JPS63168652A - Transmitted light type multicolor copying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a multicolor copy without requiring generation of an intermediate film by bringing a copy original into contact with a sheet bearing microcapsules, where components corresponding to >=2 colors are enclosed for respective colors and which sense light to change the mechanical breaking strength, on the surface and exposing them to light. CONSTITUTION:A photosensitive and pressure-sensitive sheet 15 bearing microcapsules, in which components corresponding to >=2 more colors are enclosed for respective colors, on the surface is used, and a copy original 1 is copied through the exposure of an exposure means 10 and the development of a developing means 20. The photosensitive and pressure-sensitive sheet 15 is exposed with the light transmitted through the copy original 1 closely brought into contact with the sheet 15, and as the result, the mechanical breaking strength of microcapsules in the part corresponding to the transmitted light is changed. Microcapsules whose mechanical breaking strength is weaker on the exposed sheet 15 are broken by the developing means. Thus, components corresponding to at least two colors individually enclosed in microcapsules react on a color developer, a color eraser, or the like, and a multicolor image corresponding to the picture on the copy original appears.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a transmitted light type multicolor copying apparatus, and more particularly to a transmitted light type multicolor copying apparatus using a so-called photosensitive pressure-sensitive sheet.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, this type of transmitted light type multicolor copying apparatus first forms a color image of an original on a transparent intermediate film using a method similar to photolithography in order to perform exposure using transmitted light. It has been considered to use this intermediate film to perform copying onto a photosensitive pressure-sensitive sheet.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, with these conventional copying devices, there are problems in that it takes time and effort to create the intermediate film, the device and configuration become complicated, and the equipment costs and running costs of the device increase. was there. Furthermore, since an intermediate film is created once, there is a problem in that the total time required for copying becomes longer.

Therefore, various multicolor copying devices have been proposed in the past, which irradiate the original with light and use the reflected light to expose the photosensitive sheet. It was necessary to prepare an output light source or perform long exposure.

Therefore, it is possible that the original may be damaged, and an optical system is required to image the light reflected from the original onto the photosensitive sheet.
This led to new problems such as the increased size of the equipment, and it was not a permanent solution.

The present invention was made with the aim of realizing multicolor copying that does not require the creation of an intermediate film by taking advantage of the transmitted light method.

Structure of the Invention The structure of the present invention intended to achieve the above object will be explained.

[Means for Solving Problem E] As a means for solving the problem, the transmitted light type multicolor copying apparatus of the present invention includes components corresponding to at least two or more colors for each color, and is sensitive to light. an exposure means for bringing a copy original into close contact with a sheet carrying microcapsules whose surface has a mechanical breaking strength that changes through the exposure means, and exposing the sheet to light transmitted through the original; A developing means was provided for destroying the microcapsules having lower breaking strength, causing the components to react, and developing an image in the colors.

[Function] The transmitted light type multicolor copying apparatus of the present invention uses a so-called photosensitive pressure-sensitive sheet carrying microcapsules on the surface of which are encapsulated components corresponding to at least two or more colors. The original to be copied is copied through a developing process by the developing means. Exposure to the photosensitive pressure sensitive sheet is
The mechanical breaking strength of the microcapsules on the sheet corresponding to the light that passes through the copy original without being obstructed by the image on the copy document is as follows: Change. The microcapsules on the exposed sheet having weaker mechanical strength are destroyed by the developing means. As a result,
At least two components corresponding to at least two colors individually encapsulated in the microcapsules react with a color developer or emulsifier, and a multicolored image corresponding to the image on the copy document is revealed.

Here, the microcapsules supported on the sheet may be those whose breaking strength becomes high when sensitive to light (photo-curing type), or those whose breaking strength becomes low after being sensitive to light (photo-softening type). The appearance of the image may be achieved by a reaction in which components within the microcapsule react with other components to develop a color, or by a decoloring reaction. The ingredients in Haku that react with the ingredients in the microcapsules are
It may be diffused or supported in advance on the surface of the same sheet, or it may be prepared on separate color developing sheets and the two sheets may be brought into close contact with each other under pressure to cause the reaction. When using a developer sheet, the image can be reversed, so when the copy original is brought into close contact with the exposure sheet, the side of the original where the image exists can be brought into close contact with the sheet, facing the sheet. Shorter exposure time.

This is advantageous in improving the quality of copied images.

[Example] In order to further clarify the structure and operation of the present invention described above, a preferred embodiment of the transmitted light type multicolor copying apparatus of the present invention will be described next. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the schematic structure of this transmitted light type multicolor copying apparatus. In addition, in the same figure,
The casing of the transmitted-light multicolor copying device is omitted, and only the main parts are shown.

