JPH0289755A - Image recording method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent vibration, etc. from externally acting on a carrier being conveyed under sub-scanning by immediately sending out the image recording carrier to an image scanning portion side by the length necessary for image recording via a sub-scanningly conveying means, sub-scanning this carrier under the action of the sub-scanningly conveying means and radiating a recoding beam perpendicularly to the sub-scanning direction. CONSTITUTION:At the time of forming a high-quality image, first, an image recording carrier F winding housed in a magazine 26 is directly drawn out by a length required for image recording via a sub-scanningly conveying means 30 and, then, the image recording carrier F is subscanningly conveyed in a defined direction under the action of the sub-scanningly conveying means 30 while radiating a recording beam which is main-scanned nearly perpendicularly to the sub-scanning direction to record a defined image. Therefore, even if a load change is generated at the time of drawing out the image recording carrier from the magazine 26, the load change will not act on an image recording carrier F during image scanning. Hence, an image recording operation can be carried out in high accuracy at a stroke.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an image recording method. a step of recording an image by irradiating a main scanning recording beam while directly pulling out an image recording carrier such as a film from a magazine; and after feeding the image recording carrier by a predetermined length from the magazine, By selectively carrying out the process of recording an image by irradiating the main scanning recording beam while conveying the image recording carrier in a predetermined direction in a sub-scanning direction, the configuration of the image recording device itself can be simplified. The present invention relates to an image recording method that makes it possible to efficiently obtain images of desired quality.

[Background of the invention] In recent years, in the fields of printing and plate-making, image scanning, which creates a film original by reading image information drawn on a manuscript and electrically processing it, has been developed for the purpose of streamlining work processes and improving image quality. A read-and-record system has come to be adopted.

This image scanning reading/recording system is basically constructed of an image reading device, a control device, and an image recording device, either integrally or separately. That is, in an image reading device, a reflective photo original or line drawing original is scanned with a light beam and detected by a photomultiplier, or a CCD (Charge coupled dev) is used.
ice) A camera reads the image and once converts the image information of the document into an electrical signal according to the intensity of reflected light.

Next, the image information photoelectrically converted by the image reading device is subjected to arithmetic processing in a control device to perform gradation correction, halftone separation, etc. according to the plate-making conditions. Then, the image information processed by the control device is converted into an optical signal made of laser light in an image recording device, and the laser light is irradiated onto an image recording carrier such as a photosensitive material to record a desired image. Further, after the image recording is completed, the image recording carrier is subjected to a development process, and is finally used as a film original for printing or the like.

Therefore, in such an image scanning reading recording system, an image recording device that irradiates a laser beam onto a film or the like based on image information of a document to record a desired image by exposure is specifically configured as follows. .

That is, a magazine that stores a long film wound into a roll is loaded into the image recording apparatus, and the film is pulled out from the magazine and sent to the image scanning section. In the image scanning section, the film is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction through a sub-scanning conveying means consisting of a rotatably driven drum and a nip roller that can freely come into sliding contact with the drum. By main-scanning the laser beam modulated based on the tone correction onto the transported film, a desired image is exposed and recorded on the film. Next, the film is automatically cut to a desired length by a cutter provided in the image recording device, and then sent to, for example, a developing device via a conveyance system.

Incidentally, in this case, vibrations and load fluctuations when the film is fed out from the magazine are likely to be transmitted to the film being scanned and recorded by the image scanning section.

For this reason, the film may not be conveyed accurately in the sub-scanning direction due to the vibrations, etc., and the images recorded thereon may be of inferior quality, which is a problem especially when high-quality images are desired. It ends up.

Therefore, in the image recording apparatus, a pair of rollers dedicated to drawing out the film is disposed between the magazine and the image scanning section.
A predetermined slack is created in the film between the image scanning unit and the roller pair by sandwiching the film between the pair of rollers and sending the film a predetermined length toward the image scanning unit under the driving action of the pair of rollers. I have it.

