JPH047541A - Image recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent paper jamming even when a thick form is used as a mask original plate by coupling mask original plate storage means with a positioning means on a straight line. CONSTITUTION:The mask original plate storage means 104 and 105 which are coupled with the positioning means 31 almost on the straight line are utilized as the insertion opening for a mask original plate 15, which is inserted into this insertion opening. The inserted mask negative plate 15 is conveyed to the positioning means 31 and then set at a specific position by the positioning means 31. The positioned mask original plate 15 after being brought into contact with a photosensitive recording medium 50 by a contact means is exposed by an exposure means 41. Thus, at least one of the mask original plate storage means 104 and 105 is coupled with the positioning means 31 almost on the straight line and then even the thick form mask original plate never jams.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus that forms a color image using a color-separated monochromatic mask original plate.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, in this type of image recording apparatus, a set of three mask originals color-separated according to the three primary colors of light is sequentially superimposed on a photosensitive recording medium, and photosensitive recording is performed by exposing the top of the mask to a light source. Expose the medium to correspond to the mask image of the mask original plate,
2. Description of the Related Art An image recording apparatus is known that records a color image by hardening microcapsules on the surface of a photosensitive recording medium.

When a color image such as a color photograph is used with this apparatus, the color image is output by exposing the same plate to white light or red light, green light, or blue light as it is.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, when thick paper such as a photograph is used as the mask original plate 15, as shown in the drawing, the device main body 2
0 Upper mask original plate automatic feeding device (hereinafter referred to as ADF)
When feeding the original mask 15 from the ADF 12 to the alignment device 31, if there is a part that is bent at an almost right angle while being transported from the ADF 12 to the alignment device 31, thick paper cannot be transported, causing a paper jam and stopping the device. There was a problem.

The present invention was made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a highly reliable image recording device that does not cause paper jams even with thick paper mask originals. .

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve this object, the image recording device of the present invention includes a plurality of mask original plates formed by color-separating image information to form monochromatic light-shielding images, and a plurality of mask original plates formed by color-separating image information. a positioning means for positioning at a specific position on a photosensitive recording medium; a contact means for bringing the mask original and the photosensitive recording medium into close contact; an exposure means for performing color separation exposure via the mask original; and the mask. A mask original storage means for temporarily storing originals is provided, and at least one mask original storage means among the mask original storage means is connected to the positioning means in a substantially straight line.

Furthermore, it is effective if at least one of the mask original storage means doubles as a mask original insertion opening.

[Function] According to the present invention having the above-described configuration, the mask original storage means connected substantially linearly to the alignment means is used as a mask original insertion opening, and the mask original is inserted through this insertion opening. be done. The inserted mask original is then conveyed to the alignment means, and aligned at a predetermined position by the alignment means. The aligned mask original is brought into close contact with the photosensitive recording medium by the contact means, and then exposed by the exposure means.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example embodying the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

The drawing is a sectional view of a monochrome laser printer (hereinafter referred to as a laser printer) 1 and an image recording device 20 in a combined arrangement.

First, the laser printer 1 is mounted on top of the image recording device 20. In the laser printer 1, a polygon scanner 2 irradiates a charged photoreceptor 3 with laser light, thereby drawing an electrostatic latent image. The photoreceptor 3 on which the electrostatic latent image has been formed is developed by a developing device 4, and a henna image is transferred onto plain paper or an OHP sheet fed from a paper feed cassette 5, and fixed by a fixing device 6. Laser printer 1 typically records data transmitted from a host computer.

The output from the laser printer 1 is sent to the paper path switching unit 10.
If a black and white image is required, the document is sent to the monochrome output tray 11 or to the automatic document feeder (hereinafter referred to as ADF) tray 12; if a color image is required,
ADF) After being sent to the ray 12, it is taken into the image recording device 20.

The sheets sent to the ADF tray 12 are taken into the image recording device 20 one by one by the ADF paper feed roller 13, and a set of three sheets of monochrome printed paper output from the laser printer 1 is recorded as an image. Mask master plate 15 (15R) of device 20.

