JP2000010037A - Image forming method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To secure >=180 deg. as the effective scanning angle of a light beam with simple constitution. SOLUTION: The exposure unit 24 of an image exposure device is constituted of a drum 78 on whose inner peripheral surface photosensitive material 16 is wound, and an optical scanning unit 48 for scanning the material 16 with the light beam. Optical members such as a transmission mirror 54 and a transmission lens 56 are attached to the same plane of a base plate 50 to which a deflector 58 is attached so as to avoid a position where they interfere with the reflection optical path of the light beam deflected by a rotary reflection mirror 72. A notch is formed at a part to intercept the reflection optical path of the light beam deflected by the mirror 72 constituting the deflector 58 on the base plate 50.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming method, and more particularly, to a rotating method in which a reflecting surface which is notched obliquely is formed and a recording medium is scanned by deflecting a light beam by rotating about a rotation axis. The present invention relates to an image forming method including a reflecting mirror, bending a recording medium in an arc shape around a rotation axis, and scanning an inner peripheral surface of the recording medium with a light beam from the rotating reflecting mirror to form an image.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An image forming apparatus scans a recording medium such as a photosensitive material with a light beam emitted from a light source, and performs a developing process and the like on a recording medium on which an image is recorded by the image exposing apparatus. And an image processing device to be applied.

The image exposure apparatus includes a plurality of optical system members such as a lens for converting a light beam emitted from a light source from a diffused light beam to a parallel light beam and a deflector for deflecting the parallel light beam. An exposure unit including a light scanning unit is provided. The exposure unit has
An optical scanning unit is disposed outside the cylindrical drum in the radial direction, and a recording medium is scanned by a light beam from the outer peripheral direction of the drum. A light scanning unit is disposed near the center of the circular arc drum. There is an inner spinner type that scans a recording medium with a light beam from the inner circumferential direction of the drum. Here, an inner spinner type exposure unit will be described.

As shown in FIG. 5A, an optical scanning unit 102 has a single substrate 104 on which a laser 106 as a light source and a plurality of optical members are mounted.
On the substrate 104, a collimator lens 108, a first deflecting mirror 110, a modulator 112, a second deflecting mirror 114, a beam diameter and beam shape correcting lens system 116, and a prism mirror 118 are provided on the emission side of the light beam emitted from the laser 106. , And the spinner 120 in this order. The spinner 120 is a reflecting surface 120A which is rotatable and has a surface facing the direction of travel of the light beam, which is obliquely cut away.

As shown in FIG. 5B, the exposure unit 100 is provided with an arc-shaped drum 122 centered on the rotation center of the spinner 120. further,
A recording medium 12 such as a photosensitive material is formed along the arc of the drum 122.
A guide guide 132 for guiding the transfer of No. 8 is provided. The recording medium 128 is accommodated in a recording medium supply unit 124 provided below the optical scanning unit 102, is conveyed by rollers 130 between the drum 122 and the guide 132, and is wound around the outer peripheral surface of the drum 122. Thereafter, the laser 106 emits a light beam, and the recording medium 128 is scanned with the light beam deflected by rotation of the plurality of optical members and the spinner 120. The recording medium 12 scanned by the light beam
8 is accommodated in a recording medium winding unit 126 provided below the optical scanning unit 102.

In the optical scanning unit 102 of the exposure unit 100, each optical system member is disposed on the substrate 104 so as not to be located above the spinner 120. That is, since each optical system member is disposed on the substrate 104 so as to avoid a position where it interferes with the reflection optical path of the light beam deflected by the rotation of the spinner 120, the deflected light beam is And an effective scanning angle of 180 ° can be ensured.

On the other hand, the effective scanning angle is increased (18
6A and 6B, the laser 106, the collimator lens 108, the first deflecting mirror 110, and the modulator 1 are disposed on the upper surface of the substrate 104 as shown in FIGS.
12, an L-shaped bracket 13 provided with a second deflecting mirror 114, a beam diameter and a beam shape correcting lens system 116, and fixed to the back surface of the substrate 104 by screws 140
6, an optical scanning unit 102A is provided in which a spinner 120 is provided and a deflecting member 138 is provided in the beam diameter and beam shape correcting lens system 116 in front of the light beam traveling direction. The deflection member 138 is provided to focus the light beam transmitted through the beam diameter and beam shape correction lens system 116 on the reflection surface 120A of the spinner 120. According to the optical scanning unit 102A, FIG.
As shown in (C), the effective scanning angle θ can be secured to 180 ° or more.

