JPH044585B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a color image recording apparatus in which a recording medium is repeatedly reciprocated or circulated around a recording section to obtain color images.

2. Description of the Related Art A known color image recording device sends an electric signal to a multipolar electrostatic recording head, which is a set of latent image forming means, and forms positive and negative electrostatic latent images on a recording paper made of an electrostatic recording sheet. A dot is formed, two types of colored toners of different colors are charged to different polarities, and developed by being attached to the electrostatic latent image dot, and this is fixed by heating etc. to form two visible colors. A method to create a statue has been announced.

However, with this method, multicolor recording of more than two colors is not possible, and forming an electrostatic latent image of positive polarity on recording paper is more difficult than forming an electrostatic latent image of negative polarity. There were drawbacks such as a low probability of dot formation.

Therefore, the conventional monochrome recording using only a negative electrostatic latent image is repeated multiple times by synchronizing the recording position and changing only the toner color to perform color recording in three or more colors. The following color image recording apparatuses can be considered.

FIG. 4 is a simplified perspective view of essential parts of an example of a color image recording apparatus according to the conventional concept, and FIG. 5 is a control block diagram as well. A recording paper 1 made of an electrostatic recording sheet is connected to a drive motor 3 and this drive motor 3.
It is configured to be driven along a predetermined path in the direction of arrow A, which is the forward direction, and in the opposite direction thereof, by a conveyance means consisting of paper feed rollers 2a and 2b, which are driven by. A pulse generator PG4 is directly connected to the drive motor 3, and generates PG pulses according to the rotation of the drive motor 3, that is, every time the recording paper 1 moves a certain distance. A multi-needle electrode electrostatic head 6 is a latent image forming means for forming electrostatic latent image dots on the recording paper 1 along a predetermined path of the recording paper 1.
Further, a plurality of developing devices (red developing device 7a, blue developing device 7b, yellow developing device 7c) to which developing solutions of respective colors are supplied are provided downstream in the conveyance direction of the recording paper 1.
is provided. Further, a fixing device 8 is provided downstream of the plurality of developing devices. The multi-needle electrode electrostatic head 6 spreads over the entire width of the surface of the recording paper 1 at an angle of 0.1
Electrostatic latent image dots having negative polarity are selectively formed at mm intervals according to commands from the control device 9.
The red developing device 7a, the blue developing device 7b, and the yellow developing device 7c develop the electrostatic latent image with red, blue, and yellow toners according to instructions from the control device 9, respectively, and the fixing device 8 is also controlled by the control device 9. Recording paper 1 passing under it according to the command of device 9
By heating the toner, the toner is melted and fixed. The image data storage device 10 stores data in which the image to be recorded is separated into red, blue, and yellow hues at intervals of 0.1 mm, corresponding to the positive traveling direction of the recording paper 1 for each red, blue, and yellow hue. stored in order. The counter 11 is for generating synchronous timing pulses, and the recording paper 1 is 0.1mm
PG while the drive motor 3 rotates to
A timing pulse is sent to the control device 9 upon receiving n (constant) PG pulses generated by 4.

The manner in which color images are recorded by this apparatus will be described below. When an instruction to start recording is given to the control device 9, the control device 9 issues a command to the drive motor 3 to rotate in the forward direction, and at the same time retrieves the data of the first column of red from the image data storage device 10 and performs multiple operations according to the data. A command is issued to the needle electrode electrostatic head 6 to form an electrostatic latent image dot on the surface of the recording paper 1. Furthermore, an operation command is sent to the red developing device 7a and the fixing device 8 at the same time. As the drive motor 3 that conveys the recording paper 1 rotates, a counter 11 counts the PG pulses emitted from the PG 4 directly connected to it, and counts n PG pulses.
Generates a timing pulse every time a pulse is received. Every time the control device 9 receives a timing pulse from the counter 11, it sequentially retrieves data from the image data storage device 10, issues a command to the multi-needle electrode electrostatic head 6 according to the data, and prints the data on the surface of the recording paper 1. An electrostatic latent image dot is formed. At the same time, the control device 9 counts the number of received timing pulses in a built-in register. In this way, the red color data of the image to be recorded stored in the image data storage device 10 is recorded as electrostatic latent image dots at 0.1 mm intervals on the surface of the recording paper 1 fed in the direction of arrow A. When the recorded area reaches the red developing device 7a, it is developed with red toner, and when it reaches the fixing device 8, it is heated and fixed. The control device 9 is the image data storage device 1
When information indicating the END of red data is read from 0, data is not read from the image data storage device 10 even if a timing pulse from the counter 11 is received.

