JPH04119343A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To universally obtain a reliable outputted image on a paper which is generally in circulation by deciding the kind of the material of a mask original plate by a material decision part, and carrying the mask original plate at carrying speed in accordance with the material through a controller. CONSTITUTION:A control panel 201 is provided with a liquid crystal display element 202, an OHP paper selection key 203 functioning as the material decision part for deciding the material of the mask original plate 15, and a manual feed image forming start key 204, and it is connected to the controller 205. Then, a storage device 206 for storing that the mask original plate 15 is made of OHP sheet, for example, and a driving device 207 for driving a pulse motor 208 which drives roller pairs 22-27 for carrying the original plate 15 are connected to the controller 205. Then, the carrying speed of the mask original plate 15 is optimized corresponding to a difference between the original plate 15 made of the OHP paper and the original plate 15 made of a conventional paper. Thus, the reliable outputted image is obtained even when the mask original plates 15 made of various materials, which are generally in circulation, are utilized.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that exposes a photosensitive recording medium to light through a mask original created based on image information to obtain a color image. It is.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, this type of image forming apparatus uses a set of three mask original plates that separate a color image according to the three primary colors of light;
In other words, an image with cyan, macenta, and yellow components extracted is expressed in black using a monochrome laser printer (mask original plate production device), and this is sequentially superimposed on a photosensitive recording medium, and complementary color light (red ,green,
It is generally known that a photosensitive recording medium is exposed to light (blue) in a manner corresponding to a mask image on a mask original plate, thereby curing the microcapsules of the photosensitive recording medium and recording a color image.

Here, as the mask original plate, plain paper or OH
Although a P sheet is normally used, the two types of mask originals were conveyed at the same speed without considering the difference in their materials.

However, in the conventional example described above, due to factors such as whether the conveyance speed of the mask original is constant, or differences in the thickness or coefficient of friction between the OHP sheet and plain paper, or the plain paper, Even if the machine configuration is the same, the optimal transport speed for transporting the mask original with high reliability will differ. For this reason, it is necessary to limit the types of paper that can be used as mask masters to some extent, and there is a problem in that only some of the papers that are generally available can be transported with high reliability.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and is an image forming apparatus that can obtain highly reliable output images even for mask originals using commonly available paper. The purpose is to provide

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve this object, the image forming apparatus of the present invention brings a mask original created based on image information into close contact with a photosensitive recording medium placed on an exposure table, and also transmits color separation through this mask original. An image forming apparatus that forms an image on the photosensitive recording medium by exposure includes a material determination unit that determines the material of a plurality of mask originals, and a conveyance speed that is determined according to the material of the mask originals determined by this determination unit. The device is equipped with a control device for controlling the device.

[Effect]

According to the present invention having the above configuration, the type of material of the mask original is determined by the material determining section, and the mask original is transported at a transport speed according to the material through the control device, so that it can be distributed generally. Highly reliable output images can be obtained for a wide range of paper types.

〔Example〕

An embodiment embodying the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a monochrome laser printer 1 and a color image recording device 20, which serve as a mask original production device, combined and arranged.

First, the monochrome laser printer 1 is mounted on top of the color image recording device 20. In the monochrome laser printer 1, a polygon scanner 2 irradiates laser light onto a charged photoreceptor 3, thereby drawing an electrostatic latent image. The photoreceptor 3 on which the electrostatic latent image has been formed is developed by a developing device 4, and the toner image is transferred onto plain paper or an OHP sheet fed from a paper feed cassette 5, and fixed by a fixing device 6. Typically, the monochrome laser printer 1 records data transmitted from a host computer.

The output from the monochrome laser printer 1 is sent to the paper path switching unit 10, and if a monochrome image is required, it is sent to the monochrome paper output tray 11 or the automatic document feeder (ADF:l 12).
If a color image is required, the document is sent to the automatic document feeder 12 and then taken into the color image recording device 20.

The sheets sent to the automatic document feeder 12 are taken into the color image recording device 20 one by one by the sheet feed roller 13, and are outputted from the monochrome laser printer 1 as three sheets or one set of monochrome printed sheets. As a result, the mask original plate 15 (15R, 15G,
15B).

