JPH0477730A - image recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus that obtains a color image using a mask original created based on image information.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, as this type of image recording device, one as shown in the specification and drawings of Japanese Patent Application No. 126092/1992 filed by the present applicant has been proposed. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, an exposure means 41 for exposing the mask original 15 to the photosensitive recording medium 50, and mask original transport means 21 to 29, 31 for transporting and discharging the mask original 15 to the exposure means 41. , 102, a buffer means 55 for temporarily storing the exposed photosensitive recording medium 50, and a developing means 70 for making the exposed photosensitive recording medium 50 visible.

With this configuration, the exposure means 41 exposes the mask original 15 to the photosensitive recording medium 50, and the exposed photosensitive recording medium 50 is temporarily stored in the buffer means 55. Then, the developing means 70 performs a developing process to visualize the photosensitive recording medium 50, and in parallel, the next photosensitive recording medium 50 is exposed to light using the exposing means 41, thereby shortening the image recording time. Ta.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, when the developing process and the exposure process are being executed in parallel, when the user needs to interrupt the process for some reason, for example, by turning off the power. If the image recording apparatus is stopped by doing this, the developing process will also be finished midway through the process, and the photosensitive recording medium 50 will be wasted, or the mask original plate 15 will remain in the mask original transport means. There is a drawback that it takes time and effort to discharge the mask original plate 15.

Further, in order to prevent this, if the paper feeding of the next mask master is simply stopped, the ejection of the paper is completed, but there is a drawback that a great deal of time is wasted until the ejection is completed.

The present invention was made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and by controlling the mask original plate and color developer sheet to be discharged when the user attempts to interrupt the process, it can be done easily and without much effort. To provide an image recording device which minimizes the time wasted during maintenance.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve this object, the image recording apparatus of the present invention includes a mask original transporting means for transporting a mask original, and a photosensitive plate conveyed by the mask original transporting means. A receiving means for receiving a stop signal, comprising an exposing means for exposing the recording medium, a means for temporarily storing the exposed photosensitive recording medium, and a developing means for visualizing the exposed photosensitive recording medium, and a receiving means for receiving a stop signal. , when the receiving means receives the stop signal,
If there is a mask original in the mask original transport means, a mask original discharge control means for discharging the mask original, and a mask original discharge control means for discharging the mask original, and if the receiving means receives the stop signal and the developing means is in the process of developing, the developing means The present invention is characterized in that it has a control means for controlling to stop after the processing is completed.

Incidentally, if the exposed photosensitive recording medium is stored in the buffer means when the development processing is completed, the control means subsequently controls the development processing of the photosensitive recording medium stored in the buffer means. You may also do this.

[Operation] The mask original discharge control means of the present invention having the above configuration is configured to discharge the mask original if the mask original transport means is transporting the mask original when the receiving means receives the stop signal. Control.

Moreover, the control means controls the developing means to stop after the development process is completed, if the developing means is in the process of developing when the receiving means receives the stop signal.

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

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the monochrome laser printer 1 and the color image recording device 20 in a combined arrangement.

First, the monochrome laser printer 1 has a color image recording area 2.
0 is loaded on top. Inside the monochrome laser printer 1, a polygon scanner 2 is placed on the charged photoreceptor 3.
An electrostatic latent image is drawn by irradiation with laser light. The photoconductor 3 on which the electrostatic latent image has been formed is developed in a developing device 4, and is then developed on plain paper or O2 supplied from a paper feed cassette 5.
The toner image is transferred onto the HP sheet and fixed by a fixing device 6. Normally, the monochrome laser printer 1 performs printing based on data transmitted from a host computer.

The paper output from the monochrome laser printer 1 is transferred to the paper bus switching unit 10 when a monochrome image is required, to the monochrome output tray 11 or the automatic document feeder (
If a color image is required, the image is fed to the ADF tray 12 (hereinafter referred to as ADF) and taken into the color image recording device 20.

