JPH02219043A - Scanning exposure device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To always allow slit scanning exposure under excellent conditions without permitting excess light which hinders exposure to infiltrate into an exposure plane by providing at least one variable slit which changes the slit width in response to the variable magnification in the vicinity of the exposure plane. CONSTITUTION:The device is composed of a light source unit 152, a mirror unit 154, a lens unit 156, a shutter 158, a senser 160, and the variable slit 164 arranged in the vicinity of the exposure plane 46a. For either case of magnification exposure, unmagnification exposure or reducing exposure, the slit width in the scanning direction in front of the exposure plane is made optimum for the scanning width for the exposure magnification. Thus, irregularly reflected light from an imaging lens, flare of light from the outer part, etc., do not infiltrate into the exposure plane 46a, and the exposure of photosensitive material is performed under the excellent conditions which prevents light quantity loss in the magnification exposure.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to a scanning exposure device commonly used in various copying machines, printers, etc.

More specifically, the present invention relates to a scanning exposure apparatus that reduces flare entering the exposure surface in slit scanning exposure.

<Prior art> Exposure devices used in various types of copying machines, printers, printing presses, etc., have the following advantages: ■ The exposure area can be made smaller and the exposure device can be made more compact, ■ Light source Slit scanning exposure is often used because it can reduce the amount of light.

For example, a scanning exposure device applied to a copying machine basically consists of an exposure light source that irradiates the document while scanning the bottom surface of the document placed on the document table, and a scanning exposure device that directs light reflected from the document in a predetermined direction. a plurality of mirrors that reflect the reflected light, an imaging lens that forms an image of this reflected light on the photosensitive material, and a scanning direction of the reflected light that mainly passes through the imaging lens just before the exposure surface where this reflected light forms an image. It has a slit etc. that defines the width of the slit.

In such a scanning exposure apparatus, an exposure light source illuminates a document while scanning at a predetermined speed.

This reflected light from the original (hereinafter referred to as reflected light) is reflected in a predetermined direction by at least one movable mirror, enters the imaging lens, and is imaged on the exposure surface. Dimmed.

The reflected light that has passed through the imaging lens passes through a slit placed in front of the exposure surface, and exposes the photosensitive material conveyed in synchronization with the scanning of the exposure light source on the exposure surface.

<Problem to be Solved by the Invention> By the way, in a normal scanning exposure device, the light exposure length is changed by moving the position of the imaging lens and mirror in the forward and backward direction of the traveling direction of the reflected light, and the exposure It is configured to be able to enlarge or reduce the formed image by changing the magnification.

In other words, since the optical path length from the original to the imaging plane changes depending on the magnification, the exposure magnification can be expanded by moving the imaging lens away from the imaging plane, and conversely by moving the imaging lens closer to the imaging plane. Decrease the exposure magnification.

In such a scanning exposure apparatus, the width in the scanning direction of the reflected light that forms an image on the exposure surface (hereinafter referred to as the scanning width) varies depending on the exposure magnification. Assuming that the setting is 20 mm for double exposure and 5 ml for 1/2 exposure.

Therefore, the width of the slit placed just in front of the exposure surface is usually 16 to 201 mm in width in a scanning exposure device that has a scanning width of 1011111 mm and is capable of 1/2 to 2 times the exposure.
It is said to be about 1m.

Here, if the slit width just in front of the exposure surface is 16 mm, when performing isometric illumination or reduction exposure (even in enlargement exposure when the magnification is less than 1.6 times), the scanning width will be smaller than the slit width. The width is small, and there is a gap above and below the scanning direction of the reflected light in the slit, that is, the scanning width is 1 when the beam is equidistant.
Since it is a 〇-size, if the exposure is reduced by about 31.1/2 times in the upper and lower directions, a gap of about 5.5 mm will be created in the upper and lower directions since the scanning is 5III1.

Therefore, so-called flare light, such as diffusely reflected light from the imaging lens and light from the outside, enters the exposure surface through this gap, resulting in blurred images, blurred contours, etc., and it is impossible to obtain a good image.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art, and to provide a slit scanning exposure apparatus capable of enlarging exposure and reducing exposure, which To provide a scanning exposure device capable of always performing slit scanning exposure in a suitable state without allowing extra light that interferes with exposure to enter an exposure surface.

