JP2990360B2 - Printer and print system using photosensitive microcapsule type print paper - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for forming a latent image by exposing a special printing paper coated with photosensitive microcapsules by a print head having light emitting elements of a plurality of colors. Also, the present invention relates to a printer which applies mechanical pressure to the special print paper by a print roller to develop the special print paper, and more particularly to an improvement of the print head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The applicant of the present invention has previously filed Japanese Patent Application No. 9-1.
At 52719, the special print paper coated with the photosensitive microcapsules is scanned by a print head having three types of light-emitting elements of red, green, and blue to form a latent image, and the special print on which the latent image is formed is formed. It discloses in detail the specific configuration and operation and effect of a printer that develops paper by applying mechanical pressure with a print roller. This printer is a device particularly suitable for a handy type printer for a digital camera that stores image data in a storage medium such as a floppy disk. The special printing paper is obtained by uniformly coating photosensitive microcapsules having a diameter of about 4 microns on a base paper, coating an image receiving layer containing a color developing agent thereon, and further laminating a polyester film thereon. The microcapsules themselves are merely transparent gelatin microvessels that are light-transmissive and strong enough to be broken by the mechanical pressure of the print roller.

[0003] The color-forming substance encapsulated in the microcapsules is a colorless leuco dye, which is a substance that forms a color upon contact with an image receiving layer containing a color developer. The color-forming substances correspond to the three primary colors of light, that is, red (R), green (G), and blue (B).
That is, three types of magenta (M), yellow (Y), and cyan (C) are prepared. The photo-curing material that is encapsulated in the microcapsule in combination with the color-forming substance is a light of a color that is complementary to the color presented by the color-forming substance coming into contact with the image receiving layer,
That is, a substance that is cured by light having a specific wavelength is selected. That is, a photo-curable substance that cures when irradiated with green light (G) is selected as the magenta (M) color-forming substance that absorbs green and exhibits reddish purple. Similarly, a color-forming substance for yellow (Y) that absorbs blue-violet is a photo-curing substance that cures when irradiated with blue light (B), and a cyan (C) that absorbs red and exhibits blue-violet. As the color-forming substance, a photo-curable substance that cures when irradiated with red light (R) is selected.
Accordingly, there are three types of photosensitive microcapsules, M, Y, and C. Therefore, there are two types of special printing paper: mono-color for only one type of photosensitive microcapsule and 256-color full-color for three types of photosensitive microcapsules. There is for sensitivity. The principle of coloring of such special print paper is as follows.

For example, when one type of light of R, G, and B, that is, monochromatic light is selected and irradiated on a special printing paper for full color coated with three types of photosensitive microcapsules,
Of the three types of photosensitive microcapsules of M, Y, and C, only the photosensitive microcapsules enclosing a photocurable substance having a complementary color relationship with the selected monochromatic light are cured in response to light, and the other two are cured. The type does not cure. That is, when the light of R is irradiated, the photosensitive microcapsule of C hardens in response to the red light of the photocurable substance, and the other two types, that is, the photosensitive microcapsules of M and Y do not harden. When the pressure of the print roller is applied to the special printing paper in this state, the photosensitive microcapsules of M and Y are completely destroyed, but the photosensitive microcapsules of C are not destroyed or are incomplete depending on the degree of curing. Destroyed. For this reason, the M and Y coloring substances come into contact with the image receiving layer of the special printing paper, and the area develops red mixed with M and Y. The color of the red color obtained by mixing M and Y changes depending on the degree of curing of the photosensitive microcapsule C. This is because, although incomplete, the photosensitive microcapsules of C are destroyed, and the color-forming substance for C comes into contact with the image receiving layer. Similarly, when the light of G is irradiated, the color develops green mixed with Y and C, and when the light of B is irradiated, the color develops blue mixed with M and C.

[0005] In short, special printing paper for full color coated with three types of photosensitive microcapsules, R, G,
When one type of light in B is selected and irradiated, the region irradiated with the selected light is M and Y, Y and C or C and M
Is developed into a mixed color. Further, when two types of light of R, G, and B are selected and irradiated on the full-color special print paper, an area irradiated with the selected two types of light is one of M, Y, or C. It develops into a color corresponding to one. Areas that were not irradiated with any type of light were M,
Since color development corresponding to all of Y and C is performed, black is exhibited. The color tone, saturation, and brightness of the print are adjusted by adjusting the intensity of irradiation light and the irradiation time.

