JPS63281175A - recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To realize a high picture quality and a low cost caused by a mass production, by constituting that which has formed as one body a printer function and a microfilm recording function of a printer of an LBP electrophotographic system. CONSTITUTION:A rotary polygon mirror 2 placed in an optical system optical path consisting of the first light emitting source (laser) 1a being a scanning optical system for a photoirradiation is used in common, and microfilm recording is executed by an optical system consisting of the second light emitting source (laser) 1b. Since a main part of the optical system for scanning a video signal received as an LBP and an optical signal generated thereby is shared, a hard copy is obtained as necessary by one device, and also, a reproduction of a microfilm is obtained freely. In such a way, a cost merit due to a mass-producing technique of the LBP and an excellent image technique can be obtained.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention A. Purpose of the Invention [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention provides a method for simultaneously outputting a copy using a digital printer such as an LBP (electrophotographic printer) and recording microfilm based on the same image signal. It is about the device that executes it.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, office CON (computer output microfilm) has been used as a device for recording information including code signals such as the contents of computer memory on microfilm, but the recent development of computer technology has led to the use of computer graphics as a target field. It has expanded from various image creation means used to create images to design support systems CAD, and is being reconsidered as a powerful output device.

Conventional COW was developed primarily for commercial purposes and basically has a resolution suitable for handling characters and symbols of the same quality as character information printed by line printers, but In recent years, high image quality with high resolution is essential for modern applications. LB as an output terminal in this field
P is in the spotlight, and its characteristics are high image quality, high speed, and low cost due to mass production.

However, with the spread of CAD in the drawing market, large format (for example AI) output devices with high image quality and high speed are extremely expensive, so A
Currently, we have no choice but to rely on relatively inexpensive equipment available in three sizes, or we only create original drawings using large-format printers with slow output speeds. On the other hand, the use of microfilm in the field of drawings is currently overwhelming in terms of drawing management, especially due to its advantage in large-format copy output speed. Even though the paper size of the LBP used as a CAD output terminal is up to A3, there are already products with much superior image quality, which is intended to compensate for the weak point of outputting drawings in reduced format. It is self-evident that from the 18 pel that has appeared, in the near future 24 pel or higher will appear on a mass-produced level. The practical level of image quality is also 18 pels.
It has been found that a reduced A3 size copy of an A1 original drawing is sufficiently usable (readable).

Under these current circumstances, even if a large-format digital printer is installed as a CAD terminal, as mentioned earlier, the output of copies of the original size for distribution must be relied on by other equipment. For special reasons regarding drawing management, many users create microfilms in a separate process after outputting the original drawings. In order to solve this problem, special aperture card laser plotters have appeared on the market with high resolution, but these are still very expensive as dedicated microfilm plotters, and apart from this, large format There was a drawback that it was necessary to have multiple aperture card reader printers, one for exclusive use and one for A3 size or smaller. The reason is that many drawings are A3 or smaller, which requires higher speed output, and a single large-format printer is inefficient.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

In view of the above points, the present invention integrates the printer function and microfilm recording function of the LOP, even though they each have parts that can be used for the same purpose. The purpose is to provide a device that can simultaneously eliminate the cost disadvantage of conventionally separate devices and the uneconomical cost of doubling the effort required to create microfilm when it is essential. shall be.

1. Configuration of the Invention [Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention provides a method for directing a writing beam to a drum, which is a first photoreceptor, from a scanning optical path of an apparatus having a (raster) scanning system for a light beam. A means is provided for extracting a writing beam onto a microfilm, which is a second photoreceptor, and scanning of both writing beams is performed using a common scanning member 1, such as a rotating polygon mirror.

Further, in the case where the spectral sensitivity characteristics of the two photoreceptors are different, this can be achieved by performing exposure suitable for each using a light source, such as a semiconductor laser, according to the spectral sensitivity characteristics of each, as necessary. In the former case, the method for branching the optical path is to attach or remove an optical path switching mirror directly to the optical path of the writing beam to the first photoconductor, or if the spectral sensitivity characteristics of each photoconductor are different, a spectroscopic mirror can be used. Conventionally known methods can be applied, such as eliminating moving parts by using

[For production]

According to the present invention, the optical system as an LBP is preserved, and the LB
It is possible to record the same image on microfilm together with the printout (hard copy) of P.
It is possible to significantly improve the efficiency of microfilm production work compatible with high-speed drawing processing systems that require large-sized prints of A2 size or larger. There are also great cost benefits due to the integration of functions, especially digital printers that output hard copies of A3 or smaller and original size A3.
By combining this with the ability to create microfilms of drawings that exceed the above, it has the potential to provide not only a system for using these reduced-size monitor prints, but also a low-cost, high-quality drawing processing terminal device.

