JPH0341410A - Light beam scanning device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To realize a low-cost light beam scanning device which is easily adjusted by using an optical element which varies in the relation between the reflection angle and incidence angle with wavelength, and composing nearly the same beam of light beams which differ in wavelength and making a scan. CONSTITUTION:Light beams emitted by light sources 20Y, 20M, and 20C are transmitted through one cylindrical lens 24 after passing through collimator lenses 22Y, 22M, and 22C, and then made incident on a reflection type diffraction grating 26 at different angles of incidence. The reflection type diffraction grating 26 composes one light beam of the light beams which are incident at the specific angles of incidence respectively and reflects the composite light beam, so the composite light beam is made incident on a polygon mirror 30 after diffracted lights such as secondary diffracted light and tertiary diffracted light air interrupted by a slit 28. Then the light beam is reflected and deflected linearly by the rotation of the polygon mirror 30 to form main scanning lines 37.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to a light beam scanning device that uses a plurality of light sources, and more specifically, the present invention relates to a light beam scanning device that uses a plurality of light sources, and more specifically, a light beam scanning device that uses a diffraction grating or the like to scan light beams of different wavelengths emitted from a plurality of light sources. After making the relationship between the incident angle and the reflection angle approximately the same using an optical element that differs depending on the wavelength, the object to be scanned such as an original or photosensitive material is deflected by a light deflecting means such as a galvanometer mirror or a rotating polygon mirror to two-dimensionally scan the object to be scanned such as an original or photosensitive material. The present invention relates to a light beam scanning device used in a color image reading device that reads image information carried by a color document or the like by scanning the image information, and an image recording device that records a color image on a photosensitive material or the like.

<Conventional technology> Conventionally, photosensitive materials used for printing, copying, etc. are used as a light source, and exposure is performed using a light emitting element such as a semiconductor laser (hereinafter also referred to as LD) or a light emitting diode (hereinafter also referred to as LED). However, there are image recording devices that obtain color images by performing a development process after exposure, and image reading devices that use these light emitting elements to photoelectrically read color images of documents and the like.

In an image recording device that obtains such a color image and an image reading device that reads a color image, three or four
Light sources with different wavelengths, such as LDs and LEDs, are used, and the light beams emitted from these light sources are approximately 1
The beam is deflected in the -dimensional direction to obtain a single main scanning line, and the object to be scanned, such as an original or photosensitive material, is sub-directed in a direction approximately perpendicular to the main scanning direction. It is scanned and conveyed to perform two-dimensional scanning.

An exposure apparatus that combines multiple light beams into one for exposure is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 1987-287605 filed by the present applicant, which focuses multiple light beams onto one point on the deflection surface of an optical deflector. Regarding an exposure device that performs exposure by forming an image at a slightly distant point along one main scanning line on the image forming surface of a photosensitive material, Japanese Patent Application No. 1983 filed by the present applicant describes
-232682.

The exposure apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 61-287605 is
As shown in Figure 4, LD251 for red light and SHG element 2
55. The red light, green light, and blue light emitted from the combination of the LD 252, Nd/YAG crystal 254, and SHG element 256 for green light, and the LD 253 and SHG element 257 for blue light are emitted by collimator lenses 258, 259, and 2, respectively.
After shaping by 60, a mirror 2613 and a dichroic mirror 262, 263 are used to form a nearly single beam of light 264, which is then reflected and deflected by a polygon mirror 270, the focus is adjusted by an fθ lens 280, and a long beam is formed. The reflecting mirror 290 is lowered toward the photosensitive material A, and the photosensitive material A being conveyed in the sub-scanning direction is scanned and exposed.

As shown in FIG. 5, the image exposure apparatus 300 disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 62-232682 uses light beams (red light , green light, and blue light) are shaped by collimator lenses 304, 305, and 306, and then passed through a cylindrical lens 310, and these three light beams are focused on one point on the deflection surface of a polygon mirror 320. Since these three light beams are incident on the deflection surface at different angles of incidence, their reflection angles are different from each other, so that they are reflected as three light beams. This reflection is deflected by 3
The light beam of the tree is focused by an fθ lens 330 and lowered by a long cylindrical mirror 340 to scan and expose the photosensitive material A being conveyed in the sub-scanning direction. Cylindrical mirror 310, fθ lens 330, and cylindrical mirror 34
0 constitutes an optical system for correcting the surface tilt of the polygon mirror 320.