The paper sent to the ADF tray 12 is taken into the color image marking device 20 one by one by the ADF paper feed roller 13, and three monochrome printed papers output from the monochrome laser printer 1 are one silk. The mask original plate 15 (15R, 1, 5
G, 15B).

A positioning device 3] is located at the bottom of the main body of the color image recording unit 20, and the positioning device 3 is located at the bottom of the color image recording unit 20.
1 are connected by a mask original transport path 21. On both the left and right sides of the positioning device 31, there are pairs of rollers 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 whose rotational direction can be controlled. Gates 28 and 29 and a mask original storage section 102 are arranged. 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, 27, there is a mask original discharge tray 30 for discharging the used mask original 15.

The positioning device 31 is composed of a sensor (not shown), a pair of rollers 32 and 33 disposed near both left and right sides, a glass plate 34 disposed between them, and the like.

An exposure device 41 is arranged below the alignment device 31, and this exposure device 41
It is movable in the left and right direction along 1. The exposure device 4
1 includes a linear white light source (hereinafter referred to as a lamp) 42, a reflecting plate 43 that reflects light from the lamp 42, a red filter 44R, a green filter 44G, and a blue filter 4.
It is composed of a filter unit 44 consisting of 4B.

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 known photopolymerization initiator as shown in Publication No. 4, and is available in red, green,
A photocurable resin that hardens against light of each wavelength of blue,
Microcapsules containing cyan, magenta, and yellow dye precursors are coated on a base sheet. The photosensitive recording medium 50 is stored in a cartridge 51 so as not to be exposed to light. The photosensitive recording medium 50 passes from inside the cartridge 51 between the glass plate 34 and the exposure table 52, and passes through a buffer 55, a separation roller 64,
It is routed through the pressure developing device 70 and the drive 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. The fixed roller 56 is pressed against the left end of the exposure table 52 when the exposure table 52 is lowered to a predetermined position, and is positioned so as to fix the photosensitive recording medium 50 to the exposure table 52 during exposure of the mask original 15. has been done.

The color developer sheet 60 is, for example, disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 58-88739.
It is constructed by coating a color developer on a base paper as shown in the publication, and is set in a cassette 61 with the developer coated side facing downward. 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 color developer sheet 60 and develop the image under pressure.

The heat fixing device 80 includes a casing 83 containing a heater 81 and an impeller 82 in the upper part, a rubber roller 84°85.86 for conveying the color developer sheet 60 in the lower part, and a space between the rollers 87 and 88. It consists of an endless belt 89 installed on the outside of the heat fixing device 80.
A paper output tray 63 is attached.

Next, the control device of this image recording apparatus will be explained with reference to FIG.

The main body of the control device is the CPU 121. ROM122RAM1
The controller 120 is a so-called one-chip microcomputer consisting of 23 and the like.

The controller 120 includes a display device 111. Start button 112. Stop button 113. An operation panel 110 consisting of function buttons 114, 115, 116, and 117 is connected, and further, various mechanical parts of the main body of the color image recording apparatus 20 are connected.

Display device] 11 is for displaying messages from the controller 1.20 to the user. A start button] 12 generates a start signal to start recording, and a stop button 113 generates a stop signal to interrupt processing. Further, function buttons 114, 11.5, 116, and 117 generate signals for performing other processing and settings. A program memory is also allocated to the ROM 122 for recording programs for controlling the entire image forming apparatus, including the program shown in the flowchart of FIG.

Next, an explanation will be given of the operation when a plurality of color images are obtained from one set of mask originals in the apparatus configured as described above.

