JP3726218B2 - Sub-scan transport mechanism - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention belongs to the technical field of a sub-scanning conveyance mechanism of a light beam scanning device used for a digital image recording apparatus or a radiation image reading apparatus.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Currently, printing of images taken on photographic films such as negative films and reversal films (hereinafter referred to as films) onto photographic materials such as photographic paper is performed by making the projection light of the film incident on the photosensitive material. In this method, the photosensitive material is subjected to surface exposure, so-called direct (analog) exposure.
[0003]
On the other hand, in recent years, a printing apparatus using digital exposure, that is, an image recorded on a film is photoelectrically read, and the read image is converted into a digital signal. A digital photo printer that produces image data, scans and exposes a photosensitive material with recording light modulated according to the image data, records an image (latent image), performs development processing, and outputs it as a print (photograph) has been put to practical use. It was.
[0004]
In a digital photo printer, a film is read photoelectrically, gradation correction and the like are performed by image (signal) processing, and exposure conditions are determined. Therefore, it is possible to freely perform various image processing such as composition of multiple images by image processing, image division such as image division, color / density adjustment, edge enhancement, etc. Can be output. Further, the image data of the print image can be supplied to a computer or the like, and can be stored in a recording medium such as a floppy disk.
Furthermore, according to the digital photo printer, it is possible to output a print with better image quality, which is superior in resolution, color / density reproducibility, and the like as compared with a conventional direct exposure print.
[0005]
Such a digital photo printer basically includes an input device having a scanner (image reading device) and an image processing device, and an output device having a printing device and a developing device.
In a scanner, reading light emitted from a light source is incident on a film to obtain projection light carrying an image photographed on the film, and this projection light is imaged on an image sensor such as a CCD sensor by an imaging lens. The image is read by photoelectric conversion and sent to the image processing apparatus as film image data (image data signal). The image processing device performs predetermined image processing on the image data sent from the scanner, and sends it to the printing device as output image data (exposure conditions) for image recording.
For example, if the printing apparatus uses light beam scanning exposure, the light beam is modulated in accordance with image data sent from the image processing apparatus, and the light beam is deflected in the main scanning direction. By transporting the photosensitive material (printing paper) in the sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the scanning direction, the photosensitive material is scanned and exposed (baked) by a light beam to form a latent image, and a backprint is recorded. In the developing machine, the exposed photosensitive material is subjected to a predetermined developing process or the like to obtain a print in which an image photographed on the film is reproduced.
[0006]
By the way, not only in such a digital photo printer, but also in an ordinary direct exposure photo printer printing apparatus, unused photosensitive material is wound in a roll shape and stored in a light-shielding casing to form a magazine. The magazine is loaded into the printing apparatus, pulled out from the magazine, transported, and used for exposure or the like.
Here, in a normal photo printer, the photosensitive material is not cut in the middle, but after the exposure, backprint recording, development processing, drying, etc. are finished in a long length, the photosensitive material is finally cut to a predetermined length. One print is made.
[0007]
On the other hand, in a digital photo printer, a long photosensitive material is cut in correspondence with one print to form a cut sheet, and then the exposure is performed so that the apparatus is miniaturized, and the apparatus cost and running cost are reduced. It is desired to realize a printing apparatus (hereinafter referred to as a cut sheet type image recording apparatus) that can be significantly reduced.
However, at present, such a cut sheet type image recording apparatus has not yet been realized.
[0008]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in such a cut sheet type image recording apparatus, the photosensitive material wound in a roll shape is cut into a sheet having a predetermined length. It is not flat, but slightly curled. That is, it is customary that the light-sensitive material is wound in a roll shape with the emulsion surface on the outside, and when this is cut into a sheet, a convex curl with the emulsion surface on the outside remains. .
If the photosensitive material is curled in this way, density unevenness may occur at the front end portion and the rear end portion of the photosensitive material. That is, in a digital photo printer, image exposure is performed at a recording position between two pairs of rollers, but when image exposure is performed from the leading edge of a sheet-shaped photosensitive material, the leading edge of the sheet-shaped photosensitive material is upstream. The sheet-like photosensitive material is exposed while being sub-scanned and conveyed while only one side of the upstream roller pair is sandwiched until it passes through the roller pair on the side and reaches the roller pair on the downstream side.
