JPH1134387A - Laser beam scanning apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a laser beam scanning apparatus used in a digital photo- printer for performing digital exposure after a photosensitive material is cut, and performing the recording and reading of an image of high quality free from density irregularity even in the leading and rear ends of a sheet-like material to be scanned such as a sheet-like photosensitive material or an accumulative fluorescent sheet by simple and inexpensive apparatus constitution. SOLUTION: A main scanning apparatus for a material to be scanned has a feed stand keeping a main scanning line-containing surface demarcated by laser beam plane, two sets of feed roller pairs 64, 66 arranged on the upstream and downstream sides of the feed stand at an interval shorter than the length of the material to be scanned and holding the material to be scanned to feed the same and the means arranged on at least one of the upstream and downstream sides of a main scanning position of the feed stand and curving the material to be scanned present on at least one of the upstream and downstream sides of the main scanning position into a recessed shape with respect to the surface irradiated with laser beam.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention belongs to the technical field of a light beam scanning apparatus having a sub-scanning transport mechanism composed of two pairs of transport rollers used in an image recording apparatus or an image reading apparatus for performing digital processing. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, an image photographed on a photographic film (hereinafter, referred to as a film) such as a negative film or a reversal film is printed on a photosensitive material such as photographic paper by projecting light of the film onto the photosensitive material. The exposure is performed by so-called direct (analog) exposure in which the photosensitive material is surface-exposed with the projection light.

On the other hand, in recent years, a printing apparatus using digital exposure, that is, an image recorded on a film is photoelectrically read, the read image is converted into a digital signal, and then various image processing is performed. 2. Description of the Related Art A digital photo printer that scans and exposes a photosensitive material with recording light modulated according to the image data, records an image (latent image), develops the image, and outputs it as a print (photograph) is used as image data for recording. It was put to practical use.

[0004] In a digital photo printer, a film is read photoelectrically, gradation correction is performed by image (signal) processing, and exposure conditions are determined. Therefore, it is possible to freely perform editing of a print image such as synthesis of a plurality of images by image processing and image division, and various image processing such as color / density adjustment and contour enhancement. Can be output. Further, the image data of the print image can be supplied to a computer or the like, and can be stored in a recording medium such as a floppy disk. Further, according to the digital photo printer, it is possible to output a print with better image quality, which is excellent in resolution, color / density reproducibility, etc., as compared with the conventional direct exposure print.

[0005] Such a digital photo printer basically includes an input device having a scanner (image reading device) and an image processing device, and an output device having a printing device and a developing device. In a scanner, reading light emitted from a light source is incident on a film to obtain projection light carrying an image photographed on the film, and this projection light is imaged on an image sensor such as a CCD sensor by an imaging lens. The image is read by photoelectric conversion, and is sent to an image processing device as film image data (image data signal). The image processing apparatus performs predetermined image processing on the image data sent from the scanner, and sends the image data to the printing apparatus as output image data (exposure conditions) for image recording. For example, if the printing apparatus uses light beam scanning exposure, the printing apparatus modulates the light beam according to image data sent from the image processing apparatus, deflects the light beam in the main scanning direction, and By transporting the photosensitive material (photographic paper) in a sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the scanning direction, the photosensitive material is scanned and exposed (printed) by a light beam to form a latent image, and a back print is recorded. In the developing machine, the exposed photosensitive material is subjected to a predetermined developing process and the like, so that an image photographed on a film is reproduced.

In a printing apparatus of a photo printer by ordinary direct exposure as well as such a digital photo printer, an unused photosensitive material is wound in a roll shape and stored in a light-shielding housing. The magazines are loaded into a printing apparatus together with the magazines, pulled out of the magazines, transported, and subjected to exposure and the like. Here, in a normal photo printer, the photosensitive material is not cut in the middle, but after exposing, recording back-printing, developing processing, drying, etc. in a long length, the photosensitive material is finally cut to a predetermined length. To make one print.

On the other hand, a digital photo printer is also configured such that a long photosensitive material is cut in accordance with one print to form a cut sheet, and then the exposure is performed. There is a demand for a printing apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as a cut sheet type image recording apparatus) that can significantly reduce the running cost. However, at present, such a cut sheet type image recording apparatus has not been realized yet.