When the installation interval between the multi-needle electrostatic head 6 and the fixing device 8 in the moving direction of the recording paper 1 is Lmm, the number of PG pulses generated by the PG 4 while the recording paper 1 moves this distance is α×L/0.1 Since the number of timing pulses generated by the counter 11 is L/0.1, the information indicating the END of the red data is transmitted to the control device 9.
After the recording paper 1 is read, the recording paper 1 is continued to be fed until it receives L/0.1+δ timing pulses, which is slightly more than the number of timing pulses mentioned above, and then the motor 3 is stopped, thereby developing and fixing the red record to be recorded. All completed. The control device 9 stops the drive motor 3 and at the same time stops the red developing device 7.
Operation commands to a and the fixing device 8 are also stopped. At this time, it is assumed that the number of contents of the timing pulse counting register in the control device 9 has become Z.

After the drive motor 3 is stopped upon completion of fixing the red recording as described above, the drive motor 3 is immediately reversed to drive the recording paper 1 in the direction opposite to the arrow A. At this time, the counter 11 generates a timing pulse every time it receives n PG pulses from the PG 4, and subtracts it from the timing pulse counting register in the control device 9. When the contents of the register become 0, the drive motor 3 is stopped. In this way, the recording paper 1 is stopped so that the portion where the red color is first recorded is positioned directly below the multi-needle electrode electrostatic head 6.
However, in order to accurately stop the recording paper 1 at the starting point in this manner, it is necessary to also use a speed loop to accurately control the speed.

Next, the control device 9 issues a command for normal rotation to the drive motor 3, and also retrieves data for the first column of blue color from the image data storage device 10 and issues a command to the multi-needle electrode electrostatic head 6. At the same time as forming electrostatic latent image dots on the surface of the completed recording paper 1, an operation command is sent to the blue developing device 7b and the fixing device 8. Thereafter, as in the case of red recording, the control device 9 receives timing pulses from the counter 11, sequentially takes out blue image data from the image data storage device 10, and uses the multi-needle electrode electrostatic head 6 to read the blue image data from the surface of the recording paper 1. to form electrostatic latent image dots. When the recorded area reaches the blue developing device 7b, it is developed with blue toner, and when it further reaches the fixing device 8, it is heated and fixed. At this time, the previously fixed red toner is also remelted by the heat, so in the overlapping area of the red toner and blue toner, the blue toner is mixed with the red toner, resulting in subtractive color mixing. When the control device 9 reads the information indicating the END of blue data from the image data storage device 10, it stops reading the image data as in the case of red recording, and then the recording paper 1 is further read by L/0.1+.
δ timing pulse reception periods are sent to complete the development and fixing of the blue recording, and the blue developing head 7
b and the fixing device 8 are stopped, and
The drive motor 3 is reversed to return the recording paper 1 to the starting point and start the next recording.

The yellow recording is the same as the blue recording except that the yellow developing device 7c is used instead of the blue developing device 7b, so a description thereof will be omitted.
After reading the information indicating , the recording paper 1 is further sent for L/0.1+δ timing pulse reception periods to complete the fixing of the yellow recording, thereby completing all multicolor recording.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, with this configuration, there is a problem in that color misregistration occurs in each color in the conveying direction of the recording paper, resulting in a color image that is not suitable for practical use.