[0008]

However, in the optical scanning unit 102A in which the spinner 120 is disposed on the back surface of the substrate 104 via the bracket 136 in order to enlarge the effective scanning angle, a plurality of optical system members including the spinner 120 are provided. The mounting operation of the spinner 120 is more difficult and the positioning accuracy of the spinner 120 is reduced as compared with the optical scanning unit 102 which is disposed on the same plane of the substrate 104.
There is a problem that.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and has a simple configuration in which the effective scanning angle of a light beam is reduced to 1 unit.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming method capable of ensuring 80 ° or more.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a reflection surface which is notched obliquely with respect to a rotation axis is formed, and the reflection surface rotates about the rotation axis. A rotating reflecting mirror that deflects the light beam and scans the recording medium by bending the recording medium in an arc shape about the rotation axis, and the inner peripheral surface of the recording medium is irradiated with the light beam from the rotating reflecting mirror. An image forming method for forming an image by scanning, comprising: a driving member for rotationally driving the rotary reflecting mirror; and an optical system member for deflecting a light beam. An effective scanning angle of the light beam is secured at least 180 ° by being mounted on the same plane of the substrate on which the rotary reflecting mirror is mounted so as to avoid a position that interferes with the optical path. It is characterized in that to secure the effective scanning angle 180 ° or more by forming a notch in a portion of the substrate to block the reflection optical path of the light beam.

According to the image forming method of the present invention, a recording medium is bent in an arc shape, and an inner surface of the recording medium is scanned with a light beam to form an image. At this time, the recording medium is scanned by a light beam which is formed by a reflecting mirror which is notched obliquely and which is deflected by a rotating reflecting mirror which rotates about a rotation axis.

A driving member for rotationally driving the rotary reflecting mirror and an optical system member (for example, a lens or a mirror) for deflecting the light beam interfere with the reflection optical path of the light beam deflected by the rotating reflecting mirror. Mounted on the same plane of the substrate so as to avoid position. That is, the driving member and the optical system member are attached at positions where the light beam deflected by the rotary reflecting mirror is not blocked. Thereby, the effective scanning angle of the light beam can be secured at least 180 °. The driving member and the optical system member are mounted on the same plane of the substrate on which the rotary reflecting mirror is mounted. This facilitates the work of attaching the rotary reflecting mirror and prevents a decrease in positioning accuracy.

Further, a notch is formed in a part of the substrate on which the rotary reflecting mirror, the driving member and the optical system member are mounted. That is, a notch is formed in a part of the substrate that blocks the reflected light path of the light beam deflected by the rotary reflecting mirror. This allows
An effective scanning angle of the light beam of 180 ° or more can be secured.

Therefore, using a substrate having a notch formed at a position where the reflected light path of the light beam deflected by the rotary reflecting mirror is cut off, the rotary reflecting mirror, the driving member and the optical member are deflected by the rotary reflecting mirror. Since it is mounted on the same plane of the substrate so as to avoid a position where it interferes with the reflected light path of the beam, the effective scanning angle of the light beam is 180 ° with a simple configuration.
The above can be secured.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a schematic internal configuration of an image forming apparatus 14 which is composed of an image exposing device 10 and an image processing device 12 and is formed in a box shape.

The image exposure apparatus 10 includes a photosensitive material loading section 18.
, A correction circuit 20, a correction data creation unit 22, and an exposure unit 24. Further, the image processing apparatus 12 includes a face section 26 and a heat developing unit 28.
, A photosensitive material take-up unit 30, an image receiving and feeding unit 32, a color measurement sensor 34, and a temperature and humidity sensor 36.

The photosensitive material loading section 18 of the image exposure apparatus 10 is loaded with the photosensitive material 16 wound around a winding shaft 38. The photosensitive material 16 loaded in the photosensitive material loading section 18 is transported in a predetermined direction by driving a transport roller (not shown). An exposure unit 24 is provided downstream of the photosensitive material 16 in the transport direction. The exposure unit 24 includes a correction circuit 20 for correcting image data.
Are connected to each other, and the corrected image data generated by the correction circuit 20 is input thereto. That is, the exposure unit 24 uses the laser 52 (FIG. 2) based on the corrected image data.
3 (A) and 3 (B)), and the photosensitive material 16 is exposed by scanning with a light beam. The exposure unit 24 is provided with an arc-shaped drum 78 having a central angle of 180 ° or more.
Is wound and transported along the inner peripheral surface of the drum 78, and the light beam is transmitted from the inner peripheral direction of the drum 78 to the photosensitive material 16.
(So-called inner spinner type) (details will be described later).

