Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Miyoshi Yushi Kabushiki Kaisha

Richo Company, Ltd.

Hiromi Furuya

Kyoji Tsutsui

Masafumi Torii

Satoshi Yamamoto

Yoshihiko Hotta

Masaru Shimada

Fumio Kawamura

Tadafumi Tatewaki

Hiroaki Matsui

Kunio Hayakawa

Keishi Taniguchi

Kazuo Hosoda

Katsushi Sugiyama

Katsuhisa Kamio

Katsuaki Kokubo

Hideo Suzaki

Shoji Maruyama

Shinya Kawahara

Keishi Kubo

Takeshi Shibuya

Shin Yamamoto

Masafumi Moriya

Kyohji Okada

Atsushi Kutami

Kiyotaka Iiyama

Satoshi Arai

Yasutomo Mori

Hitoshi Shimbo

Masahiro Nakata

Takeshi Yuyama

Kyohji Tsutsui

Masatake Kawashima

Kaoru Kodera

Nobuo Akagi

Kouji Oohara

Hisanori Shimada

The present invention provides a reversible thermosensitive recording medium including a support and a thermosensitive recording layer thereon, in which the thermosensitive recording layer contains an electron-donating coloring compound and an electron-accepting compound, and the thermosensitive recording layer is capable of forming a relatively developed condition and a relatively erased condition depending on at least one of the difference of heating temperatures and the difference of cooling rates following to heating, and in which the electron-accepting compound contains a phenol compound expressed by General Formula (1): 

Phenol compound, reversible thermosensitive recording medium, reversible thermosensitive recording label, reversible thermosensitive recording member, image-processing apparatus and image-processing method

The present invention provides a reversible thermosensitive recording medium including a support and a thermosensitive recording layer thereon, in which the thermosensitive recording layer comprises an electron-donating coloring compound and an electron-accepting compound, and the thermosensitive recording layer is capable of forming a relatively developed condition and a relatively erased condition depending on at least one of the difference of heating temperatures and the difference of cooling rates following to heating, and in which the electron-accepting compound comprises a phenol compound represented by the General Formula (1): where, in the General Formula (1) 'l' represents an integer of 1 to 3, 'm' represents an integer of 1 or more, and &#x201c;n&#x201d; represents an integer of 7 or more.

Phenol compound, reversible thermosensitive recording medium, reversible thermosensitive recording label, reversible thermosensitive recording member, image-processing apparatus and imaging-processing method

A reversible thermosensitive coloring material which can reversibly achieve a relatively colored state and a relatively discolored state depending on a temperature to which the coloring material is heated or a cooling speed at which the coloring material is cooled after heated. The coloring material including an electron donating coloring agent; an electron accepting color developer configured to color the coloring agent; and a compound having a Zwitter ion in which a total of charges in a molecule of the compound is zero. A reversible thermosensitive recording material including a substrate and a reversible thermosensitive recording layer, which is located overlying the substrate and which includes the reversible thermosensitive coloring material.

Reversible thermosensitive coloring material and reversible thermosensitive recording material using the reversible thermosensitive coloring material

A reversible thermosensitive recording medium including a substrate; a reversible thermosensitive recording layer on the substrate, which includes an electron donating coloring compound and an electron accepting compound, wherein the recording layer achieves a colored state when heated at a temperature not lower than an image forming temperature and then cooled at a first cooling speed, and the recording layer in the colored state achieves a non-colored state when heated at a temperature lower than the image forming temperature and not lower than an image erasing temperature or when heated at a temperature not lower than the image forming temperature and then cooled at a second cooling speed relatively slow compared to the first cooling speed; and a crosslinked polymer layer including a crosslinked polymer having an ultraviolet absorbing structure.

Reversible thermosensitive recording medium and image forming and erasing method using the recording medium

A thermosensitive recording material composed of a support, and a thermosensitive recording layer formed on the support, containing a leuco dye and a color developer capable of inducing color formation in the leuco dye upon application of heat thereto, the color developer including at least one compound selected from the group consisting of the compounds of formulas (I) to (IV):

Thermosensitive recording material and phthalic acid derivatives for use in the same

A reversible thermosensitive recording material which includes a recording layer including an electron donating coloring agent and an electron accepting coloring developer and in which an image is reversibly formed and erased by appropriately heating and cooling the recording layer, wherein the recording layer further includes an erasure promoter including one or more secondary amide group having the following formulas (1), (2) or (3):

Reversible thermosensitive recording material and recording method and apparatus therefor

A reversible thermal recording method using a color/non-color type reversible thermosensitive recording material which has a recording layer formed overlying at least one side of a substrate and including an electron donating coloring agent and an electron accepting color developer and which reversibly forms a colored state and a non-colored state by being appropriately heated and cooled. The recording layer having images of the colored state which have been formed in the recording layer is heated to erase the image, and imagewise heated either at substantially the same time as, or after, the image erasing operation to record new images therein, and then relatively rapidly cooled to maintain the new images. A reversible thermal recording apparatus therefor is also provided.

