JPH068484A - Device and method for image forming exposure - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an image forming exposure device and its method in which exposure fixing can be performed in a stabilized state of quantity of light and processing time is shortened. CONSTITUTION:A light source is controlled to be on only at the required time and off at other times. At the starting time when a light source is on, the surface temperature is low and the necessary quantity of light can be provided. Stabilized fixing, therefore, cannot be performed by putting the light on when the photosensitive recording material reaches respective light sources. To avoid the above inconvenience, the time (tR) of providing the quantity of light available for fixing required after the light source is on (30 deg.C-50 deg.C as the surface temperature) is sensed preliminarily, and based on the rotating speed of a support drum, the time (tS) in which the given position (for example, end) of the photosensitive material reaches from a thermal head to respective light sources is stored preliminarily, and the time in which the light sources S are on is determined by the difference (tR-tS). The fixing process can be carried out from the time in which the light sources start to output the fixable quantity of light by the arrangement.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming exposure apparatus and method for recording an image on a photo-fixing type heat-sensitive recording material and then exposing and fixing the image.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When an image is recorded using a light-fixing type thermosensitive recording material, fixing is performed by irradiating a fixing fluorescent lamp after the image is recorded by a heating element. As a light-fixing type heat-sensitive recording material, the present applicant has provided a transparent support with a coloring layer that is substantially transparent and develops different hues. A thermal recording material has been proposed (Japanese Patent Application No. 61-8).
0787, Japanese Patent Application No. 62-88196, Japanese Patent Application No. 62-
75409). An image is recorded on this thermosensitive recording material by scanning the thermosensitive heads arranged in the main scanning direction in the sub scanning direction. Here, when multiple color forming layers are provided on one surface, the uppermost layer (the layer closest to the surface) is heated and colored with a heat amount such that other layers are not heated, and this color forming layer is fixed. It is necessary to heat-treat the other coloring layer.

For example, a thermosensitive head and a fixing fluorescent lamp are arranged on a part of the peripheral surface of the drum along the axial direction in a bare state or with a reflection hood, and the multicolor thermosensitive recording material is provided on the drum. Is repeatedly wound and rotated, and an image is recorded on the basis of the image data of each color by the heat generated by the thermal head, and then the fixing fluorescent lamp is irradiated.

According to this, it is possible to obtain a multicolor image having excellent hue, excellent color separation, and good image storability which could not be obtained by the conventional thermal recording system.

[0005]

However, the light amount of the fixing fluorescent lamp varies depending on the temperature of the fixing fluorescent lamp, and uneven fixing may occur. In particular, immediately after lighting, the surface temperature of the fixing fluorescent lamp rises slowly, and the amount of light is insufficient, so that stable fixing cannot be performed. Further, if the light is continuously turned on, the surface temperature rises excessively and the light amount decreases. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the optimum value of the surface temperature of the fixing fluorescent lamp (the temperature at which the light amount is maximum) has a quadratic function characteristic having a peak value (maximum value). Generally, the optimum surface temperature is 40 ° C, and before and after that 1
It has been known from experiments that the fixing failure does not occur within the range of 0 ° C (30 ° C to 50 ° C). In this experiment, a temperature sensor was attached to the coldest spot of the fluorescent lamp for measurement, and the amount of light was detected by an ultraviolet ray detection sensor capable of detecting ultraviolet light.

For this reason, it is necessary to keep the fixing fluorescent lamp on for a required period of time and to turn off the rest of the fixing fluorescent lamp to prevent the temperature from rising excessively.
When the fixing fluorescent lamp is repeatedly turned on and off, it is necessary to wait for the image recording until the temperature reaches a predetermined temperature each time the lighting is started, which causes a problem that the processing time becomes long.

