JPH0924629A - Visible image recording device and visible image erasing device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a visible image recording apparatus that can obtain high image quality, shorten the rewriting time without lowering the durability of a recording material, and consume no unnecessary power. SOLUTION: A recording medium 1 is conveyed by a conveying path 5, the read head 6 reads recorded information of an existing image from a magnetic recording portion,
Based on the read information, it is determined where the area to be erased in the visible image recording portion of the recording medium 1 is. The heat generating unit sensor 11 detects the position of the heat generating unit 10 on the heat erasing roller 8 and determines the timing for rotating the heat erasing roller 8 so that the heat generating unit 10 and the area to be erased of the recording medium 1 coincide with each other. . When the recording medium 1 is detected by the position sensor 13, the timing of the subsequent operation is started, the heat erasing roller 8 is rotated at the predetermined timing, and the heat generating portion 10 is operated to generate heat, so that the recording medium 1 Erase existing images. After that, a new visible image is recorded by the thermal head 14.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a visible image recording medium having a visible image recording portion capable of repeating recording or erasing of a visible image by making it cloudy or transparent by controlling thermal energy. The present invention relates to a visible image recording device and a visible image erasing device that record and erase a visible image on an image recording unit.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional hard copy is formed by externally forming an image on a recording medium such as paper with a visual material such as ink or toner, or by using a heat-sensitive recording paper.
A permanent image was recorded by providing a recording layer on a base material such as paper and forming a visible image on the recording layer.

[0003] However, with the recent construction of various network networks, the spread of facsimile machines and copiers, the rapid increase in the consumption of these recording media has led to the destruction of nature such as deforestation and social problems such as waste disposal. Awake. In order to cope with these problems, there is a strong demand for reducing the consumption of recording media, such as reproduction of recording paper. For such a problem, a recording material capable of repeatedly recording and erasing a visible image has recently been attracting attention.

As a recording material having such characteristics, there has been proposed a recording material which can be reversibly changed to both a transparent state and a cloudy state by a heating temperature (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 555-1).
No. 54198).

This recording material, for example, as shown in FIG. 17, has its temperature in the transparent state from T1 to T4.
When it is raised to T5, it changes from transparent to cloudy,
Even when the temperature returns to T1, the cloudy state is maintained as it is. Then, when the temperature of the recording material is raised from T1 to T2 to T3 and returned to T1 again, the cloudy state is changed to the transparent state and the transparent state is maintained as it is. This change can be repeatedly reproduced.

However, these recording materials differ greatly in the temperature range of visible image erasing due to the difference in their composition and additives, and in order to perform uniform visible image erasing, the part which depends on the erasing performance of the recording material. Was great. For example, in the case where a recording material is slidably contacted to perform erasure heating while moving, such as a thermal head or a plate-shaped erasing head, heat transfer to the recording material increases as the moving speed increases. It will not catch up and a temperature gradient will occur in the recording layer.

When the erasing performance of the recording material is poor, the upper layer portion of the recording layer in the recording material is overheated and the lower layer portion is underheated due to the above-mentioned temperature gradient, and the entire recording layer is erased within the erasing temperature range. It will be difficult to fit inside. Therefore, unless a measure such as slowing down the moving speed of the recording medium to suppress the temperature gradient is taken, the image remains unerased and the image quality deteriorates. Furthermore, since the surface of the recording material is slid when erasing, there is a problem that durability is reduced due to friction.

In order to solve such a problem, a heat roller, a sheet heater, a belt heater or the like is used to perform erasing and heating from the back surface of the recording medium to suppress the temperature gradient in the recording layer by thermal diffusion. Proposals have been made to prevent sliding friction (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-14).
2279).

Further, in order to erase the visible image without erasing the recording material without lowering the durability of the recording material, the movement of the recording medium is temporarily stopped, and then a planar heater or the like is brought into static contact to perform erasing and heating. There is also a method such as performing the method, but in this method, since the recording medium is temporarily stopped, the total time for rewriting becomes very long, so it cannot be applied to equipment that requires high-speed processing. There was a problem.

Further, in the method capable of solving the problems such as the durability of the recording material and the unerased portion as described above, it is necessary to always heat the heater to the erasable temperature even when the erasing is not performed, and wasteful power is consumed. There was a problem of consumption.

[0011]

As described above, in the conventional apparatus for recording / erasing a visible image on a recording medium capable of repeatedly recording / erasing a visible image by heating, the erasing performance is When a recording material having a poor recording quality is used, there are problems that the image quality is deteriorated due to the unerased portion and the durability of the recording material is decreased due to sliding friction. In addition, there is a problem in that rewriting time becomes long and power consumption becomes large in order to eliminate the remaining portion and sliding friction.

Therefore, according to the present invention, a high image quality can be obtained regardless of the erasing performance of the recording material, the rewriting time is shortened, and unnecessary power is not consumed, without lowering the durability of the recording material. An object is to provide a visible image recording device and a visible image erasing device.

[0013]

A visible image recording apparatus according to the present invention is capable of recording and erasing a visible image according to thermal histories of different temperatures.
Carrying means for carrying a recording medium having a visible image recording part using a recording material showing one of two states, first position detecting means for detecting the position of the recording medium carried by the carrying means, and the recording means. A cylindrical member rotatable in the medium transport direction,
And a heat generating portion provided on the surface of the cylindrical member along the axial direction thereof and having at least an area and a shape corresponding to the visible image recording portion of the recording medium, and the visible image recording portion of the recording medium. A heat erasing roller for heating and erasing the visible image of, and a rotation driving means for rotating the heat erasing roller,
The second position detecting means for detecting the position of the heat generating portion of the heat erasing roller rotated by the rotation driving means, the detection result of the first position detecting means, and the detection result of the second position detecting means. Based on the relative position control, the relative position between the heat generating portion of the heat erasing roller rotated by the rotation driving means and the visible image recording portion of the recording medium conveyed by the conveying means is controlled so as to coincide with each other. Means and the control of the relative position control means, when the relative positions of the heat generating portion and the visible image recording portion match, by driving the heat generating portion, the visible image of the visible image recording portion. And a heat recording means for heating and recording a new visible image on the visible image recording portion of the recording medium from which the visible image has been erased by the control of the heat generation controlling means. are doing.