Reversible thermal recording method and apparatus therefor

A reversible thermosensitive composition including a coloring agent and a developer and capable of assuming a colored state and a discolored state depending upon the thermal hysteresis thereof. The developer is a phenol compound represented by the formula: ##STR1## wherein n is an integer of between 1 and 3, X represents a divalent group having a nitrogen atom or an oxygen atom, R.sup.1 represents a substituted or non-substituted aliphatic hydrocarbon group having at least two carbon atoms and R.sup.2 represents a hydrocarbon group. A reversible thermosensitive recording medium has a thermosensitive recording layer containing the above composition.

Reversible thermosensitive coloring composition and reversible

A reversible thermosensitive recording material which includes a recording layer including an electron donating coloring agent and an electron accepting coloring developer and in which an image is reversibly formed and erased by appropriately heating and cooling the recording layer, wherein the recording material has an image density retention not less than about 60% when the recording material having an image is allowed to settle in a dry place at 50.degree. C. for 24 hours, a residual image density not greater than about 0.03 when the recording material having an image is heated at 110.degree. C. for 0.5 seconds to erase the image, and a residual image density after light irradiation not greater than about 0.04 when the recording material having an image is heated at 110.degree. C. for 0.5 seconds to erase the image after light of 5,000 lux is irradiated to the recording material for 100 hours.

Reversible thermosensitive recording material and recording method and

A reversible thermosensitive coloring composition is provided, which contains (a) an electron-donating coloring compound; and (b) an electron-accepting compound, which is an aromatic carboxylic acid compound comprising at least one hydrocarbon group, which induces color formation in the electron-donating coloring compound. The reversible thermosensitive coloring composition reversibly assumes a color-developed state or a decolorized state, in response to at least one of (1) the temperature thereof when heated and (2) the cooling rate of the reversible thermosensitive coloring composition when cooled after the heating thereof. A reversible thermosensitive recording medium using the coloring composition is also provided.

A reversible thermosensitive coloring composition contains an electron-donating coloring compound and an electron-accepting compound, and is capable of reversibly assuming a color-developed state or a decolorized state depending upon the the temperature of the reversible thermosensitive coloring composition when heated, and/or the cooling rate of the reversible thermosensitive coloring composition when cooled after the heating thereof, with the electron-accepting compound being a compound of formula (I):

A reversible thermosensitive recording material which includes a recording layer including a resin, an electron donating coloring agent and an electron accepting coloring developer and in which an image is reversibly formed and erased by appropriately heating and cooling the recording layer, wherein the resin includes a resin crosslinked with the isocyanate compound. The reversible thermosensitive recording material has good image recording/erasing ability, and good durability.

Reversible thermosensitive recording material

A reversible thermosensitive recording medium has a support, and a reversible thermosensitive recording layer, an intermediate layer and a protective layer which are successively overlaid on the support in this order, the recording layer containing a reversible thermosensitive coloring composition which includes an electron-donating coloring compound and an electron-accepting compound and is capable of assuming a colored state and/or a decolorized state by controlling the thermal energy applied to the coloring composition or the cooling rate of the coloring composition after the application of thermal energy thereto, and the intermediate layer and/or protective layer containing an inorganic pigment material with an average particle diameter of 100 nm or less.

Reversible thermosensitive recording medium

A reversible thermosensitive composition including a coloring agent and a developer and capable of assuming a colored state and a discolored state depending upon the thermal hysteresis thereof. The developer is a phenol compound represented by the formula: ##STR1## wherein R.sup.1 and R.sup.3 represent, independently from each other, a substituted or non-substituted hydrocarbon group, R.sup.2 represents a substituted or non-substituted aliphatic hydrocarbon group having at least two carbon atoms, with the proviso that the total number of carbon atoms of R.sup.1, R.sup.2 and R.sup.3 is at least 8, X and Y represent, independently from each other, a divalent group having a nitrogen atom or an oxygen atom and r is an integer of between 1 and 3.

A reversible thermosensitive composition including a coloring agent and a developer and capable of assuming a colored state and a discolored state depending upon the thermal hysteresis thereof. The developer is a phenol compound represented by the formula: ##STR1## wherein R.sup.1 represents a substituted or non-substituted divalent hydrocarbon group having at least two carbon atoms, R.sup.2 represents a substituted or non-substituted hydrocarbon group, X and Y represent, independently from each other, a divalent group having a hetero atom and r is an integer of between 1 and 3. A reversible thermosensitive recording medium includes a support and a thermosensitive layer including the above composition.

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Shimizu-machi, Japan

Hiromi Furuya