JPH047540A - Color image recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate the need to refeed a mask original plate in the device when exposing operation is restarted by judging the kind of an original on an exposure device in an emergency state, storing this original in a storage part at the end of the exposure of the original, and storing the storage position. CONSTITUTION:This device is equipped with a controller 100 which judges the kind of the original 15 on the exposure device in the emergency state, stores the original 15 in the storage part 55 when the exposure of the original 15 ends, and also stores the storage position. If an emergency state such as paper jamming occurs, the kind of the mask original plate 15 is judged when the mask original plate 15 is present on the exposure device 41 and this mask original plate 15 is exposed. Then the mask original plate 15 is stored in the storage part 55 and its storage position is stored. Consequently, exposure can be restarted thereafter without feeding the mask original plate 15 into the device again.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a color image recording apparatus, and more particularly to a color image recording apparatus equipped with a control device that controls the operation of an exposure device in an emergency such as a paper jam.

[Conventional technology]

In recent years, mask masters for three colors are created using a monochrome laser printer, and these mask masters are sequentially sent to an exposure device, where a photosensitive recording medium is color-separated and exposed to light through the mask masters of each color. A color image recording apparatus has been proposed in which a color image is transferred onto this photosensitive recording medium by pressing a developer paper, and the color image is recorded through heat fixation.

In such a color image recording apparatus, in an emergency such as a paper jam on which a color image is to be recorded, the mask original plate is stopped as it is.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, when removing a paper jam and restarting exposure, it is necessary to take out all the mask masters in the color image recording device and then reinsert them into the device, which is inconvenient. There is. Another problem is that it takes extra time to input the mask master plate again.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and it is a color printing method that eliminates the need to reinject the mask original into the apparatus when restarting the exposure operation, and can shorten the time. The purpose is to provide an image recording device.

[Means to solve the problem]

The present invention provides a color image recording device that is equipped with a storage section for storing exposed originals, and in an emergency, the type of original on the exposure device is determined, and after the exposure of this original is completed, the original is removed. The device is characterized by comprising a control device that stores the device in the storage section and stores the storage position.

[Effect]

When an emergency situation such as a paper jam occurs, first, if there is a mask original on the exposure device, the type of the mask original is determined. Then, this mask original plate is exposed. Thereafter, this mask original is stored in the storage section, and this storage position is memorized. Thereby, exposure can be restarted without having to insert the mask original into the apparatus again.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a monochrome laser printer 1 and a color image recording device 20 in a combined arrangement.

First, the monochrome laser printer 1 is mounted on top of the color image recording device 20. In the laser printer 1, a polygon scanner 2 irradiates a charged photoreceptor 3 with laser light, thereby drawing an electrostatic latent image. The photoconductor 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 laser printer 1 is sent to the paper path switching unit 10.
If a black and white image is required, it is fed to the monochrome output tray 11 or automatic document feeder (hereinafter referred to as ADF) tray 12; if a color image is required, it is fed to the ADF.
After being delivered to the tray 12, it is taken into the color image recording device 20.

The sheets sent to the ADF tray 12 are taken into the color image recording device 20 one by one by the ADF paper feed roller 13, and a set of three sheets of monochrome printed paper output from the laser printer 1 is formed. The original mask 15 (15R, 15G, 15B) of the color image recording device 20
) is used as.

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

A positioning device 31 is located at the bottom of the main body of the color image recording device 20, and the ADF ray 12 and the positioning device 31 are connected by a mask original transport path 21.

On both the left and right sides of the positioning device 31, there are pairs of rollers 22, 23, 24 whose rotational direction can be controlled. 25. 26
．． 27, Gate 28.

29 and a mask original storage section 92 are arranged.

In the middle of the mask original transport path 21, a pair of recurler rollers 91 is arranged to remove curls from the mask original 15 discharged from the laser printer 1. roller pair 26
．． On the outside of 27, there is a mask original discharge tray 30 for discharging the used mask original 15.