[0008]

However, in such a cut sheet type image recording apparatus, the photosensitive material that has been wound in a roll is cut into a sheet of a predetermined length. The sheet-shaped photosensitive material is not perfectly flat but slightly curled. That is, it is customary for the photosensitive material to be wound in a roll shape with the emulsion surface outside, and when this is cut into a sheet shape, a convex curl with the emulsion surface outside remains. . If the photosensitive material is curled like this,
Density unevenness may occur at the front and rear ends of the photosensitive material. That is, in a digital photo printer, image exposure is performed at a recording position between two pairs of rollers. However, when image exposure is performed from the leading end of a sheet-shaped photosensitive material, the leading end of the sheet-shaped photosensitive material is located upstream. Until the sheet passes through the pair of rollers and reaches the pair of rollers on the downstream side, exposure is performed while the sheet-shaped photosensitive material is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction while only one side of the pair of rollers on the upstream side is sandwiched.

For this reason, the curled sheet-shaped photosensitive material is subjected to image exposure on the curled surface,
Exposure cannot be performed under appropriate exposure conditions, and exposure unevenness is likely to occur at the leading end of the photosensitive material, and high image quality may not be obtained. Also, such a problem is that the rear end of the sheet-shaped photosensitive material passes through the pair of rollers on the upstream side,
The same may occur even before the roller pair reaches the downstream roller pair.

As a system for sub-scanning and conveying a curled sheet-like object to be scanned while maintaining flatness,
A suction mechanism is provided, and while holding the curled scanned object in a planar state while adsorbing by the suction mechanism,
A technique for performing sub-scanning conveyance is known. Therefore, if such a suction mechanism is employed in a cut sheet type image recording apparatus, image exposure may be performed while maintaining the flatness of the sheet-shaped photosensitive material.

However, such a suction mechanism requires a suction source, a chamber, and the like, and has a problem that the apparatus becomes complicated and large, and the cost increases. Further, depending on the relative positional relationship between the suction mechanism and the photosensitive material, the suction force applied to the photosensitive material changes, causing load fluctuation. For this reason, in order to eliminate the influence of such a load change, a motor having a large torque is required, and there is a problem that the cost is further increased.

On the other hand, as a sub-scanning device for a sheet-shaped object to be scanned, which eliminates the need for such a suction mechanism and can achieve high performance and cost reduction, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
2-135,064, 62-167,150, 63
In each of the publications of -67859, each nip-side roller is retracted when the leading end of a sheet-shaped object to be scanned enters the downstream roller pair and when the trailing end separates from the upstream roller pair. A technique has been proposed which has such a configuration and reduces load fluctuations when a scanned object enters and leaves a roller pair.

With such a configuration, in a system in which an image is recorded on the object to be scanned between two pairs of rollers, when the leading end of the photosensitive material enters the downstream roller pair,
In addition, it is possible to reduce the load fluctuation that occurs when the rear end of the photosensitive material separates from the pair of upstream rollers that hold and transport the photosensitive material, and it is possible to reduce the density unevenness to some extent. However, the sheet-shaped photosensitive material is still pinched by only the upstream roller pair until the leading end of the sheet-shaped photosensitive material passes through the upstream roller pair and reaches the downstream roller pair. Exposure is performed while being transported in the sub-scanning state in this state, so that sufficient flatness cannot be maintained in this section, and exposure unevenness may still occur. A similar problem may occur at the rear end of the photosensitive material. The various problems described above are the same in a light beam scanning device such as a radiation image reading device that reads an image carried on a stimulable phosphor sheet or the like.

An object of the present invention is to provide an image recording apparatus used for a digital photo printer or the like, which performs digital exposure and back print recording after forming a photosensitive material into a cut sheet, and a stimulable fluorescent light carrying a radiation image. It is used in radiation image reading devices that read from body sheets, etc., and has a simple and inexpensive device configuration that does not have complicated mechanisms such as suction mechanisms. An object of the present invention is to provide a light beam scanning device capable of performing light beam scanning such as high-quality image recording and image reading without density unevenness even at the leading end and / or the trailing end of a sheet-like scanned object.

[0015]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a main scanning by irradiating a sheet-like scanned object with a light beam deflected in a one-dimensional direction. A light beam scanning device that performs sub-scanning by transporting the object to be scanned in a direction substantially orthogonal to the direction, and two-dimensionally scans the object to be scanned, wherein the object to be scanned is placed at the main scanning position. A transport table that holds a planar shape including a main scanning line defined by a light beam, and is arranged at an interval shorter than the length of the scanned object on the upstream and downstream sides of the transport platform. Two pairs of transport rollers for nipping and transporting, and the scanning object disposed on at least one of the upstream side and the downstream side of the transport table and located on at least one of the upstream side and the downstream side of the main scanning position. For the surface irradiated with the light beam Providing a light beam scanning device having means for bending the Jo.