[0009]
For this reason, the curled sheet-shaped photosensitive material is subjected to image exposure on the curled surface, and cannot be exposed under appropriate exposure conditions, and uneven exposure occurs at the front end portion of the photosensitive material. It is easy to obtain high image quality. Such a problem can also occur in the same way until the trailing edge of the sheet-shaped photosensitive material passes through the upstream roller pair and reaches the downstream roller pair.
[0010]
A suction mechanism is provided as a sub-scan transport system for the curled sheet-like scanned object while maintaining flatness, and the curled scanned object is held flat while being attracted by the suction mechanism. However, a technique for performing sub-scanning conveyance is known. Therefore, if such a suction mechanism is employed in a cut sheet type image recording apparatus, it is conceivable to perform image exposure while maintaining the planarity of the sheet-like photosensitive material.
[0011]
However, such a suction mechanism requires a suction source, a chamber, and the like, and there is a problem that the apparatus becomes complicated and large, and the cost increases.
Further, the suction force applied to the photosensitive material changes according to the relative positional relationship between the suction mechanism and the photosensitive material, resulting in load fluctuation. For this reason, in order to eliminate the influence of such load fluctuations, a motor having a large torque is required, which further increases the cost.
[0012]
On the other hand, in the sub-scanning conveyance system in which an image is written on the scanned object by a light beam such as a laser beam while the sheet-shaped scanned object is sub-scanned and conveyed by the two pairs of rollers described above, There is a problem that load fluctuation occurs when the front end of the scanned body enters the pair or when the scanned body is separated from the pair of rollers that sandwich and convey the scanned body, which causes exposure unevenness. JP-A-62-135064, JP-A-62-167150, and JP-A-63-67859 disclose sheet-like sub-scanning devices that can solve such problems. When the leading edge of the scanned body enters the downstream roller pair and when the trailing edge separates from the upstream roller pair, the nip-side rollers are configured to retreat, respectively. Techniques have been proposed for reducing load fluctuations during entry and exit.
[0013]
With such a configuration, when the front end of the scanned body enters the downstream roller pair, and the rear end of the scanned body separates from the upstream roller pair that sandwiches and transports the scanned body. It is possible to reduce the load fluctuation that occurs at the time, and to reduce the density unevenness to some extent.
However, in such a configuration, density unevenness due to load fluctuation at the time of entry or separation between the pair of rollers of the scanned body can be reduced to some extent, but it does not prevent the curling of the sheet-like scanned body described above. However, there is still a problem that the flatness is not sufficiently maintained and exposure unevenness occurs.
The various problems described above are also the same in a light beam scanning apparatus such as a radiation image reading apparatus that reads a carrier image such as a stimulable phosphor sheet.
[0014]
An object of the present invention is a sub-scanning transport mechanism used in a light beam scanning apparatus that scans a sheet-like scanned object with a laser beam at a predetermined position, and includes a complicated mechanism such as a suction mechanism. There is no need, high performance and cost reduction can be achieved, and the flatness is maintained at the front and rear ends of the scanned object with a simple and inexpensive device configuration, and load fluctuations do not occur. Another object of the present invention is to provide a sub-scanning transport mechanism that can perform sub-scanning transport.
[0015]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
To achieve the above object, the present invention Sub-scanning transport mechanism according to In order to two-dimensionally scan a sheet-like scanned object that is irradiated with a light beam that is deflected or arranged in a one-dimensional direction and is subjected to main scanning, the scanned object is substantially the same as the main scanning direction. A sub-scanning transport mechanism for transporting in a direction orthogonal to the guide member, which is disposed at the main scanning position and places the photosensitive material to be sub-scanned and transported in a plane at the main scanning position; this Upstream and downstream of guide member One for each, An idler provided so as to be in contact with the emulsion surface of the photosensitive material to be conveyed, an endless belt for nipping and conveying the scanned object between the idler, and a pulley on which the endless belt is stretched A plurality of pulleys, wherein at least one pulley is disposed above the upstream side of the upstream idler and at least one other pulley is disposed above the downstream side of the downstream idler. The endless belt The The outer side of the idler contacts the lower side of the idler and passes directly under the guide member. And arranging the plurality of pulleys so that the upstream and downstream conveying paths of the guide member are bent in a concave shape with the idler side inward. It is characterized by that.
