JPS58223242A - Recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain the captioned device of low cost and small size, by constituting the captioned device with phosphor which forms a luminous dot pattern in array, a scan recording element having a cathode filament which is stretched toward the main scanning direction, and an imaging element which projects images on the recording medium by using the luminous pattern as the imaging light. CONSTITUTION:An electrode array 6 is installed on the substrate glass of a scan recording element 1 whose both end opening parts are hermetically sealed by side plates. Also, a transparent electrode array 6 whose electrodes are transparent electrodes is formed in such configuration that single minute strip-like transparent electrodes 6a, 6b are alternately arranged in array at equal intervals toward the main scanning direction. On the other hand, phosphor members 7a are formed in such configuration that, for instance, those members having the shape of a square minute block are arranged toward the main scanning direction. These phosphor elements 7a are film-formed dispersedly in form of an array of dot in accordance with the luminous dot pattern. A desired information image can be recorded on the recording medium by imaging the pattern on the imaging medium in such a luminous pattern through the imaging element.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a recording apparatus that records an image on a recording medium using a light emission pattern of a phosphor.

In the field of printers, various types of printers are known as photo printers, such as laser printers, OFT printers, LED printers, and optical printers. Among these printers, laser printers require a movable mechanism such as a high-speed rotation mechanism for polygons, etc., and therefore have the disadvantage that the scanning optical system is complicated.

Furthermore, in an 0FT (optical fiber tube) printer, it is necessary to avoid increasing the size of the device and to accurately manage the minute gap between the recording surface and the end face of the fiber tip. Furthermore, in LED printers, it is necessary to connect a large number of LED chips in one direction or to arrange them in a staggered manner, making the LED light emitting elements themselves expensive and causing uneven light emission distribution. It has the disadvantage of being uniform. Unfortunately, in optical shutter array printers, for example, P is used as a crystal device.
When LZT or the like is used, it has the same drawbacks as described in the section regarding LED printers.

The present invention eliminates the drawbacks of the above-mentioned conventional examples and provides a low-cost
The purpose of the present invention is to provide a novel recording device that can be made extremely compact.3 The recording device of the present invention will be described below with reference to the illustrated embodiments. This recording device includes a recording medium, In order to record an information image on this recording medium, it is equipped with a scanning recording element that forms a light emitting pattern in the main scanning direction, and an imaging element that forms an image of the light emitting pattern as imaging light onto the recording medium. First, the scanning recording element will be explained below.

Incidentally, it is already well known that fluorescent display tubes are used for displays, but the present invention uses a fluorescent display mechanism as an optical information output device for photo printers. This is developed into an element, and this is used as a basic configuration to be applied to the target recording device.

1 shows a plan view of a scanning recording element included in this recording apparatus, FIG. 2 shows an enlarged view thereof, FIG. 3 shows an enlarged side sectional view of the scanning recording element, and FIG. - respectively show a perspective view of the scanning recording element.

3 and 4, the scanning recording element 1 is provided with an electrode array 6 on a substrate glass 3 and then with a phosphor 7.
．． Grid electrode8. The cathode filaments 9 are provided facing the face glass 4 in this order, and are housed in an inner seal formed by the substrate glass 3 and the face glass 4. In the scanning recording element shown in FIG. 4, the openings at both ends are closed by side plates (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 2, the transparent electrode array 6 in which the electrodes are transparent electrodes has a single minute strip-shaped transparent electrode 6a, 6b.
are arranged alternately in an array at equal intervals in the main scanning direction A. The phosphor 7 is adjacent to the transparent electrode array 6, has a very small width, and has the shape of a narrow strip in the main scanning direction.