Here, the concave curved means of the object to be scanned comprises:
A guide plate disposed on at least one of the upstream side of the upstream transport roller pair and the downstream side of the downstream transport roller pair, the guide plate curving in a concave shape with respect to the light beam irradiation surface side of the scanned object. Is preferred.

The two pairs of transport rollers are respectively driven by a drive roller for transporting and driving the scanned object by contacting the surface of the scanned object held by the transport table, and by the drive rollers. Having a driven roller that is driven in contact with the light beam irradiation surface side of the scanned object to be driven,
It is preferable that the concave curved means of the scanned object is the two pairs of transport rollers arranged so that the distance between the driven rollers is shorter than the distance between the drive rollers.

Further, the concave curved means of the object to be scanned includes:
A unit that is to be conveyed from below the main scanning position once to be conveyed above the main scanning position, is then conveyed to the pair of upstream conveying rollers, and is a unit that is conveyed from the pair of downstream conveying rollers. At least one of means for transporting the scanning body once above the main scanning position and then transporting the scanning body below the main scanning position may be used.

Further, at least one of when the leading end of the scanned object enters the upstream conveying roller pair and when the rear end of the scanned object separates from the downstream conveying roller pair, It is preferable that each of the pairs of transport rollers is capable of retracting a driven roller that is driven in contact with the light beam irradiation surface side of the object to be scanned.

It is preferable that the object to be scanned is a sheet-shaped photographic light-sensitive material. Further, the sheet-shaped photographic light-sensitive material is a long photographic light-sensitive material wound with an emulsion surface on the outside. It is preferably cut into lengths. Further, the object to be scanned may be a sheet-shaped stimulable phosphor sheet.

[0021]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a light beam scanning device according to the present invention will be described based on a preferred embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings.
This will be described in detail. In the following description, an example in which the light beam scanning device of the present invention is used for an image recording device will be described as a representative example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and an image for reading a radiation image carried by a stimulable phosphor sheet. Needless to say, it can be used for a reading device.

FIG. 1 shows a conceptual diagram of an image recording apparatus using the light beam scanning device of the present invention. An image recording apparatus 10 (hereinafter, referred to as a recording apparatus 10) shown in FIG. 1 cuts a predetermined length corresponding to a print for forming a long photosensitive material into a cut sheet, and then records a back print (back side). (Printing) and digital exposure, and supplies the exposed photosensitive material Z to a developing machine (processor). The device includes a photosensitive material supply unit 12, a back print unit 14, a recording unit 52, and a sorting unit 18. You. Although not shown in order to clarify the basic configuration of the apparatus, the recording apparatus 10 includes a conveyance unit such as a conveyance roller, a conveyance guide for the photosensitive material Z, a sensor for detecting the photosensitive material, and the like. Various members arranged in a known image recording apparatus are arranged as necessary. Here, the interval between the conveying rollers provided as the conveying means is set to be smaller than the minimum length of the sheet-shaped photosensitive material Z after cutting so as not to hinder the conveying direction of the photosensitive material Z.

The photosensitive material supply section 12 has magazines 20 and 2 in which a long photosensitive material Z wound in a roll shape with the emulsion surface (photosensitive surface) outside is housed in a light-shielding housing.
The loading unit 54 is loaded with the drawer roller pair 24, the loading unit 56 is loaded with the drawer roller pair 26, and the loading unit 54 is loaded with the cutter 28a. The cutter 28b corresponding to the part 56
Are disposed close to the downstream side of the pair of extraction rollers 24 and 26, respectively. As shown in FIG.
In, the loading section 56 is disposed below the loading section 54, and the recording position X is located above it.

The recording device 10 in the illustrated example is a device capable of loading two magazines 20 and 22. Both of them usually have a size (width), a surface type (silk or mat, etc.), and a specification (thickness, base type, etc.). ), Etc., are stored. In the recording apparatus 10 of the present invention, the number of magazines that can be loaded is not limited to two in the illustrated example, and may be one, or three or more magazines may be loaded. .

In the photosensitive material supply section 12, the corresponding photosensitive material Z of the magazine is pulled out by the draw-out roller pairs 24 and 26, and is conveyed to the downstream back print section 14. This transport is performed by the cutters 28a, 2
When the length of the photosensitive material Z conveyed downstream of 8b reaches the length corresponding to the print to be produced, the photosensitive material Z stops, and then the cutters 28a and 28b operate to cut the photosensitive material Z into a cut sheet of a predetermined length. .