〔Example〕

Figure 1 shows the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention centered on the optical system.6 This embodiment shows a photoreceptor, a charger for charging the photoreceptor, and a product obtained by irradiating the photoreceptor with light. Taking as an example an LBP having an electrophotographic printer output unit equipped with a developing device for developing an electrostatic latent image, an optical system consisting of a first light emitting source forming a scanning optical system for light irradiation is placed in the optical path. This shows that microfilm recording is performed by an optical system consisting of a second light emitting source, using a rotating polygon mirror.

la@lb are lasers that are the first and second light emitting sources, 2 is a rotating polygon mirror, 3 is an Fθ lens, and 4 is an electrophotographic photoreceptor. (Angular velocity) By rotation, the laser beams of the light emitting sources 1a and 1b are angularly scanned in the direction of the rotation axis of the photoreceptor, and the speed of the scanning spot on the image plane is kept constant by the Fθ lens 3.

Here, 4a indicates the scanning line by the laser 1a focused on the surface of the photoreceptor 4, whereas 4b indicates the virtual position of the scanning line by the laser 1b, that is, the inclined relationship of the laser 1aelb when there is no mirror 5. It represents the mutual positional relationship that occurs. Laser 1a is essential for original LBP, whereas laser 1b is a light source for microfilm recording and is placed near the LBP laser-scanning path (light path indicated by a triangle of surface lines). The laser scanning surface for microfilm recording is bent downward to be substantially perpendicular to that of the LBP by the mirror 5.
The mirror 6 and the laser beam incident thereon pass through a field lens 7 and a mirror 8, and the reflected beam is converged on the pupil of the microfilm recording lens 9. 9 indicates the virtual pupil position when the mirror 8 is ignored. Further, 4b is a conjugate plane of 4b, which is marked while ignoring the mirror 8 when the optical path is followed from the microfilm side, that is, it shows the virtual scanning line 4b.

FIG. 2 is for the purpose of more clearly explaining a part of the arrangement of the optical system for LBP using the laser 1a in FIG. Indicated by symbols. Also the third
The figure is for specifically explaining the arrangement and operation of the mirror 6 and field lens 7.

In Figure 2, the LOP scanning surface by laser 1a is F
A relationship is shown in which the optical axis of the θ lens 3 is included and the image is formed on the surface 4a of the photoreceptor 4. On the other hand, the light beam of the laser tb is incident on the optical axis of the Fθ lens 3 at an angle of φ and is A microfilm scanning plane E is formed to form an image at the virtual scanning position 4b, and this is directed downward by a mirror 5 disposed near the LBP scanning plane, passes through a field lens 7, and is reflected by the mirror 6. .

In FIG. 3, the light beam emitted from the exit pupil (backward, near the polygon mirror surface) 3 of the Fθ lens 3 is made parallel to the optical axis by the field lens 7.

By always making the incident perpendicular to mirror 6, Fθ
Either the light beam is reflected toward the pupil of the lens 3, or this condition is changed so that the light beam is directed toward a microfilm recording lens pupil position 9, which is set at a position different from the exit pupil 3. In this way, the first microfilm recording scanning light beam is imaged by the Ii shadow lens 9 via the mirror 10 onto the main scanning line 4b on the microfilm F.

Next, to explain the operation including the operation shown in FIG. 1, when the photoreceptor 4 is charged by the charger 71 and in a state where an optical image can be recorded, when the same image signal is input to each laser 1a * 1b, the arrow A latent image is formed on the photoconductor rotating in the direction of
An image is obtained as a copy on paper 12 by developer 72 and transfer system 73. As shown in FIG.
If the main scanning direction perpendicular to this is represented by an arrow C, the relationship with this is expressed in the same way on the surface of the photoreceptor and on the microfilm F, and the subscanning direction of the microfilm F is the arrow direction d. It can also be seen that the image on the microfilm is placed on top when viewed from the light beam irradiation side (this is the same as in the case of general photography with a conventional microfilm camera).

