JPH08220649A - Image recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To make exposure stages for scanning exposure and surface exposure common and to realize both of the scanning exposure and the surface exposure with compact constitution at low cost. CONSTITUTION: In the case a surface exposure means 120 is not mounted, an exposure unit 38 moves between an original on an original platen 32 and a photosensitive material 22 on the stage 12 to perform the scanning exposure. In the case the surface exposure means 120 is mounted, all the surface of the original 122 at an original holding part 124 is irradiated with light from a light source 126 at the retreat position of the exposure unit 38, and the irradiating light is reflected on the original 122, passes through mirrors 128 and 130 and a lens 132, and is transmitted through the original platen 32, so that the original 122 at the original holding part 124 is surface-exposed on the material 22 on the stage 12.

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 in which an image of an original is exposed on a photosensitive material, and after the exposure, the photosensitive material and the image receiving material are superposed on each other and thermally developed and transferred to obtain an image on the image receiving material.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image recording apparatus for obtaining a color image, after exposing an image of an original on a photosensitive material, an image receiving material is superposed on the photosensitive material and brought into close contact with each other to perform heat development transfer. In some cases, an image is formed on the image receiving material.

Here, in exposing the photosensitive material, an original is held on an original table, the photosensitive material is held on a stage facing the original, and an exposure unit is moved between the original table and the photosensitive material. There is one in which light is emitted from a light source and reflected light reflected by an original is scanned and exposed on a photosensitive material.

Further, there is one in which the entire surface of the original document on the original table is irradiated with an exposure lamp, and the light reflected by the original document is surface-exposed on a photosensitive material through a lens, a mirror and the like.

Conventionally, only one of scanning exposure and surface exposure can be dealt with.

In view of the above circumstances, the present invention provides an image recording apparatus which uses a common exposure stage for scanning exposure and surface exposure, and can realize both scanning exposure and surface exposure with a compact structure and at low cost. The purpose is to do.

[0007]

According to another aspect of the image recording apparatus of the present invention, an image of an original is exposed on a photosensitive material,
In an image recording apparatus for superposing a photosensitive material and an image receiving material after exposure and transferring them by heat development to obtain an image on the image receiving material, a stage for holding the photosensitive material in a plane and a photosensitive material held on the stage A document table which holds the first document to face each other, and a first document on the document table and the photosensitive material held on the stage are arranged relatively to each other along the first document and the photosensitive material. A scanning exposure unit that reciprocally moves to scan and expose the image of the first document on the photosensitive material, and a document holding unit that holds the second document to face the photosensitive material held on the stage, And a surface exposure unit that surface-exposes the image of the second document held by the holding unit onto the photosensitive material at a position where the scanning exposure unit retracts from the document table.

[0008]

According to the above construction, the scanning exposure means reciprocates between the first original document on the document table and the photosensitive material of the stage along them, that is, the first document table on the document table. Of the original document and the photosensitive material of the stage move without moving the scanning exposure means, or vice versa, the first original document of the platen and the photosensitive material of the stage move together without moving the scanning exposure means. Then, the first document on the document table is scanned and exposed on the photosensitive material of the stage.

According to the surface exposing means, the second original is held on the original holding portion, and the image of the second original is exposed on the photosensitive material of the stage while the scanning exposing means is retracted from the original table. Exposed.

As a result, the exposure stage for scanning exposure and surface exposure is shared, and both scanning exposure and surface exposure are realized with a compact structure and at low cost.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the image recording apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 1, a stage 12 is provided at the center of the base 10. Stage 12 is
It is flat and arranged horizontally.

A first roller 20 is provided below the front end side of the stage 12 (right end side in FIG. 1).
The photothermographic material 22 (hereinafter, simply referred to as the photosensitive material 22) as a photosensitive material is wound into and stored in a roll. The photosensitive material 22 is composed of a support and a photosensitive silver halide, a binder, a dye-donating substance, and a reducing agent. The photosensitive material 22 is the first roller 20 as will be described later.
In the state where the photosensitive surface is pulled out from and is held horizontally on the stage 12, the photosensitive surface is made to face upward.

A second roller 24 is provided below the stage 12 in the vicinity of the first roller 20. Second
The photosensitive material 22 that is drawn from the first roller 20 and that is wound around the stage 12 from the front end to the rear end (the left end in FIG. 1) is wound around the roller 24. A nip roller 26 is arranged between the front end of the stage 12 and the first roller 20. When the nip roller 26 is driven to rotate in the direction of arrow A and the second roller 24 is driven to rotate in the direction of arrow B, the photosensitive material 22 is rotated by the first roller 20 in accordance with the rotation of the first roller 20 in the direction of arrow C. From the front end of the stage 12 toward the rear end of the stage 12, and is pulled by the second roller 24 and wound up.