This makes it possible to convey the film in the sub-scanning direction with high precision while avoiding the influence of load fluctuations that are likely to occur when the film is pulled out from the magazine.

However, in the above-mentioned prior art, a pair of rollers used only for drawing out the film from the magazine and a drive source for rotationally driving the pair of rollers must be incorporated into the image recording apparatus. As a result, it has been pointed out that there are disadvantages in that the number of parts increases, the structure becomes complicated, and the manufacturing cost of the entire image recording apparatus increases.

Moreover, even when recording images that do not require high quality, after the film is pulled out from the magazine by the roller pair as described above, the film is The film is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction under the action of the image scanning section. Therefore, the disadvantage is that image recording work that does not require such high quality takes time, and efficiency of the image recording work cannot be achieved.

``Object of the Invention'' The present invention has been made to overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages, and when high-quality images are desired, a long image recording carrier in a magazine is directly transferred through a sub-scanning conveyance means. After feeding the image recording carrier to the image scanning unit side by a length necessary for image recording, the image recording carrier is sub-scanned in a predetermined direction under the action of the sub-scanning conveying means and is substantially perpendicular to the sub-scanning direction. By irradiating a recording beam that is main scanned in the direction of
No external force such as vibration is applied to the image recording carrier during sub-scan transport, making it possible to obtain images of excellent quality.However, when high-quality images are not required, sub-scan transport means can be By irradiating the recording beam while pulling out the image recording carrier from inside the media magazine, image recording work can be accomplished in a short time and efficiently, and a pair of rollers dedicated to pulling out the film is not required, making the entire image recording device economical. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image recording method that makes it possible to produce images with ease.

[Means for Achieving the Object] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a high-speed mode in which an image is recorded on an image record carrier at high speed, and a high-image quality mode in which a high-quality image is recorded on an image record carrier. In an image recording device that is configured to be selectable, when the high speed mode is selected, a long image recording carrier stored in a magazine or the like is pulled out under the driving action of the sub-scanning conveyance means, and the image recording medium is moved substantially perpendicular to the pulling direction. An image is recorded on the image recording carrier by irradiating a recording beam which is main scanned in the direction of The image recording carrier is pulled out by at least a length necessary for image recording under the driving action of the scanning conveyance means, and then the sub-scanning conveyance means is driven in a direction opposite to the above direction to convey the image recording carrier toward the magazine etc. side in a sub-scanning manner. , or, after once conveying to the side of the magazine, etc., the sub-scanning conveying means is further driven in the normal rotation direction to convey the image recording carrier in a sub-scanning direction in a direction away from the magazine etc., substantially perpendicular to the sub-scanning direction. It is characterized in that an image is recorded on an image recording carrier by irradiating a recording beam that is main-scanned in the direction of the image recording medium.

[Embodiments] Next, preferred embodiments of the image recording method according to the present invention in relation to an apparatus for carrying out the method will be listed.
A detailed description will be given below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 indicates an image recording apparatus for carrying out the image recording method according to this embodiment. In this case, the image recording device 10 is configured separately from an image reading device and a control device (not shown), but the image recording device 10, the image reading device, and the control device are integrated into one. Of course, it is also possible to adopt the system.

A bent-shaped lid 16 is attached to the housing 12 constituting the image recording apparatus 10 via a hinge 14 at the upper right side in the figure so as to be openable and closable. A magazine loading section 20 is provided in the chamber 18 of the image recording device 10.
is a plurality of pedestals 22a to 22 provided in this chamber 18.
c and a pressing member 24 fixed to the lid 16. Therefore, when the lid 16 is opened, the magazine 26 stored in the magazine loading section 20 can be freely attached to and removed from the magazine loading section 20.

A long unexposed film F wound into a roll is stored in the magazine 26 . It is held between the scanning conveyance means 30.

The sub-scanning conveyance means 30 basically includes a large-diameter drum 32 that is rotationally driven, and nip rollers 34a and 34b that slide into contact with the drum 36 via an elastic body (not shown). In this case, the nip rollers 34a and 34b are configured to move forward and backward in the vertical direction.

