducer and a polygon mirror or a galvanometer mirror.

The light source for heat mode recording (main exposure light source) used in the present invention is preferably capable of emitting light having a wavelength which is easily condensed by an optical system, has a large output energy, and is easily converted into heat. As such a light source,
For example, a semiconductor laser, an LED, a helium neon laser, a YAG laser, a carbon dioxide gas laser and the like can be mentioned. Among these, examples of light sources that are easy to use as an array composed of a plurality of light emitting elements include semiconductor lasers and LEDs.

The light emitting element used in the present invention is preferably one capable of emitting light having a wavelength capable of efficiently converting exposure energy into heat energy, and a preferable emission wavelength is 600.
~ 2000 nm.

The exposure spot diameter of each light emitting element of the light emitting element array is basically determined by the required image resolution, but the effect of the present invention is easily exhibited by
The spot diameter is / e ² and the range is 3 to 40 μm. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this.

The light emitting element has a size of, for example, 1 mm or more, whereas the spot diameter in the exposed portion is, for example, 3 to 40 μm. You have to be able to bend. However, if the exposure direction is bent too much, the spot shape will be distorted, which is not preferable. In order to reduce as much as possible the size of the light emitting elements that restricts the arrangement of the array, the arrangement of the light emitting elements in the array is preferably as shown in FIG. 4b.

In order to align the spots to be exposed on the surface of the material, it is preferable that all the light emitting elements are integrally fixed and are condensed by using a lens optical system. As a general rule, it is desirable that the distance between adjacent scanning lines is constant over the entire optical system.

However, in the case where the device structure according to claim 5 is adopted, the distance between the scanning lines of the plurality of light emitting elements at the end is 0.5 times the distance between the scanning lines of the adjacent light emitting elements at the central portion. The following is preferable, and a completely overlapping structure is most preferable. If this distance exceeds 0.5 times, the effect of heating the end portion better than the central portion is poor.

FIG. 4d is a layout drawing in which the distance between the scanning lines of the two light emitting elements at the end is zero. If the distance between the end scanning lines is 0.5 times or less than the distance between the scanning lines at the central portion, the overlap of spots in the scanning line direction is not a problem, but preferably 10 spots, more preferably 5 spots. It is preferable that the distance is within a spot. FIG. 4d shows an example in which the exposure spots are adjacent to each other in the scanning line direction. Of course, the exposure spots of the two light emitting elements at the ends may be perfectly aligned.

The plurality of light emitting elements at the end in claim 5 usually means two light emitting elements from the end, but if three or four light emitting elements overlap each other as required, an exposure spot may be provided. Good.

In FIG. 4e, the distance between the scanning lines of the two light emitting elements at the end is compared with the distance between the scanning lines of the light emitting elements at the center.
It is a layout which is 0.4 times.

By adopting these constitutions, an array can be formed by the light emitting elements having the highest light output, and exposure can be performed with higher output only at the end portion, and the heat quantity which is insufficient only at the end portion can be compensated. .

In heat mode recording, the energy loss due to heat conduction from the ink layer to the support side is reduced by shortening the exposure time. In heat mode recording, thermal energy is directly applied to the ink layer or the photothermal conversion layer in the vicinity of the ink layer, as compared with normal thermal transfer recording in which the ink layer is heated by heat conduction from the support side using a thermal head.

For this reason, it is preferable that the exposure is performed with the illuminance as short as possible. The preferable exposure speed is a linear velocity of 0.5 m / sec or more, more preferably 3 m / sec or more. Also, a preferable exposure power density is 50 W / mm ² or more,
More preferably, it is 300 W / mm ² or more.

The time required for the applied heat to cool after the heating depends on the applied heat quantity, the heat capacity of the recording material or the image receiving material, and is estimated to be about several microseconds to several tens of microseconds in the constitution of the present invention. To be When performing exposure by scanning exposure, it is preferable that the time difference between the exposure of one line and the exposure of the next adjacent line is as short as possible. When performing exposure while rotating the drum, the drum diameter is small. Is preferred.

A mechanism of the data buffer for satisfying the condition that the light output of the light emitting elements at the end portions which are overlapped and exposed emits in the same pattern as the light output of the light emitting element at the time of the previous or next scanning exposure will be described. To do.

When there are 18 channels of light emitting elements, and each scanning exposure is overlapped with the previous exposure by the width of one channel, a buffer corresponding to 36 lines is required. For convenience, these are channels 1a, 1b, 2, 3, 4, 5,
... 17, 18a, 18b, 19, 20, 21, 22, ... 34. It is assumed that each channel can store as many bits as there are pixels arranged in the main scanning direction.