Further, the visible image recording apparatus of the present invention includes a visible image recording portion using a recording material which shows two states of recording and erasing a visible image by thermal history of different temperatures, and the visible image recording portion. Conveying means for conveying a recording medium having a magnetic recording part capable of magnetically recording visible image recording information recorded in the image recording part, and magnetic recording from the magnetic recording part of the recording medium conveyed by the conveying means. Reading means for reading information, and writing means for writing new visible image recording information to the magnetic recording portion of the recording medium conveyed by the conveying means after reading the magnetic information by the reading means, First position detecting means for detecting the position of the recording medium conveyed by the conveying means, a cylindrical member rotatable in the conveying direction of the recording medium, and an axial direction on the surface of the cylindrical member. Is provided along with at least the recording medium Heat erasing roller for heating and erasing the visible image of the visible image recording portion of the recording medium, and a rotary drive for rotating the heat erasing roller. Means, second position detecting means for detecting the position of the heat generating portion of the heat erasing roller rotated by the rotation driving means, information read by the reading means, and the detection result of the first position detecting means. And based on the detection result of the second position detecting means, the heat generating portion of the heat erasing roller rotated by the rotation driving means and the visible image recording portion of the recording medium conveyed by the conveying means. The relative position control means for controlling the positions so that they match each other, and the control of this relative position control means, when the relative positions of the heat generating part and the visible image recording part match, drive the heat generating part. By A heat generation control unit that heats and erases the visible image of the visual image recording unit, and a new writing unit that writes a new image to the visible image recording unit of the recording medium from which the visible image has been erased by the control of the heat generation control unit. And a thermal recording means for heating and recording a new visible image corresponding to the recording information written in the magnetic recording portion.

Further, the visible image recording apparatus of the present invention conveys a recording medium having a visible image recording section using a recording material which shows two states of recording and erasing a visible image by thermal history of different temperatures. Carrying means, first position detecting means for detecting the position of the recording medium carried by the carrying means, a cylindrical member rotatable in the carrying direction of the recording medium, and the surface of the cylindrical member. And a heating portion having an area and a shape corresponding to that of the visible image recording portion of the recording medium, the visible image of the visible image recording portion of the recording medium is erased by heating. A heat erasing roller, a rotation driving means for rotating the heat erasing roller, a second position detecting means for detecting a position of a heat generating portion of the heat erasing roller rotated by the rotation driving means, and a first position The detection result of the detection means and By controlling the rotation start timing of the heat erasing roller by the rotation driving means based on the detection result of the second position detecting means, the heat generating portion of the heat erasing roller rotated by the rotation driving means and the conveyance. Relative position control means for matching the relative position of the visible image recording portion of the recording medium conveyed by means, and the relative position of the heat generating portion and the visible image recording portion by the control of the relative position control means. When the two coincide with each other, heat generation control means for heating and erasing the visible image of the visible image recording section by driving the heat generation section, and the recording medium from which the visible image has been erased by the control of the heat generation control means And a thermal recording means for thermally recording a new visible image on the visible image recording section.

Further, the visible image recording apparatus of the present invention conveys a recording medium having a visible image recording section using a recording material which shows two states of recording and erasing of a visible image by thermal history of different temperatures. Carrying means, first position detecting means for detecting the position of the recording medium carried by the carrying means, a cylindrical member rotatable in the carrying direction of the recording medium, and the surface of the cylindrical member. And a heating portion having an area and a shape corresponding to that of the visible image recording portion of the recording medium, the visible image of the visible image recording portion of the recording medium is erased by heating. A heat erasing roller, a rotation driving means for rotating the heat erasing roller, a second position detecting means for detecting a position of a heat generating portion of the heat erasing roller rotated by the rotation driving means, and a first position The detection result of the detection means and By controlling the transport speed of the transport means based on the detection result of the second position detection means, the heat generating portion of the heat erasing roller rotated by the rotation drive means and the recording transported by the transport means. Relative position control means for matching the relative position of the visible image recording portion of the medium, and by the control of this relative position control means, when the relative position of the heat generating portion and the visible image recording portion match, the heat generation A heat generation control unit that heats and erases the visible image of the visible image recording unit by driving the unit, and a visible image recording unit of the recording medium in which the visible image is erased by the control of the heat generation control unit. On the other hand, a thermal recording means for thermally recording a new visible image is provided.

Further, the visible image recording apparatus of the present invention is provided with a plurality of visible image recording areas using a recording material which shows two states of recording and erasing a visible image by thermal history of different temperatures. Conveying means for conveying a recording medium having a visible image recording part, first position detecting means for detecting the position of the recording medium conveyed by the conveying means, and rotatable in the conveying direction of the recording medium. A cylindrical member, and provided on the surface of the cylindrical member along the axial direction thereof, having an area and a shape respectively corresponding to a plurality of visible image recording regions in the visible image recording portion of the recording medium, Further, a visible image of a plurality of visible image recording areas in the visible image recording section of the recording medium, which is composed of a plurality of heat generating portions whose positions are relatively coincident with the positions of the plurality of visible image recording areas. Heat erasing roller that heats and erases this heat erasing A rotation driving means for rotating the over La,
Second position detecting means for detecting the positions of the plurality of heat generating portions of the heat erasing roller rotated by the rotation driving means, the detection result of the first position detecting means and the detection of the second position detecting means. Based on the result, the relative positions of the plurality of heat generating portions of the heat erasing roller rotated by the rotation driving means and the plurality of visible image recording areas in the visible image recording portion of the recording medium conveyed by the conveying means. When the relative positions of the plurality of heat generating portions and the plurality of visible image recording areas match with each other, the relative position control means for controlling the positions so that they match each other, and the control of the relative position control means, Heating control means for selectively erasing only the visible image of a desired visible image recording area from the plurality of visible image recording areas by selectively driving the plurality of heating parts, and the heating control means Visible image erased by control And it includes a heat recording means for heating recording a new visible image to a visible image recording area in the visible image recording portion of the recording medium.

Further, the visible image erasing apparatus of the present invention conveys a recording medium having a visible image recording section using a recording material which shows two states of recording and erasing a visible image by thermal history of different temperatures. Transporting means, first position detecting means for detecting the position of the recording medium transported by the transporting means, and a heat generating portion rotatably provided on a part of the peripheral surface, Heat erasing means for heating and erasing the visible image of the visible image recording portion of the recording medium, rotation driving means for rotating the heat erasing means, and position of the heat generating portion of the heat erasing means rotated by the rotation driving means. Second position detecting means for detecting
Based on the detection result of the first position detecting means and the detection result of the second position detecting means, the heat generating portion of the heat erasing means rotated by the rotation driving means and the recording medium conveyed by the conveying means. The relative position control means for controlling the relative position with respect to the visible image recording part so that they are coincident with each other, and the relative position between the heat generating part and the visible image recording part is controlled by the control of this relative position control means. In this case, the heat generating section is driven to heat and erase the visible image of the visible image recording section.

Further, the visible image erasing apparatus of the present invention is provided with a plurality of visible image recording areas using a recording material which shows two states of recording and erasing a visible image by thermal history of different temperatures. A conveying unit for conveying a recording medium having a visible image recording unit, a first position detecting unit for detecting a position of the recording medium conveyed by the conveying unit, and a rotatably provided unit for detecting the position of the recording medium. A plurality of heat generating portions respectively corresponding to the plurality of visible image recording areas in the visible image recording portion are provided on the peripheral surface, and the visible images of the plurality of visible image recording areas in the visible image recording portion of the recording medium are displayed. Heat erasing means for erasing by heat, rotation driving means for rotating the heat erasing means, and second position detecting means for detecting positions of a plurality of heat generating portions of the heat erasing means rotated by the rotation driving means, Detection result of the first position detecting means and Based on the detection result of the second position detecting means, a plurality of heat generating portions of the heat erasing means rotated by the rotation driving means and a plurality of visible image recording portions of the recording medium conveyed by the conveying means. Relative position control means for controlling each relative position with respect to the visual image recording area so that they match each other, and by the control of this relative position control means, each of the plurality of heat generating portions and the plurality of visible image recording areas. When the relative positions match, the heat generation control for selectively erasing the visible image of the desired visible image recording area from the plurality of visible image recording areas by selectively driving the plurality of heat generating portions. And means.

