JPH07237327A - Image recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent occurrence of a skew printing, of deviation of a top printing start position, and a deviation of a printing start position in the width direction. CONSTITUTION:An image recorder comprises a pair of supply rollers 151a, a shutter plate 153 that can be opened and closed for correcting a skew of a sheet-form photosensitive recording medium, and a pair of main rollers 155a, 155b for sub-scanning and feeding the photosensitive recording medium. The photosensitive recording medium is transported to the vicinity of the shutter plate 153 by the paired supply rollers 151a, thereafter being released from the pressure contact of the paired supply rollers 151a, positioned on the closed shutter plate 153, and clamped by the paired supply rollers 151a. The shutter plate 153 is retracted. The paired supply rollers 151a transport the photosensitive recording medium until it is clamped and transported by the paired main rollers 155a, 155b. Thereafter, the pressure contact of the paired supply rollers 151a is released. The photosensitive recording medium fed to be sub-scanned by the paired main rollers 155a, 155b is main-scanned to be recorded by a laser beam approximately at right angles to the feed direction.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus which records an output image mainly for medical use such as CT and MRI on a sheet-like photosensitive recording medium by using a laser.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A laser beam modulated based on an input image signal such as CT or MRI is mainly scanned on a sheet-like photosensitive recording medium, and at the same time, the photosensitive recording medium is sub-scanned in a direction perpendicular to the main scanning direction. As a result, an image recording device for recording a two-dimensional image is provided. Since a photosensitive film is mainly used as a sheet-like photosensitive recording medium, it will be simply referred to as a film or a sheet film hereinafter. The sheet film on which an image is recorded by scanning is developed by an automatic developing machine or the like to form a stable recorded image.

Since the recorded image on the sheet film has a multi-step gradation and is an image which is observed by transmitting light with a Schaukasten or the like, a slight speed fluctuation of the sub-scanning system at the time of image recording and optical Image defects appear due to slight fluctuations in the light amount of the system or vibrations from the outside.

The sheet film is conveyed by a pair of supply rollers and reaches a recording position. However, due to a slight difference in diameter between the supply rollers, a difference in nip pressure, or the like, the sheet film may be inclined or may be sub-shaped. It reaches the recording position by being displaced in the direction perpendicular to the scanning direction.

If the image is recorded as it is, the image recorded on the film is tilted or displaced in the direction perpendicular to the sub-scanning direction, and the image quality is significantly impaired.

[0006]

When the sheet film is conveyed to the recording position by the pair of supply rollers, it is generally unavoidable that an inclination or a positional deviation in the direction perpendicular to the sub-scanning direction occurs. A shutter plate for
There is also a proposal to correct the tilt by applying the end surface of the sheet film to the shutter plate. However, the sheet film needs to be gripped by the main roller pair, precisely conveyed, and sub-scanned.Therefore, the sheet film once received by the shutter plate and the position of which is regulated is allowed to freely fall, and the main roller pair grips the sheet film. Then, the image is recorded by performing the sub-scan, and the attitude of the film collapses during free fall, so that sufficient satisfaction cannot be obtained.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an image recording apparatus which uses a shutter plate to properly position a recorded image and records an image on a film.

[0008]

The above-described object is to provide a pair of supply rollers capable of pressure-bonding and pressure-bond release from the upstream side along a vertical sheet-conveying path to convey a sheet, and an inclination of a sheet-like photosensitive recording medium. A shutter plate that can be opened and closed to correct
A main roller pair for carrying out sub-scanning conveyance of the photosensitive recording medium is provided, and the photosensitive recording medium is conveyed to the vicinity of the shutter plate by the supply roller pair, and then the pressure contact of the supply roller pair is released, and the photosensitive roller is closed. After being positioned on the shutter plate, the supply roller pair is sandwiched between the supply roller pairs, the shutter plate is retracted, and the supply roller pair conveys the photosensitive recording medium until it is sandwiched and conveyed by the main roller pair. An image recording apparatus characterized by releasing the pressure contact of the supply roller pair and performing main scanning recording with a laser beam in a direction substantially perpendicular to the conveying direction on the photosensitive recording medium conveyed by the main roller pair and being sub-scanned. To be achieved.