The timing of writing data to and reading data from each channel conforms to Table 1 below.

[0033]

[Table 1]

Each state in the table assumes one time of scanning exposure. Normally, State 1 only happens once per ink sheet change, followed by State 2, 3, 4,
The sequence of 5, 2, 3, 4, 5, ... Is repeated, and finally any one of the states 2'to 5'occurs, and the image recording of a single color is completed. In the table, "W" means that writing to the buffer of the channel occurs during the state, and "R" reads the buffer of the channel during the state and controls the light emitting element. Means used.

When the data to be written in the buffer is exhausted in the states 1 to 5, after the end of the state, the process shifts to any one of the states 2'to 5 '. If the data exhausted state is 2, it is 3'and if it is 3, it is 4 '
If 4, then move to 5 ', and if 5 or 1, move to 2'.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a circuit for reading and writing the contents of the data buffer according to the schedule shown in Table 1 above. The image signal 110 from the outside passes through the data receiving means 101 and is output to the write data bus 111. In synchronization with this, the write address generating means 102 generates an address and outputs it to the write address bus 112. 111 and 112 pass through the write signal gate 106 on their way to the line buffer 108. The operation of this gate allows the signals of 111 and 112 to pass only when the line is selected, and puts the output side into a high impedance state when it is not. It is the write line select signal 114 that controls the operation of the gate 106, which is generated by the write line select means 104. Normally, only one line buffer is selected by 104 at a time.

At the time of reading, the read line selection means 105 selects the channel to be read and generates the read line selection signal 115. Usually, the number of channels read simultaneously is equal to the number of light emitting elements. The scheduling shown in Table 1 ensures that the channel being written is not subject to reading. The read address generating means 103 generates a read address in synchronization with the scanning exposure system and outputs it to the read address bus 113. The read signal gate 107 sets the address bus output to the line buffer other than the read target to the high impedance state. The data read from each channel is the read data bus.
It is sent through 116 to the data selection circuit shown in FIGS.

The data selection circuit shown in FIG. 7a is for the light emitting elements at both ends. A data channel required for each of the channels 1 and 18 of the light emitting element is selected from the channels 1a, 1b, 18a and 18b of the data buffer, and the light emitting element drive signal 117 is output.

The data circuit shown in FIG. 7b corresponds to each of the light emitting elements other than both ends. Channel 2 of light emitting element
, Select channel 2 or 19 of the data buffer. Similarly, the following correspondences are made as 3or20-> 3, 4or21-> 4.

The preferred recording material and image receiving material of the present invention will be described below.
The techniques described in Japanese Patent Application Nos. 4-228778 and 4-228779 can be used.

It is preferable that the recording material used in the present invention basically has an ink layer on a support and has a function of converting light irradiated imagewise into heat.

As the support for the recording material, any material can be used as long as it has good dimensional stability and can withstand heat during image formation. Specifically, JP-A-63-193886, page 2, lower left column, lines 12-18. The film or sheet described in 1. can be used.
Further, when the laser light is irradiated from the recording material side to form an image, the support of the recording material is preferably transparent. The support of the recording material need not be transparent as long as laser light is applied from the image receiving material side to form an image. The preferable film thickness of the support of the recording material is 6 to 200 μm
And more preferably 25 to 100 μm.

In order for the energy of the light source for heat mode recording to be absorbed in the ink layer without waste, the transmittance for the wavelength of the light source between the support of the recording material and the ink layer is preferably 70% or more, more preferably 80%. The above is good. To this end, a support with good transparency is used, and
It is preferable to reduce reflection at the BC surface and the interface between the support and each layer of the recording material.

As the light-heat converting agent, any conventionally known one can be used. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, in order to generate heat by irradiation with a semiconductor laser beam, when forming a color image, it exhibits an absorption maximum in the wavelength band of 700 to 3000 nm, and a near-infrared light absorbing agent which has little or no absorption in the visible region is used. preferable. When forming a monochrome image, carbon black or the like having absorption in the visible to near infrared region is preferable.