The positioning device 31 includes a sensor (not shown), a pair of rollers 32 and 33 placed near both left and right ends, a glass plate 34 placed between them, and the like.

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

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 on 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 routed from inside the cartridge 51, passing between the glass plate 34 and the exposure table 52, passing through a buffer 55, a separating roller 64, a pressure developing device 70, and a driving roller 57, to the take-up roller 54. . The exposure table 52 is lowered by a cam 53, and the mask original 15 conveyed onto the glass plate 34 is placed on the exposure table 52.
and the photosensitive recording medium 50 are brought into close contact with each other. The fixed roller 56 is pressed against the left end of the exposure table 52 when the exposure table 52 is lowered to a predetermined position, and is arranged so as to fix the photosensitive recording medium 50 to the exposure table 52 during exposure of the mask original 15. has been done.

The developer sheet 60 is constructed by coating a base paper with a developer described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5888739, and is set in the cassette 61 with the developer coated side facing downward. has been done. At the top of the cassette 61, there is a suction cup 62 for feeding the developer sheets 60 one by one.
is located.

The pressure developing device 70 is comprised of a photosensitive recording medium 5o on which a latent image has been formed by exposure to light, and a pair of pressure rollers 71 for overlapping and developing a color developer sheet 6o under pressure.

The heat fixing device 80 is installed 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. The heat fixing device 80 is configured of an endless belt 89, and a paper discharge tray 63 is attached to the outside of the heat fixing device 80.

In the image recording apparatus configured as described above, the operation when viewing a plurality of color images from one set of mask originals will be described below.

First, the monochrome laser printer 1 creates a red mask original 15R. This mask original version 15R is
In order to harden the microcapsules containing a cyan dye precursor among the microcapsules coated on the photosensitive recording medium 5o, this is a mask original plate in which toner, which is a light-shielding image, is placed on other parts. At this time, the mask original 15R outputted from the monochrome laser printer 1 is fed into the color image recording device 20 by the ADF paper feed roller 13 that has been sent to the ADF (ADF) ray 12. Color image recording device 2
The mask original 15R fed into the mask original 15R passes through the mask original transport path 21 and is sent to the positioning device 31 by the roller pair 24, 22. On the way, the curl of the mask original 15R is corrected by the curler roller 91. At this time,
Gate 28 is located at the solid line position.

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 15R to an appropriate exposure position while reading the alignment mark printed on the mask original 15R with a sensor.
Move 5R to the specified position.

Immediately before positioning, the exposure table 52 is lowered to a predetermined position by the cam 53, and the fixed roller 56 is pressed against the left end of the exposure table 52 to fix the exposed recording medium 50 to the exposure table 52. After the alignment is completed, the exposure table 52 is further lowered by the cam 53 and comes into contact with the glass plate 34 of the alignment device 31, and the mask original 15R and the photosensitive recording medium 50 are exposed.
and bring them into close contact.

When the exposure table 52 comes into close contact with the alignment device 31, the lamp 4
2 lights up, 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 mask original 15R via the red filter 44R. When the exposure is completed, the lamp 42 is turned off and the exposure device 41 moves back in the direction of arrow B. At this time, the exposure device 41
The filter unit 44 is moved by a drive source (not shown), and a green filter 44G is located above the lamp 42.

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 separated from the alignment device 31 and the mask original 15R. At this time, pack tension is applied to the photosensitive recording medium 50 at the center of rotation of the roll of the photosensitive recording medium 50 in the cartridge 51, and when the exposure table 52 descends,
A length corresponding to the amount of descent of the exposure table 52 is pulled out from the storage cartridge 51, and the exposure table 52 is pulled out after exposure is completed.
2 rises, the photosensitive recording medium 50 is rewound in a direction to take up the slack.

Even after the exposure of the red mask master plate 15R is completed, the exposure table 52 only rises to a predetermined position, and the photosensitive recording medium 50 is moved to the exposure table 52 by a fixed roller 56 pressed against the left end of the exposure table 52. remains fixed.