In a preferred embodiment of the above-mentioned image recording apparatus, the shutter plate is inserted into and removed from the conveyance path at a substantially right angle, and the shutter plate is provided with a position regulating member for regulating the position of the photosensitive recording medium in the lateral direction. The nip pressure of the main roller pair is higher than the nip pressure of the supply roller pair.

[0010]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an image recording apparatus of the present invention, in which 10 is an apparatus main body, and a supply magazine 11 and a receive magazine 19 are provided in an upper portion thereof in a substantially horizontal direction.
Can be inserted and removed. 12 is a film separation mechanism section,
Reference numeral 13 is a supply film transport unit, 14 is a film transport switching unit, 15 is a sub-scanning transport unit, 16 is a film size switching guide unit, 17 is an optical unit using a laser as a light source, and 18 is a power supply unit.

In the supply magazine 11, a large number of unexposed sheet films of the same size are stacked and stored. The uppermost one sheet film in the supply magazine 11 is separated by a film separation mechanism section 12 which will be described later, passes through a film transfer switching section 14, and is then sub-scanning transfer section.
15, the main scanning is performed by the light beam from the optical unit 17 in the direction perpendicular to the vertical feeding direction, and the image is recorded on the sheet film which is sub-scanned through the conveying path and is conveyed downward while being image-recorded. . This will also be described later in detail. The sheet film on which the image has been recorded hits the switching guide in the film size switching guide unit 16,
After the trailing edge black border is written on the film, the trailing edge black border is reversed (switched back), the sub-scanning transport unit 15 is raised, and the film transport switching unit 14 is traced to be transported and stored in the receive magazine 19.

FIG. 2 shows a state in which the image recording apparatus 10 of the present invention is directly connected to the automatic developing machine 30 via the automatic developing machine direct connecting unit 20. When the sheet film on which image recording has been completed is directly conveyed to the automatic processor 30 side when the automatic processor is directly connected in this way, the film is switched back with the leading edge of the film housed in the receive magazine 19, and the film is switched to the film conveyance switching section. It is conveyed to the automatic developing machine direct-coupling unit 20 through 14. When the leading edge of the conveyed sheet film is conveyed to the exit roller of the automatic developing machine direct-coupling unit 20 which hits the entrance portion of the automatic developing machine 30, the film is pushed by the entrance side roller, and the film moves downward as shown by the dotted line. It is curved and all is stored in the direct connection unit 20. The film accommodated in the automatic processor direct-coupling unit 20 is carried out into the automatic processor 30 at any time, developed, and then discharged to the outside of the machine.

Next, a structure in which the sheet films stacked in the supply magazine 11 are separated by the film separation mechanism section 12 and sent to the supply film transport section 13 will be described. The conventional separation / conveyance of the supply section has the following drawbacks.

(1) When the sheet film is lifted from the supply magazine, the arm to which the suction cup is attached simultaneously performs the upward movement and the conveying movement. However, in this case, the leading edge of the film may be caught in the front part of the supply magazine, and the film may fall off from the suction cup in the middle.

(2) If the film separating roller is mounted at a position where it makes contact with the film in the image area, scratches may occur when the film contacts the film separating roller.

The image recording apparatus of the present embodiment eliminates such drawbacks. FIG. 4 shows this structure, in which a plurality of suction cups 122 are attached to the tip of the arm 121, and the suction cups 122 are moved up and down. It has a function of moving up and down by the operating motor M2 to take out the sheet film from the supply magazine 11, and moving back and forth by the forward and backward operating motor M1 to feed the film to the supply film transport unit 13. Sucker 122
Is connected to an air pump (not shown) so that the suction cup 122 sucks the film and then reduces the pressure.

Further, when a film is adsorbed and lifted from the supply magazine 11, a plurality of films may be adsorbed and lifted up. In order to separate the film into a single film, a film separation device attached to both ends of the soccer unit 123. After the film is bent in the width direction by the rollers 124, the supply film transport unit 13 has an entrance or a supply magazine.
A structure that operates by rubbing the leading edge of the film multiple times on the film separating plate 125 provided in the front part of 11 and dropping the film excluding one film when adsorbing multiple films and then feeding it to the supply film transport unit 13. Has become.

In the present embodiment, when the film is sucked from the supply magazine 11 by the suction cup 122 and lifted, the arm 121 is first operated in the upward direction, and after this operation is completed, the motor M2 is operated. It was possible to prevent the film from falling off by controlling M1 to operate.

Further, the film separating roller 124 is attached to the sucker unit 123 so as to be in contact with the white areas on both sides of the film or in the border area which is a high-concentration black frame, so that scratches can be visually recognized on the developed film. lost. Such a condition is possible because the distance between the film separating rollers 124 on both sides is W, the width of the film is W1, and the width of the image area is W2, and W2 <W <W1.

The sheet film separated into one sheet by the film separating mechanism section 12 is introduced into the supply film conveying section 13, is conveyed, and is scanned by the laser beam emitted from the optical unit 17 in the sub-scan conveying section 15 to form an image. Records are made. The vertically arranged optical unit 17 is attached to the sub-scanning conveyance unit 15 by four-point stop. The laser beam emitted from the optical unit 17 is reflected by the folding mirror 171 at a substantially right angle, and is irradiated substantially vertically on the film which is being conveyed in the vertical direction by the sub-scanning conveyance section 15. The feed means of the film size switching guide unit 16 is attached to the sub-scanning transport unit 15, and the sub-scanning transport unit 15 is precisely mounted on a frame integrally formed of aluminum die cast or gray cast iron. With this arrangement, the vibration from the outside and the vibration of the polygon mirror scanner motor are damped, and space saving is achieved.

FIG. 3 shows the sub-scanning conveyance section 15 of this embodiment taken out and shown. The constitution and operation will be described first from the constitution. In FIG. 3A, reference numeral 141 denotes a guide unit, which is located above the sub-scanning conveyance unit 15, and regulates the left-right positional relationship of the sheet film, while the sheet film is located above the supply roller pair 151a. It is transported to 151b. One supply roller 151a is a roller that can be rotated normally and reversely by the motor M3, and the other supply roller 151b is a roller that can be pressed and released from the supply roller 151a.
Is urged in the crimping direction. In the pressure-bonded state, the supply roller 151b is driven and rotated by the supply roller 151a to carry the film. Further, 151d is a solenoid, and in the energized / operated state, the spring 151c overcomes the crimping force to supply roller 151b.
Is separated from the supply roller 151a.

Numeral 152 is a slit guide portion, which forms a slit-shaped guide close to 1 mm, and is a sheet film conveying path.
Forming 150. 153 is a plate-shaped shutter plate,
Under the slit guide portion 152, the shutter plate conveyance path 154 lateral to and substantially perpendicular to the conveyance path 150 is inserted into and removed from the conveyance path 150. The shutter plate 153 is inserted into and removed from the conveyance path by a motor or a solenoid (not shown). When the leading edge of the free sheet film comes into contact with the shutter plate 153 in the conveyance path, the film is released. It has a function of correcting the inclination generated during the transportation of the. Further, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3 (b), the shutter plate 153 is provided with position regulating members 153a symmetrically having inclined surfaces on the left and right, and the shutter plate 153 is inserted into the conveyance path. In this state, it has a function of restricting the position in the lateral direction (left and right) with respect to the regular position with respect to the sheet film falling from above.

Below the opening / closing position of the shutter plate 153, there are main roller pairs 155a and 155b for carrying out sub-scanning of the film, and the film is carried by the motor M4 capable of forward and reverse rotation. The nip pressure of the main roller pair 155a, 155b is adjusted to be higher than the nip pressure of the supply roller pair 151a, 151b in the pressure contact state. In the present embodiment, the film transport speed by the supply roller pairs 151a and 151b and the transport speed by the main roller pairs 155a and 155b are set to be substantially the same, but the same film is supplied to the supply roller pairs 151a and 151b and the main roller pair 155a. , 155b, the film is conveyed at the conveying speed of the main roller pair 155a, 155b.

At a downstream position close to the nip portion of the main roller pair 155a, 155b, irradiation with the laser beam from the optical unit 17 is made almost vertical to perform main scanning, and sub-scanning by the main roller pair 155a, 155b. The image recording is performed on the sheet film. The main roller 155b on the side where the main roller is irradiated with the laser beam has a smaller roller diameter than the main roller 155a on the opposite side. Further, a leading edge detection sensor S1 is provided downstream of the main roller pair 155a, 155b in a direction facing the laser light and as close as possible to detect the leading edge of the film. The tip detection sensor S1 is installed at the main roller pair.
It is hidden behind the rollers 155a and 155b so as not to be directly exposed to the laser light.

On the further downstream side, there is a film size switching guide section 16, and when the descending film front end reaches the location, the film transport system rotates in the opposite direction, and the film rises in the transport path 150. It is configured to be transported. Since the film reciprocates in the same path in the sub-scanning section,
If the left and right position regulating means are provided in the transport path, the film may jam on the return path after recording. In this embodiment, the shutter plate 153 is provided with the position restricting member 153a, and the shutter plate 153 is retracted from the transport path on the return path, so that no jam occurs.

Further, according to the conventional method of positioning the leading edge of the film in the case of the horizontal conveyance of the sub-scanning section (including a slight inclination from the horizontal), the film is pressed against the leading edge positioning member by the supply roller pair upstream from the main roller pair. The mechanism is common, in which case excessive film feed forces were applied to the film during positioning, often causing damage to the film. However, in the case of the sub-scanning section vertical conveyance as in the present embodiment, since the main roller pairs 155a and 155b and the shutter plate 153 are kept substantially horizontal, the film is positioned by the shutter plate 153 for positioning. There is no risk of scratching the film during positioning because it is placed free on top.

Next, the operation of the sub-scan transport unit 15 having the above-mentioned structure will be described.

(A) Supply roller pair 151 for driving the film by a pulse motor or an encoder-controlled motor M3
It is crimped and held (nipped) by a and 151b, and conveyed to the shutter plate 153.

(B) Immediately before the leading edge of the film reaches the shutter plate 153, the pressure of the supply roller pair 151a, 151b is released, and the film is set in a free state to correct the tilt of the film and the positional deviation between the left and right positions to perform positioning. Done.

(C) The film positioned free and positioned on the shutter plate 153 is again fed to the supply roller pair 151a, 151b.
Nip and convey to the main roller pair 155a, 155b.
The timing for releasing the nip between the supply roller pairs 151a and 151b is set immediately after the leading edge of the film is caught in the main roller pairs 155a and 155b. If the timing of releasing the nip between the supply roller pairs 151a and 151b is early, the film will fall freely, and the oblique transport is likely to occur due to the resistance applied to the film. Further, when the timing of releasing the nip of the supply roller pair 151a, 151b is late, the time until the load fluctuation to the drive motor M4 of the main roller pair 155a, 155b stabilizes is shifted to the image area, and the sub-scanning is performed on the leading edge of the image. Unevenness is apt to occur due to speed fluctuations. Therefore, supply roller pair
The timing for releasing the nip between 151a and 151b is controlled after the film has been caught by the main roller pair 155a and 155b for several mm.

(D) The timing to start recording characters / images other than the image frame on the sheet film is based on the detection signal from the film leading edge detection sensor S1. When recording the image frame at the leading edge of the image, laser irradiation is performed in advance, that is, when the film starts to be conveyed only by the main roller pair 155a and 155b, the border portion on the leading end side of the sheet film can be recorded. In addition, laser irradiation is performed.
The border part is usually a black frame with high density (about 3.0D), but during this black frame recording, image unevenness will not occur even if there is some speed unevenness. The moment when the leading edge of the film enters the main roller pair 155a, 155b Load fluctuation occurs, especially when a belt speed reducing system is used, belt slipping easily occurs. Therefore, the installation position of the film edge detection sensor S1
It is installed so that the laser recording due to the above-mentioned load fluctuation is contained within the border section. The command pulse used to control the supply motor may be used to start recording characters / images other than the image frame. In this case, it is not necessary to install the film leading edge detection sensor S1.

(E) The film on which an image has been recorded is temporarily stopped by the film size switching guide section 16, but before this, a black frame recording is made on the trailing end side of the film. The film is switched back and inverted to move up the conveyance path 150, the conveyance path is switched by the film conveyance switching unit 14, and the recorded sheet film is a receive magazine.
19 or stored in the automatic processor direct connection unit 20.

Next, regarding the laser recording by the optical unit 17, since the image recording apparatus of the present invention is remarkably improved in the sharpness of the image as compared with the conventional one, a description will be given below. . Laser recording here is a recording device for recording an image by irradiating a recording medium with a laser beam modulated by an ultrasonic optical modulator (AOM) by deflection scanning.
Arrange the AOM so that the projection of the ultrasonic propagation direction of the AOM on the recording medium is opposite to the deflection scanning direction of the laser beam, and the vicinity of the beam waist position in the AOM modulation process of the deflection-scanned laser beam. A recording medium is placed in the.
As a preferable positional relationship, the recording medium is arranged behind the deflection-scanned laser beam waist position.

The sharpness of an image is the boundary of line drawing elements on the image.
There is a noticeable difference in the expression of the (edge) part. Therefore, the edge part
It is effective to improve the sharpness by reducing the spot diameter (horizontal diameter) in the (AOM modulation process). With this device, the moving speed of the scanning beam can be substantially slowed down by the spot movement effect in the AOM modulation process, and the horizontal direction in the modulation process is larger than the spot diameter (horizontal size) in the AOM steady state. The sharpness is improved by the structure that the diameter is reduced.

The spot movement effect of AOM will be described. Fig. 5 is a conceptual diagram of the spot movement effect during the AOM modulation process. Basically, the light amount distribution inside the AOM is imaged on the film surface by the imaging lens, and the spot moves during the AOM modulation process. To do. AOM in the example
Is changed from the vertical arrangement to the horizontal arrangement, and the beam movement due to the modulation in AOM is made opposite to the main scanning direction. FIG. 6 is a diagram for comparing the AOM vertical arrangement and the horizontal arrangement.
It is shown that in the OM modulation process, the effect of returning the deflected and scanned laser beam in the direction opposite to the scanning direction is exerted by the spot movement effect, and the sharpness is improved.

FIG. 7 shows the beam waist position in the AOM modulation process, and FIG. 8 shows the AOM drive signal and the AOM modulation process of the light quantity modulated by the AOM. The scanning beam in the AOM modulation process is shown. The beam waist position of is present 2 mm to 8 mm behind the beam waist position in the AOM steady state. Therefore, the sharpness can be improved by arranging the recording medium backward by 2 mm to 8 mm.

The inventors of the present invention obtained excellent sharpness with the configurations shown in the following first, second and third examples based on the above technical idea, which will be described below.

(First Example) FIG. 9A shows an optical system of the first example. Light emitted from a laser diode (LD) 171A is generated by a collimator lens 172A (f = 4 mm, NA = 0.15). It becomes parallel light (light flux width: 1.2 mm). In order to improve the modulation band of AOM (A), the incident beam to AOM (A) is narrowed down to about 0.6 mm by the condenser lens 173A (see FIG. 9B). In the first example, the beam waist position is about 100 mm behind AOM (A). The beam emitted from the AOM (A) is expanded in beam diameter by the beam expander 174A and converted into parallel light, which is then deflected and scanned by the polygon 175A to generate the fθ lens 176.
An image is formed by A.

In the first example, the recording medium surface F is arranged about 6 mm behind the beam waist position in the AOM steady state defined by the fθ lens 176A. The reason will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 10. The graph in Figure 7 shows the AOM
It shows the difference between the beam waist position in the steady state and the beam waist position in the AOM modulation process. In the AOM steady state, the beam waist is formed at the image plane position of 0 mm, but in the AOM modulation process, the beam waist is formed at the image plane position of 2 mm to 8 mm. The graph of FIG. 10 shows the spot movement amount in the AOM modulation process. The sign of the amount of spot movement is positive in the direction opposite to the direction of movement of the deflected and scanned beam. (The direction in which the sharpness is improved is defined as a positive sign.) It is understood that the farther the image plane position is, the larger the spot movement amount becomes, which is advantageous for improving the sharpness.

According to the graphs of FIGS. 7 and 10, by setting the image plane position to 6 mm in the first example, the spot diameter in the AOM modulation process can be reduced to about 60 μm (about 120 μm when the image plane position is 0 mm). However, the amount of movement of the spot becomes large, which is effective in improving sharpness.
In the first example, the image plane position is set to 6 mm (6 mm behind the beam waist position), but it is effective in the position range of 2 to 8 mm.

(Second Example) In the second example, the basic configuration is the same as in the first example. However, the point that the incident beam diameter to AOM (B) is 0.3mm as shown in Fig. 11 and the point that the beam waist exists 30mm behind AOM (B) is different. ing. FIG. 12 shows changes in the beam waist position in the above configuration, and FIG. 13 shows spot movement amounts.

