JPH04147126A - Liquid crystal exposure device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate the need for an optical system lens and to prevent a decrease in the quantity of light and defocusing at the periphery of an image by providing a cylindrical liquid crystal display device (LCD) shutter which is arranged fixedly so that a photosensitive recording medium is wound movably around the outer peripheral surface of a light source. CONSTITUTION:The liquid crystal exposure device 2 is equipped with a halogen lamp 3 as the rod type light source, an endless belt type filter 4 which surrounds the periphery of the lamp 3, and the cylindrical LCD shutter 5 which surrounds the filter 4 and has its outer periphery wound with microcapsule paper 20 as the photosensitive recording medium. This shutter 5 is controlled by an image output device 7 according to an image signal for red (R), an image signal for green (G), and an image signal for blue (B). Then the projection light emitted by the halogen lamp 3 is transmitted through the shutter 5 to irradiate the capsule paper 20, which is exposed. Consequently, no optical system lens is required and light is supplied to the microcapsule 20 efficiently by a uniform quantity.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a liquid crystal exposure device equipped with an LCD shutter, and in particular to a liquid crystal exposure device that eliminates the need for an optical lens and prevents unevenness in light amount. Regarding.

[Conventional technology]

In recent years, various liquid crystal display elements (L C
D) A shutter has been developed.

Here, among the LCD shutters, a twisted nematic (TN) type LCD shutter will be explained. This TN type LCD shutter is made up of a plurality of liquid crystal light modulation elements arranged, and in each liquid crystal light modulation element, the liquid crystal is formed by two transparent electrode substrates (outside) and two sheets having uniform linear grooves. It is sandwiched between an alignment film (inner side). When no voltage is applied between the transparent electrodes, the liquid crystal molecules assume a specific alignment state according to the force regulated by the grooves of the alignment films, but the groove directions of the two alignment films are mutually Because they are shifted by 90 degrees, the liquid crystal molecules exhibit a twisted structure in the long axis direction of the molecules.
The alignment of liquid crystal molecules is twisted by 90 degrees between both alignment films.

When the TN type liquid crystal light modulation element in this state is sandwiched between two polarizing plates whose polarization directions are perpendicular to each other, and a light beam is incident from one of the polarizing plates, the light beam becomes linearly polarized light at the first polarizing plate. While this linearly polarized light travels through the liquid crystal, due to the birefringence of the liquid crystal molecules and the above-mentioned 90 degree twisted alignment structure,
The polarization direction of the above linearly polarized light is rotated by 90 degrees. As a result, the polarization direction of the linearly polarized light matches the polarization direction of the other polarizing plates, and the linearly polarized light is emitted as is. However, when a voltage is applied between the transparent electrodes, the liquid crystal molecules are forcibly aligned in the direction of the electric field, so that the above-mentioned 90 degree twisted alignment structure of the liquid crystal molecules is not formed. Therefore, the linearly polarized light incident from one polarizing plate reaches the other polarizing plate without rotation of the polarization direction, and when it is output, the polarization direction of the linearly polarized light and the polarization direction of the other polarizing plate are orthogonal, and the light is blocked. be done.

The switching between light transmission and light blocking as described above is performed by applying a voltage between the transparent electrodes. By arranging a plurality of liquid crystal light modulation elements, a shutter with high response speed becomes possible.

Focusing on the characteristics of such LCD shutters, we
Various liquid crystal exposure devices using shutters have been developed. Typically, such a liquid crystal exposure device includes a reflector that reflects the light emitted from the light source, a condenser lens that converts the light emitted from the light source and the reflected light from the reflector into parallel light, and enters the LCD shutter. An imaging lens was provided to form an image onto the photosensitive recording medium.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, optical system lenses such as a reflector, a condenser lens, and an imaging lens are required, which not only results in a fairly expensive device, but also requires optical system lenses. Since this method uses a photosensitive recording medium, there are problems in that the amount of light decreases at the periphery of the photosensitive recording medium compared to the center, and image blur occurs due to aberrations.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and is inexpensive by eliminating the need for an optical lens.
Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide a liquid crystal exposure device that prevents a decrease in light amount and image blurring around an image.

