JPH0368942A - Image recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform an addition work and an exchanging work en bloc whenever possible and to improve workability by simultaneously displaying the number of remaining consumable goods and interchangeable goods and the number of processing-enabled times at the time of displaying the consumable goods which must be replenished. CONSTITUTION:At the time of completing image processing once, a control part 70 subtracts the number of processed sheets from the previously stored one every time a cutter 18 for a heat developable photosensitive material 16 is actuated and displays the number of the photosensitive material 16 which can be used on a display part 72. At the same time, the number of image receiving material 32 which can be used is displayed by subtracting the number of processed sheets from the previously stored one every time a supplying roller 44 for the image receiving material 32 on a tray 30 rotates. Since the number of times for applying water to the photosensitive material 16 is also displayed by subtracting the number of processing-enabled times from the previously stored one every time the cutter 18 is actuated, the replenishment and the exchange are performed en bloc whenever possible and the workability is improved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus that records a desired image on an image recording material and then performs predetermined processing as necessary to obtain a visible image.

[Prior art]

exposing the image to an image recording material, such as a heat-developable photosensitive material;
This heat-developable photosensitive material is superimposed on an image-receiving material and heated,
An image recording apparatus is known in which a heat-developable photosensitive material is thermally developed and an image is transferred to an image-receiving material to obtain an image.

In this type of image recording device, when exposing a photothermographic material, the photothermographic material is wound up in layers in a magazine and cut into a predetermined length, and then the photothermographic material is exposed to light. The photosensitive material to be developed is wound around the exposure drum, and the exposure drum is rotated at high speed (main scanning). In this state, exposure is performed while moving the exposure head in the axial direction of the exposure drum (sub-scanning).

In addition, the image recording device is equipped with a heating drum and an endless pressure belt that presses against the outer periphery of the heating drum.Furthermore, near the endless pressure belt, there is a rubber overlapping roller that contacts the outer periphery of the heating drum. is located. The image-exposed photothermographic material is superimposed on the image-receiving material by the superimposing roller, and then fed between the heating drum and the endless pressure belt.

Note that the exposed surface of the heat-developable photosensitive material is coated with water after exposure processing to improve adhesion to the image-receiving material. A predetermined amount of this water is stored in a tank inside the device, and is circulated and guided to the water application roller. The heat-developable photosensitive material is coated with water by coming into contact with this water coating roller.

Incidentally, the heat-developable photosensitive material and the image-receiving material are consumables, and the amount stocked in the apparatus decreases depending on the image recording process. Therefore, in the image recording device,
These remaining amounts are detected, and when they are below a predetermined amount, they are displayed on the display section. This allows the operator to check the remaining amounts of the photothermographic material and the image receiving material. - On the other hand, since the water for water application is used in circulation, it deteriorates over time and causes problems in the finish of the recorded images. For this reason, the number of times of use is subtracted from the number of times that the cycle can be used, and when the number of times is equal to or less than a predetermined number of times, the number of times of use is displayed on the display section. This allows the worker to know when to replace the consumables as well as the consumables.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, in the conventional display as described above, only the consumables or replacement items that need to be added or replaced are displayed, so after taking measures according to the display, other additions or replacements can be made immediately. An exchange may be indicated. For example, when the photothermographic material runs out and a message to that effect is displayed, the worker reloads the photothermographic material in each magazine and performs image recording processing, but as soon as this image recording processing is completed, the image receiving material It may appear that it is missing.

In such a case, it is necessary to interrupt the image recording process and add the image-receiving material, making the preparation work complicated and reducing the overall workability.

In consideration of the above-mentioned facts, the present invention aims to provide an image recording apparatus that can perform preparatory work such as replenishing and replacing consumables and replacement items as much as possible all at once, thereby improving workability.

[Means to solve the problem]

The invention according to claim (1) is an image recording apparatus that records a desired image on an image recording material and then performs predetermined processing as necessary to obtain a visible image, the apparatus comprising the image recording material. A wear state detection means for detecting a wear state of a consumable item that is consumed in accordance with image recording, a deterioration state detection means for detecting a deterioration state of a replacement item that deteriorates depending on a use state, and detection by the wear state detection means. If it becomes necessary to replenish any consumables based on the results, or if it becomes necessary to replace any replacement products based on the detection results of the deterioration state detection means, the current status of the consumables and replacement products is and display means for displaying the status.