Means for Solving the Problems> In order to achieve the above objects, the present invention provides an exposure light source;
In a scanning exposure device that is equipped with a plurality of mirrors and an imaging lens that is movable at least in the forward and backward direction of the traveling direction of the exposure light beam and is capable of enlarging and reducing exposure, the slit width is variable according to the variable magnification. A scanning exposure device is provided, characterized in that at least one slit is provided near an exposure surface.

<Operation of the Invention> The scanning exposure device of the present invention is a scanning exposure device capable of enlarging and reducing, and has at least one variable slit near the exposure surface that can change the slit width according to the exposure magnification. It is.

Therefore, according to the scanning exposure apparatus of the present invention, in any of the cases of enlargement exposure, isoconference light, and reduction exposure, for example, if the scanning width in isofocus light is 10+am, the scanning width is 10 mm in isofocus light, and 1 /5IIf for 2x reduction exposure
fl, 20II11 for 2x magnification exposure, and the width in the scanning direction of the slit in front of the exposure surface can be set to the optimum width according to the scanning at that exposure magnification, and the diffused reflection light of the imaging lens, The light-sensitive material can be exposed in a good condition in which flare such as light from the outside does not enter the exposed surface.

In the present invention, the term "near the exposed surface" refers to a distance within 40 mg+ from the exposed surface.

<Embodiments> Hereinafter, a scanning exposure apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail based on preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of the scanning exposure apparatus of the present invention.

The scanning exposure device 150 shown in FIG.
The image of the document 130, which is fixed at
The photosensitive material A that is being scanned and conveyed is subjected to slit scanning exposure on the exposure surface 46a.

Such a scanning exposure apparatus 150 basically includes a light source unit 152 that is movable in the scanning direction indicated by arrow a, a mirror unit 154 that moves at 1/2 the speed in the same direction as the light source unit 152, and an optical path. The lens unit 156, which is movable in the front-rear direction along The variable slit 164 is arranged at the front in the direction of travel.

The light source unit 152 includes an exposure light source 166 made of a halogen lamp, a fluorescent lamp, or the like, which illuminates the original 130 , a flipper 168 that reflects light emitted from the exposure light source onto the original 130 , and a reflector 168 that reflects the light emitted from the exposure light source onto the original 130 . a mirror 17 that reflects reflected light (hereinafter referred to as reflected light) in a predetermined direction;
0 are integrally formed, and are configured to be movable on the lower surface of the document table 80 in the scanning direction indicated by arrow a by means not shown.

Note that a slit 172 is formed in the reflector 168 to define the width in the scanning direction when the reflected light passes through.

The mirror unit 154 has two integrally formed mirrors 174 and 176, and uses a means (not shown) to move 1/2 of the light source unit 152 in the direction indicated by the arrow in the same direction as the light source unit 152. , and reflects the reflected light in a predetermined direction indicated by the optical path.

The lens unit 156 is a combination of an imaging lens and a light control device that adjusts the amount and quality of reflected light, and includes a front lens group 178 and a rear lens group 180, which are imaging lenses, 178 and the rear group 180, a first color filter 182 consisting of a clear through filter, a cyan filter, and a magenta filter, a fixed aperture 184, and a second color filter 186 consisting of a clear through filter, a cyan filter, and a yellow filter; It has a variable aperture consisting of a pair of aperture plates 188a and 188b, which is arranged behind the rear lens group 180.

This lens unit 156 is movable in the front and rear directions of the optical path, and in the scanning exposure device 150, during exposure, the lens unit 156 can be moved forward to perform enlarged exposure, and also moved backward. This is to perform reduction exposure.

Note that when the predetermined placement position of the original 130 on the original platen 80 is at either end of the original platen 80 in the scanning direction and perpendicular direction, the lens unit 156 is configured to move forward and backward in the same plane as the optical path. Allows movement diagonally.