[0006] A conventional print head of a printer used for printing on special print paper for full-color printing has a three-color print head attached to a head substrate 22 fixed to an end face of a head member 21 at a predetermined distance as shown in FIG. Types of light-emitting elements, namely red light-emitting element 23R, green light-emitting element 23G
And the blue light emitting element 23B and one aperture member 25
including. These light-emitting elements are ultra-small light-emitting diodes, specifically LEDs. The head substrate 22 is an aluminum substrate having an insulating layer 24 formed on the surface.
The aperture member 25 is a plate member provided with a plurality of pinholes 25h, and is attached to the head member 21 in proximity to the light emitting end faces of these light emitting elements. Since the light emitted from the light emitting element passes through the pinhole 25h of the aperture member 25, the light diameter is reduced, so that a specific target of the photosensitive microcapsules applied to the special printing paper is accurately irradiated.

[0007] By the way, red LED23R, green LED2
The size of each element of the 3G and blue LEDs 23B is determined, but the sizes of these three types of LEDs are not necessarily the same. Therefore, when three types of LEDs are attached to the head substrate 22, as shown in FIG.
D23R is shorter than the other two types, and has the longest distance from its light emitting end face to the special print paper. The blue LED 23B is the second shortest, and the distance from the light emitting end face to the special print paper is the red LED.
It is longer than 23R. Since the amount of light is inversely proportional to the square of the distance, the irradiation amount of red light in a print head having such a configuration is smaller than that of green or blue light. Similarly, the irradiation amount of blue light is smaller than that of green light.

Therefore, the green LED 23 is provided on the head substrate 22.
G and three blue LEDs 23B are arranged respectively, while four red LEDs 23R are arranged. Alternatively, the driving current of the red LED is larger than that of the other LEDs. However, such a conventional method has a problem in that the number of light emitting elements is increased by one and the cost of parts, the number of assembling steps, and the current consumption are increased. Moreover, the problem remains that it is impossible to maximize the irradiation amounts of all three types of LEDs on the special printing paper only by adjusting the number of elements. In addition, since the drive current is increased or decreased according to the distance between the light emitting end face and the printing paper, there is a problem that the current consumption is increased depending on the color and the efficiency is poor.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the conventional printer, and an object of the present invention is to convert a special print paper coated with photosensitive microcapsules into a plurality of types of paper. In a printer in which a latent image is formed by exposing with a print head having a light emitting element and a mechanical pressure is applied by a print roller to the special print paper on which the latent image is formed, a part cost, an assembling man-hour, and a current consumption are reduced. An object of the present invention is to improve the quality of printing by maximizing the amount of light emitted from all the plurality of types of light emitting elements to the special printing paper without increasing the number of light emitting elements.

[0010]

According to the present invention, a latent image is formed by exposing a photosensitive microcapsule type printing paper by a printing head having light emitting elements of a plurality of colors. A printer that forms and develops the print paper on which a latent image is formed by applying mechanical pressure by a print roller to the print head by changing positions of the plurality of types of light emitting elements in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the print paper. To configure the printer.

Further, in the present invention, a latent image is formed by exposing a photosensitive microcapsule type printing paper by a print head having light emitting elements of a plurality of colors.
In a printer for applying a mechanical pressure to the print paper on which a latent image is formed by a print roller and developing the same, the plurality of types of light emitting elements are mounted on the print head with the light emitting end faces aligned.

In the printer according to each of the above structures, the print head has a substrate on which the light emitting element is mounted, and the light emitting element mounting area of the substrate has a depth corresponding to the height of each light emitting element. The light emitting element can be mounted by providing a concave portion. Further, the light-emitting element can be mounted by providing a convex portion having a height corresponding to the height of each light-emitting element in the light-emitting element mounting area of the substrate.

When the substrate is composed of a metal base and an insulating layer formed thereon, the recess or protrusion may be formed in either the base or the insulating layer. Further, according to the present invention, a printer having any one of the above-described configurations is connected to an image processing apparatus, an image signal is transmitted and received between the image processing apparatus and the printer, and printing is performed so as to generate an image on the printing paper. Configured the system.