With the above arrangement, it is possible to erase an arbitrary visible image on the recording medium. Furthermore, since there is no relative speed difference between the recording medium and the heat generating portion of the heat erasing roller,
As compared with the case of erasing the recording medium by bringing it into sliding contact, the temperature gradient in the recording layer is suppressed, the remaining portion is eliminated, and it is possible to prevent the durability of the recording medium from being deteriorated due to sliding friction. Furthermore, since the heat generating portion of the heat erasing roller is caused to generate heat only when necessary, wasteful consumption can be avoided as compared with the case where the heat erasing roller is always caused to generate heat. Further, the visible image can be rewritten in a shorter time than when the movement of the recording medium is once stopped.

[0021]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, a first embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 schematically shows the configuration of a visible image recording device according to the first embodiment. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a recording medium, and a visible image recording portion 2 using a recording material capable of repeatedly recording / erasing a visible image by heating and a magnetic recording portion 3 capable of recording / erasing magnetic information (whichever is used). (Not shown). Here, the visible image recording section 2 of the recording medium 1 is divided into a plurality of visible image recording areas in advance, and recording and erasing are performed in the divided units. A detailed description of the recording medium 1 will be given later.

The recording medium 1 includes a plurality of conveying roller pairs 4, ...
It is sandwiched and conveyed by the conveyance path 5 consisting of. The transport roller pair 4 is rotationally driven by a drive motor (not shown). On the supply end side of the transport path 5, a read head (magnetic head) 6 that reads magnetic information and a write head (magnetic head) that writes magnetic information with respect to the magnetic recording unit 3 of the transported recording medium 1. ) 7 are sequentially provided along the transport direction.

The recording medium 1 conveyed on the conveying path 5 is sent to a heat erasing roller 8 as heat erasing means. The heat erasing roller 8 heats and erases the visible image of the visible image recording portion 2 of the recording medium 1 being conveyed, and is a cylindrical member 9 that can rotate in the conveying direction of the recording medium 1 and its circular shape. The columnar member 9 includes a heat generating portion 10 provided on the surface of the columnar member 9 along the axial direction thereof. The heating portion 10 is formed so that its area and shape correspond to each visible image recording area in the visible image recording portion 2 of the recording medium 1. A detailed description of the heat erasing roller 8 will be given later.

A heat generating part sensor 11 for detecting the position of the heat generating part 10 on the heat erasing roller 8 is provided near the heat erasing roller 8. The heat generating unit sensor 11 is composed of, for example, a light source that irradiates the surface of the heat erasing roller 8 with light and a light receiving element that receives the reflected light, and detects the position of the heat generating unit 10 based on the difference in the amount of reflected light. ing.

A press roller 12 for pressing and conveying the recording medium 1 to the heat erasing roller 8 when heat erasing a visible image by the heat erasing roller 8 is provided at a portion facing the heat erasing roller 8. ing.

A position sensor 13 for detecting the position of the recording medium 1 to be conveyed is provided in front of the heat erasing roller 8 on the conveying path 5. The position sensor 13 is composed of, for example, a light source and a light receiving element that are arranged opposite to each other with the recording medium 1 to be conveyed interposed therebetween.

The recording medium 1 which has passed through the heat erasing roller 8 is
It is sent to the thermal head 14 as a thermal recording means. The thermal head 14 heats and records a new visible image on the visible image recording unit 2 of the recording medium 1 being conveyed. A platen roller 15 for pressing and conveying the recording medium 1 to the thermal head 14 when a new visible image is recorded by the thermal head 14 is provided at a portion facing the thermal head 14.

In such a structure, the recording medium 1 is
When the recording medium is conveyed at a constant speed by the conveying roller pair 4 which is rotationally driven by a drive motor (not shown), first, the visible image recorded on the visible image recording unit 2 from the magnetic recording unit 3 of the recording medium 1 by the reading head 6 is first. The record information of the image (existing image) is read, and then the record information of the visible image (new image) to be newly recorded by the write head 7 is written in the magnetic recording unit 3.

Here, the visible image recording portion 2 of the recording medium 1 should be erased based on the recording information of the already read image read by the reading head 6 and the recording information of the new image written by the writing head 7. The visible image recording area is determined by a circuit (not shown), and based on the detection result of the heat generating unit sensor 11, the heat generating unit 10 is located on the stopped heat erasing roller 8.
It is determined by a circuit (not shown) whether or not is located.

Further, the recording medium 1 is conveyed by the pair of conveying rollers 4 and detected by the position sensor 13.
Here, based on the detection result of the position sensor 13 and the position of the heat generating unit 10 previously determined, the heat generating unit 10 of the heat erasing roller 8
The timing for contacting the visible image recording area to be erased at a constant speed is calculated, and rotation of the thermal erasing roller 8 is started based on the timing. At this time, the heat generating portion 10 of the heat erasing roller 8 is heated to a temperature at which the visible image can be erased by the heating control described later at the timing determined based on the detection result of the position sensor 13.

Therefore, when the recording medium 1 reaches the heat erasing roller 8, the region of the visible image recording portion 2 to be erased is heated by erasing while contacting the heat generating portion 10 of the heat erasing roller 8 at a constant speed. In response to this, the existing image is erased. Here, the relative relationship between the heat generating portion 10 of the heat erasing roller 8 and the area to be erased of the visible image recording portion 2 of the recording medium 1 will be described later in detail, but it is divided into area units in advance. Since the erasure is performed with, the necessary minimum visible image erasure can be performed without erasing the visible image that is not desired to be erased.

In this way, the recording medium 1 from which only the necessary visible image has been erased is conveyed to the thermal head 14 and the visible image recording section 2 is brought to a temperature at which a visible image can be recorded in pixel units. When heated, a new image is formed and the visible image is rewritten.

Next, the heat erasing roller 8 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. The heat erasing roller 8 is configured by forming a heat generating portion 10 and its power supply electrode 16 on the surface of a cylindrical member 9 made of aluminum or the like. The cylindrical member 9 has a rotary shaft 17 at both ends thereof.
The rotating shaft 17 is supported by a bearing (not shown) and is rotated in the direction in which the recording medium 1 is conveyed by applying a driving force via a gear (not shown).