The shutter 158 switches the optical path between the sensor 160 side and the exposure surface 46a side, and is rotatably supported by a support shaft 190 at a position shown by a solid line and a position shown by a dotted line.

During normal exposure, this shutter 158 is placed at the position shown by the solid line in the figure to direct the optical path toward the exposure surface 46a.
In addition, during pre-scanning, white balance adjustment, etc., the sensor 16 rotates to the position shown by the dotted line in the figure and monitors the optical path.
Switch to the 0 side.

The sensor 160 measures the amount of light, light quality, etc. during pre-scanning and white balance, and depending on the measurement results, changes the type and type of color filter in the lens unit 156 described above.
The amount of insertion, etc., and the amount of light intensity adjustment with the variable aperture are determined,
be adjusted.

A variable slit 164 is arranged immediately in front of the partition wall 162 near the exposure surface 46a.

In the scanning exposure apparatus 150 of the present invention, by having this variable slit 164 near the exposure surface 46a,
A slit that defines the width in the scanning direction of the reflected light in front of the exposure surface 46a is formed with a gap above and below in the scanning direction of the reflected light depending on the scanning width at the magnification in any case of equal-magnification exposure, enlarged exposure, and reduced exposure. It is possible to optimally prevent flare light from occurring, and exposure can be performed in a favorable state in which flare light does not enter the exposure surface 46a.

An example of such a variable slit 164 is shown in FIG.

The variable slit 164 shown in FIG. 2 basically consists of a plate cam 194 and aperture plates 196 and 198.

The plate cam 194 includes an aperture 200 through which the exposure light beam passes;
Inclined grooves 202a and 202b that are downward to the right in FIG.
In addition, inclined grooves 204a and 204b which are upwardly slanted to the right, and a rack 206 are formed.

A stepping motor 212 is arranged on the rack 206 via a reduction gear 208 and a gear 210.

Such a plate cam 194 is fixed in the vertical direction (hereinafter referred to as the vertical direction) in the transverse direction (scanning direction) of the opening 200, and is movable in the left and right directions in the longitudinal direction (hereinafter referred to as the left and right direction). When the stepping motor 212 rotates clockwise, the stepping motor 21
2 moves to the left by rotating counterclockwise.

The diaphragm plates 19δ and 198 adjust the slit width by moving toward and away from each other, and a pin 196 is provided on the back surface of the diaphragm plate 196 (the rear surface in the traveling direction of the reflected light in the optical path).
a and pin 196b, and pins 198a and 198b are arranged on the back surface of the aperture plate 198, and pin 196a
is inserted into the inclined groove 202a, the pin 196b is inserted into the inclined groove 202b, the pin 198a is inserted into the inclined groove 2048, and the pin 198b is inserted into the inclined groove 204b, and is movable in the vertical direction and fixed in the horizontal direction by means not shown. is retained.

Such aperture plates 196 and 198 are connected to the plate cam 194.
As H') moves to the left, the plate 196 descends along the slopes 202a and 202b,
On the other hand, the aperture plate 198 rises along the inclined grooves 204a and 204b, and both aperture plates approach each other to narrow the slit width.

Furthermore, when the plate cam 194 moves to the right, the aperture plates move apart along the inclined grooves, and the slit width becomes wider.

In the scanning exposure apparatus of the present invention, such a variable slit 164 is disposed at least near the exposure surface, in the illustrated example, immediately in front of the partition wall 162, and the slit width is adjusted according to the exposure magnification as described above. .

The variable slit 164 applied to the scanning exposure device 150 of the present invention changes the scanning direction of the reflected light according to the scanning width during the same-magnification exposure, as shown in FIG. 3a. The slit width is such that there is no gap between the top and bottom.

During enlarged exposure, the diaphragm plate 19
6 and 198 are separated, the slit width becomes wider, and 3b
As shown in the figure, the slit width of the variable slit 164 is determined according to the scanning width at the time of magnification, and the slit width is such that no gap is created above and below in the scanning direction of the reflected light (as shown in Fig. 38 for 2x exposure). (twice the slit width).