As the near-infrared light absorber, cyanine-based, polymethine-based, azurenium-based, squalium-based, thiopyrylium-based, naphthoquinone-based, anthraquinone-based organic compounds such as dyes, phthalocyanine-based, azo-based, thioamide-based organic metal complexes Are preferably used, specifically, JP-A-63-139191, JP-A- 64-33547, JP-A 1-160683,
1-280750, 1-293342, 2-2074, 3-26593
No. 3, No. 3-30991, No. 3-34891, No. 3-36093, No. 3-360
No. 94, No. 3-36095, No. 3-42281, No. 3-97589, No. 3-1
Examples thereof include compounds described in No. 03476. These can be used alone or in combination of two or more.

Next, the image receiving material will be described.

The image receiving material receives the ink layer imagewise peeled from the recording material to form an image. Usually, the image receiving material has a support and an image receiving layer, and may be formed of only the support.

Since the image receiving material transfers an ink layer which is melted by heat, it is desirable that the image receiving material has appropriate heat resistance and excellent dimensional stability so that an image is properly formed.

The image-receiving layer formed on the surface of the support comprises a binder and various additives and mat materials which are added if necessary. Further, in some cases, it is formed only by the binder. The film thickness of the image receiving layer is usually 1 to 100 μm.

As the support of the image receiving material, the same support as described in the recording material can be used, but the thickness is 25 to 30.
The thickness is preferably 0 μm, more preferably 50 to 200 μm.

In addition, an image receiving layer subbing layer, a back coat layer, an antistatic layer and the like can be provided as required.

[0052]

The present invention will be described below with reference to examples, but the embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto.

Example 1 Using a photothermal conversion type heat mode recording apparatus having the whole structure as shown in FIG. 5, a recording material and an image receiving material were fixed on a decompressor as shown in FIG. 1, and shown in FIG. 4a. Exposure was performed using the light emitting element array having the structure. A total of 16 light emitting elements were used. A semiconductor laser with an emission wavelength of 830 nm and an output of 150 mW was used for the light emitting element, and a semiconductor laser with an emission wavelength of 830 nm and an output of 100 mW was used for the remaining light emitting elements. The spot diameter on the exposed surface of each semiconductor laser is 1 / e
² was 6 μm, and the optical loss was about 55%. As a result, the output on the exposed surface of the light emitting element at the end was 67 mW, and the output on the exposed surface of the light emitting element at the inner portion was 45 mW.

As the recording material and the image receiving material, those produced as follows were used.

(Preparation of Heat Mode Recording Material) A recording material was prepared by successively coating the following cushion layer, photothermal conversion layer and ink layer on a 100 μm thick PET (polyethylene terephthalate) support. All material amounts in each layer are parts by weight.

<Cushion Layer> A coating solution having the following composition was prepared, coated with a blade coater and dried. The film thickness was about 10 μm.

Byron 200 (manufactured by Toyobo) 30 parts DOP (dioctiphthalate) 3 parts MEK (methyl ethyl ketone) 32 parts Toluene 35 parts <Photothermal conversion layer> A coating solution having the following composition was prepared, and a wire bar was provided on the cushion layer. It was applied and dried. The film thickness was 0.3 μm, and the absorbance at 830 nm was 0.9.

Water-soluble photothermal conversion material (λmax = 800 nm) 3.50 parts Gelatin 3.43 parts FT248 (water-based surfactant: manufactured by BASF) 0.07 parts Water 93 parts <Ink layer> A liquid having the following composition is dispersed to prepare a coating liquid. ,
It applied and dried on the said light-heat conversion layer using a wire bar. The film thickness was 0.4 μm and the green concentration was adjusted to 0.65 using a Sakura densitometer. DS-90 (Harima Kasei rosin resin) 4.7 parts HNP-11 (Nippon Seiwa's paraffin wax) 0.5 part EV-40Y (Mitsui DuPont ethylene vinyl acetate resin) 0.5 part DOP (dioctiphthalate) 0.3 part Rionol red 6BFG (magenta pigment: manufactured by Toyo Ink Co., Ltd.) 4.0 parts MEK 90.0 parts (preparation of heat mode image-receiving material) A coating solution having the following composition was applied to the same PET support as the recording material with a wire bar and dried. Film thickness 1.0 μm.

Coating liquid for image receiving layer AD37P295J (ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer manufactured by Toyo Morton) 10 parts Water 90 parts Recording material thickness 75 μm or 100 μm, circumferential length 715 m
The image receiving material and the recording material were wound in this order on a drum base with m and a length of 565 mm in the width direction. At the time of winding, each material was pressed and squeezed by the pressure roll shown in FIG. 1 to prevent generation of excess air pockets.