The invention according to claim (2) is characterized in that the display means simultaneously displays marks that identify consumables that need to be replenished based on the detection result and replacement items that need to be replaced based on the detection result. It is said that

[Effect]

In the invention described in claim (1), the current status of all consumables and replacement items is displayed at the display time on the display means, so that the current status of all consumables and replacement items that actually need to be replenished or replaced can be displayed. By simultaneously replenishing or replacing consumables or replacement items if there are any remaining consumables or replacement items, preparation work for image recording processing can be done all at once, improving work efficiency. can be done.

By the way, when all consumables and replacement items are displayed, it is necessary to search for the display that actually requires replenishment or replacement.

For this reason, in the invention described in claim (2), a mark that identifies consumables that need to be replenished or replacement items that need to be replaced based on the detection result is displayed at the same time. Consumables or replacement items that need to be replenished or replaced can be quickly recognized.

〔Example〕

FIG. 2 shows an image recording apparatus IO according to this embodiment.

A magazine 14 is disposed on the machine base 12 of the image recording apparatus 10, and a roll-shaped photothermographic material 16 is housed within the magazine 14.

The heat-developable photosensitive material 16 is pulled out from its outer periphery, cut into a predetermined length by a cutter 18, and then wound around the outer periphery of a rotating drum 20 in the six directions of arrows.

The cutter 18 is provided with a counter 19 that counts the number of times the cutter 18 is operated. The counter 19 is connected to the control section 70 and supplies the control section 70 with a pulse signal according to the operation of the cutter 18 . The control unit 70 recognizes the number of sheets of photothermographic material used based on the number of pulses of this pulse signal. Furthermore, the number of sheets to be processed (100 sheets) corresponding to the maximum photothermographic material 16 that can be accommodated in the magazine 14 is stored in the memory of the control section 70 .

An exposure head 22 is disposed corresponding to the outer periphery of the rotating drum 20, and rotates the rotating drum 20 at high speed to expose an image onto the wound photothermographic material 16.

After exposure, the photothermographic material 16 is transferred by rotating the rotating drum 20 in reverse (
In the direction of arrow B>, the rotating drum 20 is removed by the scraper 24.
After being peeled off from the film and being coated with water as an image forming solvent in a water application section 26, it is sent to a heat development transfer section 28, which is a heat development transfer device. This water is pumped up from a tank 29 disposed at the bottom of the device and guided to the water application section 26, and the remaining water after application is removed from the tank 29.
It is now set back to 9. Therefore, water is recycled. Here, the water in the tank 29 needs to be replaced after a predetermined period of time due to stains caused by water application to the photothermographic material 16 and deterioration over time. In this embodiment, the time to replace the water in the tank 29 is determined by the number of image recording processes, that is, the number of pulses of the pulse signal (for example, 100 times).
It is determined by

In the thermal development transfer section 28, a heating drum 34 and an endless pressure belt 36 serving as pressure contact means are arranged.

The heat-developable photosensitive material 16 coated with water is transferred to a heating drum 34
The heating drum 34 is supplied between the
It is designed to be sandwiched and conveyed over approximately 2/3 of the circumference and thermally developed.

The endless crimping heald 36 is wrapped around the tension roller 37 in the vicinity of the portion where the overlapping roller 60 is wrapped around the heating drum 34.
It is placed in a state where it is pressed against the outer periphery of.

On the other hand, a tray 30 disposed below the thermal development transfer section 28
Inside are a plurality of image receiving materials 3 cut to a predetermined size.
2 is accommodated. This image receiving material 32 is placed on a tray 30
The sheets are sequentially taken out one by one by a supply roller 44 disposed on the side of the sheet and sent to the thermal development transfer section 28.