On the other hand, during reduction exposure, both aperture plates come close to each other as described above, and the slit width becomes narrower, and as shown in FIG. During scanning, the slit width is set so that no gap is created above and below in the scanning direction of the reflected light (1/2 times the slit width shown in FIG. 38 for 1/2 times exposure).

In the scanning exposure apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to adjust the slit width according to the exposure magnification by using such a variable slit placed near the exposure surface, so the variable slit can be moved up and down in the scanning direction of reflected light. By adjusting the gap so that there is no gap, it is possible to perform good exposure without causing diffused reflection of the imaging lens or flare light such as external light to enter the exposure surface.

In the scanning exposure apparatus of the present invention, such a variable slit is arranged near the exposure surface. here,
In the present invention, the vicinity of the exposed surface means a distance of 40 mm from the exposed surface.
This is within ma+.

In the present invention, the arrangement position of such a variable slit is preferably closer to the exposure surface 46a, and preferably,
It is preferable to arrange it at a position within 20+sa+ from the exposure surface.

Further, the variable slit to which the present invention is applied is not limited to the one described above, and various methods such as a method in which two aperture plates are driven by a rack and pinion or the like can be used.

In the example shown in FIG.
However, in the present invention, since at least one variable slit is provided near the exposure surface, this variable aperture is not necessarily necessary.
The amount of light may be adjusted at this time using a variable slit placed near the exposure surface.

Although the above description has been made regarding an example in which the present invention is applied to a scanning exposure device of a moving light source type, the present invention is not limited to this, and can also be suitably applied to a scanning exposure device of a moving document table type. Of course it is.

FIG. 4 shows a scanning exposure apparatus 150 of the present invention as described above.
An example of application to a silver halide photocopying device is shown.

A silver halide photocopying apparatus 10 (hereinafter referred to as the copying apparatus 10) shown in the figure includes a photosensitive material supply unit 16 on the right side, an exposure unit 18 above it, and a processing unit 20 below it. ing.

Here, the exposure unit 18 is the scanning exposure device 1 described above.
50 is applied.

The photosensitive material supply section unit 16 has a photosensitive material conveyance path within the photosensitive material supply section frame 28, and a pair of magazines 30.32 are removably attached to the upper and lower sides, and photosensitive materials 34.36 are stored inside these magazines. are housed in a roll, respectively, and are taken out from the tip to the photosensitive material supply unit 16. - For example, 34 is a photosensitive material most suitable for copying a color printed original, and 36 is a photosensitive material most suitable for copying a color photographic original.

In front of the magazine 30, a conveying roller 42 for drawing out the photosensitive material 34 and a cutter 44 for cutting the photosensitive material 34 into a predetermined length are arranged.

Between the cutter 44 and the exposure section 46 are photosensitive material conveyance guides 48a, 48b, 48c and conveyance rollers 50.5.
2 is arranged to guide the cut photosensitive material 34 to the exposure section 46.

The exposure section 46 is a part that defines the exposure surface 46a of the photosensitive material 34. A glass plate 54 is fixed in this exposure section 46 facing the imaging optical system of the exposure section unit 18, and pressure is applied to the glass plate 54. A plate 56 is crimped.

A pair of conveyance rollers 58 and a pair of conveyance rollers 60 are provided on the upstream side (upper side) and the downstream side (lower side) of the exposure section 46, respectively.
is provided.

A conveyance guide 62 that guides the photosensitive material 1134 after exposure vertically downward is disposed below the exposure section 46, and a conveyance guide 66 that branches the conveyance path of the photosensitive material 34 (36) is arranged in the vertically intermediate portion thereof. A switching guide 64 is provided for switching to the processing section unit 20 through the switching section.

On the other hand, the magazine 32 disposed below the magazine 30 also has a conveying roller 68 and a cutter 70 corresponding to the photosensitive material 36, and in front thereof, conveying guides 72a, 7
2b and a conveyance roller 74 are arranged to convey the photosensitive material 36 to the conveyance guide 48a.

Since the exposure section unit 18 has the above-described scanning exposure device 150 commonly used and arranged in the exposure section frame 98, the same members are given the same numbers and their explanations will be omitted.