On the surface of the cylindrical member 9, there is formed a heat generating portion 10 which has a length L and a width W along the axial direction and which generates heat when energized. The area and shape (length L, width W) of the heat generating portion 10 are formed so as to correspond to the visible image recording area to be erased in the visible image recording portion 2 of the recording medium 1 described later. Here, the heat generating portion 10 is formed by, for example, a film in which carbon particles are dispersed in a heat-resistant polyimide resin, and the heat generating portion 10 formed in the film shape is formed on the surface of the cylindrical member 9. It is attached to. By changing the amount of carbon dispersed in the polyimide resin, the resistance value can be changed and an arbitrary heat generation characteristic can be obtained.

The power supply electrodes 16 are arranged on both ends of the heat generating portion 10 in a pattern up to the rotating shaft 17 of the columnar member 9 so that the contact electrodes 18 can always be contacted even during rotation. The contact electrode 18 is connected to a heat erasing roller heating control circuit (not shown) so that heating control as will be described later is performed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the cored bar 19 corresponding to the cylindrical member 9 has a hollow structure in order to suppress the heat capacity as much as possible. The heat generating portion 10 and the power feeding electrode 16 are provided via an insulating layer 20 made of silicon rubber or the like for electrical and thermal insulation with the cored bar 19. Further, a protective film 21 made of silicon rubber or the like is formed on the surface in order to prevent mechanical abrasion and improve contact with the recording medium 1.

The heating portion 10 of the heat erasing roller 8 thus formed is brought into contact with the visible image recording portion 2 of the recording medium 1 being conveyed at a constant speed. This allows the recording medium 1 to be heated during erasing and heating.
Since no sliding friction occurs with the visible image recording portion 2, the visible image recording portion 2 can be uniformly heated, and even if a recording material having poor erasability is used, it can be uniformly erased. Furthermore, since the sliding friction does not occur, the surface of the recording medium 1 is less likely to be damaged, so that the durability of the recording medium 1 can be prevented from being lowered.

In this example, a film in which carbon particles are dispersed in a polyimide resin is used as the heating portion 10. However, a heating resistor compound such as silver-palladium (Ag-Pd) is screen-printed. Even if it is formed by a technique, the heat generating portion 10 having a similar function can be configured.

Next, the recording medium 1 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. The recording medium 1 is configured, for example, by sequentially forming a colored layer 32, a recording layer 33, and a protective layer 34 on the upper surface of a base material 31 made of PET (polyethylene terephthalate), and sequentially forming a magnetic layer 35 and a protective layer 36 on the rear surface. Has been done. Here, the recording layer 33 corresponds to the visible image recording section 2, and the magnetic layer 35 corresponds to the magnetic recording section 3.

The recording layer 33 is made of a recording material which is changed to a transparent state and a cloudy state by heating and can be repeatedly used. As described in the prior art, the recording layer 33 exhibits a change characteristic as shown in FIG. . In FIG. 19, T1 is room temperature, T2 to T
3 is the clearing temperature, and T4 to T5 are the clouding temperatures.

Therefore, by selectively applying cloudy heating and transparent heating to a partial area of the recording layer 33,
It is possible to create a cloudy part and a transparent part, and a visible image is formed by the contrast of the transparent part and the cloudy part where the color of the colored layer 21 is visible. Furthermore, it is possible to repeatedly rewrite an arbitrary visible image by changing the area to which cloudy heating and transparent heating are applied.

This recording material is mainly composed of a polymer / low-molecular composite film material in which lower fatty acids are dispersed in a polymer matrix, and the temperature at which it changes into a transparent state or a cloudy state depends on the component ratio of the material or addition. It can be changed depending on the type of agent. In this example, a material having characteristics of 70 to 100 ° C. (T2 to T3) for transparency and 110 to 180 ° C. (T4 to T5) for clouding is used under the condition of pressing the hot plate for 2 seconds. ing.

Next, the visible image recording section 2 of the recording medium 1 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. The recording medium 1 is shown in FIG.
The visible image recording portion 2 formed of the recording layer 33 described in 1. is provided in the area surrounded by the alternate long and short dash line. In this example, the visible image recording unit 2 is divided into three in the transport direction, and for each divided area (visible image recording area), for example, three types of character strings, "Iueo", "Kakikukeko", and "Sasissiso" The visible image 37 of 1 is recorded for each one line, for a total of three lines.
Here, for example, when the user wants to erase the "visible image" that is the visible image 37 on the third line, the heat erasing roller 8 described above is placed in the erasing area (visible image recording area) 38 surrounded by the broken line in the drawing.
The heat generating part 10 is contacted and heated at a constant speed. As shown in the figure, since the length L and the width W of the heat generating portion 10 are formed in advance so as to match the visible image erasing area 38, the other visible image 37 may be erased. It is possible to erase only the necessary visible image.

Next, heating control of the heat generating portion 10 of the heat erasing roller 8 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 shows how electricity is applied when erasing and heating is performed and how the temperature of the heat generating portion 10 changes. In this example, the power source is AC 10
The heating portion 10 is heated with 0 volt (V) to heat the recording medium 1, and the electric power at this time is modulated to control the temperature at which the visible image on the recording medium 1 can be erased. ing. Further, in order to obtain sufficient heat generation and high speed erasability, the output of the heat generating portion 10 is set to 250 watts (W).

In power modulation, the amount of heat generated per unit time is changed by changing the energization time within 1/2 cycle of the AC waveform so that rapid temperature rise and fine modulation are possible. ing. This modulation method can be realized, for example, by using a non-zero cross type solid-state relay that is also excellent in noise resistance by utilizing the operation principle of a thyristor.

As shown in FIG. 6, first, the position sensor 13
Based on the detection signal of, the timing is counted so as to match the visible image erasing area 38 of the recording medium 1 described above.
At this counted timing, the temperature is rapidly heated to the erasing temperature (T2 to T3) immediately before reaching the visible image erasing area 38 of the recording medium 1, and the erasing temperature (T2) is maintained while the visible image erasing area 38 is in contact. ~ T3) is controlled so that energization control is performed so as to hold. Therefore, the filled portion in the waveform of power control in FIG. 6 is the portion where the heat generating portion 10 is energized.

Further, the visible image erasing area 38 of the recording medium 1
The region to be erased can be erased uniformly by terminating the energization at the time when the signal passes. Recording medium 1
When the visible image was actually erased by experimentally obtaining the data of the energization time with the transport speed of 100 mm / s as 100 mm / s, it was possible to uniformly erase without erasing.

Here, in this example, the data of the energization time for the heat generating portion 10 is experimentally obtained and stored in advance in the ROM or the like to call the data, but the energization time depends on the energization cycle. Since it becomes logarithmically shorter, the same erasing heating can be performed even if a logical operation is performed inside the apparatus for each energization cycle to make a correction.

Further, by performing such heating control, the heating portion 10 of the heat erasing roller 8 is energized only when the visible image on the recording medium 1 is erased, so that a halogen lamp or the like is used as a heating source. Like a heat roller using
It is obvious that the power consumption can be dramatically reduced as compared with the conventional method in which heating is always required even when erasing is not performed in order to maintain the temperature.