[0016]
here, The endless belt is a divided endless belt divided into a plurality of pieces, and the guide member is a toothed tooth that is cut out so that the plurality of divided endless belts can pass through at least one of the upstream side and the downstream side in the conveying direction. And this skewer is a skewer-shaped guide member that extends to directly below the idler. Is preferred.
[0017]
Moreover, it is preferable that a drive source is connected to any one of the plurality of pulleys.
[0018]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the sub-scanning transport mechanism of the present invention will be described in detail based on a preferred embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings.
In the following description, an example in which the sub-scanning conveyance mechanism of the present invention is applied to an image recording apparatus is taken as a representative example, but the present invention is not limited to this, and an image for reading a radiation image carried by a stimulable phosphor sheet Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to a reader.
[0019]
FIG. 1 shows a basic configuration of an image recording apparatus to which the sub-scanning transport mechanism of the present invention is applied.
An image recording apparatus 10 (hereinafter referred to as a recording apparatus 10) shown in FIG. 1 records a back print after a long photographic photosensitive material is cut into a predetermined length according to a print to be created to form a cut sheet. (Back-printing) and digital exposure, and a device for supplying the exposed photosensitive material Z to a developing machine (processor), having a photosensitive material supply unit 12, a back print unit 14, a recording unit 52, and a sorting unit 18. Composed.
Although not shown for the sake of clarity of the basic configuration of the apparatus, the recording apparatus 10 includes a conveying means for the photosensitive material Z such as a conveying roller, a conveying guide, a sensor for detecting the photosensitive material, and the like. Various members arranged in a known image recording apparatus are arranged as necessary. Here, the interval between the conveying rollers provided as the conveying means is set to be smaller than the minimum length that can be taken by the sheet-like photosensitive material Z after cutting so that the conveying direction of the photosensitive material Z is not hindered.
[0020]
The photosensitive material supply unit 12 is loaded with magazines 20 and 22 in which a long photosensitive material Z wound in a roll shape with the emulsion surface (photosensitive surface) outside is housed in a light-shielding casing. The loading sections 54 and 56 are arranged, the drawer section 24 corresponds to the loading section 54, the drawer roller pair 26 corresponds to the loading section 56, and the cutter 28 a corresponding to the loading section 54 corresponds to the loading section 56. The cutter 28b is disposed close to the downstream side of the pair of drawing rollers 24 and 26, respectively.
As shown in FIG. 1, in the recording apparatus 10, a loading unit 56 is disposed below the loading unit 54, and the recording position X is positioned above the loading unit 56.
[0021]
The recording apparatus 10 in the illustrated example is an apparatus that can be loaded with two magazines 20 and 22, both of which are usually size (width), surface type (silk, mat, etc.), specifications (thickness, type of base, etc.), etc. Different types of photosensitive materials Z are stored. In the recording apparatus 10 of the present invention, the number of magazines that can be loaded is not limited to two in the illustrated example, but may be one, or three or more magazines may be loaded. .
[0022]
In such a photosensitive material supply unit 12, the photosensitive material Z of the corresponding magazine is pulled out by the drawer roller pairs 24 and 26 and is conveyed to the downstream back print unit 14. This conveyance is stopped when the photosensitive material Z conveyed downstream from the cutters 28a and 28b reaches a length corresponding to the print to be created, and then the cutters 28a and 28b are operated so that the photosensitive material Z is predetermined. It is a long cut sheet.
[0023]
The recording apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 is provided with cutters 28a and 28b for each of two magazines 20 and 22, and the photosensitive material Z drawn from these magazines is cut by separate cutters 28a and 28b, respectively. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be configured to be cut by a common cutter.
The sheet-like photosensitive material Z drawn and cut from the photosensitive material supply unit 12 in this way is conveyed to the upper back print unit 14.
[0024]
The back print unit 14 is provided on the back surface (non-emulsion surface) of the photosensitive material Z on the date of photographing, date of printing, frame number, film ID number (symbol), ID number of the camera used for photographing, and ID of the photo printer. This is a part for recording (back printing) various information such as numbers, so-called back prints.