In view of the above facts, it is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming exposure apparatus and method capable of performing exposure fixing in a state of stable light amount and shortening processing time.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a heating recording section for heating and recording an image on the optical fixing type thermal recording material, and a conveying direction of the optical fixing type thermal recording material of the heating recording section. A fixing unit provided on the downstream side and provided with a light source for exposing and fixing an image, a light source driving means for turning on and off the light source, and the light for repeatedly exposing and fixing the light fixing type thermal recording material. Based on the lighting start time calculated by the calculation means, a calculation means for calculating the lighting start time of the light source so that the light quantity of the light source becomes a predetermined light quantity before the fixing type thermal recording material reaches the fixing part. Lighting timing control means for controlling the light source driving means to turn on the light source.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming exposure method in which an image fixing light source is turned on and then the image is exposed and fixed after the image is heated and recorded on the optical fixing type heat-sensitive recording material. The preparation time from the start to the predetermined light amount and the transportation time from the heat recording start position of the optical fixing type thermal recording material to the exposure fixing start position are obtained in advance, and based on this preparation time and the transportation time. It is characterized in that a start time for starting heating recording of the light-fixing type heat-sensitive recording material based on the start of lighting of the light source is calculated backward.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, while the optical fixing type thermosensitive recording material is being conveyed at a predetermined speed, the conveying speed is slowed at the start of lighting of the light source, It is characterized in that the light-fixing type heat-sensitive recording material is returned to a predetermined speed before the tip reaches the heat recording position.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the conveyance speed is slowed at the start of lighting of the light source during the conveyance of the light fixing type thermosensitive recording material at a predetermined speed, During the delay of the conveying speed, the non-image portion provided at the leading end of the light fixing type heat-sensitive recording material passes through the heating recording position.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, when an image is obtained by sequentially repeating heat recording and exposure fixing from the uppermost layer of each color forming layer of the photo-fixing type thermosensitive recording material having a plurality of color forming layers, the lower layer is formed. By slowing down the conveying speed of the light-fixing type heat-sensitive recording material as the color-forming layer is heated and recorded,
An exposure method for image formation, which is used in an image forming apparatus for increasing the amount of heat for heating recording of a lower color forming layer, and controls the amount of light for exposing and fixing each color forming layer. It is characterized in that the light quantity is changed according to the speed change so that the light quantity received by is constant.

[0013]

According to the first aspect of the invention, the light source of the fixing unit can obtain a predetermined amount of light after paying attention for a predetermined time from the start of lighting. Therefore, the fixing process cannot be performed immediately after the start of lighting. Therefore, the calculation means calculates backward the lighting start timing for the light amount of the light source to reach a predetermined light amount before the light fixing type thermal recording material reaches the fixing portion. The lighting timing control means controls the light source driving means to turn on the light source at the back calculated lighting timing. As a result, a predetermined amount of light is obtained from the light source when the light-fixing type heat-sensitive recording material reaches the fixing section, and the fixing process can be reliably performed.

Therefore, it is not necessary to wait until the light quantity of the light source reaches a predetermined light quantity, and the processing time can be shortened.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the time from the start of lighting the light source to the predetermined light amount (preparation time) is slightly different depending on the light source. Further, the transport time between the heat-fixing recording material of the photo-fixing type heat-sensitive recording material and the exposure-fixing position varies depending on the transport distance and transport speed. Therefore, the preparation time and the transportation time are obtained in advance, and the optimum start time for starting heating recording is calculated backward. As a result, it is synchronized so that the portion that is heated and recorded is exposed and fixed when the amount of light from the light source reaches a predetermined amount of light, the loss is eliminated, and the processing time can be shortened.

There may be a configuration in which the light-fixing type heat-sensitive recording material cannot be started to be turned on at a predetermined light source turn-on timing while being conveyed at a predetermined speed. In such a case, according to the invention described in claim 3, the conveying speed of the light-fixing type heat-sensitive recording material is slowed down at the start of lighting of the light source, and the leading end of the light-fixing type heat-sensitive recording material reaches the heating recording position. If the speed is restored to a predetermined value in the meantime, it is possible to obtain a predetermined amount of light before exposure and fixing without affecting the heat recording.