The processing section unit 20 includes a processing section 22 and a drying section 24. A developing tank 102, a bleaching/fixing tank 104, and a washing tank 106 and 108 are successively provided in the processing section 22,
The processing liquid filled inside these allows for development, bleaching,
The photosensitive material 34 (36) that has been fixed and washed with water is sent to the drying section 24.

In the drying section 24, the photosensitive material 34 (36) after being washed with water is dried and sent onto the take-out tray 110.

Hereinafter, the operation of the scanning exposure device 150 of the present invention as well as the operation when copying the original 130 using the copying apparatus 10 will be explained.

First, the original 130 is placed on the original table 80, and the original holder 1
5 is closed.

Next, when the copy magnification is set and a copy start button (not shown) of the copying device 10 is pressed, the exposure light source 166 is turned on.
lights up, the light source unit 152 starts scanning, and pre-scanning is started.

The reflected light enters the mirror 170, is reflected, is reflected by each mirror of the mirror unit 154 that moves in the same direction as the light source unit 152 at half the scanning speed, passes through the lens unit 156, and is reflected by the shutter 158. The light is reflected by the sensor 160, and the image information is read by the sensor 160, and exposure correction conditions are set.

After the pre-scan ends, the light source unit 152 and the mirror unit 154 return to the scanning start position, and the variable slit 164 is adjusted to a slit width according to the exposure magnification (copying magnification).

On the other hand, while the above-described prescanning and color filter and aperture correction are being performed, a photosensitive material necessary for copying according to the original is selected.

- For example, when the original 130 is a color photographic original, the photosensitive material 36 is selected, and when the transport motor (not shown) is driven, the transport rollers 68 and 74 move the photosensitive material 36
is fed out by a predetermined length, and the photosensitive material 3 is cut using a cutter O.
6 is cut to the required length.

Thereafter, the conveyance motor is driven again to transport the photosensitive material 36.
is sent to the exposure section 46 and waits just in front of the exposure surface 46a.

When the shutter 158 rotates to the position indicated by the solid line and exposure becomes possible, and the light source unit 152 starts main scanning of the original f.
starts scanning and conveying the photosensitive material 36 in synchronization with the scanning speed of the light source unit 152.

During main scanning, reflected light that is irradiated to the light source 166 of the light source unit 152 and reflected by the mirror 170 is reflected by each mirror of the mirror unit 154 that moves in the same direction at 1/2 the speed of the light source unit 152. It passes through a lens unit 156 whose color and aperture are suitably adjusted, then passes through a variable slit 164 whose slit width is suitably adjusted according to the exposure magnification, and is imaged on the exposure surface 46a.
The photosensitive material 36, which is scanned and conveyed in synchronization with the light source unit 152, is exposed by the roller pair 58 and 60.

Here, since the copying apparatus 10 is an apparatus to which the scanning exposure apparatus 150 of the present invention is applied, exposure can be performed in a good condition without flare entering the exposure surface 46a.

As this exposure progresses, the photosensitive material 36 is transferred to the conveying roller 58.
and 60, and is sent downward through the conveyance guide 62. In this case, the switching guide 64 does not act on the photosensitive material transport path, and the photosensitive material 36 sent from the exposure section 46 moves vertically downward within the transport guide 62.

When all exposure is completed, the shutter 96 is rotated to the position shown by the dotted line in FIG. 4, and the variable slit 164 is closed.

Next, each conveyance roller temporarily rotates in the opposite direction, and the exposed photosensitive material 36 moves up the conveyance guide 62, and a portion is conveyed into the conveyance guide 48c.

This reverse conveyance is stopped when the leading end of the photosensitive material 36 is upstream of the switching guide 64.

Thereafter, each conveyance roller is rotated again in the same direction as the initial conveyance direction. In this case, the switching guide 62 acts on the photosensitive material conveyance path and sends out the leading end of the photosensitive material 36 to the branch conveyance guide 66. Therefore, the leading end of the photosensitive material 36 is sent to the processing section 22 of the processing section unit 20 through the branch conveyance guide 66.