15G, 15B).

Next, the configuration of the image recording device 20 will be explained.

An alignment device 31 is located at the bottom of the main body of the image recording device 20, and the ADF tray 12 and the alignment device 310 are connected by a mask original transport path 21. On both the left and right sides of the alignment device 31 are roller pairs 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 whose rotational direction can be controlled, and a gate 28.2.
9 and mask original storage parts 102, 103, 104, 10
5 is placed. A pair of glue curler rollers 101 is arranged in the middle of the mask original transport path 21 to remove curls from the mask original 15 discharged from the laser printer 1. Outside the roller pair 26 is a mask original discharge tray 30 for discharging the used mask original 15. Further, 5. Outside the roller pair 27, there is a paper feed tray 65 for inserting a mask original made of thick paper, a photograph, or the like.

The alignment device 31 includes a sensor (not shown), pairs of rollers 32 and 33 placed near both left and right ends, and a glass plate 34 placed between them.

An exposure device 41 is arranged below the alignment device 31, and the exposure device 41 is movable in the left-right direction along the alignment device 31. The exposure device 41 includes a linear white light source (hereinafter referred to as a lamp) 42, a reflection plate 43 that reflects light from the lamp 42, and a filter unit 44 that includes a red filter 44R, a green filter 44G, and a blue filter 44B. It is configured.

The photosensitive recording medium 50 is, for example, disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-14304.
The main material is a photocurable resin using a photopolymerization initiator known in Publication No. 4, and includes a photocurable resin that cures with light of each wavelength of red, green, and blue, and cyan, magenta, Microcapsules containing yellow dye precursors are coated on a base sheet.

The photosensitive recording medium 50 is housed in a cartridge 51 so as not to be exposed to light. The photosensitive recording medium 50 is routed from inside the cartridge 51, passing between the glass plate 34 and the exposure table 52, passing through a buffer 55, a separating roller 64, a pressure developing device 70, and a driving roller 57, to the take-up roller 54. . The exposure table 52 is lowered by a cam 53 and is configured to bring the mask original 15 conveyed onto the glass plate 34 and the photosensitive recording medium 50 into close contact.

Further, the fixed roller 56 is pushed against the left end of the exposure table 52 when the exposure table 52 is lowered to a predetermined position.
The photosensitive recording medium 50 is placed on the exposure table 5 during exposure of the mask original 15.
It is arranged to be fixed at 2.

The color developer sheet 60 is constructed by applying a color developer disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 58-88739 onto a base paper, and the color developer sheet 60 is placed in the cassette 61 with the developer coated side facing downward. It is set as follows.

At the top of the cassette 61, a suction cup 62 for feeding the developer sheets 60 one by one is arranged.

The pressure developing device 70 is composed of a pair of pressure rollers 71 and the like that superpose the photosensitive recording medium 50 on which a latent image has been formed by exposure and the developer sheet 60 and develop the image under pressure.

The heat fixing device 80 is constructed between a casing 83 containing a heater 81 and an impeller 82 in the upper part, rubber rollers 84, 85, 86 for conveying the color developer sheet 60 in the lower part, and rollers 87 and 88. A paper ejection tray 63 is attached to the side of the heat fixing device 80.

In the apparatus configured as described above, the operation when obtaining a plurality of color images from one set of mask originals will be described next.

First, a mask original plate 1 for red is printed using a laser printer 1.
5R is created. This mask original plate 15R is a mask original plate in which toner, which is a light-shielding image, is placed on other parts of the microcapsules coated on the photosensitive recording medium 50 in order to harden the microcapsules containing a cyan dye precursor. be.

At this time, the mask original plate 1 outputted from the laser printer 1
5R is sent to the ADF (ADF) lay 12 and fed into the image recording device 2o by the ADF paper feed roller 13. The mask original 15R fed into the image recording device 20 passes through the mask original transport path 21 and is sent to the alignment device 31 by the roller pair 24, 22. On the way, the curl of the mask master plate 15R is corrected by the curler roller pair 101.