In addition, an argon ion laser and a HeNe laser are used as light sources, and the laser beam of the argon ion laser is separated into green light and blue light by a light beam transmission and refraction prism.
After modulating each light beam, including the red light of the eNe laser, the multiple light beams are combined into one for scanning using a light refraction optical element such as a light beam transmission and refraction prism as shown in Figure 6. A laser printing apparatus that performs scanning exposure using an optical device is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-61716.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> By the way, in the image exposure apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 61-287605, a dichroic mirror is applied to each beam to combine a plurality of light beams into one tree, and then a polygon is Since it can be made incident on one point on the deflection surface of the mirror,
Although it is relatively easy to make adjustments to combine multiple light beams onto a single optical axis, there is a problem in that the number of expensive parts such as dichroic mirrors in the optical system that makes up the exposure device increases. Ta.

On the other hand, the image exposure apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 62-232682 brings a plurality of light beams close to each other and makes them incident on one point on the deflection surface of a polygon mirror at different angles of incidence. Because scanning exposure is performed by focusing images on each beam, there is no need to combine each beam into a single beam, and expensive dichroic mirrors are not required, and the number of parts in the optical system can be reduced without reducing the There was a problem in that adjusting the light source and optical system to make the beam incident on one point on the deflection surface, and adjusting the imaging position and emission timing of each beam on the photosensitive material became complicated and difficult. .

Furthermore, in the exposure optical system of the laser printing apparatus disclosed in JP-A-60-61716, since a gas laser is used as the light source, the wavelength interval of three light beams for color exposure can be separated. . For example, it is possible to select three optical beams that are separated by more than 100 nm from each other, but as shown in Figure 6, even if the wavelengths are far apart, three optical beams can be selected. Since the angles of incidence of light beams on optical elements for light refraction such as transmission refraction prisms are extremely close, the wavelength intervals of the three light beams for color exposure are close, as in light emitting elements such as LDs and LEDs. There were problems such as the inability to use a light source. In the laser printing device disclosed herein, the dispersion angle of the three beams to the prism is 182° between the blue wavelength light beam and the green wavelength light beam, and the dispersion angle between the green wavelength light beam and the red wavelength light beam, as shown in FIG. Since the angle between the laser beam and the prism is 324°, there is a problem in that the optical distance between the laser light source and the prism becomes long and the device configuration becomes large.

An object of the present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art described above, to combine multiple light beams from a light source such as a semiconductor laser into a single tree, and to
Low-cost light beam scanning that is easy to adjust, does not require the use of many expensive Google clocks, and has a small number of optical parts when scanning objects to be scanned such as originals and photosensitive materials two-dimensionally. The goal is to provide equipment.

<Means for Solving the Problems> In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an object to be scanned by scanning a scanned object with two light sources that emit light beams of different wavelengths.
A light beam scanning device that scans dimensionally to read color image information carried by the object to be scanned or records a color image on the object to be scanned, the device comprising: scanning a plurality of light beams emitted from the light source; ,Each,
The light is incident at different angles of incidence on an optical element whose relationship between the angle of incidence and the angle of reflection differs depending on the wavelength, and after the reflection angle is set to -, the light is deflected by a light deflecting means to two-dimensionally scan the object to be scanned. The present invention provides a light beam scanning device characterized by the following.

The optical element whose relationship between the incident angle and the reflection angle differs depending on the wavelength is preferably a reflection type diffraction grating.

Moreover, it is preferable that the light source is a semiconductor laser.

Preferably, the light source has an emission wavelength stabilizing means.

Preferably, the light source has means for correcting changes in emission wavelength.

It is preferable to provide a slit 1 for blocking second-order or higher-order diffracted light between the optical element whose relationship between the incident angle and the reflection angle differs depending on the wavelength and the light deflecting means.

<Operation of the Invention> The light beam scanning device of the present invention uses an optical element such as a reflection type diffraction grating, which has a different relationship between the error angle and the reflection angle depending on the wavelength, to pass light beams of different wavelengths emitted from a plurality of light sources such as LDs. The front axis of the light beam is set at the center of the path, and the light beam is deflected by a light deflection means such as a polygon mirror to two-dimensionally scan and read or expose a document or an object to be scanned such as a color photosensitive material.

Therefore, there is no need for expensive dichroic mirrors or half mirrors for converting multiple light beams into a single optical axis, which reduces the number of optical components and reduces the overall cost of the device. .