The above problem arises for the following reasons. That is, if the recording paper is moved back and forth for each color as described above, the recording paper will expand and contract during that time. This expansion and contraction poses almost no problem when recording small-sized color images, but in color image recording apparatuses that handle large recording sheets such as A1 and A0 sizes, it causes large color shifts.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and provides a color image recording device that can prevent color shift due to expansion and contraction of recording paper, and can obtain clear color images with less color shift. The purpose is to

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention includes a conveying means for reciprocating or circulating a recording medium along a predetermined conveyance path, and a means for conveying a recording medium in a reciprocating or circulating manner along a predetermined conveyance path; A latent image that forms a latent image corresponding to a recorded image within an image recording area on a recording medium, and also forms a latent image corresponding to registration marks continuously spaced at approximately equal intervals outside the image recording area on the recording medium. forming means, and visualizing the latent images corresponding to the recorded image formed on the recording medium by the latent image forming means in different colors, and making the latent images corresponding to the registration marks visible in a single color; A distance that is the sum of at least the distance between the registration marks and the maximum elongation amount of the recording medium corresponding to the distance between the registration marks, upstream of the plurality of developing means for image formation and the latent image forming means in the recording medium conveyance direction. Recording in which a composite color image is formed by repeating latent image formation and development multiple times for each color in the same image recording area of the recording medium by operating the registration mark detection means provided at a distance from each other and the conveyance means. and a timing control means for aligning the recording position in the conveyance direction of the recording medium based on the interval between the registration marks detected by the registration mark detection means when forming a latent image by the recording control means. It is something that

Effects The present invention has the above-described configuration, so that the latent image formation position of each color is corrected based on the expansion and contraction in the conveyance direction of the recording medium based on the detection result of the registration mark formed on the recording medium. It is possible to prevent the accompanying color shift and obtain clear color images.

Further, in the present invention, the detection means for detecting the registration marks is placed upstream of the latent image forming means in the recording medium conveyance direction at a distance that is at least the sum of the distance between the registration marks and the maximum elongation amount of the recording medium corresponding to the distance between the registration marks. By separating them, the distance between the detected registration marks (a value that takes into account the amount of expansion and contraction of the recording medium in addition to the actual measured value between the registration marks on the recording medium) is reliably used when forming a latent image. The latent image forming position of each color can be corrected by using the above method, and the overlapping process of color images can be executed more accurately.

Embodiment FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a color image recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a control block diagram as well, and the same reference numerals as in FIGS. 4 and 5 are the same. Or indicates parts that have the same function.

The recording paper 1 is driven along a predetermined path in the direction of arrow A and in the opposite direction by a conveyance means consisting of a drive motor 3 directly connected to the PG 4 and paper feed rollers 2a and 2b driven by this drive motor 3. It is structured as follows.

Similar to the conventional configuration, a multi-needle electrode electrostatic head 6, which is a latent image forming means that sequentially forms electrostatic latent image dots on the recording paper 1 along a predetermined path of the recording paper 1, is supplied with developer of each color. a plurality of developing devices (red developing device 7a, blue developing device 7b, yellow developing device 7c),
A fixing device 8 is provided. In the case of this device,
The mark reader 5, which is a detection means for reading the registration marks formed at equal intervals in the recording paper transport direction on the portion of the recording paper 1 outside the normal image recording area, when recording images of the second and subsequent colors, is a multi-needle electrode. It is provided on the upstream side of the head 6 in the recording paper conveyance direction.

A counter 11' generates timing pulses for synchronous recording, a counter 12 mainly counts timing pulses between read registration marks, a calculator 13, and a counter 14 mainly counts timing pulses between read registration marks. This device is used to monitor the writing of marks and the intervals between the read marks, and also performs the operation of forming electrostatic latent image dots in alignment with the mark center position together with the counter 14'. The operation is controlled by a control device 9'.