Therefore, as shown in the illustrated example, the 7-percha card 11 records by a method such as determining the leading edge position Fo of the image on the microfilm as, for example, the distance ◇ from the end 110 of the aperture card 11 in accordance with the timing of the paper on the LBP side. A means (not shown) for transporting the aperture card 11 at a constant speed completes the recording on the microfilm together with the copy output of the LBP. Here, when exposing the microfilm, assuming that the image signal is the same as that on the LBP side, for example, if the LBP side is a negative development system, that is, the exposed area is developed with toner, the microfilm side will be exposed to negative light. A positive image can be obtained by using a negative film such as general silver halide film, but if it is better to obtain a negative film in the field of microfilm F, then by changing the characteristics of the film to a reversal type, a negative microfilm can be directly produced by the same exposure. can be obtained.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view for explaining the structural concept of the recording device of the present invention, which has an integral frame, and has an L
In Figure 0, where a device that combines both the BP function and the microfilm recording function is incorporated, the optical system including the polygon, which is the main part inside #1 body, has the configuration shown in Figure 1 and is applied to this example as is. possible, most of them can be omitted, and the microfilm photographing lens 9 and mirror lO
Only the portion shown is shown, and the positional relationship with the photoreceptor 4 is also shown.

In the figure, a paper cassette 21 in which transfer paper for LBP is set is attached to the front of the fuselage, and the part containing the main parts of the optical system (not shown), that is, the right side of the fuselage boundary line 30 as a general boundary, is the LBP part. Configure. On the other hand, the left side of the boundary line 30 generally constitutes a microfilm recording section, and the optical signal is exposed onto the microfilm 11 by the photographic lens 9 and the mirror 10 through an opening that takes in the image optical signal from the LBP side. Ru. The microfilm recording section is formed in a space shielded from light from the outside by a partition wall 50 of a frame provided near a boundary line 30 with the LBP section, a cover 52φ53, 54, and the like.

In the format of the aperture card recording device shown in this embodiment,
One film at a time is selectively fed out from a film supply unit 31, which allows a large number of raw films to be taken out as a unit, and transferred to an exposure stage 32.
is supplied to Exposure station is aperture card 1
When the exposure is completed by sub-scanning d synchronized with the peripheral speed of the photosensitive drum at an appropriately set ratio to the circumferential speed of the photosensitive drum, the 0 film is stored in the exposed film stocker 33 in the paper ejection step 36. Normally, microfilm development is performed using a separate developing device, and this embodiment does not refer to this.

For this reason, the film stocker 33 can be taken out from the rear in the direction of arrow 55 as a light-shielded unit for convenient external removal.

This device has multiple switches 61 and 62 for control commands on the front.
- 63 is provided, and its function is 0, which has a numeric value function and can be displayed on the 1 display section 64. For example, switches 62 and 6
3 is an up/down key for setting the number, and when the numerical value "3" is set with these keys, "3" is set on the display section 64.1 The paper as LBP is sent to the host computer or memory controller (not shown). The system is configured to request this number of sheets from the host side independently of the output number of sheets instruction, and the video signal 24 is repeatedly sent out so that this set number of sheets is satisfied. Therefore, in some cases, LB
As P, it is possible to produce only a specified number of microfilm records without outputting copies. The control switch controls this type of microfilm recording operation with LBP.
In combination with functions, it may be possible to select from a case where everything is left to the host side to various other combinations, and these control switches can be used as a means of specifying this.

The present invention thus provides a device that has the conventional function of receiving a video signal and converting it into a hard copy, as well as a means of efficiently creating microfilm as required, by sharing the main part of the optical system. It is something that can be established as a system.

FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment, in which the polygon mirror 2
The positional relationship between the laser 1b and the LBP laser a, which share the same laser 1b, and the laser a for LBP are arranged so that they are incident on different planes of the polygon, rather than on the same plane of the polygon, using the mutual luminous flux inclination φ in the previous example, and the scanning luminous flux of both is is taken out in a different direction, and Fθ
A lens 3 is provided exclusively for microfilm recording.

Also, regarding the sub-scanning means of the microfilm F, the first
Rather than plane scanning as shown in the figure, roller feeding means 131 and 13
In either case, the speed on the microfilm side is significantly different from the sub-scanning speed on the LBP side, that is, the drum rotational speed, on the order of 1/10 to 1/15 in the case of an aperture card.

This synchronization relationship may be achieved by a synchronous motor, a five-speed motor, etc., or by one pulley/belt means, gear transmission, etc. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 4, the optical path length differs greatly. In point, purpose of use example Eva 16
It is valuable where compact design is the primary objective, such as when recording on phoenix roll microfilm.

Figure 6 is an example of the driver circuit for the lasers 1a and 1b, and 101-103 indicate current switches for the lasers 1a*1b. "L" turns on the laser. Reference numerals 102 and 104 are constant current source circuits that determine the current value of the semiconductor laser 1a and tb, and this current value is set by polyurethane 105 and 106 for each of the semiconductor lasers 1a and t.
The current value of b can be varied independently.