Next, the configuration of the color image recording device 20 will be explained.

An alignment device 31 is located at the bottom of the main body of the color image recording device 20, and the alignment device 31 and the automatic document feeder 12 are connected through a mask original transport path 21. On both left and right sides of the alignment device 31, there are roller pairs 22, 23, 24, 25, and 26 whose rotational direction can be controlled.
．． 27, game) 28, 29 and mask original storage section 102
is located. A pair of glue curler rollers 100 are arranged in the middle of the mask original transport path 21 to remove curls from the mask original 15 discharged from the monochrome laser printer 1. Further, the roller pair 26.2
-7, a mask original discharge tray 30 for discharging the used mask original 15 is arranged.

The alignment device 31 includes a sensor (not shown),
It mainly consists of a pair of rollers 32 and 33 arranged near both left and right ends whose rotational speed can be controlled, and a glass plate 34 arranged between them.

An exposure device 41 is arranged below the alignment device 31, and this exposure device 41 is connected to the alignment device 3.
It is movable in the left and right direction along 1. This exposure device 41 includes a linear white light source (hereinafter referred to as a lamp) 4.
2. The filter unit 44 mainly includes a reflector 43 that reflects the light from the lamp 42, a red filter 44R, a green filter 44G, and a blue filter 44B.

The photosensitive recording medium 50 is, for example, disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62143044.
The main material is a photocurable resin using a photopolymerization initiator known in the publication, and the photocurable resin is cured by light of each wavelength of red, green, and blue, and cyan, magenta, and yellow. Microcapsules containing each of the dye precursors are coated onto a base sheet. The photosensitive recording medium 50 is housed in a cartridge 51 so as not to be exposed to light. The photosensitive recording medium 50 is drawn from inside the cartridge 151, passing between the glass plate 34 and the exposure table 52, passing through the buffer 55, separation roller 64, pressure developing device 70, and drive roller 57, and then being routed to the take-up roller 54. There is. The exposure table 52 is lowered by a cam 53,
It is configured so that the mask original 15 conveyed onto the glass plate 34 and the photosensitive recording medium 50 are brought into close contact.

Further, when the exposure table 52 is lowered to a predetermined position, the fixed roller 56 is pressed against the left end of the exposure table 52 to fix the photosensitive recording medium 50 to the exposure table 52 during exposure of the mask original 15. It is located in

The color developer sheet 60 is constructed by applying a color developer disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5888739 onto a piece of heath paper, and is set in the cassette 61 with the developer coated side facing downward. has been done. A suction cup 62 for feeding the color developer sheet 60 one by one is arranged on the upper part of the cassette 61.

The pressure developing device 70 mainly includes a photosensitive recording medium 50 on which a latent image has been formed by exposure, and a pair of pressure rollers 71 for overlapping a color developer sheet 60 and developing it under pressure.

The heat fixing device 80 is constructed between a casing 83 containing a heater 81 and an impeller 82 in the upper part, rubber rollers 84, 85, 86 for conveying the color developer sheet 60 in the lower part, and rollers 87 and 88. It is mainly composed of an endless belt 89.

Further, a paper ejection tray 63 is provided on the outside of the heat fixing device 80.
or installed.

Next, the configuration of the control system will be explained with reference to FIG.

The figure shows a block diagram of the control system, and the operation panel 201 includes a liquid crystal display element 202, an OHP paper selection key 203 as a material determination section for determining the material of the mask original 15, and a manual feed image forming start. A key 204 is provided and connected to a control device 205. This control device 20
5 includes roller pairs 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 and 27 for conveying the mask original plate 15 or ○ [(storage device 206 for storing information that it is manufactured by P-NTO, and the mask original plate) 5.
A drive device 20 that drives a pulse motor 208 that drives a
7 or connected via a clutch (not shown).

In the image forming apparatus configured as described above, the operation when a plurality of color images are obtained from one set of mask originals 15 will be described next.

Before outputting the image, in the case of mask original plate 15 or ○HP sheet, the operator must determine and specify the material in advance.
Press the OHP paper selection key 203.

Then, the control device 205 presses the OHP paper selection key 203.
It is detected that has been pressed, and the memory device 206 stores information that the mask original plate 15 is made by OHP.