Such a back print unit 14 is, for example, a dot impact type printer 58 as a contact type printing apparatus, and records the back print on the photosensitive material Z conveyed by being guided by the guide 60. The recording method (printer) is not limited to this, and various backprint recording methods used in known photo printers such as an ink jet printer and a thermal transfer printer can be used. Among them, a non-contact type recording method such as an ink jet printer can be suitably used in that it can eliminate the load fluctuation that the back print recording gives to scanning conveyance because it is non-contact. An ink jet printer using a heat-meltable ink that is solid at normal temperature and solid is preferably exemplified.
Further, it is preferable that the back print unit 14 is configured so as to be able to print two or more lines in accordance with the new standard Advanced Photo System.
In this way, the photosensitive material Z cut to a predetermined length and recorded with the back print is then conveyed to the recording unit 52 (sub-scanning conveying means 62).
[0025]
The recording unit 52 includes an exposure optical unit (hereinafter referred to as an exposure unit) 16 and a sub-scanning conveying unit 62. In the illustrated example, image recording by the exposure unit 16 is modulated in accordance with digital image data while scanning and conveying the sheet-like photosensitive material Z, and is in the main scanning direction (which is perpendicular to the scanning and conveying direction by the sub-scanning conveying means 62 ( This is performed by so-called digital scanning exposure in which a light beam deflected in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 1 is used as recording light L, and the photosensitive material Z is exposed at a recording (exposure) position X.
[0026]
The exposure unit 16 is an optical unit that performs such digital exposure. For example, the exposure unit 16 emits light beams corresponding to red (R) exposure, green (G) exposure, and blue (B) exposure of the photosensitive material Z, respectively. A light source that emits light, modulation means such as an AOM (acousto-optic modulator) that modulates the light beam emitted from the light source according to digital image data, and the modulated light beam in a main scanning direction orthogonal to the scanning conveyance direction An optical deflector such as a polygon mirror for deflecting, an fθ (scanning) lens for imaging a light beam deflected in the main scanning direction at a predetermined position on a recording position X (scanning line) with a predetermined beam system, and the like. This is a known light beam scanning device.
[0027]
The exposure unit 16 of the present invention is not limited to such a light beam scanning apparatus, but is a digital exposure means using various light emitting arrays and spatial modulation element arrays extending in a direction orthogonal to the scanning conveyance direction. Are available.
Specifically, digital using a PDP (plasma display) array, ELD (electroluminescent display) array, LED (light emitting diode) array, LCD (liquid crystal display) array, DMD (digital micromirror device) array, laser array, etc. An exposure means is exemplified.
[0028]
2A is a schematic perspective view of the sub-scanning conveying unit 62, and FIG. 2B is a schematic cross-sectional view of the sub-scanning conveying unit 62.
The sub-scanning conveying means 62 is for conveying the photosensitive material Z in the sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction while holding the photosensitive material Z at the recording position X. Here, as described above, since the light beam is deflected in the main scanning direction, the photosensitive material Z is two-dimensionally scanned and exposed by the light beam to form a latent image.
[0029]
By the way, as described above, the photosensitive material Z to be exposed is a sheet-like material because the photosensitive material wound in a roll is cut into a predetermined length and formed into a sheet. The light-sensitive material is not completely flat, but has a slight curl with the emulsion surface outward.
For this reason, in the sub-scanning transport system in which the sub-scan transport is performed by two pairs of transport rollers arranged with the recording position X (scan line) in between, the leading end or the rear end of the photosensitive material Z is transported on the input side. While passing between the roller pair and the delivery roller pair on the exit side, the photosensitive material Z is exposed while being sub-scanned and conveyed in a state of being sandwiched only by the conveyance roller pair on one side. It is also conceivable that image exposure is performed on the convex curled and raised surface of the front and rear ends of the photosensitive material Z, resulting in uneven exposure, and sufficient image quality cannot be obtained at the front and rear end portions. .
It is also necessary to prevent exposure unevenness due to load fluctuations when the photosensitive material Z enters and leaves the conveying roller pair.
[0030]
On the other hand, in the present invention, the photosensitive material Z is nipped and conveyed between at least one of the two idlers 64 and 66 and the divided endless belt 80 while being bent so as to reverse the curl of the sheet-like photosensitive material Z. This configuration improves the flatness of the leading end portion and the trailing end portion of the photosensitive material Z that passes through the recording position X, and when the leading end of the photosensitive material Z enters, and the trailing end of the photosensitive material Z is detached. Thus, it is possible to prevent a load variation due to the thickness of the photosensitive material Z during the recording, and to perform high-quality image recording without exposure unevenness over the entire surface of the photosensitive material Z.