First, the monochrome laser printer 1 creates a red mask original 15R. This mask original plate], 5R is a mask in which toner, which is a light-shielding image, is placed on other parts of the microphone capsule coated on the photosensitive recording medium 5o in order to harden the microcapsules containing a cyan dye precursor. This is the original version. At this time, the mask original plate 1.5R outputted from the monochrome laser printer 1 is ADF)
The paper is sent to the color image recording device 20 by the ADF paper feed roller 13. The mask original 15R fed into the color image recording device 20 passes through the mask original transport path 21 and passes through the roller pair 22. 24 to the alignment device 31. On the way, Ricara Rolla 1
01 corrects the curl of the mask original plate 15R. At this time, the cage 28 is in the position shown by the solid line in FIG.

Next, the alignment device 31 transports the mask original 5R to a proper exposure position by a pair of rollers 32, and then uses a drive source (not shown) to read the alignment mark printed on the mask original 15R with a sensor, and then Move 15R to the specified position.

Immediately before positioning, the exposure table 52 is lowered to a predetermined position by a cam 53, and a fixed roller 56 is pressed against the left end of the exposure table 52 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 comes into contact with the glass plate 34 of the alignment device 31, and the mask original 15R and the photosensitive recording medium 50 are exposed.
and bring them into close contact.

When the exposure table 52 comes into close contact with the alignment device 31, the lamp 42 is turned on, and the exposure device 41 moves in the direction of arrow A in order to expose the photosensitive recording medium 50 with red light via the red filter 44R and the mask original 15R. Perform operational exposure in the direction of . When the exposure is completed, the lamp 42 is turned off and the exposure device 41 moves back in the direction of arrow B in FIG. At this time, the filter unit 44 of the exposure device 41 is moved by a drive source (not shown), and the green filter 44G is positioned above the lamp 42.

While the exposure device 4 is moving 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 15R. 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, the amount corresponds to the amount of descent of the exposure table 52. Storage cartridge 5
1, and the exposure stage 52
When the recording medium 50 rises, the photosensitive recording medium 50 is rewound in a direction to take up the slack.

Even after the exposure of the red mask original 15H 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, the green mask original plate 1.5G created by the monochrome laser printer 1 is transferred to the A, D F trays 12. ADF paper feed roller] 3. Liquor crawler 101.
When the mask original transport path 21 reaches just before the roller pair 24, the roller pairs 22, 24, 25, 27, and the roller pair 32, 33 of the alignment device 31 rotate in a direction to transport the mask original 15R to the right. Made to do so, mask original version 15
At the same time as R is sent out from the alignment device 31, the mask original 1.5G is transported to the exposure position and stopped. At this time,
The gates 28 and 29 are moved to the solid line position in FIG. 2, and the exposed mask original 15R is held between the pair of rollers 27, and
With the rear end passing through the gate 29, the roller pair 2
It is maintained by stopping the rotation of 7.

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 the green filter 44G
Exposure to green light is performed through the . 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 lamp 4
The filter unit 44 is moved so that the blue filter 44B is located above the blue filter 2.

Next, the blue mask original plate 15B created by the monochrome laser printer 1 is similarly fed to the color image recording device 20, and transported just before the roller pair 24. 26 and the pair of rollers 32 and 33 of the positioning device 31 are rotated in the direction of conveying the mask original 15G to the right, and the mask original 1.5G
is sent out from the alignment device 31, and the mask original 15B is conveyed to the exposure position and stopped. At this time, the gate 28 moves to the solid line position in FIG. 2, and the gate 29 moves to the broken line position, and the exposed mask original 15G is held between the roller pair 26 and its rear end has passed through the two gates. , is maintained by stopping the rotation of the roller pair 27.

The mask original 15B guided by the alignment device 31 is brought into close contact with the photosensitive recording medium 50 by a similar 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 arrow E. It is pulled out from inside the cartridge 51 below the exposure table 52. The drive roller 57 transports the photosensitive recording medium 50 and stops the photosensitive recording medium 50 when it reaches the leading end of the latent image or 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 fed out from the cassette 61 by a suction cup 62 until the tip of the developer sheet 60 corresponds to the tip of the latent image on the photosensitive recording medium 50. After being transported, it stops.