That is, counters 11', 12, 14, 14',
The arithmetic unit 13 and the control device 9' function as timing control means for aligning the recording positions of the electrostatic latent image dots corresponding to each color in the conveying direction of the recording paper based on the interval between the registration marks.

A registration mark image pattern for recording a registration mark outside the regular image recording area near the side edge of the recording paper 1 using the multi-needle electrode electrostatic head 6 is stored in the control device 9'. In this device, this registration mark is a solid circle with a diameter of 1 mm, and is recorded simultaneously only when the first color image is recorded, but every time the first color image receives n PG pulses, In the device, recording paper 1 is 0.1
While the mark is recorded every mm, the mark is recorded every n of PG pulses due to this image recording mode.
The apparatus is configured to record every time ×K=N pieces are received, that is, every time the recording paper 1 is advanced by 10 mm.

Due to the elasticity of the recording paper 1 used, as mentioned above,
When the number of PG pulses to be sent is N+α when the length of N PG pulses is extended to the maximum, the mark reader 5 sends the number of PG pulses in front of the multi-needle electrode electrostatic head 6. They are placed N+α apart. This means that the mark reader 5 moves the recording paper 1 upstream in the transport direction of the multi-needle electrode electrostatic head 6 to the distance N between the registration marks and the maximum elongation amount α of the recording paper corresponding to the distance between the registration marks. and are spaced apart by the sum of the distances. This is to ensure that the actually measured distance between registration marks is used to form a latent image between the registration marks. Also, the length of the recording paper 1 which has a length of Lmm from the multi-needle electrode electrostatic head 6 to the fixing device 8 should be sent when it is stretched to the maximum.
Let the number of PG pulses be Nα.

As described in the explanation of FIGS. 4 and 5, the image data storage device 10 stores image data for each hue of red, blue, and yellow.

Hereinafter, the aspect of multicolor recording by this apparatus will be explained.

When an instruction to start recording is given to the control device 9', preparations are made for recording the first color, that is, red. The number N of PG pulses at the mark recording interval is set in the counter 14 and the arithmetic unit 13. Arithmetic unit 13 is N/k=n
The calculation is performed and the result n is set in the counter 11'. As a result, the counter 11' generates a timing pulse every time it receives n PG pulses.

After the above preparation is completed, the control device 9' issues a normal rotation command to the drive motor 3 to start feeding the recording paper 1 in the direction of arrow A, and at the same time, it starts feeding the recording paper 1 into a solid circle with a diameter of 1 mm according to the mark image pattern stored in the built-in memory. A signal that is to become a registration mark image of the mark begins to be transmitted to the multi-needle electrode electrostatic head 6. Furthermore, at the same time, the control device 9' sends operation commands to the red developing device 7a containing red toner and the fixing device 8.

The counter 11' is a PG connected directly to the drive motor 3.
A timing pulse is generated every time n PG pulses are received from the recording paper 1, and the control device 9' sends the registration mark image signal to the multi-needle electrode electrostatic head 6 in synchronization with this timing pulse. Electrostatic latent image dots having negative polarity are formed near the edges. On the other hand, the counter 14 counts the PG pulses emitted from the PG4.

When the recording paper 1 is advanced by 0.5 mm, that is, when the control device 9' receives the fifth timing pulse from the counter 11', it retrieves the first data of the red image from the image data storage device 10 and records the center position of the registration mark. A red image signal is sent to the multi-needle electrode electrostatic head 6 at the same time as the registration mark signal. Thereafter, every time the control device 9' receives a timing pulse from the counter 11', it sequentially retrieves data from the image data storage device 10, issues a command to the multi-needle electrode electrostatic head 6 in accordance with the data, and creates a registration mark image. While the pattern continues, only the red image is formed as electrostatic latent image dots on the surface of the recording paper 1, together with the registration mark.

The counter 14, which counts PG pulses, issues a registration mark signal to the control device 9' every time it receives N PG pulses, thereby starting registration mark recording. Therefore, a mark is recorded every time the recording paper 1 is fed by N PG pulses.