[Means to solve the problem]

To achieve this object, the present invention provides a liquid crystal exposure device that exposes a photosensitive recording medium based on an image signal, the liquid crystal exposure device comprising a rod-shaped light source and a plurality of liquid crystal light modulation elements, The apparatus includes a fixedly arranged substantially cylindrical LCD shutter which surrounds the light source and around which the photosensitive recording medium is movably wound.

[Effect]

According to the present invention having the above configuration, the light emitted from the light source passes through the substantially cylindrical LC and D shutters and is irradiated onto the photosensitive recording medium wrapped around the outer circumference of the LCD shutter. Exposure is performed by
Exposure of a photosensitive recording medium can be performed without the need for an optical lens.

〔Example〕

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

First, an example of an image recording apparatus using the liquid crystal exposure apparatus of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an image recording apparatus using a liquid crystal exposure apparatus of the present invention. In FIG. 1, an image recording device 1 is equipped with a liquid crystal exposure device 2, and is configured such that a long microcapsule paper 20 as a photosensitive recording medium is conveyed through an exposure area below the liquid crystal exposure device 2. has been done.

The liquid crystal exposure device 2 includes a halogen lamp 3 as a rod-shaped light source, an endless belt-shaped filter 4 surrounding the halogen lamp 3, and a microcapsule paper 20 surrounding the filter 4 on its outer peripheral surface. It is equipped with a cylindrical LCD shutter 5 around which the LCD shutter 5 is wrapped. Further, the filter 4 is wound and supported by a light-transmissive cylindrical member (not shown), which is arranged so that the halogen lamp 3 is located at the center of the filter.

The microcapsule paper 20 is made by coating a plurality of microcapsules on the surface of a long support, and the microcapsules contain a dye precursor, etc. that reacts with a color developer, which will be described later. .

The unexposed microcapsule paper 20 is wound around a cartridge shaft 22 and installed in a light-shielding cartridge 21 . Also, this cartridge 21
A feed roller 23.23 for conveying the microcapsule paper 20 is disposed on the right side.

The microcapsule paper 20, which has been exposed in the lower exposure area of the liquid crystal exposure device 2, is placed on the pressure roller 30a in a state where it is overlapped with the color developer paper 35.

30b for pressure development. Thereafter, the microcapsule paper 20 separated from the developer paper 35 is wound around a cartridge shaft 27 disposed within the cartridge 26.

Above the pressure rollers 3Qa and 30b, a plurality of color developing papers 3
A cassette 37 containing cassettes 5 and 5 is installed. A half-moon roller 41 is disposed at the upper left of the cassette 37, and the rotation of the half-moon roller 41 feeds out the developer paper 35 one by one between paper feed rollers 42, 42. The fed-out color developer paper 35 passes through the feed guide 43 and connects the tip of the color developer paper 35 with the microcapsule paper 2.
The latent image is conveyed to pressure rollers 30a and 30b at a timing such that the tip of the latent image on 0 matches the position.

The color developer paper 35 has a support surface coated with a color developer, and develops color by reacting with the dye precursor contained in the microcapsules of the microcapsule paper 20. No. 209, and the explanation will be omitted here.

To the right of the pressure rollers 30a and 30b, a heat fixing device 50 is installed.
A heater 51 is provided inside the heat fixing device 50, and a conveyor belt 52 for conveying the color developing paper 35 is disposed at the bottom.

Next, the liquid crystal exposure apparatus 2 of the present invention will be explained with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. In the figure, the liquid crystal exposure device 2 is
As mentioned above, there is a halogen lamp 3 as a light source, a red filter portion 4R, a green filter portion 4G, and a blue filter portion that separate the light emitted from the halogen lamp 3 into a single color of red, green, or blue. 4B, an endless belt-like filter 4, a cylindrical LCD printer 5, and a filter drive device 6 for rotationally driving the filter 4.
and an image output device 7 for inputting image data to the LCD printer 5.

As described above, the LCD shutter 5 is constructed by arranging a plurality of liquid crystal light modulation elements, and usually the area around each liquid crystal pixel is shielded from light by a black mask to prevent leakage current. This LCD shutter 5 is red (R)
The image signal is controlled by the image output device 7 according to the image signal for green (G), and the image signal for blue (B).

The filter 4 is driven by a filter driving device 6, and a filter portion 4R, 4G, or 4B corresponding to an image signal for controlling the LCD shutter 5 is inserted into the optical path.

