JPH0342260A - Image recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make compact a device without deteriorating stability of convey ance by a method wherein a supply magazine and a receive magazine are ar ranged nearly radially centering a contact point of a subscan drum with a sheet. CONSTITUTION:A sheet separated from an inside of a supply magazine 151 falls by gravity, and penetrates into a first carrying path prepared by guide plates 159, 160. The sheet 152 is subscanned to be carried from downside to upside, and enters a second carrying path constructed by guide plates 162, 163 from a top of the sheet. At a point of time when recording is ended, a rear end part of the sheet is pinched between a drum 156 and a nip roller 157. The drum 156 is reversely rotated to carry the sheet from upside to downside, and an upper end part of the sheet is returned near to a recording position. Then, the roller 155 is brought into pressure contact with the drum 156 to orient the top part of the sheet in a direction of left slant upper storing pair of rollers 165, 166, and the sheet is sent into a receive magazine 169.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus that scans a recording sheet by deflecting a light beam and records an image.

[Prior Art] An example of a conventional image recording device is shown in FIG. In the figure, 17
Reference numeral 1 designates unused photosensitive sheets, which are stacked and stored in a supply magazine 172 disposed vertically at the top with the emulsion photosensitive surface facing toward the bottom of the magazine. A suction cup 174 connected to an air pump 173 is provided above the tip of the seat 171. Suction cup 174 is supply magazine 172
It is possible to advance and retreat against the air pump 173 when approaching.
The topmost sheet of the supply magazine is removed by the suction action of
Aspirate the sheet. When the sheet 171 is sucked, the suction cup 174
exits from the supply magazine 172 and guide plate 175
．． Move to the guide gate consisting of 176. At the same time, the suction operation of the air pump stops, and the sheet 171 uses the guide plates 175 and 176 as a kite to move the roller pair 177 for use on ships.
．． It falls under its own weight to 178. The pair of rollers 177 and 178 sandwich the sheet 171 and transport it downward by rotational drive.
The sheet 171 reaches the stopper 184 through the space between the sub-scanning drum 179 and the pair of nip rollers 180 and 181, and through the guide plates 182 and 183. Nip roller pair 180.1
81 is capable of moving toward and away from the sub-scanning drum 179;
When the sheet 171 is fed by the pair of rollers 177 and 178, it is retracted from the conveyance path. Also, stopper 18
4 can move forward and backward with respect to the feeding path, and are arranged in advance in accordance with the size of the sheet 171 to be fed. When the sheet 171 reaches the stopper 184, roller pair 1
77.178, and the upper end of the sheet 171 is connected to the sub-scanning drum 179 and the nip roller 180.
181, and the seat 171 is in an unrestrained state. In this state, the width adjusting device 18 shown in FIG.
5a and 185b operate, and the sheet 171 is accurately positioned.

Next, the nip roller pair 180, 181 is moved to the sub-scanning drum 1.
79, the sheet 171 is sandwiched, and the rotation of the sub-scanning drum 179 conveys the sheet 171 from below to above (in the direction of the guide plates 186 and 187). Recording is immediately performed by the light beam irradiated from the optical system 188, but the scanning drum 179 on the recording side is rotating at a constant speed, and the pair of nip rollers 180 and 181 also press the sub-scanning drum 179 and rotate accordingly.

Furthermore, in order to obtain a highly accurate image during recording, highly accurate constant speed feeding is required, so the pair of rollers 189 and 190 in front of the sheet 171 in the feeding direction is prevented from coming into contact with the sheet 171 during recording. It is evacuated from the sheet conveyance path so that it is not present.