Furthermore, compared to the conventional case where multiple light beams from gas lasers are combined using a light refraction optical element such as a prism, it is possible to combine light beams from multiple LDs using a reflective diffraction grating as in the present invention. When the optical axes of the tree light beams are made into one tree, the interval between the incident angles to the optical elements for light beam synthesis can be made wider, so it is easier to synthesize the optical axes, and the optical axes can be Adjustments for synthesis can be easily made.

Furthermore, in the present invention, since the plurality of light beams are combined into one tree in advance using an optical element whose reflection angle depends on the wavelength, the plurality of light beams having different incident angles are connected to one point on the light deflection means. Adjustment is easier than when concentrating on

<Embodiments> Hereinafter, a light beam scanning device according to the present invention will be described in detail based on preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of a light beam scanning device according to the present invention.

As shown in the figure, a light beam scanning device 10 according to the present invention
consists of a light source section 12 and a scanning section 14, and the light source section 12 has a plurality of light sources, an LD20Y for yellow coloring, an LD20M for magenta coloring, and an LD20C for cyan coloring.
The light beams irradiated from D20Y, 20M, and 20C are shaped by collimator lenses 22Y, 22M, and 22C, which are numbered to correspond to each LD, and then forward (hereinafter referred to as the traveling direction of the light beams). The light passes through one cylindrical lens 24 provided in the front and enters the reflection type diffraction grating 26, which is the most characteristic feature of the present invention, located in front at different incident angles.
The reflection type diffraction grating 26 is an optical element that has a different relationship between the incident angle and the reflection angle depending on the wavelength according to the present invention, and combines a plurality of light beams that are incident at predetermined incident angles and reflects them as one light beam. It is something that can be done.

The combined light beam of one tree combined and reflected by the diffraction grating 26 includes diffracted lights such as second-order diffracted light and third-order diffracted light, which have different phases, for example, the phase is twice or three times that of the first-order diffracted light. That is, since diffracted lights with different reflection directions are generated, a slit 28 is provided in front of the diffraction grating 26 to block second-order or higher-order diffracted lights. In the present invention, it is preferable to provide the slit 28, since if the slit 28 is not provided, second-order or higher-order diffracted light will interfere and cause flare. The light source section 12 is configured as described above.

Next, in the scanning section 14, the combined light beam from which the second order and higher order diffracted light has been removed by the slit 28 enters the polygon mirror 30 constituting the light deflection means of the present invention, and by rotation of the polygon mirror 30, the first order It is reflected and deflected in the original direction.

The light beam reflected and deflected by the polygon mirror 30 is
After its focal point is adjusted by the fθ lens 32, the document is lowered by the cylindrical mirror 34, which is arranged in front of the cylindrical lens 24, which corrects the surface tilt of the polygon mirror 30, and is exposed to light. A scanned object 36 such as a material is scanned to define a main scanning line 37. Here, the object to be scanned 36 is sub-scanned and conveyed in a direction substantially perpendicular to the main scanning direction by the sub-scanning conveyance means 38, and is two-dimensionally scanned by the light beam deflected in the -dimensional direction. The entire surface is scanned.

In the present invention, a plurality of, for example, three, beams having different wavelengths are made incident on the diffraction grating 26, combined, and reflected as a single light beam. The angle is α8. α2. α3, the wavelength of each incident light beam is λl+'2+λ3, the grating pitch is d, and the reflection angle of one tree of reflected light beams is β,
These must satisfy the following relational expression.

5ina, -5in β = λ1/dsin α
2-sin β = λ2/dsina3-s
in β = λ3/d Furthermore, in order to synthesize n tree light beams, the incident angle of the n-th light beam is α. , wavelength λ. In this case, the input should be made so as to satisfy the following relational expression.

5ina. -5inβ=λ,/d For example, here, the grating pitch of the diffraction grating 26 is d=166
7 nm, 600 wood/mm, reflection angle β = 30”
, the wavelengths of the three light beams are λ1 = 670 nm (for cyan coloring), λ2 = 750 nm (for magenta coloring), λ
, = 810 nm (When used for yellow coloring, the incident angle of each of the three light beams with different wavelengths is α, = 64 from the above formula.
．． 42, α2 = 71.81 α3 = 80.40''. Here, the difference between α1 and α2 is Δα, =
7.39° The difference between α2 and α3 is Δα2 = 8.59°, which is a dog.