As shown in the figure, the transmitted light type multicolor copying apparatus of this embodiment is as follows:
Three sets of conveyors 0- for conveying multicolor originals 1 such as color photographs
La 3a, 3b, 5a, 5b, 7a.

7b, conveys the original 1 to be copied from the original insertion slot (not shown) to the copying stage 10 via the transmittance detection sensor 8, and after copying, further transports the original 1 from the copying stage 10 to the original ejection port. It has a configuration that The transmittance detection sensor 8 is composed of an upper unit 8C including a condensing mirror 8a and a fluorescent lamp 8b, and a lower unit 8e including a photodiode array 8d arranged in a row across the width of the document 1. When the document 1 is conveyed between the upper unit 8c and the lower unit 8e, its transmittance is detected.

Paper feed rollers 16 and 17 that feed the photosensitive and pressure sensitive paper 15 are provided before and after the copying stage 10 on which the original 1 is fed. Photosensitive and pressure sensitive paper 1 rolled up in advance
5 is a paper feed roller 16.5 along the conveyance path of the original m1. Copying stage 10. A paper feed roller 17 and a set of pressure rollers 20a.

20b, and via these, the winding roller 2
It is wound up into 2. Therefore, the photosensitive and pressure sensitive paper 15 is brought into close contact with the copying stage 10, and the original 1 is further conveyed on top of the photosensitive pressure sensitive paper 15. A static electricity generator (not shown) is connected to the copying stage 10, and the original 1 is brought into close contact with and fixed onto the photosensitive pressure sensitive paper 15 during copying.

The photosensitive pressure sensitive paper 15 has microcapsules formed by enclosing a photocurable resin as a photocurable physical substance, a photopolymerization initiator, a dye precursor, etc. on its surface. This microcapsule is sensitive to different wavelengths of light (450 [nm1°550 [nml, 650
There are three types depending on [near nml), and the encapsulated dye precursors are also different. Various dye precursors are known.
98. Special Publication Showa 49-103710. Tokuko Sho 49-592
9. Japanese Patent Publication No. 54-111528. Tokuko Sho 45-1403
9, Japanese Patent Publication No. 46-16052, etc.

One of the microcapsules supported on the photosensitive and pressure sensitive paper 15 encapsulates a dye precursor that reacts with a color developer on a color developer sheet 25 to be described later to develop a yellow color. Acryloylamide,
triacryloylamide, etc., and photopolymerization initiators such as 2, 2, 5, known as campf-7-quinone;
5-tetramethyltetrahydro-3,4-furandione, parabanic acid (imidazoletrione), etc., respectively. These microcapsules have a polymerization reaction peak around a wavelength of 450 [n1ll] (see Figure 2), and when irradiated with such light for a predetermined period of time, they polymerize and harden (hereinafter, these microcapsules are referred to as yellow microcapsules). ). On the other hand, the color developing sheet 25
Dye precursors (e.g. fluoranes) that produce magenta coloration on top.

Microcapsules enclosing indolyl phthalide-based substances, rhodamine lactam-based substances, etc.) are made by using, for example, glycidyl methacrylate containing polyvinylpyrrolidone as a photocurable resin and a substance having the structure shown below as a photopolymerization initiator. It is formed.

These microcapsules have a polymerization reaction peak around a wavelength of 550 nm (see Figure 2), and are polymerized and hardened by irradiation with such light (hereinafter, these microcapsules are referred to as Mabinta microcapsules). Furthermore, microcapsules enclosing a dye precursor (such as triphenylmethane-phthalide, spiropyran, or triphenylmethane) that prevents cyan coloring on the color developing sheet 25 may be used as a photocurable resin, for example. It is formed using bisphenol-A-diglyside ether containing polyvinylpyrrolidone and a substance having the structure shown below as a photopolymerization initiator.

These microcapsules have a polymerization reaction peak around a wavelength of 650 [nm] (see Figure 2), and are polymerized and hardened by irradiation with such light (hereinafter, these microcapsules will be referred to as cyan microcapsules).

The coacervation method is used to produce such microcapsules in a form in which the dye precursor, photocurable substance, etc. described above are stored therein.

Interfacial polymerization methods and the like are known.

A light box 32 containing a xenon lamp 30 for exposure is disposed above the copying stage 10 on which the photosensitive pressure sensitive paper 15 having the above structure and the original 1 to be copied are conveyed and placed. The white light (covering wavelengths from 400 nm to 700 nm) emitted by the lamp 30 is separated into red, green, or blue light by a color separation filter 35, and then irradiated onto the original 1 to be copied. do. In addition, in addition to the xenon lamp 30, as a lamp for the light source,
A halogen lamp, a tungsten lamp, etc. may also be used. The light box 32 has a concave mirror inside and efficiently guides the light from the lamp 30 to the filter 35. The filter 35 is divided into three equal parts for each color, and its light transmittance is equal to that of the third
As shown in the figure, 450 [nml (blue), 550
It has peaks at [nml (green) and 650 [nml (red)].