The maximum number of image-receiving materials 32 that can be accommodated in the tray 30 is 50, and this number is stored in advance in the memory of the control unit 70. The rotation of the supply roller 44 is controlled by the control section 7.
The number of rotations is controlled at 0, and the number of rotations matches the number of used image receiving materials 32. Therefore, the control unit 70 can recognize the number of used image-receiving materials 32.

The image receiving material 32 sent to the thermal development transfer section 28 is transferred by the overlapping roller 60 arranged in contact with the outer periphery of the heating drum 34 (between the overlapping roller 60 and the outer peripheral surface of the heating drum 34). It is superimposed on the photothermographic material 16 and is supplied between the heating drum 34 and the endless pressure belt 36 .

When the heat-developable photosensitive material 16 is heated while superimposed on the image-receiving material 32 in the heat-developable transfer section 28, it is thermally developed and the image is transferred to the image-receiving material 32, so that an image is obtained on the image-receiving material 32. It has become.

A pair of peeling claws 48 are disposed on the sides of the thermal development transfer section 28 so as to correspond to the outer circumferential surface of the heating drum 34 , and their tips slightly contact the outer circumferential surface of the heating drum 34 .

The peeling claw 48 moves together with the heating drum 34 and engages with the photothermographic material 16 located inside, thereby peeling the photothermographic material 16 together with the image receiving material 32 from the outer periphery of the heating drum 34. There is.

A pair of separation rollers 50 are arranged below the peeling claw 48 and correspond only to both ends of the image receiving material 32 in the width direction.
Furthermore, a conveyor belt 52 is wound around the separation roller 50. The conveyor belt 52 wound around the separating roller 50 engages only at both ends of the image receiving material 32 in the width direction, and separates the image receiving material 32 from the photothermographic material 16 and conveys it in a bent manner. .

The separated photothermographic material 16 is stored in a waste photosensitive material storage box 5.
9, the − direction image receiving material 32
After being dried by a heater 54, it is delivered onto a take-out tray 56 formed at the top of the machine base 12.

A display section 72 is attached to the outer surface of the machine base 12. As shown in FIG. 3, this display section 72 is connected to the control section 70, and displays the remaining number of photothermographic material #J116 and image receiving material 32 and the number of times the water in the tank 29 can be processed. It looks like this. In the control section 70, when displaying on the display section 72, if either the remaining number or the possible number of processing times remains, no display is made, and when either the remaining number or the number of processing times reaches O, the display section 72 displays the remaining number of processing times. Items other than those that have become 0 are also displayed.

Further, when displaying the above, the lamp 74 is lit in response to the 0" display. Thereby, the "0" display can be easily confirmed from a plurality of display contents.Furthermore, the remaining number In addition to displaying the number of times the image can be processed, messages such as ``Please replenish the image receiving material'' and ``Please replace the water in the r tank'' are also displayed.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained according to the flowchart of FIG.

First, in step 100, it is determined whether or not recording is to be started. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 102, where the image recording process described below is performed.

When the photothermographic material 16 pulled out from the magazine 14 is cut by the cutter 18 and wound around the outer periphery of the rotating drum 20, the rotating drum 20 rotates at high speed, and the exposure head 22 cuts the photothermographic material 16 in the width direction. An image is exposed in the center.

After exposure, the photothermographic material 16 is peeled off with a scraper 24, coated with water in a water coating section 26, and thermally developed.

The image is sent to the transfer section 28.

On the other hand, the image receiving material 32 in the tray 30 is taken out one by one by the supply roller 44, and further, the image receiving material 32 is taken out one by one by the supply roller 44, and
The heat-developable photosensitive material 16 is superimposed on the photothermographic material 16 by a superimposing roller 60 disposed at , and then supplied between the heating drum 34 and the endless pressure belt 36 (the tension roller 37 is partially wound).

The heat-developable photosensitive material 16 and the image-receiving material 32 sent to the heat-develop transfer unit 28 are heated to about 90° C. by a halogen lamp 38 while being superimposed on a heating drum 34.
and the endless crimping belt 36, approximately two parts of the heating drum 34
/ The image recorded on the photothermographic material 16 is transferred to the image-receiving material 32 while being pinched and conveyed over three rounds to be thermally developed.

