Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Miyoshi Yushi Kabushiki Kaisha

Richo Company, Ltd.

Kyoji Tsutsui

Hiromi Furuya

Masaru Shimada

Masafumi Torii

Masafumi Ohta

Masaomi Sasaki

Mitsuru Hashimoto

Kiyoshi Sakai

Fumio Kawamura

Hiroaki Matsui

Takehito Yamaguchi

Tadafumi Tatewaki

Shoji Maruyama

Hiroshi Goto

Keishi Kubo

Masafumi Moriya

Kazuo Hosoda

Eiichi Kawamura

Katsushi Sugiyama

Katsuhisa Kamio

Keishi Taniguchi

Ichiro Sawamura

Hiroki Kuboyama

Hideaki Ema

Katsuaki Kokubo

Satoshi Yamamoto

Hitoshi Hattori

Toshiyuki Furuta

Akio Kozima

Tomohiko Beppu

Kyohji Okada

Ryohei Miyake

Shinya Kawahara

Kunio Hayakawa

Takeshi Shibuya

Akio Kojima

Atsushi Kutami

Satoshi Arai

Hitoshi Shimbo

Masatake Kawashima

Takeo Kazami

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

An erasable recording material including a substrate, and an erasable recording layer which is formed overlying the substrate and in which image information is repeatedly recorded and erased, and optionally includes an undercoat layer formed between the substrate and the recording layer, a protective layer formed overlying the recording layer and an intermediate layer formed between the recording layer and the protective layer, wherein the erasable recording material further includes one or more markers which are used for inputting image information additionally written on the recording material. An information recording system and method are also provided in which additional information written on the erasable recording material, in which image information is previously recorded, is incorporated to the previously recorded image information.

Erasable recording material capable of inputting additional information written thereon and information recording system and information recording method using the recording material

A method of reversible selective manifestation of different states of a functional element is disclosed. The functional element is composed of at least two compounds and is capable of alternatively assuming (a) a first state in which the two compounds interact to form a regular aggregate structure, or (b) a second state in which the two compounds do not interact, and at least one of the two compounds is in an aggregate or crystallized state. The respective conditions for attaining one of the two states can be reversibly and extremely speedily controlled, for instance, by use of a heat application device.

Method of reversible selective manifestation of different states of functional element

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 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

An optically anisotropic recording medium and a method of recording and erasing method using the recording medium are disclosed, which comprises the steps of applying heat or light to the recording medium which comprises a recording layer made of optically anisotropic organic thin-film-shaped crystals to raise the temperature of an organic material or which comprises the optically anisotropic organic thin-film-shaped crystals to a recording temperature at which the crystals are fused, performing partial changing of the crystalline state of the crystals by rapidly cooling the recording layer, thereby recording information in the recording layer; and heating the recording layer to an erasing temperature which is lower than the recording temperature, at which the crystals are not fused, but the molecules thereof can be thermally moved.

Optically anisotropic recording medium and method of recording and

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.

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Mishima, Japan

Kyoji Tsutsui