The electrostatic latent image dots recorded at 0.1 mm intervals on the surface of the recording paper 1 have their recorded portions in the red developing device 7a.
When the toner reaches the part , it is developed with red toner, and when it reaches the fixing device 8, it is heated and fixed.

When the control device 9' reads information indicating red data END from the image data storage device 10, it prevents reading of data from the image data storage device 10 even if a timing pulse is received from the counter 11', and the counter 14 After the multi-needle electrode electrostatic head 6 has completed recording the electrostatic latent image dots of the last registration mark, the counter 14 is set to Nα. As described above, this Nα is the number of PG pulses corresponding to the length when the recording paper 1 is stretched to the maximum, and with this set, the recording paper 1 is conveyed by a certain amount even if the end information is read.

Thereafter, the drive motor 3 continues to rotate normally to perform red color development and fixing, and when the counter 14 receives Nα PG pulses, the drive motor 3 is stopped and the feeding of the recording paper 1 is stopped. Even when the recording paper 1 has been stretched to the maximum due to its elasticity, all the red images are reliably fixed by the above-described operation.

Simultaneously with the stop of the drive motor 3, the control device 9' also stops the operation commands to the red developing device 7a and the fixing device 8, and then reverses the drive motor 3 to start feeding the recording paper 1 in the direction opposite to the arrow A. A reading start command is issued to the mark reader 5. The mark reader 5 is configured to generate a registration mark signal and send it to the control device 9' when the recording paper 1 is fed and the center of the registration mark recorded in red on the side edge of the paper comes directly below it. .

When the control device 9' receives the first registration mark signal, it sets N+α in the counter 14 and calculates the value of the counter 14 at the reception interval of the registration mark signal.
The number of PG pulses is counted, and when the number exceeds N+α, the drive motor 3 stops rotating in reverse. That is, the recording paper 1 is fed backwards until the registration marks formed on the side edges outside the image recording area of the recording paper 1 disappear, and the center of the first red registration mark is directly below the mark reader 5. The system will stop the train after confirming that it has passed.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the recording paper 1 when recording of the first color red image is completed. The numbers are shown for reference. The interval N between the registration marks 15 recorded on the side edges is the one at the time of recording, and is not the correct N after recording and fixing is completed. However, the expansion and contraction of the recording paper 1 in the paper feeding direction causes the red image 16 to
It can be assumed that there is no change in both the part and the registration mark 15.

Next, preparations are made for recording the second color, that is, blue. The control device 9' first sets N+α, which is the number of PG pulses corresponding to the distance between the mark reader 5 and the multi-needle electrode electrostatic head 6, in the counter 14, issues a reading start command to the mark reader 5, and also starts the drive motor. 3 in the forward direction and record paper 1 in the direction of arrow A.
At the same time, an operation command is sent to the blue developing device 7b containing blue toner and the fixing device 8.

When the center of the first registration mark comes directly under the mark reader 5, the mark reader 5 sends a registration mark signal to the control device 9', and when the control device 9' receives the registration mark signal, it starts the counter 1.
After setting N+α to 4, the counter 14 and the counter 12 are instructed to start counting PG pulses.

This N+α is a constant value corresponding to the distance between the multi-needle electrode electrostatic head 6 and the mark reader 6.

When the center of the next registration mark comes directly under the mark reader 5 and the control device 9' receives the registration mark signal, the counter 12 sends the counted number of PG pulses N' between the registration marks to the calculator 13. At the same time, counting of the number of PG pulses up to the next registration mark is started. At the same time, N+ is displayed on the counter 14'.
Set α and command to start counting. Arithmetic unit 13
calculates N'/k=n' and holds the result n'.