A gate open signal 109 outputted from a control circuit (not shown).
110 opens AND107-108, and 1a.phi.lb is independently controlled by video input signal 24 (FIG. 5).

FIG. 7 is a block diagram for controlling the entire device.
is a control circuit CC consisting of a microcomputer etc.
Upon detecting the on/off state of the switches 61-62-63 (C), the CCl 20 displays the number of copies and the number of microfilms produced on the display section 64, and also notifies the host via 111. Furthermore, C(:120 controls the control signals 109 and 110. For example, if the number of microfilms set is "O" and the copy is "5", 109 is rHJ until the copy is completed, and 110 is the first It is set to "L" from

Further, if the number of microfilms is rNJ, rHJ is held at 11O until rNJ microfilms are photographed. Further, control is performed so that simultaneous recording is performed up to a set number of sheets with a small number of sheets.

When performing only a copy operation, the CCl 20 communicates with the host via 111, performs known photosensitive drum control, and executes copying.

When using CCl20 only for microfilm production,
The position signals from the microfilm position sensor group 70 are detected, and the leading edge of the image is aligned with the host and projected onto the microfilm.

When performing a copy operation and a microfilm operation at the same time, the CCl 20 needs to align the leading edge of the image, so it detects the positional relationship between the microfilm position sensor group 70 and the copy position 2 sensor group 71 while performing the copy operation and microfilm projection operation. execute at the same time.

Although the video signal 24 is shown in the form of a rask signal, the CAD vector signal is expanded into the rask signal using a memory or the like before this.

C1 As described in detail of the invention, the main part of the optical system for scanning the video signal received as an LBP and the optical signal generated thereby is shared, and a single device can obtain a hard copy and microfilm as necessary. We have made it possible to freely obtain copies of It is possible to provide a new device that is much cheaper than the conventional laser plotter, which is fully equipped with a graphic COM device, and can maintain excellent image characteristics. In addition, in the field of handling digital images, especially in the CAD market that handles drawings, we are pursuing the merits of using an analog microfilm large-format drawing system in conjunction with direct microfilming of large-format original drawings of A2 or larger using 0ADI. It is usable.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view explaining the present invention in detail, Fig. 2 is a partial sectional view including the optical axis plane of the FO lens perpendicular to the photoreceptor drum axis of the same optical system, and Fig. 3 is a part of the optical system. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the action of the field lens 7 on a reflective surface conjugate with the photoreceptor scanning image plane, that is, near the mirror 6. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the microfilm recording optical system that shares polygons. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the concept of the present invention as an embodiment of the device, FIG. 6 is a laser driving circuit, and FIG. 7 is a block diagram for controlling the entire device. 1aalb is a laser light source, 2 is a polygon, °3 (35
is an Fθ lens, 4 is a photoreceptor, 6 is a reflection mirror that is in a conjugate relationship with the surface of the photoreceptor, 7 is a field lens that changes the direction of the light beam, 9 is a microfilm photographing lens, F is a microfilm, and 12 is an LOP. hard copy.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) In an optical signal recording device having a plurality of photoreceptors,
It has a scanning body for scanning an optical signal beam, and a first imaging lens for imaging the optical signal beam scanned by the scanning body on the surface of a first photoreceptor, and the scanning body is scanned by the scanning body. The optical signal beam is guided to the recording optical path of another photoconductor by a selection mirror that takes the optical signal beam out of the optical path toward the first photoconductor, and the optical signal beam is focused on each photoconductor by a dedicated imaging lens. A recording device characterized by: (2) having a first light source that generates an optical signal beam for recording on the first photoconductor and one or more light sources for recording on another photoconductor, and these different light sources are used for the scanning. The recording apparatus according to claim (1), characterized in that the optical system has an arrangement that shares a body. (3) The recording device according to claim (2), wherein at least one of the plurality of light sources is a light source that emits light in a wavelength range different from that of the other light sources. (4) The scope of claims characterized in that the number of sheets to be recorded on the photoreceptor and the number of sheets to be recorded on microfilm are each independently settable, and simultaneous recording is performed up to a small set number of both sets ( The recording device according to any one of items 1), (2), and (3). (5) Claims (1)-(
The recording device according to any one of items 2) and (3). (8) Any one of claims (1), (2), and (3), characterized in that the polarities of optical scanning by the first light emitting source and the second light emitting source are the same polarity. Recording device as described. (7) Any one of claims (1), (2), and (3), characterized in that the first light source and the second light source each have means for independently varying the amount of light. The recording device described in .