The output terminal of the correction data generator 22 is connected to the correction circuit 20 described above. Output terminals of a temperature / humidity sensor 36 and a color measurement sensor 34 provided in the image processing apparatus 12 are connected to the correction data creation unit 22.
The temperature / humidity sensor 36 is a sensor that detects the temperature and humidity in the image processing apparatus 12, and the color measurement sensor 34 measures the color of the image recorded on the image receiving paper 40 that has been heat-developed by the heat development unit 28. It is a sensor. Therefore, the correction data creation unit 22 uses the correction circuit 2 based on the detection (measurement) data from the temperature and humidity sensor 36 and the color measurement sensor 34.
At 0, correction data used for correcting image data is created.

Here, the detailed structure of the exposure unit 24 will be described with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 2, the exposure unit 24
Is provided with an optical scanning unit 48. On a substrate 50 constituting the optical scanning unit 48, a laser 52 as a light source, a transmission filter 54 for condensing and transmitting a light beam emitted from the laser 52, a transmission lens 56, and a deflector for deflecting the light beam (hereinafter, deflector) , Called spinner)
58 is attached along the longitudinal direction of the substrate 50. At this time, the laser 52, the transmission filter 54, and the transmission lens 56 are mounted on the same plane of the substrate 50 so as to avoid a position where the laser 52 deflected by the spinner 58 interferes with the reflection optical path of the light beam. That is, the laser 52, the transmission filter 54, and the transmission lens 56 are attached to the spinner 5 by at least one of these members.
Substrate 5 so as not to block the light beam deflected by 8
0 on the same plane. As a result, the effective scanning angle θ of the light beam can be secured at least 180 °, and the work of mounting the optical system members such as the spinner 58 can be facilitated and the positioning accuracy can be prevented from lowering.

The laser 52 is fixed to a laser mounting table 60 having one surface fixed to the substrate 50. The transmission filter 54 and the transmission lens 56 are respectively
The light beam emitted from the laser 52 is attached to the substrate 50 via the
It is positioned so as to travel in parallel with the zero plane.
The spinner 58 includes a driving member 68 having a motor (not shown) incorporated therein, a rotating shaft 70 having one end connected to the motor incorporated in the driving member 68, and a transmission lens 56 connected to the other end of the rotating shaft 70. A surface facing the traveling direction of the transmitted light beam is constituted by a rotary reflecting mirror 72 having a reflecting surface 72A which is notched obliquely, and the driving member 68 is fixed to the deflector mounting table 66 so that the substrate 50 It is positioned and attached to. The light beam emitted from the laser 52 and transmitted through the transmission filter 54 and the transmission lens 56 is incident on the reflection surface 72A of the rotary reflection mirror 72. At this time, a light beam is deflected by driving a motor (not shown) and rotating the rotary reflecting mirror 72, and scans the photosensitive material 16 wound on the inner peripheral surface of the drum 78 in the main scanning direction.

The substrate 50 has rectangular cutouts 50A at both ends in the width direction of the substrate 50 and between the transmission lens 56 and the spinner 58. The notch 50A has an effective scanning angle θ when scanning the photosensitive material 16 (see FIG. 3).
(See (C)). That is, by forming the notch 50 </ b> A in the substrate 50, the reflection optical path of the light beam deflected by the reflection surface 72 </ b> A of the rotary reflection mirror 72 is not blocked by the substrate 50.
For this reason, the photosensitive material 16 positioned in the back direction of the substrate 50
Can be scanned with a light beam. That is, an effective scanning angle of the light beam of 180 ° or more can be secured.

Further, the optical scanning unit 48 includes the substrate 5
A lead screw 74 is provided along the longitudinal direction of the zero. A moving support member 76 having an insertion hole 76A through which a lead screw 74 is inserted is formed on the back surface of the substrate 50.
Is fixed. Accordingly, the substrate 50 to which the laser 52, the transmission filter 54, the transmission lens 56, and the spinner 58 are attached is rotated in a longitudinal direction of the lead screw 74 by a driving force supplied from a driving source (not shown). 2 (along arrow A shown in FIG. 2).

The exposure unit 24 has a central angle of 1
The optical scanning unit 48 is an arc-shaped drum 78 of 80 ° or more.
Is disposed so as to cover the surface. Drum 78
The center of the drum 78 is provided so as to coincide with the center of rotation of the rotary reflecting mirror 92 attached to the substrate 50. As described above, the photosensitive material 16 transported from the photosensitive material loading unit 18 by the roller (not shown)
Is wound along the inner peripheral surface of the. A light beam is emitted from the laser 52 in a state where the photosensitive material 16 is wound around the inner peripheral surface of the drum 78, and the rotating reflecting mirror 72 of the spinner 58 is rotated.
Rotates, the lead screw 74 rotates, and the substrate 50 moves in the direction of arrow A (see FIGS. 2 and 3A and 3B), so that the photosensitive material 16 can be scanned with the light beam. . The rotation of the rotary reflecting mirror 72 scans the photosensitive material 16 in the main scanning direction, and the movement of the substrate 50 along the lead screw 74 causes the scanning of the photosensitive material 16 in the sub-scanning direction. Is performed.