According to the invention described in claim 4, while the conveying speed of the photo-fixing type thermosensitive recording material is slower than a predetermined speed, the heating recording position is set to the non-leading end of the photo-fixing type thermosensitive recording material. If the image portion is allowed to pass through, heating recording will not be affected.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when the light-fixing type heat-sensitive recording material has a plurality of color-developing layers, each color-developing layer has a different conveying speed to obtain an appropriate amount of heat. Therefore, if exposure and fixing are performed regardless of the change in the transport speed, the amount of light received in the middle of the image is different and uneven fixing may occur. Therefore, by changing the light amount according to the change in the front transport speed so that the light amount received by the exposure fixing becomes constant, it is possible to perform the exposure fixing with a constant light amount for each color forming layer, and prevent the fixing unevenness. be able to.

[0019]

FIG. 1 shows the schematic structure of an image recording apparatus according to this embodiment.

On the front surface of the image recording apparatus, there is provided a slot-like loading / unloading port 112 for the heat-sensitive recording material 10 so that the unprocessed heat-sensitive recording material 10 can be inserted by an operator's hand. A tray 114 is extended from the loading / unloading port 112 to the front side of the paper surface, and the thermal recording material 10 can be placed on the tray 114 and inserted into the loading / unloading port 112 in a plane. . Further, the heat-sensitive recording material 10 that has been subjected to the heat-sensitive treatment is discharged from the carry-in / out port 112.
The reference numeral 14 also serves as a pedestal for the discharged unprocessed heat-sensitive recording material. The tray 114 can be stored inside the apparatus by inserting it in the direction of the carry-in / discharge port 112.

For example, a VTR 116 is connected to the image recording apparatus, and an image recording signal at the time of image recording by a thermal head 32 (see FIG. 3) described later is created based on the image signal from the VTR 116. Has become. A CCD camera or the like may be used as an image signal source connected to the image recording apparatus.

On the front panel 117 provided with the loading / unloading port 112, a power switch 120, a display device 122 for displaying the number of prints, and a print button 124.
Is provided. An openable / closable sub-cover 126 is provided below the print button 124, and a fine adjustment knob (not shown) for image quality and the like is attached.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the heat-sensitive recording material 10, a cyan dye layer (hereinafter referred to as C dye layer) 108 and a magenta dye layer (hereinafter referred to as M dye) are provided in order from the lowermost layer on one side of the coated paper 102 which is a paper support. Layer 104) and a yellow dye layer (hereinafter referred to as Y dye layer) 106 are provided, and all are transparent. The Y dye layer 106 and the M dye layer 10
Reference numeral 4 denotes a photofixing type layer, which is a layer having a property of not changing even after being heated by being irradiated with light having a wavelength of 420 nm and a wavelength of 365 nm.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, when the tip of the thermal recording material 10 is inserted into the inside of the apparatus through the loading / unloading port 112, the limit switch 118 detects this and the driver 74 of the driver 74 detects it. It is sandwiched by a pair of transport rollers 72 driven by a driving force, guided and guided by the guide plate 70, and guided to the heat treatment section 28.

The heat treatment section 28 is provided with a support drum 30 which is a rotating body and a line type thermal head 32 which is a recording head, and the thermal recording material 10 is thermally wrapped around the support drum 30. The head 32 is adapted to be heated. The support drum 30 is formed of a metallic cylindrical body 34, and an elastic body 36 is formed on the outer periphery thereof.
Is wrapped around. The support drum 30 is the driver 3
It is designed to rotate at a constant speed in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 3 to FIG. 5 by the driving force of 8, and has a role of sequentially making the thermal recording material 10 wound around the supporting drum 30 correspond to the thermal head 32. There is.