[0014]

FIG. 1 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of a print head according to an embodiment of the present invention. The three types are attached to a head substrate 22 fixed to an end face of a head member 21 at a predetermined distance. LED, that is, red LED23R, green L
It includes the ED 23G and the blue LED 23B, and one aperture member 25. The head substrate 22 is an aluminum substrate provided with an insulating layer 24 on the surface. The insulating layer 24 is formed with a first concave portion 24a deepest and a second concave portion 24b deepest. The tallest green LED 23G is arranged in the first concave portion 24a, the next tallest blue LED 23B is arranged in the second concave portion 24b, and the shortest red LED 23R is arranged in the portion having no concave portion or convex portion. I have. Head substrate 22 of these three types of LEDs
Attachment to the insulating layer 24 is performed by, for example, using an adhesive.

With this configuration, the light emitting end faces of three types of LEDs having different heights can be aligned. The aperture member 25 provided with a plurality of pinholes 25h is attached to the head member 21 such that the pinholes 25h are close to the light emitting end surface of the LED.
In short, in the embodiment of FIG. 1, three types of light emitting elements having different heights, that is, a red LED 23R and a green LED 2
The 3G and blue LEDs 23B are mounted on the print head substrate 22 with recesses having depths corresponding to their respective heights in order to make the distance between any of the light emitting end faces and the special print paper uniform.

[0016]

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of a print head according to another embodiment of the present invention. Three types of LEDs mounted at a fixed distance on a head substrate 22 fixed to an end surface of a head member 21 are shown. That is, red LED23R, green LED23
G and blue LED 23B and one aperture member 25
including. The head substrate 22 is an aluminum substrate provided with an insulating layer 24 on the surface. On the insulating layer 24, a first raised portion 24c having the highest height and a second raised portion 24d having the next highest height are formed. The shortest red LED 23R is disposed on the first convex portion 24c, the next shortest blue LED 23B is disposed on the second convex portion 24d, and the tallest green LED 23G is disposed on the portion having no concave portion or convex portion. Have been. Attachment of these three types of LEDs to the head substrate 22 is performed by adhering to the insulating layer 24 using, for example, an adhesive.

With this configuration, the light emitting end faces of three types of LEDs having different heights can be aligned. The aperture member 25 provided with a plurality of pinholes 25h is attached to the head member 21 such that the pinholes 25h are close to the light emitting end surface of the LED.
In short, in the embodiment of FIG. 2, three types of light emitting elements having different heights, that is, the red LED 23R and the green LED 2
In order to make the distance between any of the light-emitting end faces and the special print paper equal, the 3G and blue LEDs 23B are provided on the print head substrate 22 with projections having heights corresponding to the heights of the respective print head substrates 22. .

FIG. 4 shows a print head 2 perpendicular to the special print paper 1 fed in one direction.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a main part of a carriage that reciprocates a print roller 3 with the carriage. The carriage shown in FIG. 4 includes a substantially box-shaped carriage member 20 and a drive mechanism 29 including a drive motor and a force transmission mechanism for moving the carriage member 20 on a carriage guide 28 such as a rail. The print head 2 is attached to a head member 21 that forms a part of the carriage member 20. The print roller 3 is attached to a lower portion of the carriage member 20.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a printer using special print paper coated with photosensitive microcapsules. The print head 2, print roller 3, paper feed mechanism 4, controller 5, drive unit 6, various parameters And input means 8 for inputting image data of an imaging device such as a digital camera given by an FD or a transmission signal. The controller 5 includes a CPU 51, a ROM 52 storing programs for performing various processes in accordance with predetermined procedures, a RAM 53 storing image data to be printed and related data such as various parameters, an input / output circuit I / O 54, and a bus 55. It is configured. The paper feed drive unit 61 and the head drive unit 63 of the drive unit 6 form an optical scanning mechanism of the print head 2. That is, the paper feed drive unit 61 drives the paper feed mechanism 4 to move the special print paper 1 in one direction at a predetermined speed, and at the same time, the head drive unit 63 moves the carriage as shown in FIG. Since the print head 2 is reciprocated at a predetermined speed perpendicular to the direction, the print head 2 mounted on the carriage can scan a special print sheet with light to form a latent image.

A photosensitive control circuit 64 of the drive unit 6 performs printing based on print data obtained by performing various types of correction processing on input image data input via the input means 8 and stored in the RAM 53 of the controller 5. The light irradiation amount of the light emitting element 23 provided in the head 2 is controlled to form a latent image corresponding to the input image data on the special print paper 1.
The special print paper 1 on which the latent image is formed is subjected to mechanical pressure by the print roller 3 driven by the roller drive unit 62 of the drive unit 6, and the photosensitive capsule is selectively destroyed. Done. A heater (not shown) is used to promote development and fixing.