In the recording apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1, cutters 28a and 28b are provided for each of the two magazines 20 and 22, and the photosensitive material Z drawn from these magazines is separated by separate cutters 28a and 28b, respectively. Although it is configured to be cut, the present invention is not limited to this,
It is good also as composition which cuts with one common cutter. The sheet-shaped photosensitive material Z pulled out from the photosensitive material supply unit 12 in this manner and cut is supplied to the upper back print unit 1.
4 is carried.

The back print section 14 includes a photographing date, a print printing date, a frame number, a film ID number (sign), a camera ID number used for photographing, and a photo on the back surface (non-emulsion side) of the photosensitive material Z. This is a part for recording (back printing) various kinds of information such as a printer ID number, so-called back print. Such a back print unit 14 is, for example, a dot impact type printer 58 as a contact type printing device, and records a back print on the photosensitive material Z conveyed while being guided by a guide 60. The recording method (printer) is not limited to this,
Various back print recording methods used in known photo printers such as an ink jet printer and a thermal transfer printer can be used. Above all, a non-contact type recording method such as an ink jet printer can be preferably used in that the non-contact type can eliminate the load fluctuation applied to the scanning conveyance by the back print recording. An ink jet printer using a hot, fusible ink that is solid at room temperature is preferably exemplified. Further, the back print unit 14 is provided with a new photo system (Advanced Phot
o), it is preferable to be able to print two or more lines. In this way, it is cut to a predetermined length,
Next, the photosensitive material Z on which the back print has been recorded is transported to the recording unit 52 (sub-scanning transport unit 62).

The recording section 52 includes an exposure optical unit (hereinafter, referred to as an exposure optical unit).
Exposure unit 16) and sub-scanning conveyance means (mechanism) 62. In the illustrated example, the image recording by the exposure unit 16 is modulated in accordance with digital image data while scanning and transporting the sheet-shaped photosensitive material Z, and is performed in a main scanning direction orthogonal to the scanning transport direction by the sub-scanning transport unit 62 ( Using a light beam deflected in a direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 1 as recording light L, exposure is performed on a photosensitive material Z at a recording (exposure) position X, that is, by so-called digital scanning exposure.

The exposure unit 16 is an optical unit for performing such digital exposure.
A light source that emits light beams corresponding to red (R) exposure, green (G) exposure, and blue (B) exposure, and an AOM that modulates the light beam emitted from the light source according to digital image data Modulation means such as an acousto-optic modulator), an optical deflector such as a polygon mirror which deflects the modulated light beam in a main scanning direction orthogonal to the scanning and conveying direction, and a light beam deflected in the main scanning direction at a recording position X. This is a known light beam scanning device that includes an fθ (scanning) lens or the like that forms an image at a predetermined position on a (scanning line) with a predetermined beam system.

The exposure unit 16 of the present invention is not limited to such a light beam scanning device, but may be a digital light source using various light emitting arrays or spatial modulation element arrays extending in a direction orthogonal to the scanning and conveying direction. Various exposure means can be used. Specifically, PDP (plasma display) array, ELD (electroluminescent display) array, LED (light emitting diode) array, LC
A digital exposure unit using a D (liquid crystal display) array, a DMD (digital micromirror device) array, a laser array, or the like is exemplified.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of the sub-scanning and conveying means 62. As shown in the drawing, the sub-scanning conveyance means 62 is arranged so that the interval between the recording positions (main scanning lines) X is shorter than the sheet length of the photosensitive material Z of the minimum usable size. It has two pairs of transport rollers 64 and 66, an exposure transport guide 68, and curved surface guides 80 and 82. While the photosensitive material Z is held at the recording position X by the exposure transport guide 68, the pair of transport rollers 64 and 66
Thus, the sheet is transported in the sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction. Here, as described above, the light beam is deflected in the main scanning direction, so that the photosensitive material Z
A latent image is formed by dimensional scanning exposure. Here, each pair of conveying rollers 64 and 66 is driven by a pair of driven rollers 64a and 66 that are driven in contact with the emulsion surface of the photosensitive material Z.
a, and driven rollers 64b and 66b that are driven in contact with the back surface of the photosensitive material Z.
And 66a are configured to be vertically movable with respect to the drive rollers 64b and 66b, and are provided so as to be able to approach and separate from each other.

As described above, the photosensitive material Z to be exposed is formed by cutting the photosensitive material wound into a roll into a sheet by cutting it into a predetermined length. The sheet-shaped photosensitive material is not perfectly flat, but has a slight curl with the emulsion side outward. For this reason, while the front end or the rear end of the photosensitive material Z passes between the entrance-side conveyance roller pair 64 and the exit-side conveyance roller pair 66, the photosensitive material Z is moved to the one-side conveyance roller pair 64 or Exposure is performed while being conveyed in the sub-scanning state while being sandwiched only by the photosensitive material Z.
Is not constrained on the exposure / conveying guide 68, image projection is performed on the convex curled and raised surface of the front and rear ends of the photosensitive material Z, and exposure unevenness occurs. In some cases, it may not be possible to obtain a sufficiently high image quality.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, the present invention is arranged such that, of the two pairs of transport rollers 64 and 66, the upstream side of the input side transport roller pair 64 and the downstream side of the output side transport roller pair 66. On the sides, curved surface guides 80 and 82 are provided, respectively. The curved surface guides 80 and 82 are located immediately before the transport roller pair 64 and the transport roller pair 66, respectively.
Is a curved guide plate that forms the transport path immediately after the guide path. The curved surface guides 80 and 82 have curved surfaces on the upstream side and the downstream side of the recording position X, respectively, with a predetermined curvature centered on a predetermined position on the side irradiated with the light beam L, that is, the light beam L Are arranged in a curved surface such that the photosensitive material Z is concavely curved with respect to the surface to be irradiated.

Thus, the photosensitive material Z, which is originally curled in a convex shape with the emulsion surface on the outside, can be temporarily inverted to a concave curl with the emulsion surface on the inside immediately before exposure and carried into the recording position X. it can. Therefore, a restoring force is applied to the curled photosensitive material Z to return to the original curl, and even when the leading or trailing end is between the pair of conveying rollers 64 and 66, the leading or trailing end or the trailing end thereof is not affected. Even if they are in the middle, they are placed in a flat exposure transport guide 6.
Exposure can be performed while holding the photosensitive material Z in a plane including the main scanning line at the main scanning line position (recording position) without curling the light source side (emulsion surface side) in a convex shape while pressing the photosensitive material Z against the photosensitive material Z. it can. Therefore, appropriate image exposure without exposure unevenness can be performed at the front end and the rear end of the photosensitive material Z and also at the intermediate portion thereof, and high-quality image recording can be performed.

The conveyance of the photosensitive material Z in the recording section 52 shown in FIG. 2 is desirably performed by the following soft landing operation. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining a series of movements of the pair of conveying rollers in the soft landing operation. FIG. 3 also shows a detection sensor 69 that is provided at a predetermined distance upstream of the pair of conveying rollers 64 and that detects the front and rear ends of the photosensitive material Z.

First, as an initial state before the photosensitive material Z is carried in, the upper driven rollers 64a and 66a are retracted upward with respect to the lower driving rollers 64b and 66b to release the pinching. (Fig. 3
(A)). Next, when the photosensitive material Z passes directly below the detection sensor 69, the detection sensor 69 detects the photosensitive material Z (FIG. 3B), and the driven roller 64a descends to drive the driving roller 6
4b (FIG. 3 (c)). Here, the photosensitive material Z is nipped and conveyed by the conveying roller pair 64, and when it reaches the recording position X, image exposure is started (FIG. 3D). The photosensitive material Z is further transported by a predetermined pulse, and after passing through the center position of the transport roller pair 66 on the output side, the upper driven roller 66a is dropped at a predetermined drop speed (for example, a release height of 1 mm).
(Less than 1 second), and the photosensitive material Z is sandwiched between the lower drive roller 66b and the lower drive roller 66b (FIGS. 3E to 3F).
As described above, when the leading end of the photosensitive material Z enters the transport roller pair 66, the driven roller 66a is retracted upward, thereby preventing a load variation due to the thickness of the photosensitive material Z.

Here, in a series of operations shown in FIGS. 3A to 3F, the conveying roller pair 66 has the same speed as the conveying roller pair 64 (for example, the speed of both the conveying roller pairs 64 and 66). (Difference of 0.1% or less) is preferable. Particularly, when the conveying roller pair 66 on the output side pinches the photosensitive material Z (FIG. 3F), the driven roller 66a is also rotated by the conveying roller pair 64. By rotating the photosensitive material at the same speed as
Can be smoothly contacted and pinched, and unnecessary load fluctuation can be further reduced.

As a mechanism for rotating the driven roller 66a at the same speed as that of the conveying roller pair 64 on the input side, for example, as shown in FIG.
May be provided so as to be able to come into contact with both the driven rollers 64a and 66a from above, and these may be integrally driven. In this case, the idler 65 always follows both the driven rollers 64a and 66a and is driven while maintaining contact.

Thus, the photosensitive material Z is placed at the recording position X
, Image exposure is performed while being nipped and transported by the two transport roller pairs 64 and 66 (FIG. 3 (g)). When the photosensitive material Z is further conveyed and the rear end of the photosensitive material Z reaches just below the detection sensor 69, the detection sensor detects the rear end of the photosensitive material Z (FIG. 3 (h)).
4a is retracted upward by a predetermined distance (for example, 1 mm),
The pinch is released (FIG. 3 (i)), and the photosensitive material Z
To prevent load fluctuations caused by the thickness of the sheet. Also at this time, the conveying roller pair 64 is driven so that the speed of the photosensitive material Z does not fluctuate. Further, when the rear end of the photosensitive material Z is conveyed by a predetermined number of pulses and reaches the recording position X, the image exposure ends (FIG. 3 (j)). The trailing end of the photosensitive material Z is further conveyed by a predetermined number of pulses by the conveying roller pair 66 on the exit side (FIG. 3 (k)). After being separated from the conveying roller pair 66, the driven roller 66a is retracted upward and the initial state is reached. (FIG. 3 (l)).

Various known sensors can be used as the detection sensor 69, and are not particularly limited.
As shown in FIG. 3, a plate-shaped detection member is suspended rotatably to the lower end of the transport path, and the photosensitive material Z passing therethrough
The rotation can be performed by detecting the rotation according to the thickness of the sheet.

As described above, when the leading end of the photosensitive material Z enters the outgoing conveying roller pair 66 and when the trailing end of the photosensitive material Z separates from the incoming carrying roller pair 64, the photosensitive material Z With the configuration in which the transport roller pair at a position corresponding to the leading end or the trailing end of Z is separated, when the leading end of the photosensitive material Z enters the transport roller pair 66 and when the trailing end of the photosensitive material Z moves to the transport roller pair 64 Can be prevented from occurring due to the thickness of the photosensitive material Z at the time when the image is detached, exposure unevenness caused by the load variation can be further prevented, and the image quality can be further improved.

The order of sandwiching the photosensitive material Z by the pair of conveying rollers 64 and 66 is not limited to the above example, and can be performed in various orders. For example, when the leading end of the photosensitive material Z enters, the pair of transport rollers 64 and 6
6 may be separated, and the photosensitive material Z may be nipped by the pair of transport rollers 64 and 66 after passing through the pair of transport rollers 66 on the exit side. In this case, the restoring force generated on the photosensitive material Z by the curved surface guide 80 is applied to the front end of the photosensitive material Z passing between the conveying roller pairs 64 and 66.
The transmission can be made easier, and the flatness of the front end portion of the photosensitive material Z passing through this section can be more easily secured.

In particular, if the load variation due to the passage of the front and rear ends of the photosensitive material Z does not affect the recorded image,
The transport roller pairs 64 and 66 are brought into contact in advance,
The photosensitive material Z may be sandwiched until its rear end is separated.

Further, the configuration may be such that the transport roller pair 64 on the input side is not provided. In this case, the interval in the thickness direction of the photosensitive material Z formed by the immediately preceding curved surface guide 80 may be made sufficiently small, and the photosensitive material Z may be transported by the roller pair 84 on the upstream side. No, high-quality image recording can be performed.

FIG. 4 shows another example of the sub-scanning conveyance means. The sub-scanning conveyance means 92 shown in FIG.
Two pairs of transport rollers 94 and 96 arranged with the recording position X (scanning line) interposed therebetween, and an exposure transport guide 98 for holding the photosensitive material Z in a plane between the pairs of transport rollers 94 and 96. Have. Each transport roller pair 94 and 96
Are respectively composed of driven rollers 94a and 96a which are driven in contact with the emulsion surface of the photosensitive material Z, and drive rollers 94b and 96b which are driven in contact with the surface of the photosensitive material Z opposite to the emulsion surface. Rollers 94a and 96a
The distance A between the drive rollers 94b and 96b is the distance B
It is arranged so as to be shorter. The driven roller 9
The reference numerals 4a and 96a are configured to be vertically drivable with respect to the drive rollers 94b and 96b, and are provided so as to be able to approach and separate from each other.

By doing so, the leading end of the photosensitive material Z that has passed through the entrance conveyance roller pair 94 is bent between the exposure conveyance guide 98 and the conveyance roller pair 94 so that the emulsion surface is on the inner side, and the photosensitive material Z is bent. It is possible to carry in the recording position X while canceling the Z curl. Further, even when the rear end portion of the photosensitive material Z passes the recording position X, the rear end portion of the photosensitive material Z that has passed through the entrance-side conveyance roller pair 94 is moved between the exposure conveyance guide 98 and the conveyance roller pair 96. Thus, the photosensitive material Z can be passed through the recording position X while canceling the curl of the photosensitive material Z in a concave shape toward the emulsion surface side. Therefore, similarly to the case of FIG. 2, it is possible to prevent exposure unevenness and to perform high-quality image recording while maintaining the flatness of the front and rear ends of the photosensitive material Z.

In this case, the transport rollers 94
The order of sandwiching the photosensitive material Z by the steps 96 and 96 can be performed in various orders as described above, and is not particularly limited. For example, the transport roller pair 94 may be configured to contact the driven roller 94a and the driving roller 94b from the beginning. Further, the transport roller pair 96 may have a configuration in which the driven roller 96a and the driving roller 96b are separated in advance, and are pinched after the leading end of the photosensitive material Z has passed.

In any of these embodiments, the image recording apparatus of the present invention can perform high-quality image recording without exposure unevenness regardless of the curl of the sheet-shaped photosensitive material Z. In the present invention, if at least one of the upstream side and the downstream side of the exposure conveyance guide 68 has a configuration in which the photosensitive material Z is curved concavely with respect to the surface to which the light beam is irradiated, The invention is not limited to this, and various modes can be adopted. In this way, in the recording unit 52, the photosensitive material Z that has been subjected to the image exposure while maintaining the planar shape is conveyed to the sorting unit 18.

The distribution means 18 distributes the photosensitive material Z in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction (corresponding to the conveying direction by the developing machine) (hereinafter referred to as an orthogonal direction). Current,
In a general silver halide photographic light-sensitive material used for photographic printing, development processing and exposure require more time for development processing. Therefore, if exposure is performed continuously, development processing cannot be completed in time. The allocating means 18 is arranged to solve this inconvenience. The allocating means 18 divides the photosensitive material Z in the orthogonal direction and forms a plurality of rows overlapping in the transport direction.
Improvement of the processing capacity of the developing device, for example, it is possible to perform processing of less than twice as much as a single row in the case of two rows and less than three times in the case of three rows, and offset the processing time difference between the development processing and the exposure. Things.

As the sorting method in the sorting means 18, various sheet material sorting methods can be used. For example, a sorting method using a turret rotating about an axis, a plurality of photosensitive material Z transport means, For example, a method of dividing into three blocks and moving the middle block in the orthogonal direction and distributing the blocks is exemplified. Further, a belt conveyor as a transport means in the downstream direction for mounting and transporting the photosensitive material Z, and a lift transport means for lifting the photosensitive material Z using a suction cup or the like and transporting the photosensitive material Z in the orthogonal direction, are used from the upstream. A method in which the photosensitive material Z conveyed to a belt conveyor and conveyed to a predetermined position is conveyed by a lift conveying means in an orthogonal or diagonal horizontal (downstream side) direction and sorted.

In this way, in the sorting means 18, the photosensitive materials Z sorted in a plurality of rows as necessary.
Next, is transported to the developing machine 72 by the transport roller pair 70, subjected to processing such as a developing tank, a fixing tank, and a washing tank according to the photosensitive material Z, dried, and printed.

As described above, in the illustrated image recording apparatus, since the photosensitive material supply section is provided below the apparatus, the photosensitive material Z drawn from the supply section is once conveyed to a position above the recording position. Later, while lowering to the recording position,
The configuration is such that the flatness of the photosensitive material Z is maintained at the recording position on the exposure / conveyance guide 68 via the curved surface guides 80 and 82 or the above-described inclined roller pairs 94 and 96. The present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to various types of image recording apparatuses.

