| 摘要 |
PURPOSE:To ensure that the shape of recorded dots is scarcely varied and to record a stable high-quality image, by transferring an image onto a recording paper through heating a thermally transferable coloring material layer of an electrothermal transfer sheet comprising a conductive base as a heat generating resistor, a layer of a material showing superconductivity at or above normal temperature, and the coloring material layer. CONSTITUTION:When a superposed combination of a recording paper 5 and an electrothermal transfer sheet 4 is clamped between a platen 9 and an electrothermal head 8 and a voltage is applied between a recording electrode 6 and a return circuit electrode 7, an electric current is passed through a conductive base 1 and a superconductive layer 2 to generate heat, whereby a hotmelt material of a coloring material layer 3 is melted, and is transferred onto the paper 5 to form an image. When the critical temperature of a material constituting the superconductive layer is set to an appropriate value in the range of 40-100 deg.C, the temperature of the superconductive layer is raised beyond the critical temperature in the process of a temperature rise by heat generation, whereby the material constituting the layer is changed into a high resistance material. At this instant, the electric resistance of the superconductive layer is increased rapidly to, for example, about 10<13>OMEGAcm, and a large quantity of heat is generated by the inertia of the current having been flowing in the superconductive layer 2. The heat generation is finished in a short time, but the heat generated is transmitted through the coloring material layer 3, whereby the layer 3 is melted and transferred. |