In FIG. 1, the first recess 24a and the second
The concave portion 24b is formed in the insulating layer 24 provided on the surface of the aluminum substrate 22 of the head substrate. However, the concave portion 24b may be formed in the aluminum substrate 22 itself and the insulating layer 24 may be provided thereon. Similarly, in FIG.
And the second convex portion 24d are formed on the aluminum substrate 22 of the head substrate.
Although the insulating layer 24 is formed on the surface of the aluminum substrate 22, the insulating layer 24 may be formed on the aluminum substrate 22 itself and provided thereon.

Although the above-described embodiment is applied to a so-called serial printer in which printing is performed by scanning the print head in a direction perpendicular to the feed direction of the printing paper, the present invention is not limited to a serial printer. The present invention is similarly effective when implemented in a so-called line printer in which a plurality of light emitting elements are arranged in the width direction of the paper.

[0023]

According to the present invention, a plurality of types of light emitting elements are mounted on a print head at different positions in the direction perpendicular to the surface of the printing paper. In particular, when the heights of the light emitting elements were different, the short light emitting elements were mounted on the print head with the positions of the light emitting end faces of the tall light emitting elements aligned.

Therefore, the light-emitting end face of each of the three kinds of light-emitting elements of red, green and blue is closest to the special print paper within the allowable range, so that the amount of light irradiation on the special print paper is maximized. I was able to. At the same time, the current consumption could be minimized. A method of attaching a short light emitting element to a print head with the light emitting end faces of the tall light emitting elements aligned with each other is to form a concave portion or a convex portion in a predetermined region of a head substrate, and these are used for printing. Since the circuit manufacturing technology can be applied, the manufacturing cost can be reduced as compared with the conventional method. In addition, the number of short light emitting elements can be made the same as the number of tall light emitting elements, so that the parts cost, the number of assembling steps, and the current consumption are reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of an embodiment of a print head according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of another embodiment of the print head according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of a conventional print head.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a main part of a carriage to which a print head and a print roller are attached.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the structure of a printer using special print paper coated with photosensitive microcapsules.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 special print paper 2 print head 3 print roller 4 paper feed mechanism 5 controller 6 drive unit 7 setting means 8 input means 20 carriage member 21 head member 22 head board 23R red LED 23G green LED 23B blue LED 24 insulating layer 24a first concave portion 24b Second concave portion 24c First convex portion 24d Second convex portion 25 Aperture member 25h Pinhole 28 Carriage guide 29 Carriage drive mechanism 51 CPU 52 ROM 53 RAM 54 I / O 55 Bus 61 Paper feed drive unit 62 Roller drive unit 63 Head Drive unit 64 Photosensitive control circuit

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (56) References JP-A-4-356978 (JP, A) JP-A-9-277593 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B41J 2/44 B41J 2/45 B41J 2/455 G03F 7/004 514 G03F 7/26 521

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] A latent image is formed by exposing a photosensitive microcapsule type printing paper on a printing paper having light emitting elements of a plurality of colors to form a latent image, and a printing roller is formed on the printing paper on which the latent image is formed. A photosensitive microcapsule-type print, wherein the plurality of types of light-emitting elements are attached to the print head while changing the positions of the plurality of types of light-emitting elements in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the print paper. Printer using paper. 2. A photosensitive microcapsule type print sheet is exposed by a print head having light emitting elements of a plurality of colors to form a latent image, and a print roller is formed on the print sheet on which the latent image is formed. A printer using photosensitive microcapsule type printing paper, wherein the plurality of types of light emitting elements are mounted on the print head with their light emitting end faces aligned. 3. The print head has a substrate on which the light emitting element is mounted, and the plurality of types of light emitting elements are mounted on the substrate by providing recesses corresponding to their respective heights. A printer using the photosensitive microcapsule type printing paper according to claim 1 or 2. 4. The print head has a substrate on which the light emitting element is mounted, and the plurality of types of light emitting elements are mounted on the substrate by providing protrusions corresponding to their respective heights. 3. A printer using the photosensitive microcapsule type printing paper according to claim 1 or 2. 5. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the printer is connected to an image processing apparatus, and an image signal is transmitted and received between the image processing apparatus and the printer. A print system configured to generate an image.