Next, the green mask original 15G created by the monochrome laser printer 1 is placed in the ADF tray 12,
When it passes through the F paper feed roller 13, recurler roller 91, and mask original transport path 21 and reaches just before the roller pair 24, the roller pair 22, 24°25.27 and the roller pair 32°33 of the positioning device 31 are aligned with the mask original 15R. The mask original 15R is sent out from the alignment device 31, and at the same time, the mask original 15G is transported to the exposure position and stopped. At this time, game) 28,2
9 is located at the position of the solid line and is the exposed mask original plate 15R.
is sandwiched between the roller pair 27, and its rear end is connected to the gate 29.
The rotation of the pair of rollers 27 is stopped in the state in which the roller pair 27 has passed.

The mask original 15G guided by the alignment device 31 is aligned with the photosensitive recording medium 50 in the same manner as the mask original 15R, and then brought into close contact with the photosensitive recording medium 50 by lowering the exposure table 52. I am made to do so. 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. Exposure device 41
is moved back to the original position, and the filter unit 44 is moved so that the blue filter 44B is located 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 while being conveyed just before the roller pair 24, the blue mask original 15B is moved to the roller pair 24, 22.degree. 25. 26 and roller pairs 32 and 33 of the alignment device 31 are rotated in the direction of conveying the mask original 15G to the right, and the mask original 15G is sent out from the alignment device 31 and the mask original 1
5B is conveyed to the exposure position and stopped. At this time, the gate 28 is located at the solid line position, the gate 29 is located at the broken line position,
The exposed mask original 15G is sandwiched between a pair of rollers 26,
Further, the rotation of the pair of rollers 26 is stopped with the rear end passing through the gate 29 to be held.

The mask original 15B guided by the alignment device 31 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.

Through 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. is pulled out from inside the cartridge 51 below the exposure table 52. Drive roller 57
The photosensitive recording medium 50 is conveyed and stopped when the leading edge of the latent image reaches 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 fed out from the cassette 61 by a suction cup 62 until the tip of the developer sheet 60 corresponds to the tip of the latent image on the photosensitive recording medium 50. After being transported, it stops.

Next, the pressure developing device 70 is driven by a drive device (not shown).
The pressure roller 71 is pressed while being rotated in the direction of the arrow. At this time, by lowering the exposure table 52 to a predetermined position again, the fixed roller 56 is pressed against the left end of the exposure table 52, and the photosensitive recording medium 50 is moved onto the exposure table 52.
Fixed.

The photosensitive recording medium 50 is overlapped with the color developer sheet 60 and fed under pressure, and the uncured microcapsules on the photosensitive recording medium 50 are destroyed by the pressure, and the latent image on the photosensitive recording medium 50 is The corresponding color image is on the developer sheet 60.
developed on top.

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

In the heat fixing device 80, the color developer sheet 60 is heated by a heater 81 and heated by air circulating in a casing 83 by an impeller 82, thereby promoting color development of a color image. At the same time, the binder polymer (binder resin) for fixing the color developing medium to the base paper of the color developer sheet 60 is thermally melted, and the surface becomes smooth and the surface of the color developer sheet 60 has a moderate gloss. can get. 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 between the exposure table 52 and the fixed roller 56. Therefore, while the development processing for one screen is being performed, the next exposure point is It is possible to perform exposure processing on the latent image of a color image.

When exposing the second color image, first, the mask original 15B at the exposure position is sent to the left, and the mask original 15R held at the position of the roller pair 27 is sent to the alignment device 31 by the rollers. vs. 24, 22, 2
5.27 and the roller pair 32.33 of the alignment device 31 are rotated so as to convey the mask original 15R to the left. At this time, the gates 28 and 29 are located at the positions indicated by solid lines. The mask original plate 15B is held between the pair of rollers 24, and the rotation of the pair of rollers 24 is stopped at the position where the rear end passes through the gate 28. The mask original 15R sent to the alignment device 31 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 aligned with the roller pairs 22, 23, 25, and 26 in order to be sent to the alignment device 31. The pair of rollers 32 and 33 of the device 31 are rotated so as to convey the mask original 15G to the left. At this time, the gates 28 and 29 are located at the positions indicated by broken lines. Mask original plate 15R has roller pair 23
It is held by stopping the rotation of the pair of rollers 23 at a position where the rear end passes through the gate 28.