A pair of conveying rollers 3 is provided on the extension of the film F in the conveying direction by the drum 32 and nip rollers 34a and 34b.
6.38 are arranged, and each pair of conveying rollers 3
A pair of cutter blades 40a and 40b for cutting the film F into a predetermined length are provided between 6.38 and 6.38. Furthermore, the film F is carried into the developing device 44 through the film outlet 42 defined in the housing 12 via the pair of conveying rollers 38 .

On the other hand, a light beam scanning section 60 for recording image information on the film F is provided below the sub-scanning conveyance means 30. The light beam scanning section 60 uses a recording laser beam L1.
and a laser light source 62a that outputs the synchronization laser light L2.
, 62b, and the laser light sources 62a and 62b are substantially arranged on a surface plate 64 fixed to the housing 12 side. On the laser light output side of the laser light source 62a, a mirror 66 for scanning the laser light L onto the film F, a deflector such as a galvanometer mirror 68, a scanning lens 70 such as an fθ lens, and a mirror 72 are mounted on a surface plate. 64. Furthermore, the laser beam L2 from the other laser light source 62b is guided to the mirror 74 via the mirror 66, galvanometer mirror 68, scanning lens 70, and mirror 72 described above.

Here, a reference grating plate 76 having a transmission type grid is disposed in the direction in which the synchronizing laser beam L2 is reflected by the mirror 74, and a condensing bar 76 is provided on the back side of the reference grating plate 76.
8 are placed close together. Note that a photodetector (not shown) is attached to both ends of the condensing bar 78, and this photodetector converts the synchronizing laser beam L2 that has passed through the reference grating plate 76 through the condensing bar 78 as a pulse signal. To detect.

The image recording apparatus for carrying out the image recording method according to this embodiment is basically constructed as described above, and its operation and effects will be explained next.

Here, in this practical aspect, the procedure for recording a high quality image on the film F will be described in detail below.

First, the lid 16 is opened via the hinge 14, and the magazine 26 is stored in the magazine loading section 20. The magazine 2
A long film F is wound into a roll and stored in the film 6, and the end thereof is pulled out from the opening 28 and directly held by the sub-scanning conveyance means 30. At that time, if each nip roller 34a134b is separated from the drum 32, the film F can be moved between the drum 32 and the nip roller 34.
a and 34b, it is possible to reliably hold it.

After the lid 16 is closed, the drum 32 constituting the sub-scanning conveyor 30 is rotated in the direction of arrow A, as shown in FIG. 2a. Therefore, the film F is held between the drum 32 and the nip rollers 34a134b and sent out toward the pair of conveying rollers 36, and its end portion enters between the pair of conveying rollers 36. Furthermore, under the rotational action of the drum 32, the film F is stretched to a predetermined length, that is, at least
A loop-shaped slack is formed between the drum 32 and the pair of conveying rollers 36 by feeding the drum 32 by a length necessary for image recording.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2, the drum 32 is rotated in the direction opposite to arrow A (direction of arrow B). Therefore, the film F, which is sandwiched between the drum 32 and the nip rollers 34a and 34b, is on the side of the magazine 26 (in the direction of arrow C).
The image is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction.

At that time, the light beam scanning section 60 is driven. That is,
Laser light L1 derived from laser light sources 52a and 62b
and L2 are reflected by a mirror 66 to reach a galvanometer mirror 68, and this galvanometer mirror 68
The laser beams L1 and L2 are deflected under the oscillating motion.

Further, the laser beam L+ is irradiated onto the film F through the scanning lens 70 and the mirror 72 from between the respective nip rollers 34a and 34b. On the other hand, the laser beam is reflected by the mirror 74 and then enters the condensing bar 78 via the reference grating plate 76, where it is detected as a pulse signal by a photodetector (not shown). This pulse signal is multiplied to a predetermined frequency and becomes a synchronization signal.

