Heat-Sensitive Recording Material With Hollow-Particle Scattering Layer
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional heat-sensitive recording materials lacking a dye precursor and developer are insufficient in terms of whiteness, color density, and printability.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating 6 to 35 mass% hollow polymer particles and 1 part by mass or more of a clarifying agent, such as a fatty acid amide, in a light-scattering layer, with optional non-hollow polymer particles, to enhance whiteness, color density, and printability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If conventional heat-sensitive recording materials without dye precursor and developer are used, then the structure is simplified and maintenance is easier, but whiteness, color density, and printability are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes the color development reaction between a colorless or pale-colored dye precursor and a phenol or organic acid developer, which is heat-induced. When heat is applied, the dye precursor reacts with the developer to produce a colored image, enabling high-quality printing without requiring complex external coloring systems. This chemical color change mechanism resolves the contradiction by providing excellent whiteness and color density while maintaining structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a composite layer structure consisting of a support layer, a light-scattering layer containing polymer particles with core-shell structure, and a colored surface layer. The light-scattering layer includes both hollow and non-hollow polymer particles with specific opacity reducer content (1-90 wt%), creating a composite material system that achieves superior whiteness and color density while maintaining simplicity in design and maintenance.
2Reliability
If opaque layer is used to conceal colored surface, then the recording material can be maintained and protected, but the colored surface cannot be visible for printing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs an opacity reducer with a specific melting point range (45-200°C) that undergoes phase transition from solid to liquid when exposed to thermal energy during printing. At room temperature, the opacity reducer maintains the opaque state to protect and conceal the colored surface. During printing, the applied heat melts the opacity reducer, transforming the layer from opaque to transparent, thereby enabling the colored surface to become visible and printable. This phase transition mechanism resolves the contradiction between maintenance/protection and printability.
3Manufacturing precision
If hollow polymer particles are added to light-scattering layer, then whiteness and color density are improved, but the composition and manufacturing complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent specifies precise parameter ranges for the composition of the light-scattering layer: hollow polymer particles content (6-35 mass%), non-hollow polymer particles content (10-45 mass%), and opacity reducer content (1-90 wt%). By optimizing these parameters within defined ranges, the patent achieves superior whiteness and color density while controlling the complexity of composition and manufacturing. The specific parameter specifications provide clear guidelines for production, resolving the contradiction between performance improvement and compositional complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The resulting heat-sensitive recording material achieves excellent whiteness, color density, and improved printability without the need for a dye precursor or developer.
Implementation Method 1
a light-scattering layer on the colored surface, wherein the light-scattering layer contains hollow polymer particles and a clarifying agent
Implementation Method 2
when the opacity reducer is melted by heat, the layer on the colored surface becomes transparent
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a heat-sensitive recording material comprising the following: a support having at least one colored surface; and a light-scattering layer on the colored surface, wherein the light-scattering layer contains hollow polymer particles and a clarifying agent, the content of the hollow polymer particles is 6 to 35 mass % based on the total solids content of the light-scattering layer, the content of the clarifying agent is 1 part by mass or more, on a solids basis, per part by mass of the hollow polymer particles, and the light-scattering layer is substantially free of a dye precursor and a color developer, and wherein A) the clarifying agent consists of a fatty acid amide, or B) the clarifying agent comprises a combination of a fatty acid amide and at least one member selected from the group consisting of a compound represented by the following formula (1) and 1,2-bis(phenoxymethyl)benzene;wherein in the formula, Xs are the same or different, and each represents CH3 or Cl.