The sheet 171 on which the image has been formed in this manner is discharged, and the sheet can be discharged in two directions. In the first ejecting direction, the pair of rollers 189 and 190 come into pressure contact with each other after recording ends, sandwiching the sheet 171 and rotatingly driving the sheet 171 to the other side.・Board! 91, and then sent to an automatic developing path, etc. The second discharge direction is when the stopper 184 is retracted and the paper is discharged by the conveyance rollers 192, 193, etc. provided below the stopper 184. After the recording is completed, the stopper 184 is retracted, and at the same time, the sheet is released from being nipped by the nip rollers 180 and 181. Then, the sheet 171 falls under its own weight and passes between the guide plates 182, 183, and the roller pair 192.
193 and discharged to a receive magazine or the like.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, the conventional device described above has a problem in that the device becomes large due to its configuration. The sheet 171 for which recording has been completed is stored in the receive magazine by retracting the stopper 184, allowing the sheet to fall under its own weight and being sandwiched between a pair of discharge rollers 192 and 193, and then discharged via the guide plate 194 located further below. . Temporarily guide plate 19
Even if the seat that was facing downward is turned upward again and the receive magazine is placed in the upper opening space to make effective use of the space, the guide plate +94
The conveyor sheet must be turned upwards suddenly,
The seat is damaged due to large friction between the seat and the guide plate. Therefore, the guide plate requires a large radius of curvature. Therefore, from the supply magazine 172 to the guide plate 1
The distance 11 Lo from 94 is theoretically the beam, assuming that the total length of the sheet is . >2Lr, and in general, =3
L, degree. Furthermore, even if the receive magazine is placed ahead of the guide plate 191, it is obvious that the overall width or height of the entire device will increase.

This is the configuration of the conventional example. One possible method for reducing the overall width is to arrange the receive magazine near the top of the drum. However, in this case, there is a strong possibility that the leading edge of the sheet will come into contact with the upper surface of the recorded sheet in the stacked receive magazine while recording is being performed. As a result, the conveyance resistance of the sheet increases significantly, and furthermore, it is thought that the change in resistance force becomes more severe.

This is because the upper surface of the sheet has a high coefficient of friction and has poor conditions regarding static electricity and stickiness.This increases unevenness in the conveying speed of the sheet, that is, the sub-scanning speed, leading to image deterioration.

The present invention, which solves the above problems, aims to make the device more compact without deteriorating the transport stability.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems comprises a sub-scanning means for feeding a sheet at a constant speed, a means for irradiating a recording light beam to a recording position near the sub-scanning means, A first transport path and a second transport path are provided in different directions from the contact point between the sub-scanning means and the sheet, and each has a length approximately equal to the sheet length.
unused sheet storage means and used sheet storage means are arranged approximately radially from the contact point between the sub-scanning means and the sheet, and unused sheets are carried in from the unused sheet storage means and recorded. The recording medium is characterized by having one stage of feeding means for transporting the sheet fed at a constant speed between the first transport path and the second transport path to the used sheet storage means after recording is completed. This is an image recording device.

[Examples] Examples of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a medical image recording apparatus.

In the figure, 152 is a stack of unused recording sheets stored in a supply magazine 151. Note that a photosensitive film is generally used as the recording sheet. 15
3 is a suction cup supported by a link mechanism (not shown).

The suction cup 153 sucks the topmost sheet of the stacked unused sheets 152, and lifts the sheet vertically upward relative to the supply magazine 151 using the link mechanism described above, thereby leaving the topmost sheet unused. separated from the laminated sheet. A guide plate 154 is provided diagonally below the supply magazine 151, and a roller 155 is further provided below the guide plate 154. The roller 155 has a mechanism that can move toward and away from the circumferential surface of the sub-scanning drum 156, and when the roller 155 is separated from the sub-scanning drum 156, the conveyance path of the sheet +52 sent from above is It is located at the periphery and serves as a guide plate. Conversely, when the roller 155 is in pressure contact with the sub-scanning drum 156, the sub-scanning drum, which rotates at a constant speed, rotates as a result of the rotation of the sub-scanning drum, thereby removing the sheet 1 sandwiched between them.
52 is held and conveyed.

158 is an optical system that includes a laser light source, a polygon mirror that scans the beam in one direction, and the like. The laser beam emitted by the optical system scans the vicinity below the nip roller 157, and main scans the sheet 152 that is sub-scanned by the drum 156, forming a predetermined image as a latent image. There are two guide plates 159 below the drum 156.
．． 160 are arranged in parallel to form a route. Both guide plates 1
59 and 160 are arranged at symmetrical positions with respect to the tangent line in the circumferential direction of the drum 156 and the nip roller 157, and the surface that contacts the sheet 152 has a small conveyance resistance. It has a smooth finish.