After the transfer, a peeling claw 48 moves with the heating drum 34 and engages with the photothermographic material 16 located inside, thereby peeling the photothermographic material 16 together with the image-receiving material 32 from the outer periphery of the heating drum 34.

The image receiving material 32 peeled off from the outer periphery of the heating drum 34 is
The heat-developable photosensitive material '#J! 16 and taken out to a takeout tray 56 via a heater 54. On the other hand, the heat-developable photosensitive material 16 is sent to a waste photosensitive material storage box 59.

When the image recording process is completed, the process moves from step 102 to step 104, and each consumable item and replacement item is counted based on the number of pulses corresponding to the number of times the cutter 18 is operated.

That is, since the number of sheets of heat-developable photosensitive material 16 used matches the number of times the cutter 18 is operated, the number of sheets processed is subtracted from the previously stored number of sheets (100) each time the cutter 18 is operated. Furthermore, since the number of rotations of the roller 44 matches the number of rotations of the image receiving material 32, the number of sheets to be processed (50) is subtracted from the previously stored number of sheets to be processed each time this roller rotates. moreover,
The number of times the water in the tank 29 is treated is equal to the number of times water is applied to the heat-developable photosensitive material 16, that is, the number of sheets of the photothermally-developable material used. Subtract from the possible number of times (100).

In the next step 106, it is determined whether or not the fullness of these calculated values has become "0", and if the determination is negative, the process moves to step 100.

Further, if an affirmative determination is made in step 106, it is necessary to notify the worker of replenishment, so the process moves to step 108.

In step 108, first, a message corresponding to the message displayed as ``0'' is displayed on the display section 72. For example, if the image-receiving material 32 runs out, the message "Please replenish the image-receiving material" is displayed, and then the process moves to step 110, where a message indicating that the image-receiving material 32 is "0" is displayed and other consumables are added. Alternatively, the remaining number of replacement items and the number of times that they can be processed are also displayed, and the process moves to step 112. Step 1
At step 12, the corresponding lamp 74 displaying "0" is turned on. This allows the worker to easily find items that must be replenished from the displayed number of times.

In the next step 114, it is determined whether the replenishment or replacement has been completed and the remaining number has been reset. If the determination is affirmative, the process moves to step 100.

This reset is performed by a worker manually operating a reset button or the like after replacement or replenishment. Note that this may be done automatically.

In this way, in this embodiment, not only the consumables or replacement items that need to be replenished or replaced but also the remaining number of other consumables and replacement items and the number of processing times that can be processed are displayed. , can be replenished or replaced at the same time, and preparation work for image recording processing can be performed all at once.

Therefore, overall workability is improved and images can be recorded quickly.

In this embodiment, the heat-developable photosensitive material 16 and the image-receiving material 32 are used as consumables, but the number of cut scraps from exposed areas and the number of discarded photosensitive materials after transfer is counted to determine the storage status of the waste box, etc. may be recognized. Further, although the water in the tank 29 is mentioned as a replacement item, it may also be possible to recognize when it is time to replace the exposure head 22.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, the image recording apparatus according to the present invention has the excellent effect of improving workability by performing preparatory work such as adding and replacing consumables and replacement items as much as possible all at once.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a control flowchart according to this embodiment, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an image recording apparatus according to this embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a control block diagram. 10... Image recording device, 16... Heat-developable photosensitive material, 28... Heat-developable transfer section, 32... Image-receiving material. 70...Control unit, 72...Display unit, 74...Lamp.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) An image recording device that records a desired image on an image recording material and then performs predetermined processing as necessary to obtain a visible image, which includes the image recording material and is consumable that is consumed as the image is recorded. a deterioration state detection means for detecting a deterioration state of a replacement product that deteriorates according to usage conditions; display means for displaying the current status of the consumables and replacement items when it becomes necessary to replenish the item or when it is necessary to replace any replacement item based on the detection result of the deterioration state detection means; An image recording device having: (2) The display means simultaneously displays marks that identify consumables that need to be replenished based on the detection results and replacement items that need to be replaced based on the detection results. image recording device.