The pressure reduction from the inside of the substrate was started by a blower before winding each material, and the pressure inside the substrate was measured with a pressure gauge 30 seconds after the winding of both materials was completed. After the pressure inside the substrate becomes constant, move the substrate 0.3m /
Exposure was carried out by rotating the exposure system as shown in FIG. 5 while rotating at a linear velocity of 8 sec / sec to 8 m / sec.

Example 2 The materials and exposure method used in Example 1 were the same, and FIG.
Exposure was performed using the light emitting element array having the structure shown in FIG. A total of 16 light emitting elements were used. All light emitting elements used a semiconductor laser with an emission wavelength of 830 nm and an output of 100 mW, but the amount of current flowing to the light emitting element at the end was made larger than the amount of current flowing to the light emitting element inside, and the output on the exposed surface of the edge was 55 mW. The output on the inner exposed surface was 45 mW.

Example 3 The materials and exposure method used in Example 1 were the same, and FIG.
Exposure was performed using the light emitting element array having the structure shown in FIG. A total of 18 light emitting elements were used. The light emitting elements were all semiconductor lasers having an emission wavelength of 830 nm and an output of 100 mW, and the output on the exposed surface was 45 mW. The portion exposed by the light emitting element at the end portion was set so as to overlap by 1 dot with the portion exposed previously or next time in the scanning exposure. In addition, the light emitting pattern of the light emitting element at the end was the same as the light emitting pattern of the light emitting element immediately inside thereof.

Example 4 The materials and exposure method used in Example 1 were the same, and FIG.
Exposure was performed using the light emitting element array having the structure shown in FIG. A total of 18 light emitting elements were used. The light emitting elements were all semiconductor lasers having an emission wavelength of 830 nm and an output of 100 mW, and the output on the exposed surface was 45 mW. The portion exposed by the light emitting element at the end portion was set so as to overlap by 1 dot with the portion exposed previously or next time in the scanning exposure. 6 and 7 so that the light emission pattern of the light emitting element at the end is the same as the light emission pattern that was previously or next exposed in the scanning exposure.
The control circuit of a and FIG. 7b was used.

Example 5 In Example 3, the exposure dose of the laser at the end was reduced,
Exposure was carried out in the same manner except that the output power on the exposed surface was 30 mW only at the edges.

Example 6 The materials and exposure method used in Example 1 were the same, and FIG.
Exposure was performed using the light emitting element array having the structure shown in (2) so that the two light emitting elements at the ends could be exposed on the same scanning line. A total of 34 arrays were used as light emitting elements. All the light emitting elements use a semiconductor laser with an emission wavelength of 830 nm and an output of 100 mW,
The output power on the exposed surface was 45 mW. The light emitting elements of each channel on both ends were made to emit light in the same pattern.

Comparative Example 1 In Example 1, the light emitting element at the end also has an emission wavelength of 830 nm,
A semiconductor laser with an output of 100 mW was used. Exposure was performed in the same manner as in Example 1 except for the above.

Comparative Example 2 In Examples 3 and 4, exposure was performed without emitting light only from the light emitting elements at the ends. Exposure was performed in the same manner as in Examples 3 and 4 except for the above.

The results of Examples 1 to 6 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2 are also shown below.

Drum rotation speed 0.3 m / sec 0.5 m / sec 1.0 m / sec
2.0 m / sec 4.0 m / sec 8.0 m / sec Example 1 ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ △ △ Example 2 ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ △ Example 3 ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ × Example 4 ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ × Example 5 ○ ○ ○ ○ △ × Example 6 ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ △ Comparative example 1 ○ △ × × × × Comparative example 2 ○ △ × × × × Evaluation criteria are as follows.

◯: Both the solid image and the halftone dot pattern have good image quality with no transfer omission in each scanning cycle. Δ: Some transfer omission occurs in each scanning cycle, resulting in a faint image. X: Clearly in each scanning cycle. Transfer dropouts occur and images are partially lost

[0071]

The photothermal conversion type heat mode recording apparatus of the present invention enables high-speed recording having good transferability.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing winding of a photothermal conversion type heat mode image receiving material and a recording material around a drum-shaped decompressor.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing that the image receiving material and the recording material are brought into close contact with each other on a drum-shaped pressure reducer.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing that the image receiving material and the recording material are in close contact with each other on a flat plate pressure reducer.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a light emitting element in an array which is a light source used in the light-heat conversion type heat mode recording apparatus of the present invention, in which (a) is Example 1 and (b) is Example 2.
(c) shows the sequences used in Examples 3 and 4, and (d) shows the sequence used in Example 6, respectively.