By the way, in the example shown in FIG.
, a reflection type diffraction grating 2 that allows lights of different wavelengths emitted from a plurality of LD light sources 20Y20M and 20C to be incident at different incident angles and reflected at substantially the same reflection angle.
However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention is not limited to this, but by making a plurality of light beams with mutually different wavelengths incident at different angles and emitting them at substantially the same reflection angle, a single beam of light is formed. Any optical element that can form a beam may be used.

In the present invention, the light source may be any source as long as it emits a light beam with a narrow band wavelength, and examples thereof include an LD, a laser such as a gas laser, and a light emitting diode. L that is easy to do
D is preferred.

As in the present invention, when an LD is used as a light source and an optical element such as a diffraction grating is used to synthesize the light beams, the relationship between the angle of incidence and the angle of reflection differs depending on the wavelength. Since the difference can be increased, the light source can be easily installed, and the optical distance from the light source to this combining optical element can be shortened. Therefore, the device configuration is easy and can be made compact, so costs can be reduced.

Furthermore, since the optical element for combining light beams used in the present invention is an optical element in which the relationship between the incident angle and the reflection angle differs depending on the wavelength, the output angle is constant at an initial predetermined wavelength, that is, as one optical axis. Each light beam is made incident on the combining optical element at an incident angle determined to be reflected. Therefore, when the wavelength of the light beam emitted from the light source changes during use, the relationship between the angle of incidence and the angle of reflection of the light beam on the optical element changes, causing a shift in the output angle of each light beam, and the emission angle of the light beam changes. This may cause a positional shift in the light beam, or the emitted light beam may no longer be integrated into a single tree, or the allowable range for a single light beam may be exceeded.

Therefore, in the present invention, it is preferable that the light source has an emission wavelength stabilizing means. Light-emitting elements such as lasers, LDs, and LEDs, especially LDs, have emission wavelengths that tend to fluctuate depending on temperature. For this reason, in these light sources, especially LDs, it is preferable to use a constant temperature control device as a means for stabilizing the emission wavelength.

For example, the temperature characteristic of the LD's oscillation wavelength is 03nm/
Since the temperature is large at around ℃, it is best to control the temperature at a constant temperature. As the constant temperature control means, a known method such as heating or cooling using a Bertier element or using a heating element can be used. In addition, the following may be used as the emission wavelength stabilizing means.

On the other hand, as mentioned above, light emitting elements such as LDs always experience wavelength fluctuations due to temperature fluctuations. It may be provided with means for correcting a change in emission wavelength so that a constant output angle is always obtained by correcting the human aJ angle to the optical element.

For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the light source section of the light beam scanning device 40 includes an LD 42M and a collimator lens 44Y.
The supporting member 48Y includes the LD unit 46Y as an integral part.
The LD unit 46M, which includes the LD 42M and the collimator lens 44M as one body, is attached to the support member 48M.
An LD unit 46C that integrally includes an LD 42C and a collimator lens 44C is attached to a support member 48C, and each support member 48Y, 48M, and 48C is attached to a support member 52 of a reflective diffraction grating 50. Each LD42Y, 42M4
Each collimator lens 44Y, 44M,
The three light beams shaped by 44C pass through the cylindrical lens 54 and undergo surface tilt correction, and then enter the diffraction grating 50 at different predetermined angles of incidence, and are combined to form substantially the same reflection angle. The light beams are reflected and become substantially the same light beam, which is blocked by the slit 56 from second-order and higher-order diffracted light, and is roughly divided into a deflection surface within a polygon mirror (not shown).

Here, in FIG. 2, the structure of the scanning section in front of the slit 56 is the same as that of the scanning section 14 of the light beam scanning device 10 shown in FIG. 1, so it is omitted.

By the way, the temperature of the LD42M, 42M, and 42C increases during use, and as the temperature increases, the emission wavelength increases, so the thermal expansion coefficient of the support members 48Y, 4.8M, and 48C of each LD should be appropriately considered. Then, the shape, size, and material are selected, and the emission wavelength of each LD is shifted in accordance with temperature fluctuations by changing the incident angle of each light beam to the diffraction grating 50 due to thermal deformation of each support member 48Y, 48M, and 48C. It may be canceled by the shift of .

Here, the supporting members 48Y, 48M, and 48C constitute means for correcting a change in the emission wavelength of the light source in the present invention.