One of the thermal heads 32 is pivotally supported by the frame of the apparatus via a shaft 40, and the driving force of a driver 41 moves the thermal head 32 around the shaft 40 in the direction of arrow C in FIGS. 3 to 5 and in the opposite direction. The heating element 42 which is rotated and arranged on the other side is brought into contact with and separated from the heat-sensitive recording material 10 wound around the support drum 30. An image signal is output from the control device 45 to the heating element 42 when it contacts the heat-sensitive recording material 10, and an image is formed on the heat-sensitive recording material 10 by heat generation according to the image signal 100.

The heat-sensitive recording material 10 transported to the heat treatment section 28 by the transport roller 26 is guided in the transport direction by the guide plate 70 and constitutes a part of the holding section 46 provided on the outer periphery of the support drum 30. It reaches the recess 48. A latch claw 52, which constitutes a holding portion together with the concave portion 48, is axially supported by the concave portion 48 via a shaft 50 arranged in parallel with the rotation axis of the support drum 30. The latch claw 52 rotates in the direction of arrow D in FIGS. 3 to 5 via the shaft 50 by the driving force of the driver 49 when one end of the thermosensitive recording material 10 guided by the guide plate 44 is accommodated in the recess 48. By doing so, it has a role of holding one end of the thermal recording material. When the thermal recording material 10 is held by the latch claws 52, the thermal recording material 10 is sequentially wound around the outer circumference of the support drum 30 by the rotation of the support drum 30.

The timing at which the latch claw 52 holds the thermosensitive recording material 10 is set by the limit switch 54 provided in the middle of the conveying path of the thermosensitive recording material 10.
That is, the thermal recording material 10 is the limit switch 5
When the position 4 is reached, the actuator 56 of the limit switch 54 interferes with the thermal recording material 10 to switch the contact (in this embodiment, the normally open type limit switch is applied to the thermal recording material 10). It is turned on when it comes into contact with). An ON (high level) / OFF (low level) signal from the limit switch 54 is supplied to the control device 45, and the control device 45 controls the predetermined time (at least the heat sensitive recording material 10 according to the transport speed of the heat sensitive recording material 10). 10 is a concave portion 4
8 and the latch claw 52 is operated (see FIG. 3).
(Rotation in the direction of arrow D). This allows
In the holding state by the latch claw 52, the relative position between the thermosensitive recording material 10 and the support drum 30 is always constant, and the positioning is accurately performed.

Idle rollers 58, 60, 62 are provided at a plurality of locations (three locations in this embodiment) on the outer periphery of the support drum 30, and the support drum 30 and the idle rollers 58,
The heat-sensitive recording material 10 is supported by the supporting drums 3 and 60.
It is wrapped around the outer circumference of 0 in close contact.
Further, light sources 64A and 64B connected to the control device 45 via drivers 63A and 63B are provided on the downstream side in the rotation direction of the support drum 30 at the heating position of the thermal recording material 10 by the thermal head 32.

Each of the light sources 64A and 64B comprises a fixing fluorescent lamp 150 which emits ultraviolet light, and a reflection hood 152 whose surface facing the support drum 30 is open. The light sources 64A and 64B irradiate the thermal recording material 10 with light. The wavelength of this light is 4
20 nm and 365 nm, the light source 64A is the thermal recording material 1
For fixing the Y dye layer 106 of 0, the light source 64B is the M dye layer 1
It is used for fixing 08. That is, in this embodiment,
The support drum 30 is adapted to be continuously rotated three times after the rotation is started. In the first rotation of the thermal recording material 10, the thermal head 32 heats the Y dye layer 106. It is set to be fixed immediately.

Here, the amount of light required for fixing is such that the surface temperature (cold spot) of the fluorescent lamp 150 is 30 ° C., as shown in FIG.
It is preferably between -50 ° C.

At the next rotation of the support drum 30, that is, 2
The M dye layer 1 provided below the Y dye layer 106 in the rotation
04 (see FIG. 2) was heat treated and fixed, then 3
The C dye layer is heat-treated at the turn of rotation.

The support drum 30 is the thermal recording material 1
The energy (heat amount) from the heat generating element 42 received by 0 is rotated at the highest speed (high speed rotation) so that it becomes “weak” during the first rotation of the support drum 30, and the lower M dye layer 104
And the C dye layer 108 is not affected at all, and is rotated slightly slower so as to be "medium" at the second rotation (medium speed rotation) and slowest at "strong" at the third rotation. The rotation speed is controlled by the control device 45 so as to rotate (low speed rotation) (see the time chart in FIG. 7).

That is, the control of high, medium, and low is determined by the rotation speed of the support drum 30 and the output energy of the thermal head 32, but in this embodiment, both are controlled.

After the heat treatment of the C dye layer 108 is completed, the thermal recording material 10 is placed at the position of the idle roller 62.
By releasing the holding by the holding portion 46, the heat-sensitive recording material 10 is guided between the guide plate 66 and the guide plate 68 and reaches the carry-in / discharge port 112.

The control device 45 includes a CPU 82 and a RAM 8
4, a ROM 86, an input port 88, an output port 90, and a micro computer 94 including a bus 92 such as a data bus or a control bus connecting these. A print button 124 and a limit switch 118 are connected to the input port 88, and a series of heat treatments are performed by operating the print button 124 and detecting the thermal recording material 10 by the limit switch 118. Further, the signal line 98 from the limit switch 54 is connected to the input port 88.

At the output port 90, the supporting drum 30, the thermal head 32, the latch claw 52, and the light sources 64A and 64 are provided.
B and the conveyance roller 72 are the drivers 38, 41 and 4 respectively.
They are connected via 9, 63A, 63B and 74, and their respective drives are controlled. A signal line 100 for supplying the image signal to the thermal head 32 is also connected to the output port 90.

Here, the light sources 64A and 64B are not always lit, but are controlled by the control device 45 to be lit only when necessary and extinguished otherwise.
By the way, as shown in FIG. 6, since the surface temperature of the fluorescent lamp 150 is low at the start of lighting of the light sources 64A and 64B, the required light quantity cannot be obtained. Therefore, the thermal recording material 1
If 0 is turned on when each of the light sources 64A and 64B is reached, stable fixing cannot be performed.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the light sources 64A, 6A
The time (t _R ) from the start of lighting of 4B to the time when a fixable light amount is obtained (the surface temperature is 30 ° C. to 50 ° C.) is detected in advance. Further, based on the rotation speed of the supporting drum 30, a predetermined position (for example, the tip) of the thermal recording material 10 is moved from the thermal head 32 to the respective light sources 64A, 64.
The time to reach B (t _S ) is stored in advance, and the lighting timing of the light sources 64A and 64B is determined from the difference (t _R −t _S ) between them. As a result, the fixing process can be performed from the time when the light sources 64A and 64B start outputting the amount of light that can be fixed.

Further, in the present embodiment, the thermal head 32
The rotation speed of the support drum 30 is changed by each color forming layer in addition to the change of the output energy of the light source 64A when changing the speed (change from high speed to medium speed, change from medium speed to low speed). , 64B drive current is lowered from high level to low level to prevent light amount change due to speed change.

The operation of this embodiment will be described below. When the print button 124 is operated, the thermal recording material 10 is loaded.
It is inserted from the discharge port 112 and guided by the guide plate 70 to move. When the limit switch 118 is turned on, the conveyance roller 72 starts driving and is conveyed by a predetermined amount. When the print button 124 is not operated, the conveyance roller 72 is not driven even when the limit switch 118 is turned on, and the drive is started after the operation of the print button 124.

When the thermal recording material 10 is further conveyed, it comes into contact with the actuator 56 of the limit switch 54. Here, when the limit switch 54 is turned on, a high-level signal is input to the input port 88, and the latch claw 52 is rotated in the direction of arrow D after a predetermined time has elapsed. The recording material 10 is accommodated in the recessed portion 48 of the support drum 30, and the leading end portion of the recording material 10 is in contact with the locking portion 49. The latch claw 52 holds the leading end portion.

The tip of the thermal recording material 10 has a latch claw 52.
When held by, the support drum 30 starts rotating in the direction of arrow B (first rotation). First heat treatment control is performed. That is, the holding portion 46 is the thermal head 3
After passing through the second heating element 42, a drive signal is output from the output port 90 via the driver 41, the thermal head 32 is rotated about the shaft 40 in the direction of arrow C, and the heating element 4
2 contacts the thermal recording material 10. As a result, the support drum 30 is rotated with the heating element 42 in contact with the thermal recording material 10, and an image signal is output to the heating element 42 in response to this rotation.

In the first rotation, the support drum 30 is rotated at a high speed, the contact time of the heating element 42 is short, and the energization time is short.
0 is heated, and only the Y dye layer 106 is colored. In addition,
When the heating process by the heating element 42 is completed, the thermal head 32 is rotated about the shaft 40 in the direction opposite to the arrow C, and the heating element 42 is separated from the thermal recording material 10.

Next, a wavelength of 42 is applied to the image surface of the photosensitive material 10.
Light of 0 nm is emitted from the light source 64A. This makes Y
The dye layer 106 is fixed and does not change even if heated thereafter.

When the first rotation of the support drum 30 is completed,
In the second rotation, the heat treatment of the M dye layer 104 is continuously performed. At this time, the support drum 30 is switched to the medium speed rotation, the contact time of the heating element 42 is longer than the first rotation, and the energization time is also longer, so that the maximum heat amount for the heat treatment is "
The processing is the same as the heating of the Y dye layer 106, and the thermal recording material 10 is heated according to the image signal to develop only the M dye layer 104. In this case, the upper Y dye is Since it is fixed, it does not change, and since the relative position of the heat-sensitive recording material 10 with respect to the support drum 30 does not change, the Y dye image and the M dye image are accurately colored without causing color misregistration. be able to.

The heat-sensitive recording material 10 on which the heat treatment of the M dye layer has been completed is irradiated with light having a wavelength of 365 nm by the light source 64B, whereby the M dye layer 104 is fixed.

Next, in the third rotation, the C dye layer 108
Heat treatment is performed. Here, the support drum 30 is rotated at a low speed, the contact time of the heating element 42 is the longest, and the energization time is also the longest, so the maximum heat amount for the heat treatment is "
"Strong" and the thermal recording material 10 according to the image signal.
Is heated to cause the C dye layer 108 to develop a color. At this time, C
Since the coloring layer above the dye layer 108 is already fixed, there is no effect of this heat treatment.

When a predetermined time elapses after the heating element 42 of the thermal head 32 is separated from the heat-sensitive recording material 10, the holding portion 46 passes the idle roller 62, and at this time, the heat-sensitive recording material 10 is held by the holding portion 46. The guide plate 66 and the guide plate 6 are released according to the rotation of the support drum 30.
8 is transported to and from.

The heat-sensitive recording material 10 between the guide plates 66 and 68 is nipped by the conveying roller 72 which is guided by the guide plate 70 and rotates in the opposite direction, and is conveyed by a predetermined amount by the conveying roller 72 to be carried in. -Sent to the discharge port 112 and placed on the tray 114. As a result, the heat treatment of one thermal recording material is completed.

The above is the procedure for recording one color image, and when performing the image recording process for a plurality of images, the above procedure is repeated, but the light sources 64A and 64B are not always lit. The light is turned on only during the fixing process. This is to prevent the surface temperature of the fluorescent lamp 150 from rising due to constant lighting, but on the other hand, since the temperature is low immediately after lighting, a series of processing is performed until the temperature rises to a predetermined temperature (30 ° C to 50 ° C). I had to wait.