The number of PG pulses counted by the counter 14 is N+α
When this happens, a signal is sent to the control device 9' to stop counting. At this time, recording paper 1 is fed in the direction of arrow A.
Since the center of the first registration mark above has just arrived at the position of the multi-needle electrode electrostatic head 6, the control device 9' retrieves the first data of the blue image from the image data storage device 10 and sets the multi-needle electrode electrostatic head 6. Electrostatic head 6
Recording paper 1 on which the red image has already been fixed.
While forming electrostatic latent image dots on the surface of
n' held in the arithmetic unit 13 is transferred to the counter 11'
and instructs the counter 11' to start operation.

That is, in this embodiment, the electrostatic latent image dot formation start position is determined based on the registration mark first formed on the recording paper 1.

The operation start command to the counter 11' causes the counter 11' to emit a timing pulse every time it receives n' PG pulses from the PG4, and the control device 9' starts to emit a timing pulse every time it receives a timing pulse from the counter 11'. , the sequential image data storage device 10
Data is extracted from the multi-needle electrode electrostatic head 6 in accordance with the data.

When the center of the next registration mark comes directly under the mark reader 5, the counter 12 sends the number N' of PG pulses between the new registration marks to the calculator 13, and counts the number of PG pulses between the next registration marks. The arithmetic unit 13 calculates and holds a new value n', and sets N+α to either the stopped counter 14 or 14' to instruct it to start counting.

When the PG pulse count value of either the counter 14 or 14' reaches N+α, a signal is sent to the control device 9', and at that time, the actual measurement between the registration mark at the position of the multi-needle electrode electrostatic head 6 and the next registration mark is performed. A timing pulse interval n' corresponding to the length of the recording paper 1 is always set in the counter 11', and an electrostatic latent image dot of a second color, that is, a blue image, is placed at a position almost synchronized with the recorded image of the first color, that is, red. to form.

When the surface of the recording paper 1 where the electrostatic latent image dots are formed reaches the blue developing device 7b, it is developed with blue toner, and when it reaches the fixing device 8, it is heated and fixed. At this time, the previously fixed red toner is also remelted by the heat, so in the overlapping area of the red toner and blue toner, the blue toner is mixed with the red toner in subtractive color.

When the control device 9' reads the information indicating the blue data END from the image data storage device 10, it prevents reading of data from the image data storage device 10 even if a timing pulse is received from the counter 11', and the counter 14 Set Nα for . This operation is similar to the case of recording a red image.

Thereafter, the drive motor 3 continues to rotate normally to perform blue development and fixing, and when the counter 14 receives Nα PG pulses, the drive motor 3 is stopped, and the operations of the blue developer 7b and the fixer 8 are also stopped. After all the blue images have been fixed, the recording paper 1 is fed backwards using the same procedure explained when fixing the red image, and the center of the first red registration mark is read. After confirming that it has passed directly under vessel 5, stop it.

Subsequently, the third color, that is, yellow image recording is performed, but the detailed explanation will be omitted since the procedure for recording a blue image only involves changing the developing device to be operated from the blue developing device 7b to the yellow developing device 7c. At the same time as recording the first color, i.e., red image, the distance between the registration marks, which were placed at equal intervals using pulses proportional to the paper feed amount, when recording the yellow image, was actually measured.
Recording of the yellow image is completed at timing pulse intervals corresponding to the actually measured length of the recording paper 1 in synchronization with the position of the registration mark.

Note that, as a matter of course, even when recording a yellow image, the electrostatic latent image dot formation start position is determined based on the registration mark first formed on the recording paper 1. In this example, three-color image recording has been described, but it is clear that the same method can be applied to any color image recording apparatus that uses two or more colors.

In the case of this device, the recording start position for the second and subsequent colors is calculated from the position of the first registration mark read by the mark reading device 5, so when the recording paper 1 is fed backwards and then stopped, the accurate position can be determined. There is no need to stop at any point, and there is no need for complicated speed control such as using a speed loop.

In this embodiment, the shape of the registration mark is a central circle with a diameter of 1 mm, but the shape is not limited to this and may be any shape or size. However, if it is too small, there is a risk of misidentifying contaminants attached to the surface of the recording paper 1, so it is desirable to have a certain size.

