Thermic Developing Stations

The present invention relates to thermic developing stations for recording material which is to be developed by means of heat of the kind, comprising a rotatable drum and a heating element which is adapted to fit the curvature of the drum surface, the recording material being fed between the drum and the heating element by the drum, wherein at the place of entry of the recording material into the heating zone, an unheated member is provided which is also adapted to fit the curvature of the surface of the drum.

In image recording, to an increasing extent recording material is used which is developed by applying heat. This has the advantage that there is no requirement for the semi-dry developing process needed with the customary photographic material. Thermic developing takes place in such a manner that the exposed recording material is transported, for example by means of an elastic drum, through a heat zone which can consist of a heated half-round surface. The surface is heated to the temperature which is characteristic for the material used, for example 120.degree. to 130.degree. for the presently commercially available dry silver paper. However, at this temperature the layer of emulsion on the paper becomes soft and sticky which causes the recording material to jam and the apparatus to fail. The apparatus becomes operational again only by removing the paper from the developing station or, if necessary, also from the printing station and the feed zone to the developer. Apart from the loss of paper and the downtime of the apparatus, in some applications an added factor is that the recorded image is irretrievably lost which is the case, for example, when images transmitted by radio or received from satellites are being recorded.

It is an object of the invention to produce an improved thermic developing station which operates reliably and does not have the above-mentioned disadvantages.

Accordingly, the invention consists in a thermic developing station for recording material which is to be developed by means of heat of the kind, comprising a rotatable drum and a heating element which is adapted to fit the curvature of the drum surface, the recording material being fed between the drum and the heating element by the drum wherein, at the place of entry of the recording material into the heating zone, an unheated member is provided which is also adapted to fit the curvature of the surface of the drum.

Advantageously the member is an unheated part of the heating element, and this may be separated from the heated part by a gap to prevent heat conduction therebetween.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which show two embodiments thereof by way of example and in which:

FIGS. 1 and 1A show in perspective and cross sectional views respectively a first embodiment of the invention; and

FIGS. 2 and 2A show in perspective and cross sectional views respectively a second embodiment of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings, FIGS. 1 and 1A show a rotatable feed drum 1 and a heating element 2 which is heated, preferably electrically, to the developing temperature which is characteristic for the recording material. The drum 1 and the heating element 2 form a gap 60 through which the recording material 8 is pushed in the direction of arrows 3 and 4 by the rotation of the drum 1.

The electrical heating element 2 is preceded by an unheated member 5 which, like the heating element 2, which has a heater member 2b with heating wires 2c and leads 21, and a base member 2a of thermally conductive material, is adapted to fit the surface curvature of the drum 1. The unheated member 5 and the drum 1 form an additional feed zone. If the recording material becomes stuck in the heating zone, this feed zone, in which the recording material is still cold and cannot stick, ensures that it is fed on reliably in that the recording material is pushed on from this zone. The junction between the unheated member 5 and the heating element 2 is preferably constructed in such a manner that there is no possibility for the recording material to escape. In addition, between the unheated member and the drum, preferably a greater pressure is exerted on the recording material than in the area of the heating zone. As shown in FIG. 1, the member 5 which is substantially less heated than base member 2a and which is not directly heated by heater member 2 b, can be constructed in one piece with the heating element 2 and can be thermally isolated from it by a gap 51. However, instead of the air gap, it can also be thermally isolated from the heating element 2 by means of a different heat insulant. In addition, cooling ribs 52 can be provided which carry away any heat transmitted from the heating element 2. In order to feed in the recording material between the drum 1 and the unheated member 5 in an improved manner a wedge-shaped gap 53 is provided.

FIGS. 2 and 2A show a second embodiment of the invention, in the form of a plate 5' which is pressed against the drum 1 by means of springs 6. As in FIG. 1, a wedge-shaped gap 53' can be provided and the plate can either be wholly lifted away from the drum 1 or it can also be supported to be rotatable in the area of the heating element 2.

Also shown in FIG. 2 is an indenting saw-tooth shaped junction 7 between the heating element 2 and the plate 5'. This prevents the recording material from escaping from the feed path if the material becomes stuck in the heating zone. The coefficient of friction between the drum and the recording material in the area of the unheated members 5 or 5' is preferably selected to be greater than the coefficient of friction between the recording material and the unheated element. These measures ensure that the recording material will always be advanced reliably.

Although various minor modifications may be suggested by those versed in the art, it should be understood that we wish to embody within the scope of the patent warranted hereon, all such embodiments as reasonably and properly come within the scope of our contribution to the art.