FIG. 5 is an overall configuration diagram of a photothermal conversion heat mode recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of a control circuit of a light emitting device used in a fourth embodiment of the present invention, showing a data buffer and a writing / reading circuit thereof.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a light emitting element control circuit used in Embodiment 4 of the present invention, in which (a) is a signal selection circuit for driving the light emitting elements at both ends, and (b) is a light emitting element other than both ends. Shows the selection circuit of the signal to drive

[Explanation of reference numerals] 1 pressure roll 2 decompression hole 3 heat mode recording material 4 heat mode image receiving material 5 recording material replenishing section 6 image receiving material replenishing section 7 decompressor base 8 light source section (array) 9 housing 10 decompression valve 11 semiconductor laser Light emitting element (output 100mW) 11 'Semiconductor laser light emitting element (output 150mW) 101 Data receiving means 102 Write address generating means 103 Read address generating means 104 Write line selecting means 105 Read line selecting means 106 Write signal gate 107 Read signal gate 108 line Buffer 110 Image signal from outside 111 Write data bus 112 Write address bus 113 Read address bus 114 Write line selection signal 115 Read line selection signal 116 Read data bus 117 Light emitting element drive signal

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification code Internal reference number FI Technical indication location B41J 2/455 B41M 5/26 8305-2H B41M 5/26 P (72) Inventor Katsumi Maejima Tokyo Konica Stock Company, 1st Sakura-cho, Hino City (72) Inventor Koichi Nakatani Konica Stock Company, 1st Sakura-cho, Hino City, Tokyo

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A heat mode recording is carried out by superposing on a substrate so that an image receiving surface of the photothermal conversion heat mode image receiving material and a color material layer surface of the light heat converting heat mode recording material face each other, and performing imagewise scanning exposure. A photothermal conversion type heat mode recording apparatus for transferring a color material layer of a material or a color material to an image receiving layer of a heat mode recording image receiving material, wherein a light source is an array of four or more light emitting elements, and light emitting elements at least at both ends of the array. The light output of is higher than the light output of the inner light emitting element. 2. The light-heat conversion heat mode recording according to claim 1, wherein the light output of the light emitting elements at least at both ends of the light source composed of a plurality of arrays is higher than the light output of the inner light emitting elements by 20% or more. apparatus. 3. A heat mode recording is carried out by superposing on a substrate so that the image receiving surface of the photothermal conversion heat mode image receiving material and the color material layer surface of the light heat converting heat mode recording material face each other, and scanning exposure imagewise. A photothermal conversion type heat mode recording apparatus for transferring a color material layer of a material or a color material to an image receiving layer of a heat mode recording image receiving material, wherein a light source is an array of six or more light emitting elements, and light emitting elements at least at both ends of the array. The light output of each of them is synchronized with the adjacent inner light emitting elements, and the exposure widths of the light emitting elements are overlapped and exposed at least for one light emitting element at the end in the next scanning exposure. Type heat mode recorder. 4. A heat mode recording is carried out by superimposing on a substrate such that the image receiving surface of the photothermal conversion type heat mode image receiving material and the color material layer surface of the light heat converting type heat mode recording material face each other, and imagewise scanning exposure. In a photothermal conversion type heat mode recording apparatus for transferring a color material layer of a material or a color material to an image receiving layer of a heat mode recording image receiving material, the light source is an array of 6 or more light emitting elements, and the exposure width of the light emitting element is At the time of scanning exposure, at least one light emitting element at the end is overlapped and exposed, and the light output of the light emitting element at the overlapped end is the same pattern as the light output of the light emitting element at the time of the previous or next scanning exposure. A photothermal conversion type heat mode recording device, which emits light. 5. A heat mode recording is carried out by superposing on a substrate so that the image receiving surface of the photothermal conversion heat mode image receiving material and the color material layer surface of the light heat converting heat mode recording material face each other, and scanning exposure in an image form. In a photothermal conversion type heat mode recording device for transferring a color material layer of a material or a color material to an image receiving layer of a heat mode recording image receiving material, a light source is an array of six or more light emitting elements, and a plurality of light emitting elements at an end portion are provided. The distance between the scanning lines drawn by one scanning exposure is 0 with respect to the distance between the scanning lines drawn by adjacent light-emitting elements in the central part by scanning exposure.
Photothermal conversion type heat mode recording device characterized by being less than 5 times.