Next, details of the internal structure of the image processing device 12 provided adjacent to the image exposure device 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4, the image processing device 12
A face portion 26 is provided in the vicinity of the connection portion with the image exposure device 10 in. A branch guide (not shown) operated by a solenoid is disposed on the face portion 26. The branch guide is configured to be switched between a horizontal state and a vertical state. When the branch guide is switched to the vertical state, as shown by an imaginary line in FIG.
The photosensitive material 16 can be slackened between the two. Thereby, the processing speed of the image processing device 12 and the image exposure device 10
Speed difference with the processing speed can be absorbed. In addition,
The driving of the transport roller 42 is controlled by a control unit 94 provided below the image processing apparatus 12.

Below the face section 26, an image receiving / feeding section 32 is provided. Image receiving paper 40 wound around a take-up shaft 44 is loaded in the image receiving and feeding unit 32, and is transported by a transport roller 42 in a predetermined direction.

A heat developing unit 28 is provided downstream of the photosensitive material 16 in the transport direction. Thermal development unit 28
Is provided with a water application tank 80 in which the photosensitive material 16 is filled with water as a solvent for image formation. The water application tank 80 includes a water tank 82 provided below the image processing apparatus 12.
, Water is supplied by a pump (not shown). By applying water to the photosensitive material 16,
Adhesion when the image receiving paper 40 and the photosensitive material 16 are bonded to each other can be improved.

The heat developing unit 28 is provided with a heating drum 84 in addition to the water coating tank 80. Heating drum 84
A heater (not shown) is accommodated in the inside, and the temperature rises as the heating drum 84 rotates. As a result, the photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving paper 40 conveyed along the outer peripheral surface of the heating drum 84 are heated for a predetermined time (that is, subjected to thermal development processing), and an image is formed on the image receiving paper 40. Also,
A slip prevention belt 86 is provided near the outer circumference of the heating drum 84 to prevent the photosensitive material 16 conveyed along the outer circumference of the heating drum 84 from being shifted from the image receiving paper 40, so that an image can be accurately formed on the image receiving paper 40. Care is taken to be formed.

On the downstream side of the heating drum 84 in the transport direction of the photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving paper 40, a photosensitive material peeling member 88 for peeling off the photosensitive material 16 bonded to the image receiving paper 40, and the image receiving paper 40 are provided. An image receiving paper separating member 90 for separating from the heating drum 84 is provided.

The image receiving paper 4 is separated by the photosensitive material separating member 88.
The photosensitive material 16 that has been peeled off is wound around a winding shaft 92 provided in the photosensitive material winding section 30, and is disposed as waste material. Further, the color measurement sensor 34 is disposed on the downstream side in the transport direction of the image receiving paper 40 on which an image has been formed by being separated from the heating drum 84 by the image receiving paper separating member 90. The color measurement sensor 34 measures the color of the image formed on the image receiving paper 40, and outputs the measurement data to the correction data creation unit 22 provided in the image exposure device 10. The image receiving paper 40 whose color has been measured by the color measurement sensor 34 is stored in the image processing apparatus 1.
2 to the outside.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.

In the image exposure apparatus 10, when the photographed photosensitive material 16 is loaded in the photosensitive material loading section 18, a transport roller (not shown) is driven, and the photosensitive material 16 is transported in a predetermined direction. When the photosensitive material 16 reaches the exposure unit 24, an exposure process is started based on the corrected image data output from the correction circuit 20.

The photosensitive material 16 having reached the exposure unit 24
Is wound around the inner peripheral surface of the drum 78 and transported.
At this time, a light beam is emitted from the laser 52 attached to the substrate 50 of the optical scanning unit 48, and the light beam is transmitted to the transmission filter 54, the transmission lens 56, and the spinner 58.
The photosensitive material 16 is irradiated with the light. The rotation of the rotary mirror 72 constituting the spinner 58 causes the photosensitive material 1 to rotate.
6 is performed along the main scanning direction. On the other hand, when the substrate 50 to which the laser 52 and the like are attached moves along the longitudinal direction of the lead screw 74, the photosensitive material 1
6 is performed in the sub-scanning direction.