[0031]
Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the sub-scanning conveying means 62 includes two idlers 64 and 66, a guide member 68, and a thin endless belt divided into four. A split endless belt 80 composed of 80a, 80b, 80c, 80d, five pulleys 82a, 82b, 82c, 82d, 82e, and a motor 78, and between the idlers 64 and 66 and the split endless belt 80 The photosensitive material Z is sandwiched and conveyed in the sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction.
[0032]
The two idlers 64 and 66 are rollers for sandwiching the photosensitive material Z between the divided endless belts 80 and performing sub-scanning conveyance, and have a diameter larger than that of the pulleys 82a to 82e, and the recording position X ( (Scanning lines) are provided in parallel with each other at a predetermined interval and can be driven. The pulleys 82a to 82e are used to stretch the split endless reel 80. Specifically, the pulley 82a is located on the upstream side of the idler 64, the pulley 82b is located on the upstream side of the guide member 68, and the pulley 82c is provided on the upstream side. A pulley 82d is provided on the lower downstream side of the guide member 68, an upper downstream side of the idler 66, and a driven (idler) pulley 82e for smoothly passing the guide member 68 is provided directly below the guide member 68 (the guide body 68a). It is done. The four endless belts 80a, 80b, 80c, and 80d are endless belts that are stretched in parallel with the above-described five pulleys 82a, 82b, 82c, 82d, and 82e spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance. It may be made of rubber, cloth or metal, and various known endless belts can be used. In the present invention, the number of divisions of the divided endless belt 80 and the sizes of the unit endless belts 80a to 80d are not particularly limited.
[0033]
A motor 78 is connected to the pulley 82d and is configured to drive the endless belt 80 via the pulley 82d. As the motor 78, various conventionally known driving means can be used, and it may be connected to any of the four pulleys 82a to 82d. In addition, the motor 78 may be configured to be directly connected to any of the pulleys 82a to 82d, or may be configured to separately connect the pulley and the endless belt.
[0034]
The guide member 68 is a member for placing the conveyed photosensitive material Z and maintaining flatness at the recording position X, and is provided between the idlers 64 and 66. The guide member 68 is a flat guide body 68a provided perpendicularly to the transport direction across the recording position X, and extends from the guide body 68a toward the upstream and downstream sides in the transport direction. There are provided skewers 68b provided with four gaps formed on both sides of a rectangular cutout for passing only four endless belts 80a, 80b, 80c, and 80d. If the skew teeth 68b have such a length as to reach the positions just below the upstream and downstream idlers 64, 66 of the guide member 68, the conveyed photosensitive material Z is smoothly carried onto the guide body 68a. And it is preferable because it can be discharged smoothly.
The guide member 68 in the illustrated example is configured in a horizontal plane as a whole. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is sufficient that at least only the guide body 68a is configured in a horizontal plane. The teeth 68b may be provided so as to extend obliquely downward with respect to the guide main body 68a, or the teeth 68b may not have the skew teeth 68b themselves.
[0035]
Therefore, in such a sub-scanning conveying means 62, the divided endless belt 80 stretched around the five pulleys 82a, 82b, 82c, 82d, 82e is idler 64 and 66 between the pulley 82a and the pulley 82d. As a whole, the pulley 82e is pushed downward by three points of the pulley 82e immediately below the guide member 68, so that it is stretched in a concave shape as a whole. Therefore, the split endless belt 80 is between the pulley 82a and the idler 64 (hereinafter referred to as the first bent portion 74) and between the idler 66 and the pulley 82d (hereinafter referred to as the second bent portion 76). Each has a shape bent concavely with the idlers 64 and 66 side inside, and the sub-scan transport by belt transport is performed while maintaining this shape.
[0036]
Such a divided endless belt 80 passes directly under the guide member 68 between the two idlers 64 and 66. In this section, each endless belt 80a, 80b, 80c, 80d is After passing through the guide body 68a while being retracted downward by passing through the four gaps on the upstream side of the skewer teeth 68b and being slightly pushed down to the lower end of the pulley 82e, the four positions on the downstream side of the skewer teeth 68b. It is configured to pass through each gap. Accordingly, only the photosensitive material Z conveyed by the belt can be smoothly sub-scanned and conveyed on the guide member 68 while the divided endless belt 80 is retracted directly below the guide member 68.