In this way, the laser beam L1 is main-scanned on the film F, and the film F is rotated by the drum 32.
The laser beam L1 is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction (direction of arrow C) via nip rollers 34a and 34b that are in sliding contact with the film F, and as a result, the laser beam L1 records a desired image on the film F by exposure.

After exposing and recording an image on a predetermined part of the film F, the second
As shown in FIG. C, the drum 32 is rotated again in the six directions of the arrow, while the pair of conveying rollers 36 holding the ends of the film F are rotated in the direction of the arrow. Therefore, the film F is transferred to the conveying roller pair 38 side, and is sent out to the outlet 42 under the action of the conveying roller pair 38, and on the way, it is cut to a desired length via the cutter blades 4Qa, 40b. is cut off. The cut film F is carried into the developing device 44 through the outlet 42, and after being subjected to a predetermined developing process through the developing device 44, it is used as a film original for various purposes.

On the other hand, when the cutter blades 40a and 40b cut the film F, the drive of the pair of conveying rollers 36 is stopped.
Under the rotation of the drum 32, a loop-shaped slack of the film F is newly formed between the conveying roller pair 36 and the drum 32. Then, the drum 32 is rotated in the direction of arrow B, and a predetermined image is recorded on the film F through the steps described above.

In this case, according to this embodiment, unnecessary external forces such as vibrations do not act on the film F being transported in the sub-scanning direction (direction of arrow C) by the sub-scanning transport means 30, and the light beam scanning unit 60 is Through this, an accurate and high-quality image can be exposed and recorded on the film F.

That is, first, the film F wound in the magazine 26 is once sent out by a predetermined length between the drum 32 and the pair of conveying rollers 36 via the sub-scanning conveying means 30 to form a loop-shaped slack. The film F is sandwiched between the drum 32 and the nip rollers 34a and 34b and conveyed in the sub-scanning direction in the direction of arrow C. In this way, since the film F is pulled out in advance by the length necessary for image recording, no force is applied to the film F during exposure, and as a result, the film F
This has the effect that it is possible to prevent load fluctuations from occurring and to efficiently record images of excellent quality.

Moreover, in the image recording apparatus 10, the film F pulled out from the magazine 26 is directly held between the drum 32 and the nip rollers 34a and 34b constituting the sub-scanning conveyance means 30, and is moved to a predetermined length under the action of the sub-scanning conveyance means 30. is sent out to the conveyance roller pair 36 side. Therefore, as in the prior art, a dedicated pair of conveying rollers and a drive source for driving this pair of conveying rollers are provided between the magazine 26 and the sub-scanning conveyance means 30 in order to send out the film F to the sub-scanning conveyance means 30. There is no need to provide one. This has the advantage that the structure can be simplified at once, and the entire image recording apparatus IO can be manufactured economically.

Next, an image recording method according to another embodiment of the present invention will be explained using the above-described image recording apparatus 10.

That is, as described above, the film F pulled out from the magazine 26 is transferred between the drum 32 and the nip rollers 34a, 3.
4b, the film F is sent out to the conveyance roller pair 36 side under the rotational action of the drum 32 in the direction of arrow A (see FIG. 3C). Next, as shown in FIG. 3, the drum 32 is rotated in the direction of arrow B, and the film F is once transported to the magazine 26 side via the drum 32 and the nip rollers 34a and 34b that are in sliding contact with the drum 32. A loop-shaped slack is formed between the drum 32 and the drum 32. Further, the drum 32 is rotated again in the six directions of the arrow, and while the film F is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction toward the conveying roller pair 36 side, the light beam scanning section 60 is driven to record a desired image on the film F by exposure. (See Figure 3C).

At this time, since the film F forms a loop-shaped slack between the magazine 26 and the drum 32, no unnecessary external force is applied to the film F being conveyed in the sub-scanning direction, and a high-precision image can be obtained. It will be recorded.

Note that the pair of conveying rollers 36 may be stopped while recording an image on the film F, or the pair of conveying rollers 36 and the drum 32 may be left with some slack. It is also possible to drive the transport roller pair 36 to feed the film F to the transport roller pair 38 side.

