Photography – Fluid-treating apparatus – Heating – cooling – or temperature detecting
Reexamination Certificate
1998-08-25
2001-10-30
Mathews, Alan A. (Department: 2851)
Photography
Fluid-treating apparatus
Heating, cooling, or temperature detecting
C355S027000, C219S216000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06309114
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a heat processing apparatus to perform heat processing to a sheet to be heat processed and also relates to a heat developing apparatus using such a heat processing apparatus which is applied for recording in a dry system such as image recording in which a wet processing is not carried out and a dry system material is used.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In an image recording apparatus for recording a medical image using a heat storage fluorescent sheet, e.g., a digital radiographic system, CT, MR, etc., a wet system in which an image is photographed or recorded on a silver salt photographic light-sensitive material, and then wet processed to obtain a reproduced image has been used.
However, in recent years, a recording apparatus by a dry system in which wet processing is not necessary to be carried out has attracted public attention. In such a recording apparatus, a light-sensitive and/or a heat-sensitive recording material (a light-sensitive heat-sensitive recording material) and a heat-developable light-sensitive film (hereinafter referred to as “a recording material”) are used. In this recording apparatus by a dry system, a latent image is formed by irradiation of a laser beam (scanning) on a recording material at an exposing part, then the recording material is heat developed by contacting with a heating means such as a heating drum at a heat developing part, thereafter the recording material on which an image has been formed is discharged from the recording apparatus.
By such a dry system, not only image formation can be effected within a short period of time as compared with wet processing but also a problem of the disposal of a waste solution in wet processing can be resolved, therefore, the increase of demand for such a system in the future is predictable enough.
In the above dry system, in general, a heating drum is used as a heating means, an endless belt is wound around the heating drum at a fixed angle, and heat development is carried out at a heat developing part with conveying the recording material holding between the heating drum and the endless belt. However, when the tensile force of the endless belt becomes uneven due to heat deterioration and the like, the recording material and the heating drum do not come into contact evenly, as a result, uneven development is generated.
In particular, as medical images are required to be high quality, recording materials are higher sensitive and even a slight unevenness of the contact state of the recording material with the heating drum largely deteriorates the image quality.
Further, in the heating means, the temperature lowering at the peripheral part where heat supply is low and the generation of folds and wrinkles by buckling at the end part of the heating means when a recording material is put between the heating drum and the endless belt become problems.
Further, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 9-229684, in the case of the first recording material (the dry silver light-sensitive material) described therein, there are anxieties of heat conduction failure between the recording material and the heater and contamination of the recording material, contamination of apparatus members, e.g., rollers, and corrosion of electronic parts due to the volatile material from the first recording material.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been done in view of the above problems.
An object of the present invention is to provide a heat processing apparatus which can form an image of high image quality without uneven development by realizing more even contact of a heater and a recording material without causing dust adhesion, without generating folds and wrinkles, without making scratches, and without corrosion of electronic parts.
The above object of the present invention is achieved by the following constitution of the present invention.
(1) A heat processing apparatus comprising a heater to perform heat processing of prescribed temperature to a sheet to be heat processed at a fixed position, a transfer-ring means to convey the sheet to be heat processed by sliding on the surface of the heater, and a pressing means to press at least one part of the sheet to be heat processed against the surface of the heater during transferring.
The preferred embodiments for the above (1) are shown below.
(2) The heat processing apparatus as described in the above (1), wherein the nonfunctional surface of the sheet to be heat processed is contact with the surface of the heater.
(3) The heat processing apparatus as described in the above (1), wherein the non-observing surface of the sheet to be heat processed is contact with the surface of the heater.
(4) The heat processing apparatus as described in the above (1), wherein the surface of the heater is covered with a lubricating sheet containing a fluororesin and having a low friction coefficient.
(5) The heat processing apparatus as described in the above (4), wherein the lubricating sheet comprises a resin material other than fluororesins, having a glass transition temperature higher than the heating temperature having being adhered on the fluororesin material.
(6) The heat processing apparatus as described in the above (4) or (5), wherein the heat processing apparatus is provided with a sheet-stretching means which imparts tensile strength to the lubricating sheet in the vertical direction to the transferring direction of the sheet to be heat processed.
(7) The heat processing apparatus as described in any one of the above (4) to (6), wherein the lubricating sheet can be freely released from the heater.
(8) The heat processing apparatus as described in any one of the above (4) to (7), wherein the lubricating sheet is electrically conductive.
(9) The heat processing apparatus as described in the above (1), wherein the surface of the heater is provided with a coating layer containing a fluororesin and having a low friction coefficient.
(10) The heat processing apparatus as described in the above (9), wherein the coating layer has surface hardness HV (0.025) of 300 or more.
(11) The heat processing apparatus as described in the above (9) or (10), wherein the coating layer has surface roughness Ra of 1.0 &mgr;m or less.
(12) The heat processing apparatus as described in any one of the above (9) to (11), wherein the surface roughness values of the coating layer and the sheet to be heat processed are in the range not overlapped with each other.
(13) The heat processing apparatus as described in the above (1), wherein the pressing means comprises a plurality of pressing rollers provided on the surface of the heater.
(14) The heat processing apparatus as described in the above (13), wherein the rotating accuracy of the pressing rollers is ½ of the thickness of the sheet to be heat processed.
(15) The heat processing apparatus as described in the above (13) or (14), wherein the most upstream pressing roller and the most downstream pressing roller of the pressing rollers are respectively arranged at positions within 5 mm from the extreme ends of the heater.
(16) The heat processing apparatus as described in the above (13), wherein the transferring means is arranged at least at the upstream position just in front of the pressing rollers among the upstream position just in front of and the downstream position just in the rear of the arrangement extent of the pressing rollers.
(17) The heat processing apparatus as described in the above (13), wherein the transferring means is a transfer-ring belt which is strained over driving rollers and shifts between the heater and the pressing rollers to convey the sheet to be heat processed.
(18) The heat processing apparatus as described in the above (17), wherein the transferring means is provided with rollers to estranging the transferring belt from the sheet to be heat processed between respective contiguous pressing rollers.
(19) The heat processing apparatus as described in the above (17), wherein the transferring belt which is a transferring means has a friction coefficien
Nakamura Takeshi
Ogawa Masaharu
Torisawa Nobuyuki
Fuji Photo Film Co. , Ltd.
Mathews Alan A.
Sughrue Mion Zinn Macpeak & Seas, PLLC
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