Next, with reference to FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, the flow of operation when the visible image of the recording medium 1 is rewritten by the visible image recording apparatus of this example, and the control unit for realizing the rewriting operation. The configuration of will be described. Here, FIG. 7 shows a flow chart when the rewriting operation is performed, and FIG. 8 shows a configuration of a control unit for realizing the rewriting operation.

First, the visible image rewriting operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When the recording medium 1 is loaded into the present apparatus, the conveying roller pair 4 is rotated to convey the recording medium 1. When the conveyed recording medium 1 passes the read head 6, the read head 6 reads the recorded information of the existing image from the magnetic recording unit 3. Then, based on the read information, it is determined what kind of visible image is recorded at which position in the visible image recording unit 2 of the recording medium 1 and the information of the visible image to be newly recorded is combined. Then, it is determined where in the visible image recording unit 2 the area to be erased is located.

Further, by detecting the position of the heat generating portion 10 on the heat erasing roller 8 which is stopped by the heat generating portion sensor 11, the heat generating portion 10 and the area of the recording medium 1 to be erased coincide with each other. The timing for rotating the heat erasing roller 8 is determined. Further, the write head 7 writes new visible image recording information.

After that, when the recording medium 1 is detected by the position sensor 13, the counting of the timing of the subsequent operation is started. Here, the counting is the timing of rotating the heat erasing roller 8, the timing of heating the heat generating portion 10 of the heat erasing roller 8 and the timing of recording by the thermal head 14, and these values are the visible image recording information. And the detection information of the heating unit 10 have already been obtained. Therefore, the heat erasing roller 8 is rotated at the timing determined in advance, and the heating portion 10 is heated by the heating control described in FIG. 6 to erase the existing image on the recording medium 1. Then, after recording a new visible image with the thermal head 14, the recording medium 1 is ejected to the outside, thereby completing the rewriting of the visible image.

In order to realize such operation, FIG.
As shown in, CPU (Central Processing
The unit) 41 configures a control unit so as to integrally manage the entire operation. That is, each operation described in FIG. 7 is managed by the CPU 41, and data such as the conveyance speed, each operation timing, and a visible image are stored in the ROM (read only memory) 42 in advance,
RAM (random access memory) 4 as required
3 is called to set each operation.

The read / write head signal conversion circuit 44, the alignment control circuit 45, the thermal head drive circuit 46, the position sensor 13, and the heat generating unit sensor 11 are connected to the CPU 41 via the input / output interface 47, respectively. However, each circuit operates according to a command from the CPU 41. Further, the transport roller driving circuit 48, the heat erasing roller rotation driving circuit 49, and the heat erasing roller heating control circuit 50.
Are respectively connected to the alignment control circuit 45,
It operates based on the command from the alignment control circuit 45.

The read / write head signal conversion circuit 44 uses R
A magnetic read / write signal is converted based on the visible image data set in the OM 42, and the read head 6 or the write head 7 is used to read the magnetic recording portion 3 of the recording medium 1.
Magnetically read and write to. The alignment control circuit 45 uses the read head 6 loaded via the CPU 41.
Timing for rotating the heat erasing roller 8 so that the heat generating portion 10 and the area to be erased of the recording medium 1 coincide with each other, based on the magnetic information, the detection information of the heat generating portion sensor 11, and the detection information of the position sensor 13. , And the timing at which the heat generating portion 10 is caused to generate heat, and operation commands are issued to the transport roller drive circuit 48, the heat erasing roller rotation drive circuit 49, and the heat erasing roller heating control circuit 50 in accordance with the obtained timing.

The transport roller drive circuit 48 operates regardless of the command from the position alignment control circuit 45.
Is rotated to convey the recording medium 1 at a constant speed.
The heat erasing roller rotation drive circuit 49 includes the alignment control circuit 4
Based on the command of 5, the heat erasing roller drive motor 52 is rotationally driven so that the heat generating portion 10 of the heat erasing roller 8 matches the erasing area of the recording medium 1.

At the same time, the heat erasing roller heating control circuit 50 erases the existing image on the recording medium 1 on the basis of the command from the positioning control circuit 45 and the heating control data set in the ROM 42. The heating control described in FIG. 6 is performed. The thermal head drive circuit 46 is based on the detection signal of the position sensor 13 fetched by the CPU 41, and at a preset timing, based on new visible image data set in the ROM 42, in units of one pixel. Then, the thermal head 14 is driven so as to record a new visible image by applying pulsed current to the recording medium 1 so that the temperature becomes a temperature at which a new visible image can be recorded.

In this way, the control for recording / erasing the visible image can be realized by the flow charts shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 and the configuration of the control unit. Next, the difference between the visible image recording apparatus of this example and the case of using the conventional apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 shows changes in image density when a visible image on the recording medium 1 is recorded / erased by the visible image recording apparatus of this example and a conventional apparatus.
Here, as an example of a conventional visible image recording apparatus, a case where a thermal head is used as the heat erasing means and a case where a plate heater is used as the heat erasing means are compared. The recording / erasing speed was 100 mm / s, and the same recording material was used.

The vertical axis in FIG. 9 represents the image density, and the smaller the value, the more opaque the recording state is.
Further, the horizontal axis represents the number of repetitions, and up to 1000 times is shown by the logarithmic axis. In the case of the visible image recording apparatus of this example, the recording density (white circles, solid line) and the erasing density (black circles, solid line) have not changed from the initial state, and stable recording / erasing has been performed up to 1000 times. . Recording after repeating 1000 times /
The erase density was 0.42 / 1.66.

However, when a thermal head is used,
Not only can the background density not be erased from the first time, but it cannot be erased as the number of repetitions increases (black square,
Broken line). The recording density also changes depending on the number of repetitions,
It gradually disappears (white square, broken line). 10
The recording / erasing density after repeating 00 times is 1.02 / 1.1.
It became 9, and almost no change of cloudiness / transparency occurred.

When the thermal head is used, it cannot be erased from the first time. A rapid heating of a minute portion causes a temperature gradient in the recording layer 33 of the recording medium 1 to cause a recording layer 33.
This is because the whole cannot be kept within the erasing temperature range. Further, the durability is deteriorated because the recording material itself is deteriorated by repeating rapid heating, and sliding friction occurs during heating,
This is because the surface is scratched.

When the plate-shaped heater is used, the recording density (white triangle, one-dot chain line) and the erase density (black triangle, one-dot chain line) are reduced according to the number of repetitions, though not so much as when the thermal head is used. Can be seen. The recording / erasing density after repeating 1000 times was 0.77 / 1.53.

As described above, it is understood that the visible image recording apparatus of the present embodiment can repeatedly record / erase the visible image more stably than the conventional apparatus. Next, regarding a modification of the heat erasing roller 8 in the first embodiment,
This will be described with reference to FIGS. The basic structure is the same as that described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, but the slits 2 are formed on both sides of the heat generating portion 10 on the surface of the cylindrical member 9, respectively.
The difference is that 2 is provided. By providing this slit 22, it is possible to prevent the heat generated in the heat generating portion 10 during erasing heating from escaping through the surface of the cylindrical member 9.