The mask original 15G sent to the alignment device 31 is aligned and brought into close contact with the photosensitive recording medium 50. The photosensitive recording medium 50 is exposed to green light through the mask original 15G.

Next, the mask original 15G at the exposure position is sent out 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. A latent image of the image is formed to form a color image on the developer sheet 60.

By repeating the same operation, one set of mask originals 1
5, a predetermined number of color images can be output.

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 ADF tray 12 and the exposure of the previous set is completed. Then, the ADF paper feed roller 13 feeds the paper sheets one by one into the color image recording apparatus 20.

Further, when a mask original output from another monochrome laser printer or a previously used mask original is to be used again, the mask original can be input by setting it on the ADF ray 12.

In addition, the reference numeral 100 in the figure is a control device according to the present invention,
This operation will be explained below with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 2 to 4.

First, if the developer sheet causes a paper jam (hereinafter referred to as "jam") (step 101), it is determined whether or not there is a mask original on the alignment device (
Step 102). If there is no mask original on the positioning device, step 20 ends there.
1) Remove the jammed developer sheet and restart the exposure operation. Further, when a mask original is detected on the alignment device in step 102, it is determined whether the type of mask original (red, green, blue) is blue (step 103). Here, if this original mask is not for blue, it is further determined whether this original mask is for green (step 104).
. If this original mask is not for green,
This mask original is for red, and this red mask original is exposed (step 105).

Thereafter, this red mask original is sent to an empty buffer (step 106). The position in which this red mask original was stored is memorized (step 107).
. Then, the jam of the color developer sheet is recovered (step 108). Thereafter, the next document, the mask original for green, is transported from the ADF or the buffer to the alignment device (step 109), and the original mask for green is exposed (step 110). Then, send this green mask original to an empty buffer (step 111)
, the position in which this green mask original is stored is stored (step 112). Then, the next document, the mask original for blue, is transported from the ADF or the buffer to the alignment device (step 113), and the mask original for blue is exposed (step 114).

Thereafter, this blue mask original is sent to an empty buffer (step 115), and the position where this blue mask original is stored is memorized (step 116).
The exposure operation ends (step 117).

If it is determined in step 103 that the mask original on the positioning device is for blue, the mask original for blue is exposed as shown in FIG. 3 (step 301). After this exposure is completed, the blue mask original is sent to the buffer (step 302). After that, step 303) to recover the jam of the color developer sheet.
The exposure operation ends (step 117 in FIG. 2).

Further, if it is determined in step 104 that the mask original on the positioning device is for green, the mask original for green is exposed as shown in FIG. 4 (step 401). Thereafter, this original mask for green is sent to an empty Tsuku sofa (step 402).

The position in which this green mask original is stored is stored (step 403). Then, the jam of the color developer sheet is recovered (step 404). After that, the next document, the mask original for blue, is transported from the ADF or buffer to the alignment device (step 113 in FIG. 2).
), expose the mask original plate for blue (Step 1
14). After that, this blue mask original is sent to an empty buffer (step 115), and the position where this blue mask original is stored is stored in step 1.
16), the exposure operation ends (step 117).

〔Effect of the invention〕

The present invention, configured as described above, has the advantage that when restarting the exposure operation, there is no need to reinject the mask original into the apparatus, and the time can be shortened.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the inside of a color image recording apparatus according to the present invention; FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the control state of the control device according to the present invention; FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the control state of the control device according to the present invention; FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the control state of the control device in the present invention. 15...Mask original plate (original), 5...Buffer (storage unit) 1...Exposure device, 0...Control device.

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a color image recording device equipped with a storage section for storing the original after exposure, the type of original on the exposure device is determined in an emergency, and the original is stored in the storage section after the exposure of the original is completed. A color image recording device characterized in that it is equipped with a control device that stores this storage position.