Winding – tensioning – or guiding – Unwinding and rewinding a machine convertible information... – Cartridge system
Reexamination Certificate
2002-01-18
2003-11-04
Nguyen, John Q. (Department: 3654)
Winding, tensioning, or guiding
Unwinding and rewinding a machine convertible information...
Cartridge system
C242S908000, C355S133000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06641072
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a paper magazine for a recording paper roll such as a roll of a film-like thermal recording paper, and to a recording paper roll for keeping humidity of the paper magazine at a constant level.
2. Description of the Related Art
For example, in a color thermal printer, a color thermal recording paper is used and three colors are recorded in order to record a full color image. As shown in
FIG. 15
, the color thermal recording paper
110
is provided with a cyan heat sensitive color layer
102
, a magenta heat sensitive color layer
103
, a yellow heat sensitive color layer
104
, and a protect layer
105
which are stacked in order on a support member
101
utilizing a resin-coated paper. The yellow heat sensitive color layer
104
, which is the uppermost layer among the color layers, has the highest heat sensitivity. The cyan heat sensitive color layer
102
, which is the lowermost layer, has the lowest heat sensitivity. Each of the color layers is recorded in order from the uppermost layer. After a yellow image is recorded, near ultraviolet radiation of 420 nm is applied to fix the yellow image optically. Accordingly, non-colored ingredient of the yellow heat sensitive color layer
104
is not colored when thermal recording for the magenta heat sensitive color layer
103
is carried out. Similarly, after the recording for the magenta heat sensitive color layer
103
was carried out, ultraviolet radiation of 365 nm is applied to fix a magenta image optically.
For a personal-use thermal printer in which the amount of prints is small, cut papers are used. The paper is cut in a predetermined size beforehand. However, a for business-use thermal printer in which the amount of prints is large, it is suggested that a roll-like color thermal recording paper is used and cut as a sheet after recording. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 6-79893 discloses a color thermal printer in which a pinch roller and a thermal head are disposed at an outer periphery of a platen roller. The color thermal recording paper is moved half round the platen roller so as to be folded back in a U-like shape. Successively, the color thermal recording paper is sent to an optical fixing unit. The fixing unit is constituted of two ultraviolet lamps and arranged such that the ultraviolet radiation from the lamp crosses the recording paper. One of the ultraviolet lamps is for fixing the yellow image and applies the near ultraviolet radiation of 420 nm to the recording paper. The other of the ultraviolet lamps is for fixing magenta and applies the ultraviolet radiation of 365 nm to the recording paper. At the downstream side, a cutter is disposed in front of a paper discharge port.
In this color thermal printer, the color thermal recording paper drawn out from the thermal recording paper roll is advanced and pulled back at a printing section. The advancement and the pulling back are performed one after the other in order to record a full color image in three-color frame sequential process. At the outset, the recording paper is advanced from the paper roll by a predetermined amount. After that, the platen roller and the paper roll are rotated in the reverse direction to pull back the recording paper. During the first pulling back, the recording paper is pressed and heated with the thermal head to record a yellow image in a record area line by line.
The recording paper is advanced from the paper roll again. At this time, the ultraviolet lamp for yellow image is turned on to fix the yellow heat sensitive color layer. During the second pulling back of the recording paper, the magenta image is recorded with the thermal head. After that, the recording paper is advanced again. At this time, the ultraviolet lamp for the magenta image is turned on to fix the magenta heat sensitive color layer. During the third pulling back, the cyan image is recorded in the cyan heat sensitive color layer one line by one line. After recording the cyan image, the recording paper is advanced from the paper roll and cut with the cutter as a sheet. The sheet is discharged and the thermal recording of one sheet is completed.
In case of the color thermal printer using the roll-like color thermal recording paper as described above, an amount of recording sheets cut from a thermal recording paper roll is very large so that it is possible to carry out a great number of prints without exchange of the thermal recording paper roll. However, if the thermal recording paper roll is taken out from a light shielding sack, and a dampproofing sack and so forth is set in the color thermal printer for a long time, the paper roll is exposed to the light entering the thermal printer so that the color ability thereof is reduced. Moreover, the color property of the recording paper is changed by the influence of humidity in the color thermal printer. Thus, it becomes impossible to color in a desired density. Further, if the ultraviolet ray from a fluorescent lamp and so on enters the color thermal printer, the color property is changed also at this time.
In order to prevent the color property of the recording paper from changing, it is considered, for example, that the remainder of the paper roll is taken out from the color thermal printer and contained in a dampproofing sack, a dampproofing box and so forth whenever the printing is over. However, it takes a lot of time and labor to do that. Further, the photosensitive thermal recording paper is exposed to the outside light in the course of containing it.
Thus, it is desirable to protect the thermal recording paper roll against the humidity and ultraviolet rays by containing it in a paper magazine. In this case, it is desired that after the printing was over, the recording paper sent in the color thermal printer is drawn back in the paper magazine and a draw-out mouth of the paper magazine is closed.
By using such a paper magazine, the influence of ultraviolet rays may be prevented. However, it is difficult to shut the paper magazine tightly and perfectly so that little air enters the paper magazine. Of course, the draw-out mouth is opened during the printing so that the air enters the paper magazine during that operation. If the recording paper is contained in the paper magazine for a long time, humidity for the recording paper changes gradually due to the air entering the paper magazine. At this time, the influence of humidity for the recording paper is different in accordance with a portion thereof. In other words, influences of the humidity for a roll portion and a leading edge portion apart from the roll portion are different.
At the roll portion, a color face of the color thermal recording paper contacts a rear face of one-round inner color thermal recording paper so that the color face is hardly affected by the dampness of the air entering the paper magazine. However, at the leading edge portion apart from the roll portion, the color face is exposed in the paper magazine so that the color face is affected by the dampness in the paper magazine. When the printing is carried out for such a color thermal recording paper, color densities are different relative to the leading edge portion affected by the dampness and the roll portion hardly affected by the dampness.
In the case of using the paper magazine, it is desirable that a main body of the paper magazine is made of light shielding material so as not to expose the thermal recording paper roll to the natural light and the light from a fluorescent lamp. However, if the paper magazine is made of the light shielding material, there arises a problem in that the remainder of the paper roll contained in the magazine can not be observed from the outside. If the remainder of the paper roll is not known, it is impossible to foresee the exchange timing thereof. Thus, there arise problems in that the recording paper runs out during the printing, and that preparation of the paper roll is behind.
By the way,
FIG. 16
is a graph showing a color property of the color th
Imai Ryo
Sutoh Norihisa
Yamakawa Kenji
Fuji Photo Film Co. , Ltd.
Nguyen John Q.
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