In the second example, contrary to the first example, AO
The beam waist position in the M modulation process is formed about 2 mm before the steady state. (See FIG. 12) Also, the amount of movement of the spot increases as the image plane position becomes closer to the front. (Figure 1
Therefore, in the configuration of the second example, the sharpness is improved by arranging the recording medium surface about 2 mm before the beam waist position in the AOM steady state. What can be commonly said in the first example and the second example is that it is effective to dispose the recording medium surface at the beam waist position in the AOM modulation process.

(Third Example) FIG. 14 shows an optical system of the third example. The third example is characterized in that the incident beam to the AOM (C) is made substantially parallel light. (In reality, the beam is not perfectly parallel due to the influence of diffraction.) In the third example, the diameter of the incident beam to AOM (C) is 0.4mm, but the diameter of the beam emitted from the collimator 172C is 0.4mm. Although it was configured, in addition, ・ A slit with a width of 0.4 mm is provided at the entrance to the AOM (C) ・ The beam diameter is reduced for the beam emitted from the collimator 172C, and the lens is placed ・ He-Ne laser directly There is a method such as making it incident on AOM (C).

FIG. 15 and FIG. 16 are graphs showing changes in beam waist position and spot movement amounts obtained with the configuration of the third example. Also in the third example, similarly to the first example, the sharpness is improved by arranging the recording medium surface backward by 2 mm to 8 mm.

[0045]

According to the present invention, the defects of the recorded image position on the sheet film recognized in the conventional image recording apparatus, that is, the oblique printing, the deviation of the leading writing position, and the deviation of the writing position in the width direction. An image recording apparatus having a revolutionary improvement has been provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an image recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a connection between the image recording apparatus of the present invention and an automatic developing machine.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram illustrating an example of a sub-scanning conveyance unit.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a film separation mechanism section.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing a spot movement effect in the AOM modulation process.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for comparing a vertical arrangement and a horizontal arrangement of AOMs.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a beam waist position in AOM.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a modulation process in AOM.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing an optical system of a first example.

FIG. 10 is a graph showing the relationship between the spot movement amount and the image plane position.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a beam waist in AOM.

FIG. 12 is a graph showing the relationship between spot diameter and image plane position.

FIG. 13 is a graph showing the relationship between the spot movement amount and the image plane position.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing an optical system of a third example.

FIG. 15 is a graph showing the relationship between spot diameter and image plane position.

FIG. 16 is a graph showing the relationship between the spot movement amount and the image plane position.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Image recording device main body 11 Supply magazine 12 Film separation mechanism section 13 Supply film transport section 14 Film transport switching section 15 Sub-scan transport section 16 Film size switching guide section 17 Optical unit 151a, 151b Supply roller pair 152 Slit guide section 153 Shutter plate 153a Position regulating member 154 Shutter plate conveyance path 155a, 155b Main roller pair S1 Tip detection sensor

Front Page Continuation (72) Inventor Hideyuki Handa, Konica Stock Company, 1 Sakura-cho, Hino-shi, Tokyo In-house

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A supply roller pair capable of pressing and releasing pressure from the upstream side along a vertical sheet conveying path to convey a sheet, and an openable / closable shutter plate for correcting the inclination of a sheet-shaped photosensitive recording medium. And a main roller pair for performing sub-scan conveyance of the photosensitive recording medium, and the photosensitive recording medium is conveyed to the vicinity of the shutter plate by the supply roller pair, and then the pressure contact of the supply roller pair is released, and the photosensitive recording medium is closed. After being positioned on the shutter plate, is sandwiched by the supply roller pair, retracts the shutter plate, the supply roller pair conveys the photosensitive recording medium until it is sandwiched and conveyed by the main roller pair, After that, the pressure of the supply roller pair is released, and laser light is applied in a direction substantially perpendicular to the conveying direction with respect to the photosensitive recording medium which is conveyed by the main roller pair and is sub-scanned. An image recording apparatus, which performs main scanning recording. 2. The shutter plate is inserted into and removed from the conveyance path in a direction substantially at a right angle, and the shutter plate is provided with a position restricting member for restricting the position of the photosensitive recording medium in the lateral direction. 1. The image recording device of 1. 3. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the nip pressure of the main roller pair is higher than the nip pressure of the supply roller pair.