The exposed photosensitive material 36 sent into the processing section 22 is transferred to the developing tank 1.
02, bleached/fixed in bleach/fix 4i 104, thoroughly washed with water in washing tanks 106 and 108, sent to drying section 24, and taken out onto takeout tray 110 after drying.

Although the scanning exposure apparatus according to the present invention is configured as described above, the present invention is not limited to this, and various improvements and changes in design can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. Of course.

<Effects of the Invention> The scanning exposure apparatus of the present invention has at least the following in the vicinity of the exposure surface:
A variable slit whose width can be changed according to the exposure magnification is arranged.

Therefore, in any of the cases of enlargement exposure, constant exposure, and reduction exposure, for example, during scanning in constant exposure, 10
If it is mm, the width in the scanning direction of the reflected light in front of the exposure surface is defined as 10 mm for equal exposure, 5 mg + for 1/2 reduction exposure, and 20 mm for 2 times enlargement exposure. The slit can be made to have an optimal slit width that does not create a gap above and below in the scanning direction of the reflected light, depending on the exposure magnification.

Therefore, when exposing photosensitive materials, etc., it is possible to significantly reduce the intrusion of diffusely reflected light from the imaging lens and flare light such as light from the outside into the exposure surface, allowing exposure of photosensitive materials in good conditions. can be done.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a scanning exposure apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the operation applied to the scanning exposure apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an example in which the scanning exposure apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is applied to a silver halide photocopying apparatus. Description of symbols 10... Copying device, 12... Apparatus main body, 15... Document holder, 16... Photosensitive material supply section unit, 18... Exposure section unit, 20... Processing section unit, 22... Processing section, 24... Drying section, 28... Photosensitive material supply section frame, 30. 32... Magazine, 34. 36... Photosensitive material, 38... Opening/closing lid, 42. 68... Conveyance roller, 46... Exposure section, 46a... Exposure surface, 54... Glass plate, 56... Press plate, 58.60... Conveyance roller, 64... Switching guide , 80... Document table, 98... Exposure section frame, 102... Developer tank, 104... Bleaching/fixing tank, 106.108... Washing tank, 110... Take-out tray, 130. ... Original document, 150 ... Scanning exposure device, 152 ... Light source unit, 154 ... Mirror unit, 156 ... Lens unit, 158 ... Shutter, 160 ... Sensor, 162 ... Partition wall , 164...Variable slit, 166...Light source for exposure, 168...Reflector, 170.174,176°192...Mirror 172...Slit, 178...
... Lens front group, 180... Lens rear group, 182... First color filter, 184... Fixed aperture, 186... Second color filter, 188a, 188b, 196, 198 - Aperture plate, 190... Support shaft, 194... Plate cam, 196a, 196b, 198a. 198b...Bin, 200...Opening, 202a, 202b, 204c. 204d... Inclined groove, 206... Rack, 208... Reduction gear, 210... Gear, 212... Stepping motor FIG, 3b Procedure correction () (voluntary) 1. Display of the case 1999 Patent Application No. 040006 2, Name of the invention Scanning exposure device 3, Person making the amendment Relationship to the case Patent applicant name (520) Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. 4,
Agent Address: 101 Telephone: 864-4498 3-2-2 Iwamoto-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Column 6 of "Detailed Description of the Invention" of the Specification, Contents of Amendment (1) Page 5, Line 5 of the Specification The eye "will arise"
After the description, insert the following statement: ``Also, when double exposure is used, the loss in terms of light quantity becomes large.'' (2) The statement "Does not intrude" on the fourth line of page 7 is corrected to "Does not intrude, and furthermore, light loss during enlarged exposure is prevented."

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A scanning exposure device that is equipped with an exposure light source, a plurality of mirrors, and an imaging lens movable at least in the forward and backward direction of the traveling direction of the exposure light flux, and is capable of enlarging and reducing exposure, with variable magnification. A scanning exposure apparatus characterized in that at least one variable slit is provided in the vicinity of an exposure surface to change the slit width accordingly.