As a result, the photosensitive material 22 is transferred to the stage 12
The photosensitive material 22 can be pulled out of the first roller 20 and wound around the second roller 24 so as to be supplied upward by a predetermined length.

The stage 12 is provided with a flat surface portion 28 whose upper surface is a horizontal surface, and inclined portions 30 and 31 whose upper surfaces are inclined downward at the front and rear ends of the stage 12. In the exposure and the like described later, the photosensitive material 22 is arranged so that a predetermined length thereof is located in the flat surface portion 28, and the predetermined length thereof does not loosen while maintaining a flat surface along the upper surface of the flat surface portion 28. It is pulled along the inclined portions 30 and 31 and held on the stage 12.

A document table 32 is fitted on the upper surface 11 of the base above the stage 12 so as to face the stage 12. The original table 32 is formed of a transparent plate, and the first original is placed on the original table 32.
The original 34 as the original is placed and held.

Next, the exposure unit (scanning exposure means) 3
8, a coating unit 40, and a superposition unit 42 are provided respectively, and each of the units 38, 40, 42 is reciprocally movable between the document table 32 and the stage 12 in the front-back direction of the stage 12. From the standby position (the position shown in FIG. 1) that is sequentially arranged from the rear end of the stage 12 to the outside of the stage 12 to the stop position that is sequentially arranged from the outside of the stage 12 to the stage 12 after passing the front end of the stage 12. 2) (forward position is in the direction of arrow E) and, conversely, backward movement from the stop position to the standby position (reverse direction is in the direction of arrow D).

The exposure unit 38 includes a light source 44 and a SELFOC lens (lens array) 46. The light from the light source 44 is emitted toward the original 34, and the emitted light is parallel to the original 34 and perpendicular to the moving direction of the exposure unit 38 (the front-back direction of the stage 12). It is made to be a straight line along the direction. The irradiation light is reflected by the original 34, and the reflected light is reflected by the SELFOC lens 4
6 exposes the photosensitive material 22 in a slit shape. The image of the original 34 is sequentially scanned and exposed on the photosensitive material 22 by advancing the exposure unit 38 from the standby position toward the stop position.

The coating unit 40 includes a tank (container) 52.
Is provided with a sponge (applying portion) 54 at the bottom. The tank 52 is in the shape of a rectangular box that is long in the direction parallel to the photosensitive material 22 and at right angles to the front-back direction of the stage 12. As shown in FIG. The inside of the tank 52 is closed, and the inside of the tank 52 is filled with a transfer aid (image forming solvent) such as water 58. The sponge 54 is fixed to the lower surface of the tank bottom, and the water in the tank 52 is absorbed and held by the sponge 54 through a communication port formed in the lower surface of the tank bottom. The tank 52 is driven up and down by a solenoid (not shown) or the like.
In the lowered position of, the sponge 54 comes into contact with the photosensitive material,
It is pressed and water 58 can flow out.

The coating unit 40 starts to advance after the exposure unit 38 advances. The sponge 54 is the photosensitive material 22.
Water is applied to the photosensitive material 22 by advancing the application unit 40 in a state of being in contact with.

The superposing unit 42 is provided with a magazine 76. In the magazine 76, the image receiving material 78 is cut into a predetermined length, stacked and accommodated in parallel with the stage 12. One surface of the image receiving material 78 is an image forming surface, and the image forming surface is coated with a dye fixing material having a mordant. When the image receiving material 78 is accommodated, the image forming surface faces upward. It An endless belt 80 is wound around rollers 82 and 84 below the magazine 76. The roller 8 on the stage 12 side at the standby position of the stacking unit 42
A guide portion 81 is provided on the outer periphery of the No. 4.

The polymerizing unit 42 starts advancing after advancing the coating unit 40. As the stacking unit 42 advances, the endless belt 80 reaches the stage 12.
The stage 12 travels clockwise in FIG. 1 in response to the forward movement of the stacking unit 42. As the endless belt 80 travels, the image receiving material 78 in the magazine 76 is guided by the guide portion 81.
The image receiving material 78 is pulled out from the magazine, the image receiving material 78 is inverted, and the leading end of the image receiving material 78 comes into contact with the photosensitive material 22. The image receiving material 7 is sequentially inserted toward the front end of the stage 12 so as to be sandwiched between them.
8 is overlaid on the photosensitive material 22.

The stage 12 is heated, and in the heated state, the above-mentioned exposure, coating and polymerization are performed, and the heat development transfer is performed. That is, the movable dye of the photosensitive material 22 is released, and at the same time, the dye is transferred to the dye fixing layer of the image receiving material 78, and an image is obtained on the image receiving material 78.

After the thermal development transfer, the photosensitive material 22 moves in the direction of arrow D for a predetermined length and is discharged from the rear end of the stage 12 to the outside of the stage 12 together with the image receiving material.

At the time of this discharge, the image receiving material 78 is separated from the photosensitive material 22 and accumulated in the discharge tray 88.

Thereafter, the exposure unit 38, the coating unit 40, and the superposition unit 42 are moved back to the standby position to prepare for the next exposure.

A mask member 102 is provided below the document table 32 along the document table 32. Mask member 10
One end of 2 is wound around the roller 104, the other end is wound around the roller 106, an opening 108 is formed in the middle portion, and the exposure unit 38 is exposed from the opening 108. The mask member 102 moves along with the movement of the exposure unit 38 and does not hinder the scanning exposure of the exposure unit 38, and the external light passing through the document table 32 to the stage 12 is passed through the exposure unit 38 before and after the movement direction. It is possible to prevent the fogging of the photosensitive material 22 by blocking the light.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, when surface exposure means 120, 170, 220 to be described later is mounted to perform surface exposure, the exposure unit 38 is in the standby position when the exposure unit 38 is in the standby position. The entire portion of the mask member 102 on the roller 104 side of 38 (the portion facing the document table 32) can be wound around the roller 104 separately from the exposure unit 38. That is, the mask member 102 can be opened.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, a surface exposure means 120 is detachably provided on the original table 32. The surface exposure unit includes a document holding unit 124 for horizontally holding a document 122 as a second document in a housing 121 provided on the upper surface 11 of the base so as to face the stage 12, and also below the document 122. Light source 1 located aside
26, mirrors 128 and 130 and mirrors 128 and 130
It comprises an optical system with a lens 132 located in between.

When the surface exposure means 120 is mounted, there is no original 34 from the original table 32, and the exposure unit 3
8. When the coating unit 40 and the superposition unit 42 are in the standby position (the retracted position that does not hinder the surface exposure), the light source 126 irradiates the entire surface of the original 122 with the mask member 102 opened. The light is reflected by the original 122. The reflected light is bent by the mirror 128 so that the optical axis is made vertical from below to horizontal. The reflected light whose optical axis is horizontal passes through the lens 132 and is bent again by the mirror 130 so that the optical axis is vertically downward, passes through the document table 32, and is surface-exposed on the photosensitive material 22 on the stage 32. To be done.

When the surface exposure means 120 is not attached,
As described above, the scanning exposure can be performed by holding the original 34 on the original table 32 and moving the exposure unit 38.

In the surface exposure means 120, the image of the original 122 is surface-exposed to the photosensitive material 22 at the same size. However, the image of the original 122 is not limited to the same size and the photosensitive material 22 is scaled. Surface exposure is possible.

As an example of the magnification change, for example, another surface exposure means 170 shown in FIG. 4 is possible. That is, the housing 171 of the surface exposure unit 170 is provided on the upper surface 11 of the base so as to face the stage 12. The document holder 152 is the second
The original 150 as the original of the
Illuminates the entire surface of the original 150 in parallel with the stage 12, the emitted light passes through the original 150, passes through the lens 154, and is bent by the mirror 156 so that the optical axis is changed from horizontal to vertically downward. Then, the light passes through the document table 32 and is surface-exposed to the photosensitive material 22 on the stage 12.

Alternatively, as another example of the above-mentioned scaling, still another surface exposure means 220 shown in FIG. 5 is possible. That is,
A housing 221 of the surface exposure unit 220 is provided on the upper surface 11 of the base so as to face the stage 12. Document holding unit 200
Holds the original 202 as a second original horizontally, and the light source 204 vertically irradiates the entire surface of the original 202 with light. The irradiation light passes through the original 202, passes through the lens 206, and passes through the original table. After passing through 32, the photosensitive material 22 on the stage 12 is surface-exposed. Reference numeral 208 in the drawing denotes a housing of the surface exposure unit 220.

The original 15 in the surface exposure means 170
0, the original 202 in the surface exposure unit 220 is a transparent original, whereas the original 122 in the surface exposure unit 120 is a reflective original. In the case of a transparent original, both positive type and negative type are possible.

According to the above construction, the surface exposure means 120, 1
When 70 and 220 are not mounted, the exposure unit 38 moves between the document 34 of the document table 32 and the photosensitive material 22 of the stage 12, and scanning exposure is possible.

When the surface exposure means 120, 170, 220 are mounted, the light from the light sources 126, 158, 204 is moved to the original holding portion 124 at the retracted position of the exposure unit 38.
The entire surface of the originals 122, 150, 202 of 152, 200 is irradiated, and the irradiated light passes through the originals 150, 202 or is reflected by the original 122 and passes through the optical system.
The originals 122, 15 of the original holders 124, 152, 200
The photosensitive material 22 of the stage 12 is surface-exposed with 0 and 202.