For example, as mentioned above, for infrared light with a wavelength of 750 nm (for magenta coloring), when the diffracted light output angle β = 30'' and the grating pitch d = 1667 nm (600 pieces/mm), the The incident angle is 7181°, but the temperature increases by 20'C and the wavelength becomes 6nm (temperature characteristic 0.3n).
m/°C), the incident angle must be 72.48" in order to make the first-order diffracted light exit angle β-30°. Therefore, the incident angle to the diffraction grating 50 is 72.48".
' Support member 48M of light source unit 46M
It is sufficient if the structure is configured so that it thermally expands.

The light deflecting means of the present invention is composed of polygons shown in FIG.
It is not limited to 0, and can be used in various types of rotating polygon mirrors, galvanometers, and other optical deflectors.

The light beam scanning device 10 according to the present invention can be applied to both an image reading device and an image recording device.

When using the light beam scanning device 10 as an image recording device, the LDs 20M, 20M, and 20C are connected to an image processing device (not shown), and the image processing device processes image information to be recorded as electrical signals of each color light. Then, the light emission of each LD 20Y, 20M, and 20C is modulated in accordance with the image information electrical signal of each color light, and the photosensitive material that is the object to be scanned 36 is image-exposed. Of course, this photosensitive material is LD20M, 2
It has a coloring material that is sensitive to emission wavelengths of 0M and 20C. The coloring wavelength of this coloring material may be in the visible range or in the infrared range. In addition, exposed photosensitive materials are
After being developed and fixed by a photosensitive material processing device (not shown), a visualized print image is finally obtained. The photosensitive materials used here include silver salt photosensitive material,
Non-silver salt photosensitive materials (electrophotographic photosensitive materials, heat-sensitive photosensitive materials,
(pressure-sensitive photosensitive materials, etc.), and a necessary processing device may be used depending on the photosensitive material used.
The image processing device processes various media (
It may be connected to a computer, video, television, optical disk, etc.), or it may be connected to an image reading device that reads an original image, such as in a copying machine.

On the other hand, when the light beam scanning device 10 of the present invention is used as an image reading device, for example, a false reading device, the object to be scanned 36 is a document carrying an image, and the scanning object 36 is an original document carrying an image, and the direction along the main scanning line 37 is not shown. A photodetector or an assembly such as a light guide and a photodetector is provided to receive light reflected from the document by the light beam. The photodetector is
Like a photomultiplier, it receives reflected light carrying image information from a document and photoelectrically converts the image information. If so, it is not necessary to provide a light guide for transmitting the reflected light from the original to the incident end surface of the photodetector. The light guide has an elongated end face along the main scanning line 37 on the incident end face on the document side, and has a shape corresponding to the shape of the incident end face of the photodetector, for example, circular or rectangular, on the other side. However, any material may be used as long as it can accurately transmit the reflected light from the original to the photodetector. As the light guide and photodetector, known light guides and photodetectors that satisfy the above conditions can be used.

In this way, the image information of the document photoelectrically converted by the photodetector is processed as color density information of each color by the above-mentioned image processing device connected to the photodetector, and is stored.

Although the light beam scanning device of the present invention is basically constructed as described above, a preferred embodiment in which the light beam scanning device of the present invention is applied to an image recording device will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 3, this image recording device is of a copying type, and requires a heat development process for the photosensitive material. This is a type of device that transfers and forms images.

Note that water is a typical example of the image form fA solvent, but this water is not limited to so-called pure water, but includes water in the widely customary sense. Alternatively, a mixed solvent of pure water and a low boiling point solvent such as methanol, DMF, acetone, or diisobutyl ketone may be used. Furthermore, a solution containing an image formation accelerator, an antifoggant, a development stopper, a hydrophilic heat solvent, etc. may also be used.

Inside the housing 82 constituting the image recording device 80, there is a photosensitive material supply section 84 that stores the photosensitive material A, an image reading section 60 that reads image information carried on the document S, and an image processing section that processes the read image information. The processing section 62 and the light beam scanning device 10 of the present invention are applied, and the light source section 12 and the scanning section 1
4, an image exposure device 64 having an image exposure section that exposes the photosensitive material A to form a latent image, a water application section 86 that applies water to the photosensitive material A, and an image receiving paper C. The stored image-receiving paper supply section 88, the overlapping section 90 that superposes the image-receiving paper C on the photosensitive material A, the heat development transfer section 92 that heat-processes the photosensitive material A and the image-receiving paper C, and the photosensitive material An image forming section including a peeling section 94 for peeling off the image receiving paper C from the image forming section A is provided.