Therefore, the thermal efficiency is improved, and therefore, as shown in FIG.
It is possible to shorten the time required to raise the temperature to a temperature at which the visible image on the recording medium 1 can be erased when the heating control described in 1 is performed. Further, the heat generated in the heat generating portion 10 is not transmitted to another portion of the surface of the cylindrical member 9 and is erased even in the area on the visible image recording portion 2 of the recording medium 1 which is not desired to be erased.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, as compared with the prior art, there is no remaining unerased image, the durability of the recording material is not deteriorated, the rewriting time is shortened, and unnecessary power is consumed. It is possible to realize a visible image recording device that does not consume.

Next, a second embodiment will be described. The configuration of the apparatus, the recording medium to be used, the heating control of the heat erasing roller 8, the obtained effect, and the like in the second embodiment are the same as those in the first embodiment, and only the operation is different. Only the flow of operation when rewriting a visual image will be described.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing the rewriting operation. In the first embodiment, in order to match the heat generating portion 10 of the heat erasing roller 8 with the area of the visible image recording portion 2 of the recording medium 1 to be erased, the conveying speed of the recording medium 1 is set to be constant, and normally, Although the timing of starting the rotation of the stopped heat erasing roller 8 was changed, in the second embodiment, the heat erasing roller 8 is always rotated at a constant speed to change the conveying speed of the recording medium 1. It is realized by that.

That is, as shown in FIG. 12, first, the heat erasing roller 8 is rotated at a constant speed, and the heat generating portion sensor 11 determines the position of the heat generating portion 10 on the heat erasing roller 8. deep. Next, as in the first embodiment, the recording medium 1 is conveyed by the conveying roller pair 4 and the magnetic information of the existing image is read by the reading head 6, and then the visible image recording unit 2 of the recording medium 1 is read. Which visible image is recorded at which position, and where the area to be erased is located on the visible image recording unit 2 together with the information of the new image to be newly recorded. To do. Further, the conveying speed of the recording medium 1 for obtaining the coincidence between the heat generating portion 10 of the heat erasing roller 8 and the area of the visible image recording portion 2 of the recording medium 1 to be erased is obtained. Thereafter, the write head 7 writes the magnetic information of the new image.

When the recording medium 1 is detected by the position sensor 13, the rotational speed of the conveying roller pair 4 is changed so as to reach the previously obtained conveying speed, so that the heat generating portion 10 of the heat erasing roller 8 and the recording medium are changed. The area to be erased in the visible image recording unit 2 of No. 1 is matched. Further, the existing image on the recording medium 1 is erased by heating the heat generating portion 10 at a predetermined timing, a new visible image is recorded by the thermal head 14, and then the recording medium 1 is ejected.

As a configuration of the control unit for realizing such an operation, as already shown in FIG. 8 in the first embodiment, it is realized by centrally managing the entire operation by the CPU 41. That is, the configuration of the control unit in this example is similar to that of the first embodiment.

Further, the obtained effect is similar to that of the first embodiment, and the visible image can be stably recorded / erased repeatedly as compared with the conventional visible image recording apparatus. next,
A third embodiment will be described.

13 and 14 show the structure of the heat erasing roller 8 according to the third embodiment. That is,
In the heat erasing roller 8 of this example, a plurality of (four in this example) heat generating portions 10 are provided on a cylindrical member 9. Therefore, a plurality of power supply electrodes 16 and contact electrodes 18 are also provided so as to correspond to the respective heat generating parts 10. In this case, the power supply electrodes 16 come into contact with the contact electrodes 18 by sequentially stacking them on the rotating shaft 17 of the cylindrical member 9 via an electrically insulating layer of polyvinylidene fluoride so that they do not contact each other. Only the part is exposed.

Further, on the surface of the cylindrical member 9, a plurality of heat generating portions 10 are formed with a length L1 and a width W1. That is, the area and shape (length L1, width W) of each heat generating portion 10
1) corresponds to an area to be erased in the visible image recording portion 2 of the recording medium 1 described later. The material of the heat generating portion 10 is the first
Of the heat erasing roller 8 used in the above embodiment
Same as 0. In addition, the heat erasing roller 8 other than those described above
The shape and material of are the same as those of the heat erasing roller 8 used in the first embodiment.

As described above, by providing the plurality of heat generating portions 10 on the cylindrical member 9, it is possible to erase a plurality of regions of the visible image recording portion 2 of the recording medium 1 to be erased at one time. Next, the visible image recording unit 2 of the recording medium 1 used in the third embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG. On the recording medium 1, a visible image recording portion 2 is provided in four areas 2a to 2d surrounded by a chain line. In this example, the visible image recording unit 2 is divided into four, and each divided area (visible image recording area) 2
For each of a to 2d, for example, a visible image 37 of four kinds of character strings of “Aiueo, Kakikuko”, “Sasisseso, Tachitsutetto”, “Naninueno, Hahifuheho”, and “Mamimumemo, Yayuyuyo” is recorded in two lines of two lines each. It shows the state.

Since the heat-generating portions 10 are formed on the heat erasing roller 8 in the areas and shapes corresponding to the respective visible image recording areas 2a to 2d, as described above, the heat-generating portions 10 are heated. By selecting it, the visible image 37 in any visible image recording area can be erased. For example, when it is desired to erase "Sasisseso, Tachitsuteto" and "Naninueno, Hahifuheho" in the visible image 37 in the figure, it corresponds to the erased area (visible image recording area) 38 surrounded by a broken line in the figure. The heat generating part 10 is contacted and heated at a constant speed. As shown in the figure, the length L1 and width W1 of the heat generating portion 10
Is formed in advance so as to coincide with the visible image erasing area 38, so that only the necessary visible image can be erased without erasing other visible images 37.

Here, the device configuration, the heating control of the heat erasing roller 8 and the like in the third embodiment are the same as those in the first and second embodiments. That is, the device configuration of FIG. 1 used in the description of the first embodiment and the heating control of FIG. 6 can be applied as they are. Further, regarding the flow of the operation when rewriting the visible image and the configuration of the control unit for realizing the rewriting, the respective heat generating portions 10 of the heat erasing roller 8 selectively generate heat according to the area to be erased. The only difference is that the flowchart of FIG. 7 used in the description of the first embodiment, the configuration of the control unit of FIG. 8, and the flowchart of FIG. 12 used in the description of the second embodiment are used. Can be adapted.

Next, a modification of the heat erasing roller 8 in the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. This modification is similar to the heat erasing roller 8 in the first embodiment.
The same slit 22 as that of the modified example is provided. Since the heat erasing roller 8 has a plurality of heat generating parts 10,
Slits 22 are also provided between the heat generating portions 10. The basic effect of the slit 22 is to prevent the heat generated in the heat generating portion 10 from escaping through the surface of the cylindrical member 9 as in the modification of the heat erasing roller 8 in the first embodiment. However, even when a plurality of heat generating portions 10 are simultaneously heated, it is possible to prevent the heating temperature from being changed from the time when only one heat is generated due to the interference of heat generation.