[0037]
As described above, the photosensitive material Z is not conveyed by the roller pair but is sandwiched and conveyed by the idlers 64 and 66 and the divided endless belt 80, so that the photosensitive material Z can be used when the leading end of the photosensitive material Z enters and when the trailing end separates. The impact due to the thickness of Z can be mitigated, load fluctuations can be prevented, and exposure unevenness due to load fluctuations at the front end portion and rear end portion of the photosensitive material Z can be prevented.
[0038]
Further, by adopting a configuration in which the conveyance paths on the upstream side and downstream side of the recording position X are bent in a concave shape, when the photosensitive material Z is carried into the recording unit 52, the first emulsion portion originally has the emulsion surface. The photosensitive material Z curled in a convex shape with the outer side facing outward can be temporarily reversed into a concave curl with the emulsion surface on the inner side immediately before exposure, and can be carried into the recording position X. Similarly, when discharging from the recording position X, the curl of the photosensitive material Z can be reversed at the second bent portion 76 in the same manner. For this reason, the photosensitive material Z in which the curl is inverted has a restoring force to return to the original curl, and even when the leading end or the trailing end of the photosensitive material Z is between the idlers 64 and 66, the leading end or While pressing the rear end against the planar guide member 68, exposure can be performed while maintaining the planar shape without causing the light source side (emulsion surface side) to curl convexly.
Therefore, it is possible to perform appropriate image exposure without exposure unevenness at the front and rear ends of the photosensitive material Z, and to perform high-quality image recording.
[0039]
In the present invention, depending on the degree of curl of the sheet-like photosensitive material Z, it may be configured not to form both or at least one of the first bent portion 74 and the second bent portion 76. By preventing load fluctuations due to at least the thickness of the photosensitive material Z, uneven exposure can be reduced, and high-quality image recording can be realized.
[0040]
In such a recording unit 52, the sheet-like photosensitive material Z is conveyed as follows. First, the photosensitive material Z conveyed from the conveyance path on the upstream side of the recording unit 52 is discharged onto the divided endless belt 80. The photosensitive material Z discharged onto the divided endless belt 80 is continuously guided by the divided endless belt 80 and is carried between the idler 64 and sandwiched therebetween, thereby being carried into the first bent portion 74. Here, the leading end of the photosensitive material Z that is nipped and conveyed by the idler 64 and the divided endless belt 80 is discharged from between the idler 64 and the divided endless belt 80, and the original curl is corrected and the flatness is maintained. As the divided endless belt 80 enters the lower side of the guide teeth 68b of the guide member, it smoothly rides on the teeth 68b and is pressed against the teeth 68b. Transported to position X.
[0041]
Thus, exposure is started at the recording position X while maintaining the flatness at the tip portion of the photosensitive material Z, regardless of the curl that the photosensitive material Z originally has as described above. The photosensitive material Z is further conveyed while being exposed, and the leading end of the photosensitive material Z is carried between the idler 66 and nipped so as to be carried into the second bent portion 76. Therefore, the photosensitive material Z is continuously exposed while being nipped and conveyed between the two idlers 64 and 66 and the divided endless belt 80. Next, when the rear end of the photosensitive material Z passes through the first bent portion 74, as described above, the rear end portion of the photosensitive material Z is similarly exposed while the flatness is maintained, and the photosensitive material Z is continuously exposed. When the rear end of Z passes the recording position X, the exposure ends.
In this way, the exposed photosensitive material Z is discharged from the sub-scanning conveying means 62 and conveyed to the sorting means 18 located on the downstream side thereof.
[0042]
The sorting unit 18 sorts the photosensitive material Z in a direction (hereinafter referred to as a horizontal direction) orthogonal to the transport direction (corresponding to the transport direction by the developing machine).
At present, in general silver salt photographic light-sensitive materials used for photographic printing, the development processing and the exposure require more time, so the development processing is not in time when the exposure is continuously performed.
The sorting unit 18 is arranged to eliminate this inconvenience. The sorting unit 18 sorts the photosensitive material Z in the horizontal direction and forms a plurality of rows overlapping in the transport direction, thereby improving the processing capability of the developing device, for example, If it is two rows, it is possible to perform processing that is slightly less than twice as long as a single row, and if it is three rows, it is possible to cancel the processing time difference between development processing and exposure.