A transparent document table 66 on which the document S is placed is arranged on the upper surface of the housing 82, and the image exposure device 64 is placed below this document table 66.

The reading unit 60 includes a document table 66 made of a transparent glass plate or the like on which the document S is placed, an illumination lamp 68 that integrally scans the entire lower part of the document table 66, and a first reflective mirror 7.
0, and mirrors 72 and 74 that move in the same direction at a speed of 172 of the illumination lamp 68, are illuminated by the illumination lamp 68, are reflected by the document S, and reflect light carrying document image information in the same direction. It has an image lens 76 and a CCD sensor 78 that time-divides the light that has passed through the imaging lens 76 into three colors of light for each pixel and performs photoelectric conversion.

The image processing device 62 determines and controls the exposure amount of each light source from the manual image signal of each pixel read by the reading unit 60, converts it into an output image signal, and outputs the light output and/or exposure time width of each light source. Output as . The image processing device 62 is connected to the light source section 12 of the image exposure section to which the light beam scanning device 10 of the present invention is applied, and transmits image signals.

Here, the light source section 12 and scanning section 14 to which the light beam scanning device 1o of the present invention is applied are the same as those shown in FIG. 1, so detailed explanations will be omitted.

The image exposure device 64 is surrounded by a partition wall 98 except for an exposure opening 96 through which an optical axis for exposing the photosensitive material A passes.
Optically isolated from other parts. A shutter device 100 and a shutter control device 10 are provided in the exposure opening 96.
2 may be placed.

Further, near the document table 66, a standard white plate 104 for correcting white balance etc. is provided so that the light source 68 can be illuminated.
is provided.

On the other hand, the photosensitive material supply section 84 is provided on the left side of the housing 82 and is kept light-tight.

A removable photosensitive material magazine 106 wound with photosensitive material A is loaded into this photosensitive material supply section 84 .

The photosensitive material supply unit 84 includes roller pairs 110a to 110 that transport the photosensitive material A from the magazine 106 to the exposure position 108.
It has d. In this case, the roller pair 110a, 110b
In between is a cutter 112 that cuts the photosensitive material A into predetermined lengths.
will be placed. In addition, roller pairs 110c, 110c
The exposure table 114 disposed between the image exposure device 64 faces an exposure opening 96 defined at the bottom of a partition wall 98 surrounding the image exposure device 64.

In front of the exposure position 108 (hereinafter, the term "front" refers to the downstream side with respect to the traveling direction of the photosensitive material, etc.) is provided with a conveyance path consisting of a pair of rollers +10c and a guide plate.

At the exposure position 108, imagewise exposure is performed on the photosensitive material A to form a latent image, and the photosensitive material A on which the latent image has been formed is conveyed to the water coating section 86 via the conveyance path.

The water application section 86 is for facilitating the transfer of the latent image formed on the photosensitive material A, and is provided with a water tank 120 containing water.
, a guide plate 118 that guides the photosensitive material A into water, and a pair of rollers 1 that conveys the photosensitive material A along the guide plate 118.
10f, and a pair of squeeze rollers 116 that scrape off excess water from the photosensitive material A that has been swollen after being coated with water.
The squeeze roller pair 116 is made of an elastic body such as rubber,
It is preferable to provide a water-repellent resin layer such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) on the peripheral surface.

The photosensitive material A coated with water is squeeze roller pair 116
is conveyed to the stacking section 90.

8. On the right side of the housing 82, a receiving paper supply section 88 for supplying the receiving paper C is provided. The image receiving paper supply section 8
Reference numeral 8 denotes a receiving paper magazine 12 that stores the wound receiving paper C.
2 is loaded. The image receiving paper C in the magazine 122 is fed out by a pair of rollers 110g, and this pair of rollers 110g
It is cut into a predetermined length by a cutter 124 placed in front of the.

The cut image-receiving paper C is conveyed to the overlapping section 90 by a pair of rollers 110h.

In front of the overlapping part 90, the overlapping photosensitive materials A
A heating development transfer section 92 is provided which heats the image receiving paper C, develops the latent image on the photosensitive material A, and transfers it onto the image receiving paper C.

The heat development transfer section 92 is surrounded by a heat-insulating partition wall 126, and is wrapped around a hollow cylindrical heating drum 130 containing a Haloken lamp 128 at an angle of about 270 degrees to the outer peripheral surface of the heating drum 130. an endless belt 136 supported by three belt support rollers 132, 133, 134, 135;
and image-receiving paper C are heated in a stacked state. By this heating, the latent image on the photosensitive material A is developed and transferred onto the image receiving paper C to develop color.