As described above, according to the third embodiment, not only the same effects as those of the first and second embodiments can be obtained, but also a plurality of visible images can be selectively selected. It is possible to rewrite any visible image.

In the third embodiment, the four visible image recording areas 2a to 2d on the recording medium 1 and 1: 1 are recorded.
However, the number of heat generating portions 10 is not limited, and a number of heat generating portions 1 larger than the visible image recording areas 2a to 2d are provided in advance.
It is also possible to set 0.

In this case, a large number of heat generating portions 10 are evenly arranged on the entire surface of the heat erasing roller 8, and the heat generating portions 10 used for erasing are successively used when rewriting visible images of a plurality of recording media 1. If it is changed, rewriting can be continuously performed without setting the wait time.

By applying the embodiment described above to, for example, a prepaid card or the like, the effect can be maximized. In other words, if the usage history is recorded as a visible image on the surface of the prepaid card and the portion whose value changes according to the usage history such as remaining frequency and usage date is selectively rewritten, it is limited. You can effectively use the existing area.

Further, the commonly used prepaid card is provided with a magnetic recording layer for recording information on its usage history, and therefore information for recording a visible image on this magnetic recording layer is provided. It is easy to increase the content of.

In the above embodiment, the cloudy state of the recording layer of the recording medium is used as the recorded image. However, the cloudy state is set to the erased state, and the clouding temperature range is controlled at the time of the erase so that the clearing temperature is set at the time of recording. If it is controlled so as to fall within the range, it is possible to make a transparent state a recorded image. Further, the recording material to which the present invention can be applied is not limited to the material of the embodiment, and can also be applied to a recording material using a leuco dye as a color-forming source that reversibly changes color tone only by controlling thermal energy.

[0085]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, it is possible to heat without causing sliding friction at the time of erasing, and it is possible to heat only for a minimum necessary amount of erasing. Therefore, a visible image recording apparatus that can obtain a high image quality regardless of the erasing performance of the recording material, shortens the rewriting time without reducing the durability of the recording material, and consumes no unnecessary power than the conventional one Can be provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram schematically showing a configuration of a visible image recording device according to a first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a heat erasing roller used in the same embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional side view showing a configuration of a heat erasing roller used in the same embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional side view showing a configuration of a recording medium used in the same embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a recording medium used in the same embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state of energization and a state of temperature change of a heating portion when erasing and heating are performed in the same embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation flow when a rewriting operation is performed in the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control unit for realizing a rewriting operation in the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a change in image density when a visible image on the recording medium is repeatedly recorded / erased by the visible image recording apparatus of the embodiment and a conventional apparatus.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a modified example of the heat erasing roller used in the same embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a vertical sectional side view showing a modified example of the heat erasing roller used in the same embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an operation flow when a rewriting operation is performed in the visible image recording device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a heat erasing roller used in a visible image recording device according to a third embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 14 is a vertical cross-sectional side view showing the configuration of the heat erasing roller used in the same embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a plan view of a recording medium used in the same embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a vertical sectional side view showing a modified example of the heat erasing roller used in the same embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining a state of a recording material that can change to both a cloudy state and a transparent state depending on a history temperature.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Recording medium, 2 ... Visible image recording unit, 3 ... Magnetic recording unit, 4 ... Conveying roller pair, 5 ... Conveying path, 6 ... Read head, 7 ... Write head, 8 ... ... Heat erasing roller (heat erasing means), 9 ... Cylindrical member, 10 ... Heat generating portion, 11 ...
Heat generating part sensor, 13 ... Position sensor, 14 ... Thermal head (thermal recording means), 22 ... Slit, 37 ... Visible image, 38 ... Visible image erasing area (visible image recording area), 4
1 ... CPU, 42 ... ROM, 43 ... RAM, 44
...... Read / write head signal conversion circuit, 45 …… Alignment control circuit, 46 …… Thermal head drive circuit, 48 ……
Transport roller drive circuit, 49 ... Heat erasing roller rotation drive circuit, 50 ... Heat erasing roller heating control circuit, 51 ... Transport roller driving motor, 52 ... Heat erasing roller driving motor.