On the other hand, in the image recording apparatus 10, when high quality images are not required, efficient image recording work can be performed by the procedure described below.

That is, the film F is pulled out from the magazine 26 and the end of the film F is moved between the drum 32 and the nip roller 34a.
, 34b, the drum 32 is rotated in the direction of the arrow (see FIG. 4).

Therefore, the film F is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction toward the pair of conveying rollers 36, and an image is exposed and recorded on the film F under the driving action of the light beam scanning section 60.

When the end of the film F is held between the pair of conveying rollers 36, the pair of conveying rollers 36 is driven to rotate, and the film F on which the image has been recorded is transferred from the pair of conveying rollers 38 to the developing device 44 side. Ru.

In this way, while the film F is being ejected from the magazine 26, the film F is irradiated with a laser beam to perform an image recording operation. Therefore, compared to the above-described high-quality image recording work, there is an effect that the entire image recording work can be performed in a shorter time and more efficiently. It can be said that this is an extremely effective image recording method, especially when forming a large amount of images with a certain level of quality.

Furthermore, an image recording method according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 5a to 5C.

In this case, as shown in FIGS. 5a to 5C, the magazine 26
A sub-scanning conveying means 80 is provided between the pair of conveying rollers 36 and the sub-scanning conveying means 30 in place of the aforementioned sub-scanning conveying means 30 . The sub-scanning conveying means 80 substantially includes a pair of rollers 82 .
84, said first and second roller pair 82.84
are spaced apart by a predetermined interval and are synchronously driven to rotate via a drive source (not shown).

In such a configuration, first, the film F is pulled out from the magazine 26 and the film F is held between the tenth pair 82, and then the tenth pair 82 and the 20th pair 82 are held together.
4 and rotate in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 5a.

Therefore, the film F is sent out to the conveyance roller pair 36 side under the driving action of the sub-scanning conveyance means 80, and a small amount of film (both for one image) is sent out to the conveyance roller pair 36 side. The length of the film F required for recording becomes loose in a loop.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the first and twentieth pair 82.84 are rotated in the opposite direction to the above, and the film F held between them is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction toward the magazine 26. However, the laser beam L1 is irradiated between the 10th L pair 82 and the 20th L pair 84 under the driving action of a light beam scanning section (not shown). As a result, a desired image is exposed and recorded on the film F.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5C, the 10th roller pair 82 and the 20th roller pair 84 are rotated again in the direction of the arrow, and the conveying roller pair 36 is driven to transfer the film F after the image is completed. It is cut into a predetermined length and sent to a developing device (not shown) for development processing.

Thus, in this embodiment, each pair of rollers 82.
After the film F is pulled out from the magazine 26 through the magazine 84, the image recording operation is performed while the film F is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction to the magazine 26 side. Therefore, no unnecessary external force is applied to the film F, and it is possible to record an image of excellent quality. Also,
There is no need for a pair of dedicated conveying rollers to pull out the film F from the magazine 26, and the advantage of simplifying the configuration also becomes apparent.

Further, the film F is pulled out to the conveyance roller pair 36 side, and then, after the film F is fed out to the magazine 26 side, image recording work is performed while sub-scanning conveying the film F to the conveyance roller pair 36 side again. is possible.

Further, in the sub-scanning conveyance means 80, image recording work can also be performed by the procedure shown below.

That is, the film F pulled out from the magazine 26 is held between the 10th pair 82, and only the 10th pair 82 is rotationally driven to transfer the film F to the 20th pair 84.
send out. Here, since the 20th pair 84 is stopped, the film F is separated from the 20th pair 84 and the 10th pair 84.
A loop-shaped slack is formed between the pair 82 (Fig. 5a).
middle, see double-dashed line).