The photosensitive material 16 that has been subjected to the exposure processing by the image exposure device 10 is transported to the image processing device 12.
In the image processing apparatus 12, the photosensitive material 16 and the image receiving paper 40 are attached to each other, and subjected to a heat development process in the heat development unit 28. Thereby, an image is formed on the image receiving paper 40. The photosensitive material 16 that has been subjected to the heat development processing is wound up by the photosensitive material take-up section 30 and disposed of as waste material. On the other hand, the image receiving paper 40 on which the image is formed is discharged out of the image processing apparatus 12, and is conveyed to a next-step apparatus such as a printing apparatus.

Image forming apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention
Reference numeral 4 denotes a notch 50A formed in the substrate 50 constituting the optical scanning unit 48 in the exposure unit 24 of the image exposure apparatus 10, so that the reflection of the light beam deflected by the reflecting surface 72A of the rotary reflecting mirror 72 constituting the spinner 58 The effective scanning angle θ of the light beam is set to 18 without blocking the optical path.
0 ° or more can be secured. Further, the laser 52 is placed on the same plane of the substrate 50 on which the spinner 58 is attached.
Since the transmission filter 54 and the transmission lens 56 are mounted, the work of mounting the optical system members such as the spinner 58 can be facilitated, and the positioning accuracy can be prevented from lowering.

Therefore, the effective scanning angle of the light beam can be secured to 180 ° or more with a simple configuration.

The image processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment
2, the thermal developing unit 2 in which the heating drum 84 is disposed
8 has been described as an example, but is not limited to this. For example, a thermal developing unit in which a plurality of hot plates are arranged in an arc shape may be configured. According to this, the height of the developing device can be limited as compared with the case where the heating drum 84 is provided. Therefore, the size of the developing apparatus can be reduced.

The image exposure apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment
The zero exposure unit 24 has been described as an example in which an arc-shaped drum 78 is provided and the photosensitive material 16 is wound around the inner peripheral surface of the drum 78, but the invention is not limited to this. For example, a configuration may be adopted in which the photosensitive material 16 is bent in an arc shape around the rotation shaft 70 of the spinner 58 without disposing the arc drum 78.

[0040]

As described above, according to the present invention, the driving member for rotating and driving the rotary reflecting mirror and the optical system member for deflecting the light beam interfere with the optical path of the light beam reflected by the rotating reflecting mirror. Mounting on the same plane of the substrate so as to avoid the position where the light beam is deflected, and a notch is formed in a part of the substrate that cuts off the reflection optical path of the light beam deflected by the rotary reflector, so that the effective scanning of the light beam can be performed with a simple configuration. It has an excellent effect that an angle of 180 ° or more can be secured.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an internal configuration of an image forming apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a detailed configuration of an exposure unit.

FIG. 3A is a side view of the optical scanning unit as viewed from the substrate longitudinal direction, and FIG. 3B is a top view of the optical scanning unit. (C) shows a side view of the optical scanning unit as viewed from the substrate width direction.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of the image processing apparatus.

FIG. 5 shows a conventional optical scanning unit. (A) is a perspective view of the vicinity of the substrate, and (B) is a side view of the optical scanning unit viewed from the substrate width direction.

FIG. 6 shows a conventional optical scanning unit in which a spinner is attached to the back surface of a substrate. (A) is a perspective view near the substrate, (B) is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in (A), and (C) is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC in (B).

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 image exposure apparatus 16 photosensitive material (recording medium) 50 substrate 50A notch 52 laser 54 transmission mirror 56 transmission lens 58 deflector (spinner) 68 driving member 70 rotation axis 72 rotating reflection mirror 78 drum

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A rotating reflecting mirror, wherein a reflecting surface which is notched obliquely with respect to a rotating axis is formed, and a rotating reflecting mirror which deflects a light beam by rotating about the rotating axis to scan a recording medium is provided. An image forming method in which the recording medium is bent in an arc shape around a center, and an inner peripheral surface of the recording medium is scanned with a light beam from the rotary reflecting mirror to form an image. A driving member for driving and an optical system member for deflecting the light beam are provided on a substrate on which the rotary reflecting mirror is attached so as to avoid a position where the optical member deviates from the reflection optical path of the light beam deflected by the rotating reflecting mirror. By mounting on the same plane, an effective scanning angle of the light beam of at least 180 ° is ensured, and a cutout is formed in a part of the substrate that blocks a reflection optical path of the light beam deflected by the rotary reflecting mirror. Image forming method characterized by securing the effective scanning angle 180 ° or more by Rukoto.