A peeling portion 94 is provided within the partition wall 126, and the peeling portion 94
A first peeling claw 138 for peeling the photosensitive material A from the image-receiving paper C, a second peeling claw 140 for peeling the image-receiving paper C from the heating drum 130, and a second peeling claw 140 for ejecting the image-receiving paper C to the outside of the partition wall 126. It consists of a roller 142.

In front of one side of the heat development transfer section 92, there is a waste tray 144 for discarding the heated photosensitive material A peeled from the image receiving paper C by the peeling claw 138, and a pair of rollers for throwing the photosensitive material A into the waste tray 144. 110i is provided.
The waste tray 144 is provided below the heat development transfer section 92. Further, in the other front of the heat development transfer section 92, a take-out tray 146 for storing the heated image receiving paper C and a pair of rollers 110 for transporting the heated image-receiving paper C to the take-out tray 146 are provided.
j, 110f to 110! , and the image-receiving paper C on which the image has been transferred is delivered to the take-out tray 146.

As described above, the image recording apparatus to which the light beam scanning device of the present invention is applied is used for copying using a type of photosensitive material in which an image is heat-developed and transferred to an image-receiving material having an image-receiving layer in the presence of an image-forming solvent such as water. Although the image recording device has been described as a typical example, it can be used as long as it is equipped with devices and members that realize the necessary steps among the steps of exposure, development, bleaching, fixing, and transfer depending on the photosensitive material used. Any type of photosensitive material may be used.

Although the light beam scanning device according to the present invention is configured as described above, the present invention is not limited to this, and various improvements and changes in design can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. Of course.

<Effects of the Invention> As described in detail above, according to the present invention, by using an optical element in which the relationship between the reflection angle and the incident angle differs depending on the wavelength, a plurality of different wavelengths for recording or reading a color image are used. It is possible to combine the light beam into an inter-track light beam and use this beam to scan an object to be scanned, such as a photosensitive material or original, which reduces the number of expensive parts such as dichroic mirrors. Since there is no need to concentrate a plurality of light beams on the light deflection means, adjustment is easy.

Furthermore, in the present invention, when a plurality of semiconductor lasers (LDs) are used as light sources and a reflection type diffraction grating is used, even if the wavelengths of the LD light sources are close to each other, the difference in the angle of incidence on the diffraction gratings is increased. Even if the optical distance is short,
The device can be easily configured. Therefore, it is possible to use an LD as a light source, which is difficult to use in a conventional device using an optical element for refraction, and the device can be configured compactly and at low cost.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 51 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a light beam scanning device according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the light beam scanning device according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is an explanatory sectional view of an embodiment of an image recording apparatus to which a light beam scanning device according to the present invention is applied. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a conventional image exposure light beam scanning device. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of a conventional image exposure light beam scanning device. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the action of a light refraction optical element used in a conventional exposure apparatus. Description of symbols 10...Light beam scanning device, 12...Light source unit, 14...Scanning unit, 20Y, 20M, 20C...LD. 22Y, 22M, 22C...Collimator lens, 24
...Cylindrical lens, 26...Reflection type diffraction grating, 28...Slit, 30...Polygon mirror 32...Fθ lens, 34...Cylindrical mirror 36...Scanned object, 37. ...Main scanning line, 38...Sub-scanning conveyance means, 40...Light beam scanning device, 42Y 42M 42C...LD. 44Y, 44M, 44C...Collimator lens, 46
Y 46M 46C...LD unit, 48Y,
48M, 48C...Supporting member, 50...Reflection type diffraction grating, 52...Supporting member, 54...Cylindrical lens, 56...Slit, A...Photosensitive material, C ...receiving paper, S...manuscript

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A scanned object is two-dimensionally scanned by a light source that emits a plurality of light beams of different wavelengths, and color image information carried by the scanned object is read or a color image is printed on the scanned object. A light beam scanning device for recording, wherein each of a plurality of light beams emitted from the light source,
The beam is incident at different incident angles on an optical element whose relationship between the incident angle and the reflection angle differs depending on the wavelength, and after making the reflection angle substantially the same, the beam is deflected by a light deflecting means to two-dimensionally scan the object to be scanned. A light beam scanning device characterized by: