JPH10171026A - Image recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress the variance of the finish of recorded images accompanying the change of environmental conditions without reducing the processing speed and lowering the finish of the recorded image. SOLUTION: By a light source 26, white light including the light of a wavelength in the infrared range is emitted. When an image is exposed on a photographic paper 16, temperature in a magazine, temperature in an exposure part and ambient temperature detected by a sensor for magazine temperature 108, a sensor for exposure part temperature 116 and a sensor for ambient temperature 122 are fetched. Based on the fetched temperature, the irradiation quantity I(integrated value) with infrared rays for raising the temperature of the paper 16 to the fixed temperature is decided. Based on the exposure time by exposure light, the quantity of the infrared rays irradiating the paper 16 per unit time is calculated. Then, an infrared cut filter 29 is moved to a position corresponding to the irradiation light quantity per unit time. When a shutter 36 is opened, the paper 16 is irradiated with the exposure light, which includes the infrared rays whose quantity is adjusted and which is transmitted through a negative picture. Then, the temperature of the paper 16 is raised to the almost fixed temperature and the negative picture is exposed and recorded.

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, and more particularly, to an image recording apparatus that irradiates a photosensitive material located at an exposure position with exposure light to record an image by exposure.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known an image recording apparatus such as a printer processor for exposing and recording an image on a silver halide photosensitive material such as photographic paper. Incidentally, it is known that the characteristics of the photosensitive material change depending on the surrounding environmental conditions (temperature and humidity), and the finish of the recorded image changes depending on the characteristics of the photosensitive material when the image is exposed and recorded.

On the other hand, in a room where an image recording apparatus such as a printer processor is installed, the room temperature drops to 10 ° C. or less at the start of a day's work (at the start of work), especially in winter. In many cases, heating the room only for about one hour hardly raises the temperature inside the apparatus. Further, if the heating of the room is continued, the temperature inside the apparatus rises thereafter, and the temperature inside the apparatus may exceed 30 ° C. in the afternoon due to the influence of self-heating of the image recording apparatus. Therefore, exposure recording of an image on a photosensitive material is performed in an environment in which the temperature changes by 20 ° C. or more (humidity also changes) during one day's work. There has been a problem that a finish such as a density and a color balance of a recorded image fluctuates greatly during a day's work due to a large change in characteristics.

In connection with the above, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-15840 discloses that an exposure transfer stage is formed by a heat plate, the temperature of a photosensitive material is raised to a predetermined temperature, and the image is formed while the photosensitive material is maintained at a constant temperature. A technique for performing exposure is described.
However, in the above technique, the image is exposed after the photosensitive material is heated and heated to a predetermined temperature, so that the processing speed of the image recording apparatus is reduced, and the temperature of the photosensitive material is made uniform by heating with a heat plate. However, there is a problem that the temperature of the photosensitive material is likely to be uneven because of the difficulty in performing the printing, and the unevenness of the temperature may be visually recognized as the unevenness of the color of the recorded image.

The present invention has been made in view of the above facts, and is intended to suppress variations in the finish of a recorded image due to changes in environmental conditions without causing a reduction in processing speed or a decrease in the finish of a recorded image. It is an object of the present invention to obtain an image recording apparatus capable of performing the following.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, an image recording apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention irradiates an exposure light to a photosensitive material located at an exposure position to record an image by exposure. An image recording apparatus, comprising: an irradiating unit that irradiates an infrared light to a photosensitive material located at an exposure position simultaneously with the exposure light or immediately before irradiation with the exposure light; Temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the material; and adjusting means for adjusting the amount of infrared light applied to the photosensitive material based on the temperature of the photosensitive material detected by the temperature detecting means. And

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the photosensitive material located at the exposure position is irradiated with infrared light by the irradiation means simultaneously with or immediately before the irradiation of the exposure light. The irradiating means may include, for example, an infrared light source that emits infrared light, and irradiates the photosensitive material with the infrared light emitted from the infrared light source. And
A configuration may be used in which a light source that also emits light having a wavelength in the infrared region is used as a light source for the exposure light, and the photosensitive material is irradiated with the infrared light emitted from the light source.

The temperature detecting means detects the temperature of the photosensitive material on which the image is exposed and recorded, and the adjusting means detects the temperature of the infrared light applied to the photosensitive material based on the temperature of the photosensitive material detected by the temperature detecting means. Adjust the light intensity. The adjustment of the amount of infrared light by the adjusting means is performed, specifically, as described in claim 3, as the temperature of the photosensitive material detected by the temperature detecting means decreases as the temperature of the photosensitive material decreases. Adjustments can be made to increase the amount of light.

As described above, the photosensitive material located at the exposure position is irradiated with the infrared light whose exposure amount is adjusted based on the temperature of the photosensitive material and the exposure light at the same time or immediately before the irradiation of the exposure light. Irrespective of changes in environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity, the photosensitive material is heated to a substantially constant temperature in accordance with the amount of irradiated infrared light, and an image is exposed and recorded. Therefore, it is possible to suppress variations in the finish of a recorded image regardless of changes in environmental conditions.

Further, since the photosensitive material is irradiated with the infrared light at the same time as the exposure light or immediately before the irradiation of the exposure light, the processing speed is not reduced because the temperature of the photosensitive material is kept substantially constant. In addition, since the photosensitive material is heated by irradiating the infrared light, the temperature of each part of the photosensitive material can be made substantially constant by making the amount of infrared light applied to each part of the photosensitive material substantially constant. As compared with the case of heating using a heater plate, it is possible to prevent the finish such as the color unevenness of the recorded image from being reduced due to the temperature unevenness.

The temperature detecting means may directly detect the temperature of the photosensitive material on which the image is exposed and recorded. However, as described in claim 2, the temperature detecting means may detect the temperature around the exposure position. Temperature, the temperature around the image recording apparatus, the temperature of the storage section storing the photosensitive material before the exposure recording of the image, and the temperature around the transport path of the photosensitive material transported from the storage section to the exposure position. By detecting one, the temperature of the photosensitive material on which the image is exposed and recorded may be indirectly detected.

The adjusting means may include an infrared filter provided on the optical path of the exposure light for absorbing or reflecting the infrared light, and a temperature of the photosensitive material detected by the temperature detecting means. And an insertion amount adjusting means for adjusting the insertion amount of the infrared filter into the optical path of the exposure light.

In the case where the irradiating means includes an infrared light source for emitting infrared light, and the light emitted from the infrared light source is irradiated on the photosensitive material, the adjusting means may be arranged in the form of claim 5. As described in (1), it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the amount of infrared light emitted from the infrared light source is adjusted.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image recording apparatus, comprising: a light source for exposure; and a light source provided on the optical path of light from the light source for exposure to an exposure position. And a modulating means for modulating the light on the photosensitive material in accordance with an image to be exposed and recorded, and irradiating the light modulated by the modulating means to the photosensitive material as exposure light.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment] FIG. 1 shows an overall configuration of a printer processor 10 as an image recording apparatus according to the present invention. The printer processor 10 has an exterior covered by a casing 12 and a negative film 14.
Unit 1 for exposing an image recorded on a printing paper 16 to an image
And a processor unit 64 for performing processing such as color development, bleach-fixing, washing, and drying on the photographic paper 16 on which the image has been exposed.
And

First, the configuration of the printer section 18 will be described.
A work table 20 is attached to the printer processor 10 on the left side in FIG. 1 so as to protrude from the casing 12. On the upper surface of the work table 20, a negative carrier 22 on which the negative film 14 is set, and an operator. A keyboard 24 for inputting various commands and data is provided. The negative carrier 22 includes transport roller pairs 80A and 80B (see FIG. 2).
The transport roller pairs 80A and 80B are each connected to a drive shaft of a motor (not shown), rotate by transmitting the drive force of the motor, and transport the negative film 14.

Negative film 14 by negative carrier 22
A light source 26 that emits exposure light for printing an image recorded on the negative film 14 is disposed below the transport path. The light source 26 also has a function as an irradiation unit of the present invention, and emits light in a wavelength range from the visible region to the infrared region as white light. In addition, as the light source 26, a halogen lamp, a xenon lamp, a mercury lamp, or the like can be used.

As shown in FIG. 2, on the light emission side of the light source 26, a color correction filter 28 and an infrared cut filter 29 are provided.
(Corresponding to the infrared filter according to claim 4), a diffusion box 30 and a distribution prism 32 are arranged in order.
The color correction filter 28 is composed of three sets of filters C, M, and Y which can move forward and backward independently of each other with respect to the exposure light path. Further, the infrared cut filter 29 can also move forward and backward with respect to the exposure optical path. The transport path of the negative film 14 includes a diffusion box 30 and a distribution prism 32.
And the distribution prism 32 distributes the light transmitted through the negative film 14 in two directions.

An exposure lens 34 capable of changing the magnification of an image to be exposed is provided on the optical path of one of the lights distributed in the two directions by the distribution prism 32 (the light traveling upward along the vertical direction). , A black shutter 36, and a mirror 38 (see FIG. 1) that reflects the exposure light in a substantially right angle direction. The distribution prism 32, the exposure lens 34, the black shutter 36, and the mirror 38
2 is housed in a cover 40 formed on the upper side. The exposure light reflected by the mirror 38
2. The photographic paper 16 located at the exposure position in FIG.
The image on the negative film 14 is exposed on the photographic paper 16.

As shown in FIG. 2, the projection optical system 8 is provided on the other optical path of the light distributed by the distribution prism 32.
3. An infrared cut filter 84, a color balance correction filter 85 for correcting the balance of R, G, and B according to the characteristics of the negative film 14, and a CCD image sensor 86 are arranged in this order. The CCD image sensor 86 divides the entire image (one frame) recorded on the negative film 14 into a large number of pixels (for example, 256 × 256 pixels), and separates each pixel into three colors of R, G, and B to perform photometry. I do.

At the signal output end of the CCD image sensor 86, an amplifier 88 for amplifying the signal output from the CCD image sensor 86, an analog-to-digital (A / D) converter 90, and a sensitivity correcting device for the CCD image sensor 86. 3x
Three matrix circuits 92 are connected in order. The 3 × 3 matrix circuit 92 is connected to an input / output port 94D of a control unit 94 composed of a microcomputer and its peripheral devices. The control unit 94 includes a CPU 94A, a ROM
94B, a RAM 94C, and an input / output port 94D, which are connected to each other via a bus.

A driver 96 for driving each of the color correction filters 28 is provided at an input / output port 94D of the control unit 94.
And a driver 97 for driving the infrared cut filter 29 is connected. A driver 10 for controlling lighting of the light source 26 is provided at the input / output port 94D.
2 and a display 100 and a keyboard 24, which may be an LCD or CRT.
Is connected. The control unit 94 and its peripheral circuits are housed in the space 44 (see FIG. 1) below the exposure unit 42.