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. Conveying means for conveying a recording medium having a visible image recording portion using a recording material showing two states of recording and erasing a visible image by thermal history of different temperatures, and conveying by this conveying means. First position detecting means for detecting the position of the recording medium, a cylindrical member rotatable in the conveying direction of the recording medium, and provided on the surface of the cylindrical member along the axial direction thereof, A heat erasing roller which comprises at least a heat generating portion having an area and a shape corresponding to the visible image recording portion of the recording medium, and which heat-erases the visible image of the visible image recording portion of the recording medium; Rotation driving means for rotating, second position detecting means for detecting the position of the heat generating portion of the heat erasing roller rotated by the rotation driving means, detection result of the first position detecting means and the second Detection of position detection means Based on the results, the relative position of the visible image recording portion of the recording medium conveyed by the heating unit to the conveying means of the thermal erasing roller which is rotated by the rotary drive means,
When the relative position of the heat generating portion and the visible image recording portion coincides with each other by controlling the relative position control means for controlling the two so that they coincide with each other, and by controlling the relative position controlling means, by driving the heat generating portion, Heat generation control means for heating and erasing the visible image of the visible image recording portion, and a new visible image for the visible image recording portion of the recording medium from which the visible image has been erased by control of the heat generation control means. A visible image recording apparatus comprising: a thermal recording unit that heat-records the image. 2. A visible image recording section using a recording material showing two states of recording and erasing a visible image by thermal history of different temperatures, and a visible image recorded in this visible image recording section. Carrying means for carrying a recording medium having a magnetic recording part capable of magnetically recording the above recorded information, reading means for reading magnetic information from the magnetic recording part of the recording medium carried by the carrying means, and this reading means Writing means for writing new visible image recording information to the magnetic recording portion of the recording medium conveyed by the conveying means after reading the magnetic information by the conveying means, and the recording medium conveyed by the conveying means Position detecting means for detecting the position of the recording medium, a cylindrical member rotatable in the conveying direction of the recording medium, and provided on the surface of the cylindrical member along the axial direction thereof and at least the recording medium. Surface corresponding to visible image recording part And a heat generating portion having a shape, the heat erasing roller for heating and erasing the visible image of the visible image recording portion of the recording medium, the rotation driving means for rotating the heat erasing roller, and the rotation driving means for rotating the heat erasing roller. Second position detecting means for detecting the position of the heat generating portion of the heat erasing roller, information read by the reading means, detection result of the first position detecting means and detection of the second position detecting means. Based on the result, the relative position between the heat generating portion of the heat erasing roller rotated by the rotation driving means and the visible image recording portion of the recording medium conveyed by the conveying means is controlled so that they are coincident with each other. When the relative positions of the heat generating portion and the visible image recording portion are matched by the relative position control means and the control of the relative position controlling means, the heat generating portion is driven to drive the visible image recording portion. Heating visible image The heat generation control means to be removed, and the recording newly written in the magnetic recording section by the writing means with respect to the visible image recording portion of the recording medium from which the visible image is erased by the control of the heat generation control means. A visible image recording apparatus comprising: a thermal recording unit that thermally records a new visible image corresponding to information. 3. Conveying means for conveying a recording medium having a visible image recording portion using a recording material showing two states of recording and erasing a visible image by thermal histories of different temperatures, and the conveying means. First position detecting means for detecting the position of the recording medium, a cylindrical member rotatable in the conveying direction of the recording medium, and provided on the surface of the cylindrical member along the axial direction thereof, A heat erasing roller which comprises at least a heat generating portion having an area and a shape corresponding to the visible image recording portion of the recording medium, and which heat-erases the visible image of the visible image recording portion of the recording medium; Rotation driving means for rotating, second position detecting means for detecting the position of the heat generating portion of the heat erasing roller rotated by the rotation driving means, detection result of the first position detecting means and the second Detection of position detection means Based on the result, by controlling the rotation start timing of the heat erasing roller by the rotation driving means, the heat generating portion of the heat erasing roller rotated by the rotation driving means and the recording medium conveyed by the conveying means are controlled. Relative position control means for matching the relative position with the visible image recording portion, and by the control of this relative position control means, when the relative position of the heat generating portion and the visible image recording portion match, the heat generating portion is controlled. A heat generation control unit that heats and erases the visible image of the visible image recording unit by driving, and a visible image recording unit of the recording medium from which the visible image has been erased by the control of the heat generation control unit. A visible image recording apparatus comprising: a thermal recording means for heating and recording a new visible image. 4. Conveying means for conveying a recording medium having a visible image recording portion using a recording material showing two states of recording and erasing a visible image by thermal history of different temperatures, and conveying by this conveying means. First position detecting means for detecting the position of the recording medium, a cylindrical member rotatable in the conveying direction of the recording medium, and provided on the surface of the cylindrical member along the axial direction thereof, A heat erasing roller which comprises at least a heat generating portion having an area and a shape corresponding to the visible image recording portion of the recording medium, and which heat-erases the visible image of the visible image recording portion of the recording medium; Rotation driving means for rotating, second position detecting means for detecting the position of the heat generating portion of the heat erasing roller rotated by the rotation driving means, detection result of the first position detecting means and the second Detection of position detection means By controlling the transport speed of the transport means based on the result, the heat generating portion of the heat erasing roller rotated by the rotation driving means and the visible image recording portion of the recording medium transported by the transport means are formed. When the relative position of the heat generating portion and the visible image recording portion are matched by the control of the relative position control means for matching the relative position and the relative position controlling means, the heat generating portion is driven to control the Heat generation control means for heating and erasing the visible image of the visual image recording section, and heating a new visible image to the visible image recording section of the recording medium from which the visible image has been erased by the control of the heat generation control means. A visible image recording apparatus comprising: a thermal recording unit for recording. 5. A recording medium having a visible image recording portion provided with a plurality of visible image recording areas using a recording material which shows two states of recording and erasing a visible image by thermal history of different temperatures. Transporting means for transporting the recording medium, first position detecting means for detecting the position of the recording medium transported by the transporting means, a cylindrical member rotatable in the transporting direction of the recording medium, and the cylindrical member Provided on the surface of the recording medium along the axial direction thereof, having an area and a shape respectively corresponding to the plurality of visible image recording regions in the visible image recording portion of the recording medium, and the position of the plurality of visible images. A heat erasing roller which comprises a plurality of heat generating portions which are relatively aligned with the position of the recording area and which heats and erases the visible images of the plurality of visible image recording areas in the visible image recording area of the recording medium; Rotation drive means for rotating the heat erasing roller A second position detecting means for detecting the positions of a plurality of heat generating portions of the heat erasing roller rotated by the rotation driving means, a detection result of the first position detecting means and the second position detecting means. Based on the detection result of a plurality of heat generating portions of the heat erasing roller rotated by the rotation driving means and a plurality of visible image recording areas in the visible image recording portion of the recording medium conveyed by the conveying means. When the relative positions of the plurality of heat generating portions and the plurality of visible image recording areas are matched by the control of the relative position control means for controlling each relative position so that they match each other. A heat generation control means for selectively erasing a visible image of a desired visible image recording area from the plurality of visible image recording areas by selectively driving the plurality of heat generating portions; Visible image by means of control A visible image recording apparatus, comprising: a thermal recording unit that heat-records a new visible image on a visible image recording area in the visible image recording portion of the recording medium from which the image has been erased. 6. Conveying means for conveying a recording medium having a visible image recording portion using a recording material showing two states of recording and erasing a visible image by thermal history of different temperatures, and conveying by this conveying means. A first position detecting means for detecting the position of the recording medium, and a heat generating portion rotatably provided on a part of the peripheral surface of the recording medium. A heat erasing means for erasing the visual image by heating, a rotation driving means for rotating the heat erasing means, and a second position detecting means for detecting the position of the heat generating portion of the heat erasing means rotated by the rotation driving means. A recording unit conveyed by the heat generating unit of the heat erasing unit rotated by the rotation driving unit and the conveying unit based on the detection result of the first position detecting unit and the detection result of the second position detecting unit. Position of medium relative to visible image recording area The relative position control means for controlling the two so that they coincide with each other, and by the control of the relative position control means, when the relative positions of the heat generating part and the visible image recording part match, by driving the heat generating part. A visible image erasing device comprising: a heat generation control unit that heats and erases a visible image of the visible image recording unit. 7. A recording medium having a visible image recording portion provided with a plurality of visible image recording areas using a recording material which shows two states of recording and erasing a visible image by thermal history of different temperatures. Transporting means for transporting the recording medium, first position detecting means for detecting the position of the recording medium transported by the transporting means, and a plurality of visible images rotatably provided in the visible image recording portion of the recording medium. A heat erasing means for heating and erasing the visible images of the plurality of visible image recording areas in the visible image recording portion of the recording medium, the heat erasing means having a plurality of heat generating portions respectively corresponding to the image recording areas on the peripheral surface; Rotation driving means for rotating the erasing means, second position detecting means for detecting the positions of a plurality of heat generating portions of the heat erasing means rotated by the rotation driving means, and detection results of the first position detecting means And the detection result of the second position detecting means Based on the relative positions of the plurality of heat generating portions of the heat erasing means rotated by the rotation driving means and the plurality of visible image recording areas in the visible image recording portion of the recording medium conveyed by the conveying means, , A relative position control means for controlling the two so as to match each other, and by the control of the relative position control means, when the relative positions of the plurality of heat generating portions and the plurality of visible image recording areas are matched, Heat generation control means for selectively erasing a visible image of a desired visible image recording area from the plurality of visible image recording areas by selectively driving the heating portion. Visible image erasing device.