The light that is separated into monochromatic red, green, or blue by passing through this filter part 4R, 4G, or 4B is incident on the LCD shutter 5, and the light that has passed through this is wrapped around this outer peripheral surface. The light is irradiated onto the microcapsule paper 20.

Next, the operation of the image recording device 1 will be explained.

When the print start key (not shown) is pressed down, the halogen lamp 3 is turned on;
The emitted light passes through the filter 4, the LCD shutter 5, and exposes the microcapsule paper 20 wrapped around the outer circumferential surface of the LCD shutter 5.

At this time, first, the red filter part 4R of the filter 4 is arranged so as to surround the halogen lamp 3, and the LC
The D shutter 5 is controlled by the image output device 7 according to the red (R) image signal. That is, the light that passes through the red filter part 4R and becomes red light passes through the LCD shutter 5 that is controlled according to the red image signal, and is irradiated onto the microcapsule paper 20 wrapped around the outer circumferential surface of the LCD shutter 5 for red exposure. ends.

Next, by driving the filter driving device 6, the green filter part 4G is arranged to surround the light source 3,
The LCD shutter 5 is controlled by the image output device 7 in accordance with the green (G) image signal. As a result, the light that passes through the green filter part 4G and becomes green light passes through the LCD shutter 5 that is controlled according to the image signal for green color, and is irradiated onto the microcapsule paper 20 wrapped around the outer circumferential surface of the LCD shutter 5, which produces green light. Exposure is performed.

Similarly, by driving the filter drive device 6, a part of the blue filter 4B is arranged to surround the light source 3, and the LCD shutter 5 is controlled by the image output device 7 in accordance with the blue (B) image signal. The light passed through the blue filter part 4B and turned into blue light passes through the LCD shutter 5 controlled according to the blue image signal and is irradiated onto the microcapsule paper 20 wrapped around the outer circumferential surface of the LCD shutter 5, thereby exposing it to blue light. will be held.

When the exposure is completed, the microcapsule paper 20 is conveyed in the direction of the pressure rollers 30a and 30b by the driving force of the feed roller 23 and the cartridge shaft 27. On the other hand, the developer paper 35 is fed one by one by a half-moon opening roller 41, and is moved by a paper feed roller 42 and a paper feed guide 43 to a pressure roller 30a.
, 30. b. Then, the exposed surface of the microcapsule paper 20 and the developer-coated surface of the color developer paper 35 are pressed against each other by pressure rollers 30a and 30b in a state in which they are superimposed so as to be in contact with each other, and the image is transferred to the color developer paper 35.

The developer paper 35 is further conveyed by a conveyor belt 52, and color development is accelerated by a heater 51 of a heat fixing device, and the image is output as an image.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit thereof.

For example, in this embodiment, a color filter is used to create a color liquid crystal exposure device, but the color filter may be omitted and a monochrome liquid crystal exposure device may be used.

Further, although the present embodiment uses a substantially cylindrical LCD shutter, it may not be substantially cylindrical.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As is clear from the detailed description above, according to the present invention, an optical system lens is not required, and a uniform amount of light can be efficiently supplied to a photosensitive recording medium. Therefore, it is possible to provide a uniform amount of light without aberrations caused by the optical system lens or light falloff at the periphery, which has the effect of reducing costs and providing stable image quality.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image recording apparatus using the liquid crystal exposure device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the liquid crystal exposure device, and FIG.
The figure is an enlarged sectional view of the main part. 1... Image recording device, 2... Liquid crystal exposure device, 3...
・Halogen lamp (light source), 4...filter 4R・
... Red filter part, 4G... Green filter part,
4B... Part of blue filter, 5... LCD shutter, 6... Filter drive device, 7... Image output device, 20... Microcapsule paper (photosensitive recording medium). Figure Figure Figure Procedure Nj tE Book (1. Name of the invention Relationship to the case involving a person who corrects a liquid crystal exposure device)

Claims (1)

[Claims] A liquid crystal exposure device that exposes a photosensitive recording medium based on an image signal, wherein the liquid crystal exposure device includes a rod-shaped light source and a plurality of liquid crystal light modulation elements, and surrounds the light source. 1. A liquid crystal exposure device comprising: a fixedly arranged generally cylindrical LCD shutter around which the photosensitive recording medium is movably wound;