Next, a mask original plate 15R for red is created using a monochrome laser printer. This mask original version 15R is
This is a mask original plate in which toner, which is a light-shielding image, is placed on other parts of the microcapsules coated on the photosensitive recording medium 50, in which the microcapsules containing a cyan dye precursor are cured. At this time, the mask original 15R outputted from the monochrome laser printer 1 is sent to the automatic document feeding device 12 and fed into the color image recording device 20 by the paper feeding roller 13. Then, the mask original 15R fed into the color image recording device 20 passes through the mask original transport path 21 and is sent to the alignment device 31 by the roller pair 24, 22. At this time, if the storage device 206 stores that the mask original 15R is made of an OHP sheet, the control device 205 controls the pulse motor 208 to reduce its rotational speed through the drive device 207. On the way, the curl of the mask master plate 15R is corrected by the curler roller 100. Further, the gate 28 is located at the position shown by the solid line.

Next, the alignment device 31 transports the mask original 15R to an appropriate exposure position by a pair of rollers 32, and then uses a drive source (not shown) to move the mask original to a position where the sensor reads the alignment mark printed on the mask original 15R. 1
Move 5R to the specified position.

Immediately before alignment, the exposure table 52 is lowered to a predetermined position by the cam 53, the fixed roller 56 is pressed against the left end of the exposure table 52, and the photosensitive recording medium 50 is moved to the exposure table 52.
Fixed to. After the alignment is completed, the exposure table 52 is further lowered by the cam 53, contacts the glass plate 34 of the alignment device 31, and brings the mask original 15R and the photosensitive recording medium 50 into close contact.

When the exposure table 52 comes into close contact with the alignment device 31, the lamp 4
2 is turned on, and the exposure device 41 performs scanning exposure in the direction of arrow A in order to expose the photosensitive recording medium 50 with red light via the red filter 44R and the mask original 15R. When the exposure is completed, the lamp 42 is turned off and the exposure device 4 is turned off.
1 moves back in the direction of arrow B. At this time, the filter unit 44 of the exposure device 41 is moved by a drive source (not shown), and a green filter 44. G is located.

While the exposure device 41 moves backward, the exposure table 52 is raised by the rotation of the cam 53, and the photosensitive recording medium 50 is moved upwards by the alignment device 3.
1 and the mask original 15R. At this time, pack tension is applied to the photosensitive recording medium 50 at the center of roll rotation of the photosensitive recording medium 50 in the cartridge 51, and when the exposure table 52 is lowered, a length corresponding to the amount of descent of the exposure table 52 is applied. When the photosensitive recording medium 50 is ejected from the storage cartridge 51 and the exposure stage 52 is raised after exposure, the photosensitive recording medium 50 is rewound in a direction to take up the slack.

Even after the exposure by the red mask master plate 15R is completed, the exposure table 52 does not rise to a predetermined position, and the photosensitive recording medium 50 is moved to the exposure table by the fixed roller 56 pressed against the left end of the exposure table 52. It remains fixed at 52.

Next, the green mask original 15G created by the monochrome laser printer 1 is transferred to the automatic document feeder 12,
When it passes through the paper feed roller 13, recurler roller 101, and mask original transport path 21 and reaches just before the roller pair 24, the roller pair 22, 24° 25.27, the roller pair 32° 33 of the alignment device 31, or the mask original 15R is moved. The mask original 15R is rotated in the rightward conveying direction, and at the same time the mask original 15R is sent out from the alignment device 31, the mask original 15G is conveyed to the exposure position and stopped. At this time, the control device 205
If the memory device 206 stores that the mask original 15G is made of OHC sheet, the pulse motor 208 is controlled to be decreased in rotational speed through the drive device 207.

Gates 28 and 29 are located at the positions indicated by solid lines, and the exposed mask original 15R is held between the roller pair 27 and the rear end thereof has passed through the roller pair 27.
It is maintained by stopping the rotation of 7.