Below the lower openings of the guide plates 159 and 160 there is a stopper 161 that blocks the openings. The stopper 161 is a drum! 56 and the nip roller 157 are arranged parallel to the axial intersection line formed by contacting the nip roller 157, and by contacting the lower end of the sheet 152 fed from above, the sheet is made parallel to the drum 156. position and correct the tilt. Further, the stopper 161 is disposed at a predetermined position corresponding to the size of the sheet to be used. That is, when the sheet 152 contacts the stopper 161, the stopper 1 is placed at a distance such that the upper end of the sheet 152 is sandwiched between the drum 156 and the nip roller 157.
61 are arranged. Above the tram 156, two guide plates 162 and 163 are arranged in parallel. Note that, like the previous guide plates 159 and 160, they are arranged at symmetrical positions with respect to the tangent line in the circumferential direction of the tram 156 and the nip roller 157, and the surface on which the sheet 152 comes into contact has a conveying resistance. It has a smooth finish to make it smaller. Guide plate 159.160 and guide plate 162.16
The paths created by 3 are arranged in a straight line.

Near the diagonally upper part of the tram 156 are a guide plate 164, a pair of storage rollers 165 and +66, and a pair of storage rollers 1.
A push rod 67 for pushing sheets conveyed by 65 and 166 into the receive magazine 169 and a guide plate 168 are provided in this order to constitute a sheet storage system.

Hereinafter, the path formed by the guide plates 159 and 160 will be referred to as a first conveyance path, and the path formed by the guide plates 162 and 163 will be referred to as a second conveyance path.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

First, the suction cylinder 153 moves into the supply magazine 151, and at the same time suction operation is started, and the supply magazine 15
The top sheet of the sheets stacked in 1 is suctioned.

Next, the suction stops when only the suctioned sheet is lifted upward and separated. The separated sheet is guided by the guide plate 154, roller 55, falls under its own weight, passes between the drum 156 and the nip roller 157, which is located above the tram 156, and passes through the guide plate 159.
It enters the first conveyance path created at 160.

A stopper 161 is provided at the end of the first general feeding path, and the sheet that reaches the stopper 161 has its inclination corrected.

Next, the nip roller 157 comes into pressure contact with the drum 156 to nip the upper end of the sheet 152, and then the drum 156 starts rotating at a constant speed counterclockwise in the figure. Due to the rotational drive of the drum, the sheet 152 is conveyed in a sub-scanning direction from below to above, and the sheet 152 is conveyed from the leading end of the sheet to the guide plate 162.1.
63. Since the surface that guides the sheet in the second conveyance path is finished smoothly, there is no conveyance resistance to the sheet, and stable constant-speed conveyance of the sheet is possible.

When sub-scanning of the sheet is started, the optical system 15B6)
The laser beam is main scanned on the sheet, and two laser beams are scanned on the sheet.
Record the latent image dimensionally.

When recording is finished, the rear end of the sheet is on the drum 15.
6 and the nip roller 157, and most of the sheet has moved to the second conveyance path. Kokote drum 156
rotates in the reverse direction, conveys the sheet from above to below, and returns the upper pi+5 portion of the sheet to near the recording position. Next, the roller 155 is brought into pressure contact with the drum 156, and the leading end of the sheet is directed toward the storage roller pair 165 and 166 diagonally above and to the left. Again, the drum 156 is driven to rotate counterclockwise in the figure, and the sheet passes through the guide plate 164 and is delivered to the storing roller pair 1.
65. Transport to 166. Storage roller pair 165.16
When the sheet 152 is sandwiched between the rollers 165 and 169, the roller 155 and the nip roller 157 are separated from the drum, and the pair of storage rollers 165 and 166 start rotating in the direction of the arrow in the figure to feed the sheet into the receive magazine 169. Finally, the push rod 167 pushes the rear end of the sheet into the receive magazine 169, thereby reliably storing the sheet in the receive magazine 169 and completing the sheet recording operation.