On the other hand, a mounting portion 46 is provided at the upper right corner of the casing 12 in FIG. The mounting section 46 is configured such that a paper magazine 50 that accommodates a long photographic paper 16 as a copying material wound around a reel 48 in a layered manner is detachable. The paper magazine 50 corresponds to the storage unit according to claim 2, therein, the magazine temperature sensor 108 for detecting the temperature t _m in the paper magazine 50 is provided. The paper magazine 50 is provided with terminals (not shown). When the paper magazine 50 is mounted on the mounting portion 46, the magazine temperature sensor 108 includes an amplifier 112 and an A / D converter 114 as shown in FIG.
Is connected to the input / output port 94D of the control unit 94 via the.

A roller pair 52 is arranged near the mounting portion 46. The photographic paper 16 pulled out from the paper magazine 50 and fed into the casing 12 (inside the exposure portion 42) is pinched by the roller pair 52. , Is transported in the exposure unit 42 along the horizontal direction. A winding roller 54 is disposed near the upper left corner in the exposure section 42 in FIG. The photographic paper 16 conveyed along the horizontal direction is wound around the winding roller 54, the conveyance direction is changed by approximately 90 °, conveyed vertically downward, and reaches the exposure position. In addition, between the roller pair 52 and the winding roller 54,
A first stock portion 56 for guiding and stocking the printing paper 16 in a substantially U-shape is formed.

Rollers 58A, 58B and 58C are arranged below the exposure position in the exposure section 42. The transport path of the photographic paper 16 from the roller pair 52 to the exposure position via the first stock unit 56 corresponds to the “photosensitive material transport path” described in claim 2. As described above, in the present embodiment, the exposure position and the conveyance path of the photosensitive material (roller pair 5
2 is formed in the same room (in the exposure section 42), and the temperature of the exposure position and the periphery of the transport path are equalized.

The temperature t in the exposure unit 42 is
_e (the temperature t _e, corresponding and to the "temperature around the conveyance path of the photosensitive material,""temperature around the exposure position" and according to claim 2) exposed part temperature sensor 116 for detecting the the distribution Has been established. The exposure unit temperature sensor 116 is
8, connected to the input / output port 94D of the control unit 94 via the A / D converter 120. The temperature t around the printer processor 10 is outside the casing 12.
An ambient temperature sensor 122 for detecting _a (this temperature t _a corresponds to “the ambient temperature of the image recording apparatus” in claim 2) is provided. The ambient temperature sensor 122 is connected to the control unit 94 via the amplifier 124 and the A / D converter 126.
Is connected to the input / output port 94D.

The above-described magazine temperature sensor 10 and the ambient temperature sensor 122 are the same as those of the magazine temperature sensor 10 described above.
8 corresponds to the temperature detecting means according to the present invention.
These temperature sensors can be constituted by, for example, a thermistor, a thermocouple, an infrared radiation thermometer, or the like.

On the other hand, the photographic paper 16 on which the image of the negative film 14 has been exposed at the exposure position is applied to rollers 58A, 58B, 5R.
The transport direction is changed by approximately 90 ° by 8C, and the transport direction is transferred to a processor unit 64 described later. A cutter 60 is disposed downstream of the roller 58A. The cutter 60 cuts the rear end of the printing paper 16 on which the image has been exposed. The unexposed photographic paper 16 that has been cut by the cutter 60 and remains in the exposure unit 42 can be rewound to the paper magazine 50 again.

Between the rollers 58A and 58B, there is formed a second stock section 62 for guiding and stocking the photographic paper 16 on which an image has been exposed in a substantially U-shape. The second stock section 62 allows the printer section 18
The difference in processing time between the processor and the processor unit 64 is absorbed. Although not shown, a cut mark applicator is also provided near the exposure position in the exposure section 42 for applying a cut mark to the photographic paper to cut the photographic paper 16 for each image frame.

Next, the configuration of the processor section 64 will be described. The processor section 64 includes a color developing tank 66 in which a color developing solution is stored, and a bleach-fixing tank 6 in which a bleach-fixing solution is stored.
8 and a plurality of rinse tanks 70 in which washing water is stored. The photographic printing paper 16 is sequentially transported through the color developing tank 66, the bleach-fix tank 68, and the plurality of rinse tanks 70 to perform color developing and developing. Each process of bleach-fixing and washing is performed in order. Thus, the image exposed on the photographic paper 16 is visualized. The photographic paper 16 that has been subjected to the water-washing process is conveyed to the drying unit 72 adjacent to the rinse tank 70. In the drying section 72, the photographic paper 16 is wound around a roller and dried by exposing it to high-temperature air.

The photographic paper 16 is held between a pair of rollers (not shown), and is discharged from the drying unit 72 at a constant speed after the drying process is completed. On the downstream side of the drying unit 72, a cut mark sensor 7 for detecting a cut mark given to the printing paper 16 is provided.
4. A densitometer 76 and a cutter 78 for cutting the photographic paper 16 are installed in this order.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 3 showing the image exposure processing executed by the control unit 94. The process shown in FIG. 3 is executed by the control unit 94 when exposing and recording the negative image recorded on the negative film 14 on the photographic paper 16.

In step 300, the negative film 14 is conveyed so that the negative image to be exposed and recorded on the photographic paper 16 is positioned on the exposure optical path, and then the negative image is measured by the CCD image sensor 86. In the first embodiment, the infrared cut filter 84 is disposed on the light incident side of the color balance filter 85 disposed in front of the light receiving surface of the CCD image sensor 86. A change in the spectral transmittance of the color balance filter 85 can be suppressed, and the negative image can be accurately measured.

In step 302, exposure conditions for exposing and recording the negative image on the photographic paper 16 are calculated based on photometric data representing the negative image obtained by photometry of the negative image, and based on the calculated exposure conditions. The position of the color correction filter 28 and the exposure time T (opening time of the black shutter 36) when exposing and recording the negative image are determined.

[0036] At step 304, the detected magazine temperature t _m by the magazine temperature sensor 108, the exposure section temperature t _e detected by the exposure unit temperature sensor 116, the ambient temperature t _a which is detected by the ambient temperature sensor 122, respectively uptake, the next step 306 in the magazine temperature t _m, based on the exposure section temperature t _e and the ambient temperature t _a, the light quantity of the infrared light irradiated to the printing paper 16 when a negative image exposure recording on the printing paper 16 I (integrated value of light amount) is determined.

The temperature of the printing paper 16 when a negative image is exposed and recorded at the exposure position is pulled out from the paper magazine 50, magazine temperature t _m, there are respectively correlated with the exposure section temperature t _e and the ambient temperature t _a, these As the temperature of the printing paper 16 increases, the temperature of the printing paper 16 also increases. In the present embodiment, the magazine internal temperature t _m , the exposure unit internal temperature t _e, and the ambient temperature t _a
An experiment was performed to measure the temperature of the photographic paper 16 when was changed to various values. Based on the results of the experiment, the amount of infrared light applied to the photographic paper 16 increased as the temperature of the photographic paper decreased. The relationship between the temperature in the magazine t _m , the temperature in the exposure unit t _{e, the} ambient temperature t _a, and the irradiation light amount I of infrared light is determined so that the photographic paper 16 is heated to a constant temperature. It is stored in the ROM 94B in advance. The determination of the infrared light irradiation light amount I in step 306 can be performed using this map.

The relationship between the temperature in the magazine t _m , the temperature in the exposure section t _e and the ambient temperature t _a, and the irradiation light amount I of infrared light is stored in the form of a functional expression instead of a map, and magazine temperature t _m taken at 304, may be determined irradiation light quantity I of the infrared light by the exposure section temperature t _e and the ambient temperature t _a is substituted into the above-described function expression.

In the next step 308, step 306
Is calculated based on the irradiation light amount I of the infrared light determined in the above and the exposure time T determined in step 302, and the irradiation light amount of the infrared light per unit time to the printing paper 16 is calculated. The position of the infrared cut filter 85 when exposing and recording the negative image is determined based on the irradiation light amount. Steps 304 to 310 described above correspond to the adjusting means (more specifically, the adjusting means according to the third aspect and the insertion amount adjusting means according to the fourth aspect) of the present invention.

In step 310, the color correction filter 2 is placed at the position determined in step 302 via the driver 96.
8 as well as the infrared cut filter 29 via the driver 97 to the position determined in step 308. Then, in step 312, the black shutter 36 is opened for the exposure time T determined in step 302. As a result, the photographic paper 16 is irradiated with exposure light (including infrared light whose light amount has been adjusted) that has passed through the negative image positioned on the exposure optical path, and the temperature is raised to a substantially constant temperature and the negative image is irradiated. Is recorded.

By the above processing, the temperature of the photographic paper 16 can be kept substantially constant even if environmental conditions such as the temperature in the magazine t _m , the temperature in the exposure section t _e , and the ambient temperature t _a fluctuate. The characteristics (exposure amount-coloring density characteristics) of the photographic paper when the image is exposed and recorded on the photographic paper 16 become constant.
6, the finish of the image recorded by exposure can be made substantially constant.

Since the light transmittance of the negative film 14 changes depending on the temperature, when the temperature of the negative film 14 changes, the tint of the negative image changes, and the tint of the image exposed and recorded on the photographic paper 16 also changes. There is a problem, this book 1
In the embodiment, since the light transmitted through the infrared cut filter 29 is irradiated on the negative film 14, the negative film 14
Can be reduced, and a change in tint of an image recorded on the printing paper 16 by exposure can be suppressed.

[Second Embodiment] Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The same portions as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, in the image recording apparatus 130 according to the second embodiment, two paper magazines 50 can be mounted on the mounting section in parallel. In the vicinity of the mounting portion, a cutter 13 corresponding to each paper magazine 50 is provided.
2 and a roller pair 134 are provided, respectively, and the printing paper 16 pulled out from the paper magazine 50 is
Is cut to a predetermined length. A plurality of roller pairs 134 are arranged along the horizontal direction, and the printing paper 16 pulled out from each paper magazine 50 is a plurality of roller pairs 1.
34, and are conveyed in parallel along the horizontal direction.

An exposure section 136 is located downstream of the roller pair 134 in the transport direction of the photographic paper 16.
6, three rollers 138A, 138B, 138C
An endless belt 140 wound around is provided. As shown in FIG. 5, the endless belt 140 (and the roller 13)
8) The length in the direction (width direction) orthogonal to the transport direction of the photographic paper 16 is the same as the length in the width direction of the two paper magazines 50 mounted in parallel on the mounting portion. It is longer than the length.

The two rollers 138A and 138B arranged on the upper side are arranged such that the upper surface of the endless belt 140 is substantially horizontal, and the photographic paper 16 conveyed in parallel by the roller pair 134 is endless. Each is placed on the belt 140. The rotation shaft of the roller 138B is connected to the rotation shaft of the motor 142 via a driving force transmission mechanism (not shown), and the driving force of the motor 142 is transmitted to rotate.
Due to the rotation of the roller 138B, the endless belt 140 and the rollers 138A and 138C also rotate.

Although not shown, the endless belt 14
A number of holes are formed in the belt surface of the endless belt 140, and a suction device 144 for generating a negative pressure is provided on the inner peripheral side of the endless belt 140 at a position corresponding to a substantially horizontal portion of the endless belt 140.
Are arranged. The photographic paper 16 placed on the endless belt 140 is moved by the negative pressure generated by the suction device 144 through the holes, thereby causing the endless belt 1 to move.
Adsorbed on 40. Although not shown, the exposure unit 13
An exposure unit temperature sensor 116 (see FIG. 7) is provided in 6.

An exposure unit 146 is disposed above the endless belt 140. The exposure unit 146 is supported by the frame 150 via a guide rail 148 that extends along a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the photographic paper 16 is transported, and is movable along the guide rail 148.

As shown in FIG. 6, the exposure unit 146
Is a laser diode 152 that emits red laser light.
, A laser diode (not shown) and a wavelength conversion element (SH)
A laser unit 15 which emits green laser light and has G)
4, a laser diode (not shown) and a wavelength conversion element (S
HG) and a laser unit 1 for emitting blue laser light
56 are provided. The laser diode 152 and the laser units 154 and 156 are connected to an output port 218F of the controller 218 via a driver 158 (see FIG. 7), and the operation is controlled by the controller 218.

A collimator lens 160, a lens 162, a modulator 164, and a mirror 166 are arranged in this order on the laser beam emission side of the laser diode 152. A lens 16 is provided on the laser beam emitting side of the laser unit 154.
8, a modulator 170, and a mirror 172 are arranged in this order, and a lens 168, a modulator 176, and a mirror 178 are arranged in this order on the laser beam emission side of the laser unit 156. The modulators 164, 170, and 176 are configured by an acousto-optic modulator (AOM) or the like, and are connected to the output port 218F of the control unit 218 via the driver 180 (see FIG. 7). The modulators 164, 170, 176
Mirrors 166 and 17 in response to an instruction from control unit 218
The light amount of the laser light emitted to the side of 2, 178 is changed.

At a position spaced apart from the mirrors 166, 172, 178 by a predetermined distance, a polygon mirror 182 having a plurality of reflection surfaces formed on the outer periphery is arranged. The polygon mirror 182 is connected to an output port 218F of the control unit 218 via a driver 184 (see FIG. 7).
The driver 184 rotates at a constant speed in response to an instruction from 18. The directions of the mirrors 166, 172, and 178 are adjusted so that the incident laser light is emitted toward the same position on the reflection surface of the polygon mirror 182.

Between the mirrors 166, 172, 178 and the polygon mirror 182, three lenses 186A, 186 corresponding to the three laser beams reflected by the respective mirrors.
6B and 186C are arranged, and the three laser beams reflected by each mirror are transmitted through the lens 186A or the lens 186B or the lens 186C and are incident on the same position on the reflection surface of the polygon mirror 182.

In the vicinity of the mirror 166, an infrared lamp 188 for emitting infrared light is provided. The direction of the infrared lamp 188 is adjusted so that the infrared light is incident on the reflection surface of the polygon mirror 182 at the same position as the incident position of the three laser beams. Therefore, polygon mirror 1
With the rotation of 82, the three laser lights and the infrared light are similarly deflected by the polygon mirror 182. The infrared lamp 188 is connected to the output port 218F of the control unit 218 via the driver 190 (see FIG. 7).
In response to an instruction from the control unit 218, the light flashes and the amount of emitted infrared light increases or decreases in response to an instruction from the control unit 218.

The light exit side of the polygon mirror 182 is fθ
A lens 192 and mirrors 194 and 196 are arranged in this order, and the three laser beams and infrared light reflected by the reflection surface of the polygon mirror 182 pass through the fθ lens 192,
Exposure unit 146 reflected by mirrors 194 and 196
Of the endless belt 140 and irradiates the upper surface of the endless belt 140. The exposure unit 146 includes the polygon mirror 1
The direction of deflection of the laser light and the infrared light by the laser beam 82 is adjusted so as to coincide with the transport direction of the printing paper 16 on the upper surface of the endless belt 140, and the laser light and the infrared light emitted from the exposure unit 146 are adjusted. The light is scanned (main scan) on the upper surface of the endless belt 140 along the transport direction of the printing paper 16.

As described above, the infrared lamp 188 constitutes a part of the irradiation means of the present invention, and the polygon mirror 18
2. The fθ lens 192 and the mirrors 194 and 196 also have a function as an irradiation unit of the present invention.

The exposure unit 146 includes the sub-scanning unit 1
The photographic paper 16 is moved along a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the photographic paper 16 by 98 (see FIG. 7). The sub-scanning unit 198 is connected to the output port 218F of the control unit 218, and moves the exposure unit 146 according to an instruction from the control unit 218. By the movement of the exposure unit 146 by the sub-scanning section 198, sub-scanning of laser light and infrared light is performed.

Rollers 200 A, 200 B, 200 are located downstream of the endless belt 140 in the transport direction of the printing paper 16.
An endless belt 202 wound around C and 200D and an endless belt 206 wound around rollers 204A, 204B, 204C and 204D are arranged to face each other such that their outer surfaces are in contact with each other. The printing paper 16 conveyed by the endless belt 140 is nipped by the endless belt 202 and the endless belt 206 and conveyed upward. Endless belt 202,
A guide 208 and a roller pair 2
10, a roller 212, and a roller pair 214 are provided in order. The printing paper 16 transported upward by the endless belts 202, 206 is fed into the processor unit 64.
A printing unit 218 for printing characters and the like on the printing paper 16 is provided below the roller 212.

The control unit 218 includes a CPU 218A, a ROM
218B, a RAM 218C, an image memory 218D, an input port 218E, and an output port 218F, which are connected to each other via a bus.
As in the first embodiment, the ROM 218B stores the magazine internal temperature t _m , the exposure unit internal temperature t _e and the ambient temperature t _a, and the irradiation light amount I of the infrared light for raising the temperature of the printing paper 16 to a constant temperature.
And a map representing the relationship between and are stored. Further, the magazine temperature sensor 108, the exposure unit temperature sensor 116, and the ambient temperature sensor 122 are connected to the input port 218E as in the first embodiment.

Next, the operation of the second embodiment will be described. When exposing an image to the photographic paper 16, the control unit 218 pulls out the photographic paper 16 from the paper magazine 50, and
Is pulled out by a predetermined length, the cutter 132 is operated to cut the printing paper 16, and the endless belt 14 is
Conveyed to 0. When the photographic paper 16 is transferred onto the upper surface of the endless belt 140, the endless belt 140 is driven to rotate by the motor 142 to position the photographic paper 16 at a predetermined position, and the photographic paper 16 is moved to the predetermined position by the suction device 144. To hold.

Next, the control unit 218 controls the polygon mirror 18
2 is rotated, laser light is emitted from the laser diode 152 and the laser units 154 and 156, and further, based on the image data stored in the image memory 218D.
The laser beams emitted from the modulators 164, 156
70 and 176. The modulated laser light is reflected by mirrors 166, 172, and 178, and
The light passes through 86A, 186B, and 186C, is deflected by the polygon mirror 182, passes through the fθ lens 192, is reflected by the mirrors 194, 196, and is scanned on the upper surface of the endless belt 140. The control unit 218 moves the exposure unit 146 by the sub-scanning unit 198.

Thus, the main scanning and the sub-scanning of the laser beam are performed, and the image is exposed and recorded on the photographic paper 16 positioned at a predetermined position. Further, the photographic paper 16 is pulled out from the two paper magazines 50, respectively, and is conveyed in parallel.
When the photographic papers 16 are positioned in parallel, exposure recording of images on the two photographic papers 16 is performed sequentially.

The control unit 218 determines the irradiation light amount I of infrared light by performing the same processing as in steps 304 and 306 of the flowchart of FIG. Then, the infrared lamp 188 is turned on so that the infrared lamp 188 emits infrared light having a light amount corresponding to the irradiation light amount I. The infrared light emitted from the infrared lamp 188 is deflected by the polygon mirror 182 in the same manner as the laser light for exposure, and is irradiated on the photographic paper 16 at substantially the same position as the irradiation position of the laser light for exposure. The entire surface of the photographic paper 16 is irradiated with the rotation of 182 and the movement of the exposure unit 146.

By the above processing, the temperature of the photographic paper 16 can be kept substantially constant even if environmental conditions such as the temperature in the magazine t _m , the temperature in the exposure section t _e , and the ambient temperature t _a fluctuate. The characteristics (exposure amount-coloring density characteristics) of the photographic paper when the image is exposed and recorded on the photographic paper 16 become constant.
6, the finish of the image recorded by exposure can be made substantially constant.

[Third Embodiment] Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. The same portions as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 8, the image recording apparatus 224 according to the third embodiment has a light source 226 for emitting white light. Note that as the light source 226, a halogen lamp, a xenon lamp, a mercury lamp, or the like can be used.
The image recording device 224 corresponds to the image recording device described in claim 6, and the light source 226 corresponds to the exposure light source described in claim 6.

On the light emitting side of the light source 226, an infrared cut filter 228, a condenser lens 230, a balance filter 2
32, a color spatial light modulator (DMD: digital micromirror device) 234 is arranged in order. The white light emitted from the light source 226 is cut by an infrared cut filter 228 to remove light having a wavelength in the infrared region, and is condensed by the condenser lens 230 onto the DMD 234. In addition,
The balance filter 232 performs shading correction such that the amount of white light focused and irradiated on the DMD is uniform over the entire surface of the DMD 234.

Although not shown, the DMD includes a static RAM (SRAM) and a micro-mirror that is swingably provided on each cell of the SRAM. The micromirror has a rectangular shape of which one side is, for example, about 16 μm in length and is made of a thin film of a metal such as aluminum having conductivity. The reflection surface has one of R light, G light and B light.
Filters that reflect only one are formed. Further, the micromirror operates when the data “0” is written in the corresponding memory cell (invalid reflection state),
The inclination accuracy of the reflection surface greatly differs between the case where the data “1” is written (effective reflection state).

The DMD 234 according to the third embodiment corresponds to the modulating means described in claim 6, and as an example, FIG.
As shown in the figure, a red micromirror array 234R in which a large number of micromirrors provided with filters for reflecting R light are arranged in a line at a constant pitch, and a micromirror provided with filters for reflecting G light are provided at a constant pitch. Green micromirror array 23 arranged in a line in a row
4G and a blue micromirror array 234B in which a large number of micromirrors provided with a filter for reflecting B light are arranged in a line at a constant pitch.

The DMD 234 is provided for each of the arrays 234R and 234R.
The arrangement direction of the 4G and 234B micromirrors is arranged along the width direction of the photographic paper 16 drawn from the paper magazine 50, and when all the micromirrors of each array are in the effective reflection state, the array 234R is turned off. Represents P R spot lights along the width direction of the photographic paper 16,
From the array 234G, P G spot lights along the width direction of the printing paper 16 are provided.
Of the B color light spots along the width direction are emitted toward the photographic paper 16 located at the exposure position (where P is the number of micromirrors for each array).

The DMD 234 is connected to the input / output port 256E of the control unit 256 via the driver 236.
The operation is controlled by the control unit 256. Also, DMD
A light absorbing plate 238 is disposed on the emission side of the spot light when the micromirror 234 is in the invalid reflection state, and is reflected by the micromirror in the invalid reflection state to form a DMD.
The spot light emitted from the light 234 is absorbed by the light absorbing plate 238. A dichroic mirror 240, a balance filter 242, and a projection lens 244 are sequentially arranged between the DMD 234 and the exposure position of the printing paper 16, and a spot reflected by the micro mirror in the effective reflection state and emitted from the DMD 234. The light (exposure light)
Dichroic mirror 240, balance filter 24
2. The photographic paper 16 is transmitted through the projection lens 244 and irradiated.

Further, on the side of the dichroic mirror 240, an infrared lamp 246 for emitting a slit-like infrared light is provided. The infrared light emitted from the infrared lamp 246 is transmitted to the DMD 23 by the dichroic mirror 240.
4 is multiplexed with the exposure light emitted from the photographic paper 16, passes through the balance filter 242 and the projection lens 244, and has a slit-shaped longitudinal direction coincident with the width direction of the photographic paper 16.
Is irradiated. The infrared lamp 246 is connected to the input / output port 256E of the control unit 256 via the driver 248, and blinks in response to an instruction from the control unit 256. Is increased or decreased according to the instruction.

As described above, the infrared lamp 246 constitutes a part of the irradiation means of the present invention, and the dichroic mirror 240, the balance filter 242, and the projection lens 244 also have the function of the irradiation means of the present invention. .

A roller pair 250 is arranged downstream of the exposure position in the transport direction of the photographic paper 16. Roller pair 25
The rotation shaft of one of the rollers 0 is connected to the drive shaft of a motor 252 via a drive force transmission mechanism (not shown), and the drive force of the motor 252 is transmitted to rotate and convey the printing paper 16. When the printing paper 16 is conveyed, the irradiation position of the exposure light and the infrared light on the printing paper 16 moves (scans) on the printing paper 16, and the printing paper on which the image is exposed and recorded by the irradiation of the exposure light is processed by the processor. It is sent into the section 64. The motor 252 is connected to the input / output port 256E of the control unit 256 via the driver 254, and its driving is controlled according to an instruction from the control unit 256.

The control unit 256 includes a CPU 256A, a ROM
It comprises a 256B, a RAM 256C, an image memory 256D, and an input / output port 256E, which are connected to each other via a bus. As in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the ROM 256B includes a magazine internal temperature t _m , an exposure unit internal temperature t _{e, an} ambient temperature t _a, and an infrared light for raising the temperature of the printing paper 16 to a constant temperature. Irradiation light amount I
And a map representing the relationship between and are stored. Further, the magazine temperature sensor 108, the exposure unit temperature sensor 116, and the ambient temperature sensor 122 are connected to the input / output port 256E as in the first and second embodiments.

Next, the operation of the third embodiment will be described. When exposing an image to the printing paper 16, the control unit 218 pulls out the printing paper 16 from the paper magazine 50, conveys the printing paper 16 to the exposure position, and turns on the light source 226. At this time, all the micro mirrors of the DMD 234 are in an invalid reflection state, and the spot light emitted from the DMD 234 is all absorbed by the light absorbing plate 238.

Next, the control unit 256 controls the image memory 256D
, One line of image data is fetched from the image data stored in the DMD, and DMD is performed for a time corresponding to the gradation value of each of R, G, and B of each pixel in one line represented by the fetched image data.
Data is written to each SRAM cell of the DMD 234 so that each micromirror 234 is in the effective reflection state.
Thus, spot light (exposure light) is emitted from each micromirror of the DMD 234 toward the photographic paper 16 for a time corresponding to the gradation value, and the photographic paper 16 is exposed to one line of image. When exposure for one line is completed,
The control unit 256 drives the motor 252 to convey the photographic paper 16 by a predetermined amount (sub-scan), and repeats the above processing. Thus, exposure of the image to the photographic paper 16 is performed.

The control unit 218 determines the irradiation light amount I of infrared light by performing the same processing as steps 304 and 306 in the flowchart of FIG. 3 described in the first embodiment in parallel with the above processing. Then, the infrared lamp 246 is turned on so that the infrared lamp 246 emits infrared light of a light amount corresponding to the irradiation light amount I. The infrared light emitted from the infrared lamp 246 is multiplexed with the exposure light by the dichroic mirror 240, and is irradiated on the photographic paper 16 at substantially the same position as the irradiation position of the exposure light. The entire surface of the printing paper 16 is irradiated.