For example, the photosensitive material Z is taken out in the lateral direction,
A configuration may be adopted in which the image is exposed and fed to the developing device while being transported in the horizontal direction as it is. In this case, the transport is performed in the horizontal direction as it is, and the transport path is lowered obliquely downward in the recording unit 52. In the transport path that was lowered,
The curved surface guides 80 and 82 described above, or the roller pairs 94 and 96 arranged at an angle described above may be provided. Also in these cases, the flatness of the photosensitive material Z can be sufficiently maintained at the recording position, and high-quality image recording without exposure unevenness can be performed.

Although the light beam scanning device of the present invention has been described in detail, the present invention is not limited to the above example.
Of course, various improvements and changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0055]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, after a photosensitive material is formed into a cut sheet, image recording used in a digital photo printer or the like for performing digital exposure, back print recording, and the like. A light beam scanning device used for a device or a radiation image reading device for reading from a stimulable phosphor sheet carrying a radiation image, which is simple and inexpensive without providing a complicated mechanism such as a suction mechanism. Light beam scanning such as high-quality image recording and image reading without density unevenness even at the leading and / or trailing edge of a sheet-like scanned object such as a sheet-shaped photosensitive material or a stimulable phosphor sheet. It can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a basic configuration of an example of an image recording apparatus using a light beam scanning device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a sub-scanning conveyance unit illustrated in FIG.

3 (a) to 3 (l) are schematic diagrams showing a sub-scanning conveyance method of a photosensitive material in an example of the sub-scanning conveyance unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing another example of the sub-scanning conveyance means shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 (Image) recording device 12 Photosensitive material supply part 14 Back print part 16 Exposure unit 18 Distributing means 20, 22 Magazine 24, 26 Pull-out roller pair 28, 28a, 28b Cutter 52 Recording part 54, 56 Loading part 58 Printer 60 Guide 62 , 92 Sub-scanning conveying means 64, 66, 70, 94, 96 Conveying roller pair 64a, 66a, 94a, 96a Followed roller 64b, 66b, 94b, 96b Driving roller 65 Idler 68, 98 Exposure conveying guide 69 Detection sensor 80, 82 Curved surface guide

Claims (7)

[Claims] A main scanning is performed by irradiating a light beam deflected in a one-dimensional direction to a sheet-shaped object to be scanned, and the object to be scanned is conveyed in a direction substantially orthogonal to the main scanning direction. A light beam scanning device that performs scanning and two-dimensionally scans the object to be scanned, and holds the object to be scanned in a plane including a main scanning line defined by the light beam at the main scanning position. A transport table, and two pairs of transport rollers, which are arranged on the upstream and downstream sides of the transport table at a shorter interval than the length of the scanned object and sandwich and transport the scanned object, Means for disposing the object to be scanned in at least one of the upstream side and the downstream side of the main scanning position in a concave shape with respect to a surface irradiated with the light beam. Light beam scanning device. 2. The light beam of the object to be scanned, wherein the concave bending means of the object to be scanned is disposed at least on one of an upstream side of the pair of upstream transport rollers and a downstream side of the pair of downstream rollers. The light beam scanning device according to claim 1, wherein the light beam scanning device is a guide plate curved concavely with respect to the irradiation surface side. 3. The driving roller pair, wherein the two pairs of transport rollers contact a surface of the scanning object held by the transport table to drive the scanning object, and the driving rollers transport the scanning object. A driven roller that is driven in contact with the light beam irradiation surface side of the scanned object to be driven, wherein the concave curved means of the scanned object is such that the distance between the driven rollers is greater than the distance between the driving rollers. 3. The light beam scanning device according to claim 1, wherein the two pairs of conveying rollers are arranged so as to be shorter. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the concavely curved means of the scanned object temporarily conveys the scanned object conveyed from below the main scanning position to above the main scanning position, and then applies the conveyed object to the pair of upstream conveying rollers. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transporting unit temporarily transports the object to be scanned carried out from the downstream transport roller pair above the main scanning position, and then transports the scanning body below the main scanning position. The light beam scanning device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of a time when a leading end of the object to be scanned enters the pair of conveying rollers on the upstream side and a time when the rear end of the object to be scanned is separated from the pair of conveying rollers on the downstream side. The light beam scanning device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein each of the pair of transport rollers is capable of retracting a driven roller that comes into contact with the light beam irradiation surface side of the object to be scanned. 6. The light beam scanning device according to claim 1, wherein the object to be scanned is a sheet-like photographic photosensitive material. 7. The light according to claim 1, wherein said sheet-shaped photographic material is obtained by cutting a long photographic material wound with its emulsion side outside to a predetermined length. Beam scanning device.