At this time, the gate 28 is at the position indicated by the solid line.

Next, the alignment device 31 transports the mask original 15R to an appropriate exposure position by the roller pair 32, and then uses a drive source (not shown) to move the mask original 15R while reading the alignment mark printed on the mask original 15R with a sensor.
Move R to a predetermined position.

Immediately before alignment, the exposure table 52 is lowered to a predetermined position by a cam 53, and a fixed roller 5 is placed on the left end of the exposure table 52.
6 is pressed to fix the photosensitive recording medium 50 to the exposure table 52. After the alignment is completed, the exposure table 52 is further lowered by the cam 53, and the glass plate 34 of the alignment device 31
The mask original plate 15R and the photosensitive recording medium 50 are brought into close contact with each other.

When the exposure table 52 comes into close contact with the alignment device 31, the lamp 42
lights up, and the exposure device 41 performs scanning exposure in the direction of arrow A in order to expose the photosensitive recording medium 50 with red light via the red filter 44R. When the exposure is completed, the lamp 42 is turned off and the exposure device 41 moves back in the direction of arrow B. At this time, the filter unit 44 of the exposure device 41
A green filter 4.4G is positioned above the lamp 42, which is moved by a drive source (not shown).

While the exposure device 41 moves backward, the exposure table 52 is raised by the rotation of the cam 53, and the photosensitive recording medium 50 is separated from the alignment device 31 and the mask original 1.5R. At this time, pack tension is applied to the photosensitive recording medium 50 at the center of rotation of the roll of the photosensitive recording medium 50 in the cartridge 51, and when the exposure table 52 descends,
A length corresponding to the amount of descent of the exposure table 52 is pulled out from the storage cartridge 51, and the exposure table 52 is pulled out after exposure is completed.
2 rises, the photosensitive recording medium 50 is rewound in a direction to take up the slack.

Even after the exposure of the red mask master plate 15R is completed, the exposure table 52 only rises to a predetermined position, and the photosensitive recording medium 50 is moved to the exposure table 52 by a fixed roller 56 pressed against the left end of the exposure table 52. remains fixed.

Next, when the green mask original 15G created by the laser printer 1 passes through the ADF tray 12, ADF paper feed roller 13, recurler roller pair 101, and mask original transport path 21, and reaches just before the roller pair 24, the roller The pair of rollers 22, 24, 25, 27 and the pair of rollers 32 and 33 of the alignment device 31 are rotated in the direction of conveying the mask original 15R to the right, and the mask original 15R is moved to the alignment device 3.
At the same time as the mask original 15G is fed out from the mask 1, the mask original 15G is conveyed to the exposure position and stopped. At this time, the gates 28 and 29 are located at the position indicated by the solid line, and the exposed mask original 15R is sandwiched between the pair of rollers 27, and with its rear end passing through the gate 29, the rotation of the pair of rollers 27 is stopped. It is maintained by letting

The mask original 15G guided by the alignment device 31 is aligned with the photosensitive recording medium 50 in the same manner as the mask original 15R, and then the exposure table 52 is lowered to align the mask original 15G with the photosensitive recording medium 50. Being brought into close contact. after that,
The lamp 42 is turned on and exposure to green light is performed via the green filter 44G. After the exposure is completed, the exposure table 52 is raised to a predetermined position. The exposure device 41 is moved back to the original position, and the filter unit 44 is moved so that the blue filter 44B is positioned above the lamp 42.

Next, the blue mask original 15B created by the laser printer 1 is similarly fed to the image recording device 20, and is conveyed just before the roller pair 24.
4, 22, 25, 26 and the roller pair 32.33 of the alignment device 31 are rotated in the direction of conveying the mask original 15G to the right, and the mask original 15G is transferred to the alignment device 3.
1, the mask original 15B is conveyed to the exposure position and stopped. At this time, the gate 28 is located at the position shown by the solid line, and the gate 29 is located at the position shown by the broken line. This is maintained by stopping the rotation of pair 26.