Further, in this embodiment, the registration mark was recorded in a dot recording manner using the multi-needle electrode electrostatic head 6, but control can be made somewhat simpler by separately providing an electrostatic head shaped like a registration mark.

Further, in this embodiment, the registration mark 15 was recorded simultaneously with the first color red image, but this method is not limited to this method. Only the registration mark may be formed before image recording, or the registration mark 15 may be formed in advance. The color image recording apparatus according to the present invention can also be realized using recording paper.

The case in which the reciprocating movement of the recording paper is repeated as an example has been described in detail above, but even if the recording paper is repeatedly moved in a circular motion, the technical idea of the present invention remains the same, and the sharpness and color can be improved. It will be easily understood that a color image recording device with less deviation can be realized.

Effects of the Invention The present invention provides a conveyance means that reciprocates or circulates a recording medium along a predetermined conveyance path, and a conveyance means that is provided in the conveyance path of the recording medium so as to record an image within an image recording area on the recording medium. a latent image forming means for forming a latent image corresponding to the registration mark and continuously forming a latent image corresponding to the registration marks at approximately equal intervals outside the image recording area on the recording medium; a plurality of developing means for visualizing latent images corresponding to the recorded image formed on the recording medium in different colors, and visualizing the latent images corresponding to the registration marks in a single color; registration mark detection means provided upstream of the recording medium conveyance direction with respect to the image forming means at least a distance equal to or more than the sum of the distance between the registration marks and the maximum elongation amount of the recording medium corresponding to the distance between the registration marks; a recording control means for forming a composite color image by operating the conveying means and repeating latent image formation and development for each color multiple times in the same image recording area of the recording medium; and a timing control means for aligning the recording position in the conveying direction of the recording medium based on the interval between the registration marks detected by the registration mark detection means when forming the registration mark, thereby making it possible to correspond to recorded images of each color. When forming a latent image, the distance between the detected registration marks can be reliably used to correct the latent image formation position, making it possible to more accurately perform overlay processing of color images, and making it possible to This has the excellent effect of preventing color shift in recorded images of each color due to expansion and contraction of the color, and obtaining clear color images.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a simplified perspective view of essential parts of an embodiment of a color image recording device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a control block diagram, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the state when recording of a red image, which is the first color, is completed. FIG. 4 is a plan view of the recording paper, FIG. 4 is a simplified perspective view of essential parts of an example of a color image recording apparatus according to the conventional concept, and FIG. 5 is a control block diagram. 1... Recording paper, 3... Drive motor, 4... Pulse generator (PG), 5... Mark reader, 6...
...Multi-needle electrode electrostatic head, 7a...Red developer, 7
b...Blue developer, 7c...Yellow developer, 8...
Fixing device, 9, 9'...Control device, 10...Image data storage device, 11, 11', 12, 14, 1
4'...Counter, 13...Arithmetic unit, 15...Registration mark, 16...Red image.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A conveyance means that reciprocates or circulates a recording medium along a predetermined conveyance path, and a conveyance means that is provided in the conveyance path of the recording medium and forms a latent image corresponding to a recorded image in an image recording area on the recording medium. a latent image forming means for forming a latent image corresponding to the registration marks continuously and substantially equally spaced outside the image recording area on the recording medium; a plurality of developing means for visualizing latent images corresponding to the recorded images in different colors and visualizing the latent images corresponding to the registration marks in a single color; a registration mark detection means provided upstream in the recording medium conveyance direction at least a distance equal to or more than the sum of the distance between the registration marks and the maximum elongation amount of the recording medium corresponding to the distance between the registration marks; and the conveyance means. a recording control means that operates to form a composite color image by repeating latent image formation and development multiple times for each color in the same image recording area of the recording medium; A color image recording apparatus comprising: timing control means for aligning the recording position in the conveyance direction of the recording medium based on the interval between the registration marks detected by the registration mark detection means.