The mask original 15G guided to the alignment device 31 is aligned with the photosensitive recording medium 50, as in the case of the mask original 15R, and then the exposure table 52 is lowered to align the mask original 15G with the photosensitive recording medium 50. I am brought into close contact with this. Thereafter, the lamp 42 is turned on and exposure to green light is performed via the green filter 44G. After the exposure is completed, the exposure table 52 is raised to a predetermined position. Then, the exposure device 41 is returned to the original position and moves the filter unit 44 so that the blue filter 44B is positioned above the lamp 42.

Next, the blue mask original 15B created by the monochrome laser printer 1 is similarly fed to the color image recording device 20, and transported just before the roller pair 24, 22.degree. 25. 26 and alignment device 3
The first roller pair 32.degree. 33 is rotated in a direction to convey the mask original 15G to the right, so that the mask original 15G is sent out from the alignment device 31, and the mask original 15B is conveyed to the exposure position and stopped. At this time, the control device
If the storage device 206 stores that the mask original 15B is made of HP sheet, the drive device 207 controls the pulse motor 208 to reduce its rotational speed. Further, the gate 28 is located at the position shown by the solid line, and the gate 29 is located at the position shown by the broken line. It is maintained by stopping the rotation of.

The mask original 15B guided to the alignment device 3] is brought into close contact with the photosensitive recording medium 50 by a similar operation. The photosensitive recording medium 50 is exposed to blue light through the mask original 15B.

By the above operations, a latent image of a desired color image is recorded on the photosensitive recording medium 50.

Next, the exposure table 52 is raised to the initial position, the fixed roller 56 and the left end of the exposure table 52 are separated from each other, and the buffer 55 is moved in the direction of the arrow E to remove the unexposed portions of the photosensitive recording medium 50. The cartridge 51 is ejected from the cartridge 51 below the exposure table 52. The drive roller 57 transports the photosensitive recording medium 50 and stops the photosensitive recording medium 50 when it reaches the leading edge of the latent image or the pressure roller 71 of the pressure developing device 70 .

In synchronization with the movement of the photosensitive recording medium 50, the developer sheet 60 is sent out from the cassette 61 by a suction cup 62,
A developer sheet 60 is placed at the leading edge of the latent image on the photosensitive recording medium 50.
It stops after being conveyed to the corresponding position.

Next, by a drive device (not shown), the pressure roller 71 of the pressure developing device 70 is rotated in the direction of the arrow and then pressed against the pressure roller 71 . At this time, by lowering the exposure table 52 to a predetermined position again, the fixed roller 5 is attached to the left end of the exposure table 52.
6 is pressed and fixed to the photosensitive recording medium 50 or the exposure table 52. Then, the photosensitive recording medium 50 or the color developer sheet 6
The uncured microcapsules on the photosensitive recording medium 50 are destroyed by the pressure, and a color image corresponding to the latent image on the photosensitive recording medium 50 is formed on the developer sheet 60. developed on top.

The buffer 55 is moved in the direction of arrow F by rotating the pressure roller 71 of the pressure developing device 70 in the direction of the arrow. Then, the color developer sheet 60 is peeled off from the photosensitive recording medium 50 by the separation roller 64, and
It is guided in the direction of the heat fixing device 80 .

In the heat fixing device 80, the developer channel 60 has the following components:
The impeller 82 is heated by the air circulating in the casing 83, which is heated by the heater 81, thereby promoting color development of the color image. At the same time, use the color developer paper No. 60.
The binder polymer (binder resin) for fixing to the base paper is heat-fused, the surface becomes smooth, and the color developer
0 surface has a moderate gloss. The color developer sheet 60 that has been subjected to color development and gloss treatment is discharged to a paper discharge tray 63.

During the above-described series of development and coloring/glossy processing, the photosensitive recording medium 50 is held and fixed by the exposure table 52 and the fixed roller 56. Exposure processing of the latent image of the next color image can be performed.

When performing a second color image, first, the mask original 15B at the exposure position is sent out to the left, and the mask original 15R held by the roller pair 27 is moved to the positioning device 3.
1, roller pairs 24, 22, 25, 27
The pair of rollers 32 and 33 of the alignment device 31 are rotated so as to convey the mask original 15R to the left. At this time,
The control device 205 stores the mask original 1 in the storage device 206.
If you remember that it is made of 5R or OHP sheet,
The rotational speed of the pulse motor 20'8 is controlled to be decreased through the driving device 207. Also gate 28.
29 is located at the position shown by the solid line. Mask original version 15
B is held between the pair of rollers 24, and the pair of rollers 24 stop rotating at a position past the rear end of the gate 28. Mask original plate 1 sent to alignment device 31
5R is aligned and brought into close contact with the photosensitive recording medium 50. The photosensitive recording medium 50 is exposed to red light through the mask original 15R.