[0043]
As a sorting method in the sorting means 18, various sheet material sorting methods can be used. For example, a sorting method using a turret that rotates around an axis, a plurality of photosensitive material Z conveying means, for example, three Examples of the method include dividing the block into blocks and moving the middle block in the horizontal direction to distribute the blocks. Further, a belt conveyor as a downstream conveying means for loading and conveying the photosensitive material Z, and a lift conveying means for lifting the photosensitive material Z by using a sucker or the like and conveying it in the lateral direction are used from upstream. An example is a method in which the photosensitive material Z carried into the belt conveyor and transported to a predetermined position is transported in the lateral or oblique lateral (downstream) direction by the lift transport means and distributed.
[0044]
In this way, the photosensitive material Z distributed in a plurality of rows as necessary in the distribution means 18 is then conveyed to the developing device 72 by the conveying roller pair 70, and development, fixing, and fixing according to the photosensitive material Z are performed. Each process such as washing with water is performed, dried and printed.
[0045]
Although the sub-scanning transport mechanism of the present invention has been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above examples, and various improvements and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Of course.
[0046]
【The invention's effect】
As described above in detail, according to the present invention, there is provided a sub-scanning transport mechanism used in a light beam scanning apparatus that scans a sheet-like scanned object with a laser beam at a predetermined position. No complicated mechanism such as a mechanism is required, high performance and cost reduction can be realized, and flatness is maintained at the front end and / or rear end of the scanned body with a simple and inexpensive apparatus configuration. In addition, it is possible to perform sub-scanning conveyance without causing load fluctuations.
[0047]
Therefore, if the sub-scanning transport mechanism of the present invention is applied to an image recording apparatus used for a digital photo printer or the like that performs digital exposure, back print recording, etc. after a photosensitive material is cut into a sheet, a sheet-like It is possible to perform high-quality image recording without density unevenness at the front end and / or rear end of the photosensitive material.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a basic configuration of an example of an image recording apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a sub-scanning conveying unit illustrated in FIG. (A) is a schematic perspective view, (b) is a schematic sectional drawing.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 (Image) recording device
12 Photosensitive material supply unit
14 Back print section
16 exposure units
18 Sorting means
20,22 Magazine
24, 26 drawer roller pair
28 (28a, 28b) Cutter
52 Recording section
54, 56 loading section
58 Printer
60 Guide
62 Sub-scanning conveying means
64,66 idler
68 Guide member
68a Guide body
68b Teeth
70 Conveying roller pair
74 First bend
76 Second bent part
78 motor
80 (80a, 80b, 80c, 80d) Split endless belt
82 (82a, 82b, 82c, 82d, 82e) Pulley

Claims (3)

In order to two-dimensionally scan a sheet-like object to be scanned, which is irradiated with a light beam deflected or arranged in a one-dimensional direction, the object is substantially orthogonal to the main scanning direction. A sub-scanning transport mechanism for transporting in a direction,
A guide member that is disposed at the main scanning position and that is placed in a plane at the main scanning position on the photosensitive material transported in the sub-scanning state;
An idler provided so as to be in contact with the emulsion surface of the photosensitive material to be conveyed , one on each of the upstream side and the downstream side of the guide member;
An endless belt for nipping and conveying the scanned object with the idler;
A pulley on which the endless belt is stretched , wherein at least one pulley is disposed on the upstream side of the upstream idler, and at least one other pulley is disposed on the downstream side of the downstream idler. Having a plurality of arranged pulleys ,
The endless belt is arranged so that the outside contacts the lower side of the idler and passes directly under the guide member ,
The sub-scanning transport mechanism is characterized in that the plurality of pulleys are arranged such that the upstream and downstream transport paths of the guide member are bent in a concave shape with the idler side inside . The endless belt is a divided endless belt divided into a plurality of pieces,
The guide member has skewers cut out so that the plurality of divided endless belts can pass through at least one of the upstream side and the downstream side in the transport direction, and the skewers extend to just below the idler. The sub-scanning transport mechanism according to claim 1 , wherein the sub-scanning transport mechanism is a tooth-shaped guide member. It said plurality of sub-scanning conveying mechanism according to claim 1 or 2 driving source is connected to either one of the pulleys.

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