The color developing sheet 25 is wound around a feed roller 40, and a mechanism (not shown) moves the photosensitive and pressure sensitive paper 1 after exposure.
It is fed out in synchronization with the conveyance of step 5.

An electric cutter 41 is disposed on the conveyance path of the color developer sheet 25, and cuts the color developer sheet 25 into appropriate lengths.

The cut color developing sheet 25 is placed on pressure rollers 20a and 20b.
It is sent to the copy output port via a feeding mechanism (not particularly shown).

The copying procedure in the transmitted light type multicolor copying apparatus of this embodiment configured as described above will be described next.

(1) Using a printed color photograph as manuscript 1,
When the document 1 is inserted through the document insertion slot, the document 1 passes through the transmittance detection sensor 8 and is then conveyed to the copying stage 10 by the conveyance rollers 3.

(2) Document 1 detected by transmittance detection sensor 8
The exposure time Tb is determined based on the transmittance of a region with the highest transmittance (a region where it is recognized that no image exists). In addition, from the transmittance of white light, red, green,
The transmittance of each color of blue may be estimated, or the transmittance may be estimated for each color by dividing it into three colors, red, green, and blue, using a filter similar to the filter 35.

(3) The original 1 conveyed to the copying stage 10 is brought into close contact with the copying stage together with the photosensitive and pressure-sensitive paper 15 due to static electricity, and is exposed to light. This situation is schematically shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the document 1 is arranged so that the surface on which the image is written faces the photosensitive pressure-sensitive paper 15.

Exposure is performed in the following steps.

(a) Rotate the filter 35 and place the red part directly below the xenon lamp 30 (Q). When the xenon lamp 30 is turned on in this state, only red light passes through the filter 35 and is irradiated onto the original 1. .Original 1, which is a color photograph printed on paper, has a transmittance of several percent, so
A portion of the emitted red light is transmitted through it, but other parts of the multicolored image are absorbed and blocked. Therefore,
The light passes through only the red portion of the original 1 and reaches the photosensitive pressure sensitive paper 15. As a result, among the microcapsules existing in the area through which the red light was transmitted, those with a photopolymerization peak at about 650 [nml], that is, cyan microcapsules, harden through photopolymerization and have a high mechanical breaking strength. Become. In this example, the exposure time T determined from the transmittance
b happened in about 7 seconds.

(b) Next, rotate the filter 35 to select the green part and expose it to green light for about 3 seconds.

As a result, only the magenta microcapsules on the photosensitive pressure sensitive paper 15 directly below the green portion of the original 1 are hardened.

(C) Furthermore, the blue portion is selected by rotating the filter 35 and similarly exposed for about 3 seconds to harden the yellow microcapsules. In addition, the reason why the exposure time is short at about 3 seconds in the case of green light and blue light is that due to the difference in composition, photopolymerization and curing are carried out in a short time. It may be determined as appropriate depending on the combination.

FIG. 5 schematically shows the exposure to red, green, and blue three colors and the hardening of the microcapsules. During the three exposures, the original 1 is attached to the photosensitive pressure-sensitive paper 15 due to static electricity. It is tightly attached and will not shift. The upper column of FIG. 5 shows, from the left, exposure to red light, green light, and blue light, and microcapsules that are cured by this exposure.
The lower column shows the state of hardening of the microcapsules at the end of the entire exposure. In the figure, the microcapsules before hardening are ■, (
81), indicated as 0, and cured microcapsules are indicated with white letters.

(4) When the exposure is completed in this way, the photosensitive pressure sensitive paper 15 is wound up by the winding roller 22. At this time, the original 1 is also conveyed while being attached to the photosensitive and pressure sensitive paper 15, but the photosensitive and pressure sensitive paper 15 passes through the paper feed roller 17 and then passes through the pressure rollers 20a and 2O.
When the direction changes to the b side, it separates due to its own rigidity. Therefore, the document 1 advances in the direction of the conveyance rollers 5a, 5b, and is sent to a document discharge port (not shown) by the conveyance rollers 5a, 5b, 7a, 7b.

On the other hand, at the same time that the photosensitive and pressure sensitive paper 15 starts to be wound up, the color developer sheet 25 starts to be fed out and is sent to the pressure rollers 20a and 20b via the cutter 41. As a result, the photosensitive pressure sensitive paper 15 and the color developer sheet 25 are brought into close contact with each other and are pressed by the pressure rollers 20a and 20b. By applying pressure, the uncured microcapsules (capsules shown as ■, ■, and O in FIG. 5) on the photosensitive and pressure sensitive paper 15 are destroyed, and the dye precursor encapsulated inside them is leached out. The color developer applied to the surface of the color developer sheet 25 reacts with the dye precursors of each color leached from the microcapsules to develop the color, and a color image is developed on the color developer sheet 25.
(See Figure 5).