However, in this embodiment, the light sources 64A and 64B are
The preparation time (t _R ) from the start of lighting the light sources 64A and 64B until the predetermined light amount is obtained is detected in advance by measurement or the like, and the position where the fixing process on the thermosensitive recording material 10 is performed is the light source. The light is turned on when a predetermined amount of light is obtained before reaching 64A and 64B.

That is, as shown in FIG. 7, the rotation speed of the support drum 30 is rotated at a constant speed in each cycle, so that the conveyance speed of the thermal recording material 10 is one time (each color forming layer) during image recording. Is constant. Therefore, the heat-sensitive recording material 10 is moved from the thermal head 32 to the fixing position (the light source 64).
The transport time (t _S ) up to A, 64B) is determined by the relative position between the thermal head 32 and the light sources 64A, 64B.

Here, the lighting start time can be calculated backward by subtracting the transport time (t _S ) from the preparation time (t _R ). In other words, for example, when the time t _R elapses after the light source 64A is started to be turned on (see the arrow S in FIG. 7), the light source 64A obtains the amount of light that can be fixed, and at the same time, the heat sensitivity conveyed by the rotation of the support drum 30. Recording material 1
The leading edge of the image recording area of 0 reaches the position of the light source 64A.

That is, it is not necessary to wait for the image recording for the startup time for obtaining the light amount of the light source 64A, and the processing time can be shortened.

By the way, when the support drum 30 makes one rotation, the rotation speed becomes slower in order to obtain the amount of heat generated in the next layer, but at this time, since the fixing process on the upper layer side is still being performed, the light amount is kept constant as it is. If so, the amount of light received by the thermal recording material 10 is changed by the change in speed. Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the rotation speed of the support drum 30 is switched from high speed to medium speed and from medium speed to low speed, the current for turning on the light sources 64A and 64B is lowered from the high level to the low level. (See arrow C in FIG. 7).

As a result, even if the rotation of the support drum 30 changes, the integrated value of the light amount and the exposure time can be kept constant, and the change in the light amount received by the thermal recording material 10 can be prevented.

Thus, in this embodiment, the light sources 64A,
From the start of lighting of the light source 64B until the light sources 64A and 64B obtain a predetermined light amount (as shown in FIG.
(0% or more), the lighting start time is determined from the transport speed of the thermal recording material 10 and the arrangement position of the light sources 64A and 64B, and the lighting time of the light sources 64A and 64B is started at an appropriate time to shorten the processing time. Therefore, the fixing process of each color forming layer can be performed without being affected by the decrease in the light amount due to the increase in the surface temperature of the fluorescent lamp 150 due to the long-time lighting.

Further, by controlling the current for lighting the light sources 64A and 64B due to the change in the light amount due to the change in the speed of the supporting drum 30, the integrated value of the light amount and the exposure time can be kept constant, and uneven fixing or the like can be prevented. Can be prevented.

In this embodiment, the lighting start timing of the light source 64B for the fixing process of the second rotation is determined based on the speed of the supporting drum 30, but the slower the speed of the supporting drum 30 is. Since the exposure time can be earned, as shown in FIG. 8, the relative position of the thermal head 32 and the light sources 64A and 64B should be fixed immediately before the second rotation in which the color-forming layer on which the image is recorded is fixed in the first rotation. It may be arranged at.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 9, lighting is started after the tip of the heat-sensitive recording material 10 reaches the light source 64A, and at this time, the rotation speed of the support drum 30 is slowed down and the heat-sensitive recording material 10 is heated. Before the tip reaches the thermal head 32, the speed is gradually increased to a predetermined speed. As a result, since the conveying speed is slow immediately after lighting, but the exposure time is long, a predetermined amount of light can be obtained, and the exposure time becomes shorter as the amount of light increases, so the integrated value of the amount of light and the exposure time is always constant, and fixing No unevenness occurs.

Since the recording of the next layer is started from the time when the conveying speed of the thermosensitive recording material 10 (rotational speed of the supporting drum 30) reaches a predetermined speed, the image recording of the next layer is not affected. .

