Radiation imagery chemistry: process – composition – or product th – Stripping process or element
Reexamination Certificate
1997-03-11
2001-02-06
Schilling, Richard L. (Department: 1752)
Radiation imagery chemistry: process, composition, or product th
Stripping process or element
C430S351000, C430S353000, C430S404000, C430S380000, C358S474000, C358S480000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06183933
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an image forming method and system more particularly to a method and system for forming an image using as a photographic film or the like a photosensitive material which, after imagewise exposure to record an image thereon, is formed with an image by heating it with a prescribed processing material superimposed thereon.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the method known as conventional color photography, a photographic color photosensitive material (color negative film) generally comprises a layer capable of recording blue light to form a yellow image, a layer capable of recording green light to form a magenta image and a layer capable of recording red light to form a cyan image. When such a material undergoes development processing, the developing agent is oxidized in the course of reducing the halide grains carrying the latent image to silver. The oxidized developing agent reacts with couplers (coupling reaction) to form dye images. The undeveloped silver halide and the developed silver are removed in a subsequent bleach-fix step. Dye images are thus formed and a color negative film removed of undeveloped silver halide and developed silver can be obtained.
Conventionally, light is transmitted through the dye images of the color negative film onto color paper. The dye images printed on the color paper in this manner are similarly developed and bleach-fixed to obtain a color print.
In another known method the image formed on the color negative film is read photoelectrically to obtain image data, the image data are subjected to image processing to obtain recording image data and the recording image data are used to form an image on another image recording material. This method has in particular promoted the development of the digital printer, which produces finished prints by scanning a photosensitive material such as color paper with a laser beam modulated by digital signals converted from the photoelectrically read image data. A digital printer of this type is taught, for example, by JP-A-(unexamined published Japanese patent application)7-15593.
Since the aforesaid image forming methods require the image-bearing color negative film to be subjected to ordinary development, bleach and fixation processes (wet processes), they involve complex processes for image formation.
Moreover, the prior-art methods use processing solutions and other solutions that contain chemicals. These are troublesome from the point of safety management and are liable to foul and hasten wear and tear of the equipment.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention was accomplished in light of the foregoing problems and has as one of its objects to provide a simple, speedy image forming method for enabling an image formed on a photosensitive material by developing a photosensitive material recorded with an image to be read, digitized and used as image data and to provide a compact, user-friendly image forming system for implementing the method.
The image forming method and system of the invention are characterized in that they use a photosensitive material containing photosensitive silver halide grains which after imagwise exposure to record a latent image thereon is formed with an image by heating with a prescribed processing material superimposed thereon. Specifically, the photosensitive material is exposed to record a latent image thereon, the photosensitive material and the processing material are superimposed, the superimposed photosensitive material and processing material are heated to form an image on the photosensitive material corresponding to the latent image recorded thereon, the photosensitive material formed with the image is peeled off the processing material, the image formed on the photosensitive material is read with a scanner to obtain image data representing the image, and the image data are subjected to prescribed image processing to generate reproducible digital image data.
When the invention is implemented as a system, all processing means for the steps from the superimposing of the materials to the reading of the image can be included in a single apparatus. Alternatively, the system can be constituted of a developing apparatus for the processing up to development and a processing apparatus for conducting the reading and image processing. This also applies to the various means explained in the following. All of the means can be incorporated in a single apparatus case or can be constituted as separate units interconnected with each other.
Prior to the superimposing of the photosensitive material and the processing material, at least one of the two materials is preferably imparted with an image-forming solvent such as water. The photosensitive silver halide grains are preferably tabular. The heating is preferably conducted at a temperature between 60 and 100° C. for between 5 and 60 seconds.
The photosensitive material is preferably a coloring material-containing, heat-developable color photosensitive material having a support provided thereon with at least three photosensitive layers which each includes at least photosensitive silver halide grains, a binder and a coloring material capable of imagewise release or diffusion of a diffusible dye, and which are photosensitive in different wavelength regions, the coloring material present in the layers being different from each other in hue after development. The processing material is adapted to be superimposed on the coloring material-containing, heat-developable photosensitive material and heated therewith to form an image on the coloring material-containing, heat-developable photosensitive material. It is preferably a mordant-containing processing material having a support provided thereon with a layer containing at least a mordant. The processing material removes from the coloring material-containing, heat-developable photosensitive material at least a part of the diffusible dye released thereby owing to the aforesaid heating, thereby forming dye images of at least three colors on the coloring material-containing, heat-developable photosensitive material.
Otherwise, the photosensitive material can be a heat-developable photosensitive material having a support provided thereon with at least three photosensitive layers which are photosensitive in different wavelength regions, each of the layers including at least photosensitive silver halide grains, a binder, a color developing agent and a dye-providing coupler, the dyes formed from the oxidized color developing agent and the dye-providing coupler being different in hue. The processing material is adapted to be superimposed on the heat-developable photosensitive material and heated therewith to form an image on the heat-developable photosensitive material and the heating forms dye images of at least three colors on the heat-developable photosensitive material.
Further, the photosensitive material can be a photosensitive material having a transparent support provided thereon with at least three photosensitive layers which each includes at least photosensitive silver halide grains, a color developing agent, a coupler and a binder, and which are photosensitive in different wavelength regions, the dyes formed from the oxidized color developing agent and the coupler being different from each other in absorption wavelength region. The processing material preferably has a support provided thereon with a processing layer including at least a base and/or a base precursor. The photosensitive material and the processing material are superimposed with the photosensitive layers of the photosensitive material and the processing layer of the processing material facing each other in the presence of 0.1 to 1 time the amount of water required to cause maximum swelling of all coating layers of the photosensitive material and the processing material other than their backing layers, whereafter the superimposed photosensitive material and the processing material are heated to form on the photosensitive material an image based on no
Fukano Akira
Ishikawa Shun-ichi
Kato Keishi
Kubodera Seiiti
Ogiwara Nagao
Fuji Photo Film Co. , Ltd.
Schilling Richard L.
Sughrue Mion Zinn Macpeak & Seas, PLLC
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