When the developing sheet 25 has been fed out to an appropriate length, the cutter 41 is driven to cut it. The cut developer sheet 25 is conveyed to a copy paper outlet by a conveyance roller (not shown) or the like.

According to the transmitted light type multicolor copying apparatus of this embodiment configured as described above, the image of the original document 1 can be directly copied using transmitted light without once forming it on a transparent intermediate sheet. In addition, there is no need for a special optical system for forming an image on the photosensitive pressure sensitive paper 15, and the configuration can be simplified to achieve miniaturization and high reliability of the apparatus. In addition, the transmitted light type multicolor copying apparatus of this embodiment measures the light transmittance of the original 1 and changes the exposure time accordingly, so that clear color copies can be made regardless of whether the paper is thin or thick. can be done.

In this embodiment, the surface of the original 1 on which the image is formed is faced and brought into close contact with the photosensitive pressure sensitive paper 15, and the microcapsules are cured as a mirror image (inverted image) on the photosensitive pressure sensitive paper 15. Although a normal image is obtained by copying onto the color developer sheet 25, the original 1 may be placed upside down on the photosensitive pressure sensitive paper 15 and copied. At that time, if the color developer sheet 25 is used, a mirror image of the image on the original 1 can be obtained, and if the light and pressure sensitive paper 15 coated with a color developer is used together with microcapsules without using the color developer sheet 25, a normal image can be obtained. can.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The transmitted light type multicolor copying apparatus of the second embodiment is almost the same as that of the first embodiment except for the configuration of the light source.

As shown in FIG. 6, the light source of this transmitted light type multicolor copying apparatus is equipped with four halogen lamps 50, 51, 52, 53, and the distance to the copying stage 10 on which the original 1 is placed is as follows: It is shorter than that of the first embodiment. Therefore, the seventh
As shown in the figure, the image on the photosensitive pressure sensitive paper 15 side of the original 1 is copied onto the photosensitive pressure sensitive paper 15 using the lamps 50 to 53 as light sources. At this time, even if characters, etc. are written on the opposite side (back side), the characters, etc. on the back side are not copied because the incident angles of the light irradiated onto the document by the plurality of lamps 50 to 53 are different from each other. Therefore, according to this embodiment, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, it is possible to copy only one side of a document with images written on both sides using transmitted light, and to achieve usability equivalent to that of the reflective type. I can do it.

Several embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but
The present invention is not limited to these embodiments in any way; for example, a structure using a photosensitive and pressure sensitive paper supporting microcapsules that softens in response to light, and a structure using a photosensitive and pressure sensitive paper that supports each color of microcapsules, The invention may be carried out in various ways without departing from the gist of the invention, such as a configuration in which copying is performed by a single exposure without using a color separation filter using a light source with wavelength characteristics that match the sensitivity of the photopolymerization reaction of the capsule. Of course you can.

Effects of the Invention As detailed above, the transmitted light type multicolor copying apparatus of the present invention has an excellent effect of being able to perform multicolor copying of an original with an extremely simple configuration. Therefore, there are advantages in that the copying apparatus can be made smaller and more reliable, and the original document will not be damaged. Furthermore, since there is no need to produce an intermediate film, the time and effort required for copying can be reduced, and running costs can also be reduced.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a transmitted light type multicolor copying apparatus as an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a graph showing the photosensitive characteristics of photosensitive pressure sensitive paper, and Fig. 3 shows the transmittance of a filter. Graph, FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the state of exposure, FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the state of curing of microcapsules by exposure of each color, and FIG. 6 is a transmitted light method according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the main parts of the multicolor copying apparatus, and FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing the state of exposure. 1... Documents 3a, 3b, 5a, 5b, 7a, 7b... Conveyance roller 8... Transmittance detection sensor 10... Copying stage 15... Photosensitive and pressure sensitive paper 20a, 20b... Pressure roller 25... Color developer sheet 30... Xenon lamp 35... Filter

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A copy original is brought into close contact with a sheet carrying microcapsules on the surface of which are encapsulated with at least two or more components corresponding to each color and whose mechanical breaking strength changes in response to light,
an exposure means for exposing the sheet to light that has passed through the original, and destroying the microcapsules on the exposed sheet that have a lower mechanical breaking strength, causing the components to react and revealing an image with the colors. A transmitted-light type multicolor copying device equipped with a developing means. 2. The exposure device according to claim 1, wherein the exposure device includes a transmitted light amount detection device that detects the transmitted light amount of the document, and an exposure time adjustment device that adjusts the exposure time according to the detected transmitted light amount. Optical multicolor copying device.