Next, the pressure roller 71 of the pressure developing device 70 is pressed against the roller 71 while being rotated in the direction of the arrow by a well-known drive device (not shown). At this time, by lowering the exposure table 52 to a predetermined position again, the fixed roller 56 is pressed against the left end of the exposure table 52, and the photosensitive recording medium 50 is moved onto the exposure table 52.
It is fixed at 2.

The photosensitive recording medium 50 is conveyed under pressure while being overlapped with the color developer sheet 60, and the uncured microcapsules on the photosensitive recording medium 50 are destroyed by the pressure, and the latent image on the photosensitive recording medium 50 is Compatible color image or developer sheet 60
developed on top.

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 heated by air circulating in a casing 83 by an impeller 82, thereby promoting color development of a color image. At the same time, the color developer sheet 6
The binder polymer (fixing resin) used to fix the color developer sheet 60 to the base paper 60 is thermally melted to make the surface 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 color gloss processing, the photosensitive recording medium 50 is clamped and fixed by the exposure table 52 and the fixed roller 56, so 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 out to the left. The mask original plate 15 held at the position of the roller pair 27
In order to send R to the positioning device 31, a pair of rollers 2
2, 24, 25, 27 and the roller pair 32, 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 solid line positions in FIG. The mask original 15B is held between the pair of rollers 24, and the rotation of the pair of rollers 24 is stopped at the position where the rear end passes through the gate 28, and the mask original 15B is held. 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 out to the left. Then, in order to send the mask original 15G held at the position of the roller pair 26 to the alignment device 31, the roller pair 22. 23.degree. 2r, 26 and the roller pair 32.degree. 33 of the positioning device 31 are rotated so as to convey the mask original 15G to the left. At this time, gate 28
．． 29 is located at the position indicated by the broken line in FIG. The mask original plate 15R is held between the pair of rollers 23, and is held by stopping the rotation of the pair of rollers 23 at the position where the rear end passes the cage 28. 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.

Subsequently, the mask original 15G at the exposure position is sent out 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 3], and the mask original 15G is placed on the photosensitive recording medium 50. A latent color image is formed to form a color image on the developer sheet 60.

By repeating similar operations in this way, a predetermined number of color images can be output from one set of mask originals 15.

After obtaining 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.

In addition, if the next mask original 15 is output from the monochrome laser printer 1 while a series of color images are being exposed, it is temporarily stored in the ADF (ADF) ray 12 and the exposure of the previous set is completed. Thereafter, the ADF paper feed roller 13 feeds the paper sheets one by one into the color image recording bag M20.

Furthermore, when reusing a mask original output from another monochrome laser printer or a previously used mask original, the mask original can be input by setting it on the ADF ray 12.

Next, when the user needs to interrupt the process for some reason while the exposure process, buffer process, development process, and color development gloss process are being performed in parallel, The processing operation will be explained with reference to FIG.

In such a case, the process can be interrupted by generating a stop signal by pressing the stop button 113 on the operation panel 110.

In the controller 120, internor interrupts are generated from time to time, and it is determined whether or not a stop signal is detected (Sl). If a stop signal is not detected (Sl
・No), end the interrupt operation and return to normal operation.

When the stop button 113 is pressed and a stop signal is detected when the interval interrupt occurs (Sl/YES), the process moves to the interruption process, and the display device 11
1 displays a message indicating that the process has moved to interruption processing (S2). Next, it is determined whether or not exposure processing is in progress at that time (S3). If the exposure process is in progress (
S3, YES), the exposure process is immediately stopped. S4), the mask original plate 15 is discharged, and the mask original plate 1
5 onto the exposure table 52 (S5).

Next, it is determined whether or not development is currently in progress (S6). If the developing process is in progress (S6・YES),
The developing process is continued (S7), and the color developing and glossing process is completed, and the color developer sheet 60 is discharged to the paper discharge tray 63 (S8). Furthermore, it is determined whether there is a photosensitive recording medium 50 having a latent image in the buffer by the buffer roller 55 (S9). If there is a photosensitive recording medium 50 in the buffer (S9, YES), a developing process is performed (S10), a coloring gloss process is performed (S11), a process is performed to stop the operation (S12), and an interrupt is performed. Ends the operation and returns to the normal program.