The mask original 15B guided by the alignment device 31 is brought into close contact with the photosensitive recording medium 50 by the same operation. The photosensitive recording medium 50 is exposed to blue light through the mask original 15B.

Through the above operations, a latent image of a desired color image is recorded on the photosensitive recording medium 50.

Next, the exposure table 52 is raised to the initial position, the fixed roller 56 and the left end of the exposure table 52 are separated from each other, and the buffer 55 is moved in the direction of the arrow E to remove the unexposed portions of the photosensitive recording medium 50. is pulled out from inside the cartridge 51 below the exposure table 52. Drive roller 57
The photosensitive recording medium 50 is conveyed and stopped when the leading edge of the latent image reaches the pressure roller 71 of the pressure developing device 70.

In synchronization with the movement of the photosensitive recording medium 50, the developer sheet 60
is sent out from the cassette 61 by a suction cup 62, and is conveyed to a position where the leading edge of the developer sheet 60 corresponds to the leading edge of the latent image on the photosensitive recording medium 50, and then stopped.

Next, by a drive device (not shown), the pressure roller 71 of the pressure developing device 70 is rotated in the direction of the arrow and pressed against the roller 71 . At this time, by lowering the exposure table 52 to a predetermined position again, the fixed roller 5 is placed on the left end of the exposure table 52.
6 is pushed in, and the photosensitive recording medium 50 is fixed to the exposure table 52. The photosensitive recording medium 50 is conveyed while being pressed while being overlapped with the color developer sheet 60, and the photosensitive recording medium 5
The uncured microcapsules on 0 are destroyed by pressure,
A color image corresponding to the latent image on the photosensitive recording medium 50 is developed on the developer sheet 60.

By rotating the pressure roller 71 of the pressure developing device 70 in the direction of the arrow, the buffer 55 is moved in the direction of the arrow F. The color developer sheet 60 is peeled off from the photosensitive recording medium 50 by a separation roller 64 and guided toward a heat fixing device 80 .

In the heat fixing device 80, the color developer sheet 60 is heated by a heater 81 and by air circulating in a casing 83 by an impeller 82, thereby promoting color development of a color image. Along with this, a binder polymer (binder resin) for fixing the color developing medium to the base paper of the color developer sheet 60
is thermally melted, the surface becomes smooth, and the surface of the color developer sheet 60 has an appropriate gloss. The color developer sheet 60 that has been subjected to color development and gloss treatment is discharged to a paper discharge tray 63.

During the above-described series of development and coloring/glossy processing, the photosensitive recording medium 50 is held and fixed between the exposure table 52 and the fixed roller 56. Therefore, while the development processing for one screen is being performed, the next exposure point is It is possible to perform exposure processing on the latent image of a color image.

When exposing the second color image, first, the mask original 15B at the exposure position is sent to the left, and the mask original 15R held at the position of the roller pair 27 is sent to the alignment device 31 by the rollers. vs. 24, 22, 25
．． 27 and the pair of rollers 32 and 33 of the alignment device 31 are rotated so as to convey the mask original 15R to the left. At this time, the gates 28 and 29 are located at the positions indicated by solid lines.

The mask original plate 15B is sandwiched between the roller pair 24 and the gate 28
The rotation of the roller pair 24 is stopped at the position where the rear end has passed, and the mask original is held in the mask original transport path 21 functioning as a mask original storage section. The mask original 15R sent to the alignment device 31 is aligned and brought into close contact with the photosensitive recording medium 50. The photosensitive recording medium 50 is exposed to red light through the mask original 15R.

Next, the mask original 15R at the exposure position is sent to the left, and the roller pair 26 is moved to send the mask original 15G held at the position of the roller pair 26 to the alignment device 31.
2, 23, 25, 26 and the roller pair 3 of the alignment device 31
2.33 is rotated so as to convey the mask original 15G to the left.