In this way, the 10th-La pair 82 and the 20th-La pair 84
After feeding out the film F by a predetermined length between the two, the tenth pair 82 is rotated in the opposite direction to the above, and the film F is loosened between the tenth pair 82 and the magazine 26. Let it happen. Next, the first roller pair 82 and the 20th roller pair 8
4 are synchronously rotated and conveyed in a sub-scanning direction while the film F held between them is conveyed in a sub-scanning direction in a direction away from the magazine 26, the film F is irradiated with a laser beam L1 to perform an image recording operation. Therefore, it is easily understood that a highly accurate image can be obtained in the same way as in the embodiment described above.

Furthermore, if a high quality image is not required, the film F pulled out from the magazine 26 is sandwiched between the first and 20th-ra pairs 82.84, and then the first and 20th-ra pairs are The film F may be irradiated with the laser beam L1 while rotating the film 82 and 84 in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 5a.

This has the advantage that a very efficient image recording operation is achieved.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, when forming a high-quality image, first, the image recording carrier wound and stored in the magazine is directly transferred to the image recording medium via the sub-scanning conveyance means. After being pulled out by a length required for recording, the image recording carrier is sub-scanned in a direction substantially perpendicular to the sub-scanning direction while being sub-scanned and conveyed in a predetermined direction under the action of the sub-scanning conveyance means. A recording beam is irradiated to record a predetermined image. Therefore, even if a load variation occurs when the image recording carrier is pulled out from the magazine, the load variation does not act on the image recording carrier during image scanning. Therefore, the image recording work can be performed all at once with high precision.

On the other hand, when a high-quality image is not required, the image is recorded by irradiating the image recording carrier with a recording beam while pulling the image recording carrier out of the magazine under the action of the sub-scanning conveyance means. Therefore, it becomes possible to quickly record a predetermined image by exposure on the image recording carrier wound and stored in the magazine, and the efficiency of the image recording work can be easily achieved. As a result, by selecting each of the above-mentioned image recording methods according to desired image quality conditions, etc., high-quality image processing and high-speed image processing can be realized using a single image recording device. can be mentioned.

Furthermore, there is no need to provide a dedicated pair of rollers and a drive source for driving this pair of rollers, unlike in the prior art, in order to pull out the image recording carrier from the magazine. This provides the advantage that the structure is simplified and the entire image recording device can be manufactured economically.

Although the present invention has been described above with reference to preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.
Of course, various improvements and changes in design are possible without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram of an image recording apparatus for implementing the image recording method according to the present invention, FIG. 2 a to C1, FIG. 3 a to C, and FIG. FIGS. 5A to 5C are explanatory diagrams of the operation of another image recording apparatus that implements the method of the present invention. lO...Image recording device 26...Magazine 3
0... Sub-scanning conveyance means 32... Drum 34a
, 34b... Nip roller 36. 38... Conveyance roller pair 60... Light beam scanning section 80... Sub-scanning conveyance means 82.84...
・Laura vs. ＼＼ (b)

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) In an image recording device configured to be able to select between a high-speed mode in which images are recorded on an image record carrier at high speed and a high-image quality mode in which high-quality images are recorded on an image record carrier, when the high-speed mode is selected. While pulling out a long image recording carrier stored in a magazine or the like under the driving action of a sub-scanning conveyance means, a recording beam that is main-scanned in a direction substantially perpendicular to the pulling direction is irradiated onto the image recording carrier. When an image is recorded, on the other hand, when the high image quality mode is selected, a long image recording carrier stored in a magazine or the like is pulled out by at least the length necessary for image recording under the driving action of the sub-scanning conveyance means. Then, the sub-scanning conveyance means is driven in the opposite direction to the above direction to sub-scan convey the image recording carrier to the magazine etc. side, or after the image recording carrier is once conveyed to the magazine etc. side, the sub-scanning conveyance means is driven. The image recording carrier is further driven in the normal rotation direction to convey the image recording carrier in a sub-scanning direction in a direction away from the magazine, etc., and is irradiated with a recording beam that is main-scanned in a direction substantially perpendicular to the sub-scanning direction to form an image on the image recording carrier. An image recording method characterized by recording.