[0063]

As described above, the image forming exposure apparatus and method according to the present invention have an excellent effect that the exposure and fixing can be performed in a state where the light amount is stable and the processing time can be shortened. Have.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the outer appearance of an image recording apparatus according to this embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a multicolor heat-sensitive recording material applied to this example.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal configuration of the image recording apparatus according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a control block diagram.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a support drum.

FIG. 6 is a temperature-light quantity characteristic diagram of a fixing fluorescent lamp.

FIG. 7 is a time chart showing an image recording procedure according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view around a support drum showing a modified example in which the relative positions of the thermal head and the light source are changed.

9 is a time chart based on the configuration of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Thermal recording material 28 Heat treatment part 45 Control device 64A, 64B Light source

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] July 20, 1992

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0002

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When an image is recorded using a light-fixing type thermosensitive recording material, fixing is performed by irradiating a fixing fluorescent lamp after the image is recorded by a heating element. As a light-fixing type heat-sensitive recording material, the present applicant has provided a transparent support with a coloring layer that is substantially transparent and develops different hues. A thermal recording material has been proposed ( JP-A-3-28).
8688 and JP-A-4-28585 ). An image is recorded on this thermosensitive recording material by scanning the thermosensitive heads arranged in the main scanning direction in the sub scanning direction. Here, when multiple coloring layers are provided on one surface,
It is necessary to heat and color the uppermost layer (the layer closest to the surface) with an amount of heat that does not heat other layers, fix the color-developing layer, and heat-treat the other color-developing layer.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification code Office reference number FI technical display location G03D 13/00 7810-2H

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A heat recording section for heating and recording an image on a light-fixing type heat-sensitive recording material, and a heat-recording section arranged downstream of the heat-recording type heat-sensitive recording material in the conveying direction for exposing and fixing the image. By a fixing section provided with a light source, a light source driving means for turning on and off the light source, and when the optical fixing type thermal recording material is repeatedly exposed and fixed, by the time the optical fixing type thermal recording material reaches the fixing section. Lighting means for computing the lighting start timing of the light source so that the light quantity of the light source becomes a predetermined light quantity, and lighting the light source by controlling the light source driving means based on the lighting start timing calculated by the computing means An image forming exposure apparatus having a timing control unit. 2. An image forming exposure method for exposing and fixing an image-fixing light source by lighting the image-fixing light source after heating and recording the image on the light-fixing type heat-sensitive recording material. And the transport time from the heat recording start position of the optical fixing type thermal recording material to the exposure fixing start position are determined in advance, and the start of lighting of the light source is used as a reference based on the preparation time and the transport time. An exposure method for image formation, wherein a start time for starting heating recording of the light-fixing type heat-sensitive recording material is calculated backward. 3. The conveyance speed of the light-fixing type heat-sensitive recording material is reduced at the start of lighting of the light source during the conveyance at a predetermined speed until the leading end of the light-fixing type heat-sensitive recording material reaches a heating recording position. 3. The image forming exposure method according to claim 2, wherein the speed is returned to a predetermined speed. 4. The conveyance speed of the light-fixing type heat-sensitive recording material is lowered at the start of lighting of the light source during conveyance at a predetermined speed, and the heating recording position is set to the light-fixing type heat-sensitive recording during the conveyance speed delay. The image forming exposure method according to claim 2, wherein a non-image portion provided at a front end of the material passes through. 5. When an image is obtained by sequentially repeating heat recording and exposure fixing of each color forming layer of a photo-fixing type thermosensitive recording material having a plurality of color forming layers, the lower color forming layer is heated and recorded. It is used in an image forming apparatus that raises the amount of heat for heating recording of the lower color forming layer by slowing down the transport speed of the light fixing type thermosensitive recording material, and controls the amount of light for exposing and fixing each color forming layer. An exposure method for image formation, comprising changing the light quantity according to the speed change so that the light quantity received by the exposure fixing in each color forming layer becomes constant.