At this time, the gates 28 and 29 are located at the positions indicated by broken lines. The mask original plate 15R is sandwiched between the roller pair 23 and the gate 2
It is held by stopping the rotation of the roller pair 23 at the position where the rear end passes through the roller pair 8. The mask original 15G sent to the alignment device 31 is aligned and brought into close contact with the photosensitive recording medium 50. The photosensitive recording medium 50 is exposed to green light through the mask original 15G.

Next, the mask original 15G at the exposure position is sent to the right, and the same operation is performed to send the mask original 15B held at the position of the roller pair 24 to the alignment device 31, and the color is placed on the photosensitive recording medium 50. A latent image of the image is formed to form a color image on the developer sheet 60.

By repeating the same operation, one set of mask originals 1
5, a predetermined number of color images can be output.

After producing the required number of color images from the same mask original 15, each mask original 15 is discharged from the roller pair 27 or the roller pair 26 to the paper discharge tray 30.

Next, a case will be described in which the mask original 15 is inserted from the mask original storage section.

When thick paper, a photograph, or the like is used as the mask original 15, the mask original storage section 27 is provided with a paper feed tray 65, and the mask original transport section 104 is used as an insertion slot for the mask original 15.

At this time, the gate 29 is at the position indicated by the solid line in the figure.

The mask original 15R fed from the paper feed tray 65 by a feeding device (not shown) is conveyed to the positioning device 31 by the rollers 27, 25, 33, and aligned at a predetermined position by the positioning device 31 as described above. and is exposed to red light by the exposure device 41. After exposure,
The gate 29 is rotated to the position indicated by the broken line, and the mask original plate 15R
is discharged onto the mask original discharge tray 30 by roller pairs 33, 25, and 26. Next, the mask original 15G is fed from the paper feed tray 65, the gate 29 is rotated to the position shown by the solid line, and after being transported to the alignment device 31, it is similarly exposed to green light and placed on the paper output tray 30. It is discharged. The mask original 15B is similarly fed from the paper feed tray 65, exposed to blue light, and then discharged to the paper discharge tray 30.

The latent color image formed on the photosensitive recording medium 50 is
It is recorded on the color developer sheet 60.

When a color image such as a photograph is used as the mask original 15, it is also fed from the paper feed tray 65, and in this case, after being conveyed to the alignment device 31, it is sequentially exposed to red light, green light, and blue light. , a latent color image is recorded on the photosensitive recording medium.

In addition, if the next mask original 15 is output from the laser printer 1 while a series of color images are being exposed, it is stored in the ADF tray 12 and waits until the exposure of the previous set is completed. The ADF paper feed roller 13 feeds the sheets into the image recording device 20 one by one.

In addition, if you want to reuse a mask master output from another laser printer or a previously used mask master, please use the AD
F) - By setting the ray 12, the mask original can be input.

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the detailed description above, according to the present invention, in addition to the ADF, the alignment means is provided with an insertion opening for the mask original, so thick paper can be used as the mask original. This provides an industrially advantageous effect in that an image recording device that does not cause paper jams can be provided even in cases where paper jams occur. Further, since one of the mask original storage units is also used as a mask original insertion slot, there is a remarkable effect that there is no need to increase the size of the image recording device.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawing shows an embodiment embodying the present invention, and is a configuration diagram showing the structure of an image recording apparatus. In the figure, 15 is a mask original, 20 is an image recording device, 31 is a positioning device, 41 is an exposure device, 50 is a photosensitive recording medium, 65 is a paper feed tray, 102, 103, 104, 105
is the mask original storage section.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A plurality of mask originals formed by color-separating image information to form monochromatic light-shielding images, and positioning means for positioning the mask originals at specific positions on a photosensitive recording medium. , an image recording apparatus comprising: a contact means for bringing the mask master and the photosensitive recording medium into close contact; an exposure means for performing color separation exposure through the mask master; and a mask master storage means for temporarily storing the mask master. An image recording apparatus characterized in that at least one mask original storage means among the mask original storage means is connected to the positioning means on a substantially straight line. 2. Claim 1, wherein the mask original storage means connected substantially linearly to the alignment means has a mask original insertion opening formed on the opposite side of the alignment means. The image recording device described in .