It should be noted that this embodiment is not limited to the above configuration; for example, various modifications such as those described below are possible.

In the two series embodiment, when returning the sheet from the 2nd I2 feeding path to the 11th!2nd feeding path after recording, the sub-scanning drum 156
Although the sheet was returned by rotating in the reverse direction in the opposite direction to that during recording, the nip roller 157 may be separated from the drum 156 after recording, and the sheet may be allowed to fall by its own weight and returned. In this way, the sub-scanning drum 156 only needs to rotate in the counterclockwise direction in the figure, and reverse rotation control becomes unnecessary.

Furthermore, when the sheet is conveyed from the $1 conveyance path to the receive magazine after recording is completed, the roller 155 is brought into pressure contact with the drum 156 to change the direction of the leading edge of the sheet. You may also be provided with guidance. Specifically, when feeding sheets from the supply magazine and recording, the guide plate escapes from the conveyance path.
When carrying out a sheet to a receive magazine, a guide plate enters a conveyance path and directs the sheet toward the receive magazine.

Further, in the above embodiment, recording was performed while moving the sheet from the first conveyance path to the second conveyance path, but in contrast to this, the sheet taken out from the supply magazine is once transferred to the second conveyance path.
After moving to the conveyance path, recording may be performed while sub-scanning toward the first conveyance path, that is, from the top to the bottom in the figure, and then the recording may be carried out to the receive magazine.

In this embodiment, the total height is from the upper end of the supply magazine +52 to the stopper 161.

If the sheet length is Lf, then Lo'42L is sufficient, and as a result, the size of the device becomes compact.

In addition, the sub-scanning conveyance path formed by the first conveyance path and the second conveyance path is arranged in a straight line, and the inside of the path is smoothed so that there is little conveyance resistance, so that stable sub-scanning can be performed. You can get high quality images.

Next, a modification of the present invention will be explained below.

In the above embodiment, the supply magazine and the receive magazine are arranged in a substantially parallel group 01 shape with the second conveyance path in between, but both magazines and magazines are arranged approximately radially around the contact point between the sub-scanning tram and the sheet. If so, the present invention is effective. For example, either the supply magazine or the receive magazine may be arranged at the bottom in the figure. In this case, the supply magazine and the receive magazine may be arranged on opposing sides or on the same side with the continuous path of the first transport path and the second transport path interposed therebetween.

The apparatuses of the embodiments described above can take any posture, and may be rotated 90 degrees and placed horizontally, or may be placed upside down.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, the entire apparatus can be made compact without deteriorating the image recorded on the sheet.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention. Figures 2 and 3 are configuration diagrams of conventional examples; The main item 7) in the diagram is 151...Supply magazine, 156... Sub-scanning tram, 158...optical system, 162. 163...Guide plate, 69 ...Receive Magazine,

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) Sub-scanning means for feeding the sheet at a constant speed; means for emitting a recording light beam to a recording position near the sub-scanning means; , a first conveyance path and a second conveyance path each having a length approximately equal to the sheet length; unused sheet storage means and used sheet storage arranged approximately radially from the contact point of the sub-scanning means and the sheet. means, carrying in an unused sheet from the unused sheet storage means;
The apparatus further comprises a feeding means for conveying the sheet fed at a constant speed between the first conveyance path and the second conveyance path during recording to the used sheet storage means after recording is completed. image recording device. (2) sub-scanning means for feeding the sheet at a constant speed; means for emitting a recording light beam to a recording position near the sub-scanning means; , a first conveyance path and a second conveyance path each having a length approximately equal to the sheet length, unused sheet storage means disposed approximately in parallel with the first or second conveyance path, and used sheet storage. means, carrying in an unused sheet from the unused sheet storage means;
The apparatus further comprises a feeding means for conveying the sheet fed at a constant speed between the first conveyance path and the second conveyance path during recording to the used sheet storage means after recording is completed. image recording device. (3) The image recording apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first and second transport paths are arranged linearly.