By the above processing, the temperature of the photographic paper 16 can be kept substantially constant even if environmental conditions such as the temperature in the magazine t _m , the temperature in the exposure section t _e , and the ambient temperature t _a fluctuate. The characteristics of the photographic paper (exposure amount-coloring density characteristics) when the image is exposed and recorded on the photographic paper 16 become constant, and the finish of the image recorded on the photographic paper 16 by exposure can be made substantially constant.

In the third embodiment, the infrared lamp 24
The emitted infrared light with multiplexes the exposure light 6, in accordance with light amount of the infrared light emitted from the infrared lamp 246 magazine temperature t _m, the exposure section temperature t _e and the ambient temperature t _a By controlling, the amount of infrared light radiated to the photographic paper 16 is adjusted. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and an infrared cut filter is provided for the optical path of white light emitted from the light source 226. The insertion amount of the infrared cut filter 228 into the white light path may be adjusted according to the amount of infrared light to be irradiated on the photographic paper 16.

In the second and third embodiments, the amount of the infrared light emitted from the infrared lamps 188 and 246 is controlled. In addition to controlling the amount of external light to be constant, an infrared cut filter is disposed on the light emission side of the infrared lamp, and the amount of insertion of the infrared cut filter into the optical path of the infrared light is adjusted. May be controlled by controlling the amount of infrared light applied to the.

In the above description, the magazine temperature sensor 108 and the exposure unit temperature sensor 11 as the temperature detecting means of the present invention are used.
6. The example in which the temperature in the magazine t _m , the temperature in the exposure section t _e , and the ambient temperature t _a are detected by the ambient temperature sensor 122 and the irradiation light amount of the infrared light is determined based on the detection result has been described. The temperature of the printing paper 16 may be directly detected, and the irradiation light amount of the infrared light may be determined based on the temperature of the printing paper 16.

In the above description, the case where the photosensitive material located at the exposure position is irradiated with the infrared light simultaneously with the exposure light has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Irradiation with infrared light may be performed immediately before irradiation with exposure light.

Further, the present invention can be applied to all image recording apparatuses in which the finish of a recorded image changes in response to a change in environmental conditions. For example, an original image is displayed on a display means such as a liquid crystal panel or a CRT, and displayed. An image recording apparatus of a type in which an image is exposed and recorded on a photosensitive material by light transmitted through a unit or emitted from a display unit, or an image recorded and exposed by heating is developed, or another recording material is used. The present invention can be applied to an image recording apparatus for exposing and recording an image on a photosensitive material to which an image recorded on a sheet is transferred.

[0084]

As described above, according to the present invention, the photosensitive material positioned at the exposure position is irradiated with infrared light simultaneously with or immediately before exposure light, and the image is exposed. The temperature of the photosensitive material to be recorded is detected, and the amount of infrared light applied to the photosensitive material is adjusted based on the detected temperature of the photosensitive material. Variation can be suppressed without lowering the processing speed or lowering the finish of the recorded image.
It has an excellent effect.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a printer processor according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a configuration around a control unit of the printer processor according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an image exposure process executed by a control unit of the printer processor according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a side view illustrating a schematic configuration of an image recording apparatus according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a plan view illustrating a schematic configuration of an image recording apparatus according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of an exposure unit of the image recording apparatus according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a configuration around a control unit of an image recording apparatus according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image recording apparatus according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 9 illustrates a DM in the image recording apparatus according to the third embodiment.
It is the schematic which shows an example of a structure of D.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 printer processor 26 light source 29 infrared cut filter 94 control unit 108 magazine temperature sensor 116 exposure unit temperature sensor 122 ambient temperature sensor 130 image recording device 188 infrared lamp 218 control unit 224 image recording device 246 infrared lamp 256 control unit

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An image recording apparatus for exposing and recording an image by irradiating a photosensitive material located at an exposure position with exposure light, wherein the photosensitive material located at the exposure position is simultaneously recorded with the exposure light. Or irradiation means for irradiating infrared light immediately before irradiation with exposure light, temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of the photosensitive material on which an image is exposed and recorded, and the temperature of the photosensitive material detected by the temperature detection means. And an adjusting means for adjusting the amount of infrared light applied to the photosensitive material. 2. The temperature detecting means includes: a temperature around the exposure position, a temperature around an image recording device, a temperature of a storage portion for storing a photosensitive material before exposure recording of an image, 2. The temperature of the photosensitive material on which an image is exposed and recorded is detected indirectly by detecting at least one of the temperatures around the transport path of the photosensitive material transported to the exposure position. Image recording device. 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the adjusting unit adjusts the amount of infrared light applied to the photosensitive material to increase as the temperature of the photosensitive material detected by the temperature detecting unit decreases. Item 2. The image recording apparatus according to Item 1. 4. An adjusting device comprising: an infrared filter provided on an optical path of the exposure light for absorbing or reflecting infrared light; and an optical path of the exposure light based on a temperature of the photosensitive material detected by the temperature detecting means. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: an insertion amount adjusting unit that adjusts an insertion amount of the infrared filter into the inside. 5. The irradiation unit includes an infrared light source that emits infrared light, irradiates the light emitted from the infrared light source to a photosensitive material, and the adjustment unit emits light from the infrared light source. 2. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the amount of infrared light is adjusted. 6. An image recording apparatus comprising: a light source for exposure; and a light emitted from the light source for exposure provided on an optical path of light from the light source for exposure to an exposure position. And a modulating means for modulating the light in accordance with the light, and irradiating the light modulated by the modulating means to the photosensitive material as exposure light.
The image recording apparatus according to claim 1.