On the other hand, S3. S6. If the result of the determination in each step S9 is No, the two steps following YES are omitted and the process immediately proceeds to the next step. That is, if it is S3, it is changed to S6, if it is S6, it is changed to S9, and if it is S9, it is changed to S12.
respectively. For example, S3. S6. If the results of the determinations in S9 are NO, the program immediately after 83 proceeds to the operation stop process in 812, ends the interrupt operation, and returns to the normal program.

In this way, if the latent image that has been exposed to light by the time the stop button] 13 is pressed, especially if the color developer sheet 60 is undergoing development, the latent image and the color developer sheet 60 are processed.・In order to discharge the mask material in the shortest possible time without wasting it, and to stop the operation of the device after discharging the mask original plate 15 and the color developer sheet 60 without leaving them in the main body, perform the following operation. Sometimes it doesn't take much effort.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments detailed above, and various changes can be made without departing from the spirit thereof.

For example, in this embodiment, after detecting a stop signal generated by the stop button 113, the controller 120 determines whether, if there is a photosensitive recording medium 50 with a latent image in the buffer, whether development processing is performed and color gloss processing is performed. There is no need to do this in the case of sushi, and the photosensitive recording medium 50 having the latent image in the buffer may be left as it is, and only the one undergoing development processing may be discharged.

Further, the stop signal is generated by pressing the stop button 113 connected to the controller 120, but in addition to or instead of this, for example, the controller 120 is connected to an external computer, etc. and generate an appropriate stop signal to the computer,
The stop signal may be used to similarly interrupt the process.

Further, although the stop signal is detected during the interval interrupt processing, the stop signal may be input directly to the interrupt input of the CPU on the hardware and the interrupt processing may be started.

In addition, in the interruption process of the above embodiment, it is determined in S3 whether or not the exposure process is in progress, and after the process is completed, it is determined in S6 whether or not the development process is in progress. First, it is determined whether exposure processing and development processing are in progress, and then using interval interrupts, etc., processing for each can be performed simultaneously in parallel, in a so-called multitasking manner. good.

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the above detailed description, according to the present invention, if the user generates a stop signal to stop the mask in the middle of the exposure process, the mask master being exposed is ejected, and If the development process is being performed by the developing means, it will stop after the development process is completed, so there is no need to separately discharge the mask master or developer sheet, which saves time and effort, and also eliminates the wastage of the developer sheet during the development process. Moreover, the time wasted due to this can be minimized.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 4 show embodiments embodying the present invention. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an image recording device, and FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an image recording device. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the control unit and a flowchart regarding the interruption process. In the figure, 15 is a mask original, 21 is a mask original transport path, and 2
2.23.24, 25, 26.27 are roller pairs, 28.
29 is a gate, 31 is a positioning device, 41 is an exposure device, 50 is a photosensitive recording medium, 55 is a buffer, 70 is a pressure developing device, and 102 is a mask original storage section.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A mask original transport means for transporting a mask original, an exposure means for exposing a photosensitive recording medium through the mask original transported by the mask original transport means, and a photosensitive recording medium exposed by the exposure means. An image recording apparatus having a buffer means for temporarily storing a photosensitive recording medium, and a developing means for making the exposed photosensitive recording medium visible, comprising: a receiving means for receiving a stop signal; and a receiving means for receiving a stop signal. At times, when the mask original transport means is transporting the mask original, a mask original discharge control means for discharging the mask original, and a mask original discharge control means for discharging the mask original, and a mask original discharge control means for discharging the mask original when the mask original transport means is transporting the mask original; In some cases, an image recording apparatus comprising: a control means for controlling the image recording apparatus to stop after the development process is completed.