Surface exposure means 120, 170, 220
Is detachably provided in the above embodiment, for example,
The configuration is not necessarily limited to the detachable structure as long as the original 34 can be held on the original table 32 even when the surface exposure units 120, 170, 220 are mounted.

As a result, the exposure stage for scanning exposure and surface exposure is common, and both scanning exposure and surface exposure are realized with a compact structure and at low cost.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example, in the above embodiment, the document table 3
The exposure unit 38 is moved and scanning exposure is performed without moving both the original 34 of No. 2 and the photosensitive material 22 of the stage 12, but the present invention is not limited to this, and conversely, the scanning exposure means does not move. The original on the platen and the photosensitive material on the stage move together (for example, the original and the stage move to move the original on the platen and the photosensitive material on the stage), and the original on the original plate becomes the photosensitive material on the stage. Scanning exposure is also possible.

In the above embodiment, the exposure of the photosensitive material 22, the coating of the water 58 on the photosensitive material 22, the superposition of the image receiving material 78 on the photosensitive material 22, and the thermal development transfer are performed on the same stage 12. Although the apparatus is miniaturized by doing so, it is of course possible to perform them on separate stages.

As the light-sensitive material used in the image recording apparatus of the present invention, the latent image obtained by imagewise exposure is heat-developed and transferred to the image-receiving material in the presence of the image-forming solvent to be visible. A so-called photothermographic material (photosensitive material 22 of the above-mentioned embodiment) for obtaining an image can be used.

This photothermographic material basically has a photosensitive silver halide, a reducing agent, a binder and a dye-providing compound (which may also serve as a reducing agent) on a support, and further needs According to the requirement, an organic metal salt oxidizing agent and the like can be contained.

The photothermographic material may give a negative image or a positive image upon exposure.
As a method of giving a positive image, a method of directly using a positive emulsion (a method using a nucleating agent and a light fog method) is used as a silver halide emulsion, and a positive diffusible dye image is emitted. Any method using a dye-donor compound can be adopted.

As the photothermographic material of the type which gives a positive image, those described in, for example, JP-A-6-161070 and JP-A-6-289555 can be used. Examples of the photothermographic material of JP-A-5-181246 and JP-A-6-181246
It is possible to use those described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 242546 or the like.

Further, the image forming solvent in the present invention includes, for example, water, and the water is not limited to so-called pure water, but includes water in a widely and generally used meaning. Further, a mixed solvent of pure water and a low boiling point solvent such as methanol, DMF, acetone or diisobutyl ketone may be used. Furthermore,
It may be a solution containing an image formation accelerator, an antifoggant, a development terminator, a hydrophilic thermal solvent and the like.

[0048]

As described above, in the image recording apparatus of the present invention, the exposure stage for scanning exposure and surface exposure is made common, and both scanning exposure and surface exposure have a compact structure and low cost. Can be achieved with.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of an image recording apparatus according to the present invention as seen along a moving direction of an exposure unit, in which a surface exposure unit is not attached.

FIG. 2 is a view showing a state in which the exposure unit is at a stop position.
It is a figure corresponding to.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a state in which the surface exposure unit is mounted, as viewed along the moving direction of the exposure unit.

FIG. 4 is a view corresponding to FIG. 3 showing a state in which another surface exposure unit is mounted.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a state in which still another surface exposure means is attached.
It is a figure corresponding to.

[Explanation of symbols]

 12 stage 22 photosensitive material 32 original plate 34 original (first original) 38 exposure unit (scanning exposure means) 78 image receiving material 122, 150, 202 original (second original) 124, 152, 200 original holder 126, 158 , 204 light source 128, 130 mirror (optical system) 132 lens (optical system) 154 lens (optical system) 156 mirror (optical system) 120, 170, 220 surface exposure means 206 lens (optical system)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An image recording apparatus which exposes an image of an original on a photosensitive material, and after the exposure, superposes the photosensitive material and the image receiving material on each other to perform thermal development transfer to obtain an image on the image receiving material. Between the first original on the original table and the photosensitive material held on the stage, a stage for holding the first original to face the photosensitive material held on the stage, and a stage for holding the first original on the original table. Scanning exposure means for reciprocally moving relative to the first original and the photosensitive material to scan and expose the image of the first original on the photosensitive material; and a first exposing means for facing the photosensitive material held on the stage. Surface exposure for exposing the photosensitive material by surface exposure of the image of the second original document held by the original document holder at a position retracted from the original document table by the scanning exposure unit. Means and Image recording apparatus.