Next, the mask original 15R at the exposure position is sent to the left, and the mask original 15G held at the position of the roller pair 26 is sent to the alignment device 31 using the roller pair 22.
, 23, 25.26 and the roller pair 32.3 of the alignment device.
3 is rotated so as to convey the mask original 15G to the left. At this time, the control device 205 controls the storage device 20
If it is stored in step 6 that the mask original 15G is made of an OHP sheet, the rotational speed of the pulse motor 208 is controlled to be decreased through the drive device 207. Further, gates 28 and 29 are located at positions shown by broken lines. The mask original 15R is held between the pair of rollers 23 and held by stopping the rotation of the pair of rollers 23 at a position past the rear end of the gate 28. Alignment device 3
The mask original 15G sent into the photosensitive recording medium 50 is brought into close contact with the aligned photosensitive recording medium 50. The photosensitive recording medium 50 is then exposed to green light through the mask original 15G.

Next, the mask original 15G at the exposure position is sent to the right, and the same operation is performed to send the mask original 15B held at the position of the roller pair 24 to the alignment device 31, and the color is placed on the photosensitive recording medium 50. Forms a latent image of the image. At this time, if the storage device 206 stores that the mask original 15B is made of an OHP sheet, the control device 205 controls the pulse motor 208 to reduce its rotational speed through the drive device 207.

By repeating the same operation, one set of mask originals 1
5, it is possible to output a predetermined number of color images.

After obtaining the required number of color images from the same mask original 15, each mask original 15 is discharged from the roller pair 27 or the roller pair 26 to the paper discharge tray 30.

In addition, if the next mask original 15 is output from the monochrome laser printer 1 while a series of color images are being exposed, it is temporarily stored in the automatic document feeder 12 and the previous set is exposed. After this is completed, the paper feed roller 13 feeds the paper sheets one by one into the color image recording apparatus 20.

In addition, when reusing a mask original 15 output from another monochrome laser printer 1 or a previously used mask original 15, the mask original 15 can be inputted by setting it in the automatic document feeder 12. It's been like that.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments detailed above, and various changes can be made without departing from the spirit thereof. For example, as a material determination unit that determines the type of material of the mask original, a sensor for determining the material installed on the conveyance path of the mask original is used, and a storage device corresponding to the type of the mask original is provided. By setting a corresponding mask original transport speed, it is possible to control the mask original transport speed appropriately in accordance with the thickness and material of the mask original.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As is clear from the detailed description above, according to the present invention, the conveyance speed of the mask original is optimized in response to differences in the thickness of the OHP paper mask original and the plain paper mask original, or the thickness of the plain paper. This has the effect that highly reliable output images can be obtained even if commonly available mask masters made of various materials are used.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 2 show an embodiment embodying the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control system. 1... Monochrome laser printer (mask original printing device), 12... Automatic document feeder (ADF), 13...
Paper feed roller, 15... Mask original, 20... Color image recording device, 31... Positioning device, 41... Exposure device, 44... Filter unit, 50... Photosensitive recording medium, 52... Exposure table, 60... Color developer sheet,
70... Pressure developing device, 80... Heat fixing device, 20
1... Operation panel, 202... Liquid crystal display element, 20
3...○HP paper selection key (material determination section), 205
...Control device, 206...Storage device, 207...
Drive device, 208... pulse motor. Applicant's representative: Yasushi Ishikawa, 20/

Claims (1)

[Claims] An image is formed on the photosensitive recording medium by bringing a mask original created based on image information into close contact with a photosensitive recording medium placed on an exposure table, and performing color separation transmission exposure through the mask original. An image forming apparatus comprising: a material determination unit that determines the material of a plurality of mask originals; and a control device that controls a conveyance speed according to the material of the mask originals determined by the determination unit. Device.