On the other hand, in the example shown in FIG. 5, the phosphors are, for example, square minute blocks arranged in an array in the main scanning direction, as indicated by the reference numeral 7a. The phosphor 7a is formed into a dot-shaped film corresponding to a light-emitting dot pattern to be described later. Such a phosphor can be manufactured by photolithography and etching using IC pattern technology. The phosphor in this example has the same width as the transparent electrodes 6cL and 6b, and is deposited on top of the transparent electrodes. In this example, the phosphor blocks emit light individually, but in the case of the phosphor 7 shown in FIG. Light is emitted in a minute area where the phosphor 7 (width in the direction perpendicular to the scanning direction A) overlaps.

From the substrate glass 3 of the scanning recording element 1 configured in this way, it is possible to take out a light emitting dot pattern in the main scanning direction by the phosphor, and with this light emitting pattern, it is directed onto the recording medium via the imaging element. By imaging the light emission pattern, a desired information image can be recorded on the recording medium.

In this case, the moving direction of the recording medium is the sub-scanning direction B which is perpendicular to the main-scanning direction A in FIG. Note that details regarding this will be described later.

7 and 8 show an example of the configuration of a driver circuit for controlling light emission of the main scanning recording element. In the example shown in FIG. 7, the grid electrode 8 is divided into a plurality of parts,
By controlling the voltage applied to the divided grid and the transparent electrode corresponding to each light emitting dot by the driver 12.1.3, a light emitting pattern is sequentially obtained for each divided grid. For example, Gn
If you want the i-th dot in the area to emit light,
It is sufficient to apply a positive potential to Gi and Φt, respectively. In this way, in this example, light emission is controlled by a combination of dynamic pulses on the divided grid electrodes and driving of individual electrodes.

In the example shown in FIG. 8, a voltage is applied directly between the cathode filament 9 and the anode transparent electrode array 6 without using a grid electrode to control the light emission of the scanning recording element. be. In this case, a voltage is applied to each transparent electrode, or the driver circuit 1.4.15. is divided into multiple cylinders as shown in the figure. ]6, voltage is applied to each transparent electrode in the divided block 1σ.Now, in the light emission control system of such a scanning recording element,
The generation of information light for scanning recording, that is, the light emission of the phosphor, is carried out as follows. First, the electrons ejected from the cathode usually head toward the negatively charged grid or the anode, and do not reach the phosphor located between the grid and the anode, but instead reach the phosphor that corresponds to a specific dot. When a predetermined potential is applied to the electrode by a voltage application control system that looks like a chain, electrons from the cathode fly toward the anode, causing a small phosphor region located in the middle of the flight. is selectively excited and emits light. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, if the phosphor is formed of a doyl-pattern itself as shown by reference numeral 7a, the pattern will not cause blurring (blurring) to the periphery. Therefore, a clear light emission pattern can be obtained, there is little crosstalk to adjacent dots, and the contrast of the light emission pattern can be increased.

On the other hand, in the case of the phosphor 7 shown in FIG. 2, it is extremely easy to manufacture the device because it is sufficient to attach a small continuous band-shaped phosphor to the electrode array. However, in this example, the light-emitting dots are blurred in the main scanning direction (
In order to further reduce the blurring, the electrode width W is set to be somewhat small compared to the pinch between dots. For example, 100
Assuming a light emitting dot of .mu.m, the electrode width W is about 40 .mu.m.

With such a setting configuration, it is possible to compensate for the high contrast of the light emitting dot pattern.

By the way, regarding the extraction of the light emitting pattern, we have just described a configuration in which this is done from the substrate glass 3 side, but it is also possible to do it from the cathode filament 9 side, and in this case, the display The configuration is similar to that for display.

FIG. 6 shows an example of an 8-way type scanning recording element in which a light emitting pattern is extracted from the side of the face glass 1, that is, from the side of the cathode filament 9. 17 is a substrate glass; it is parallel to 3 and has a smooth surface similarly to this. The internal structure of this scanning recording element is exactly the same as that shown in FIG.

According to this scanning recording element, a light emitting pattern can be taken out from the cathode fiber/1/9 side, and in this example, an opaque ordinary metal electrode is used instead of the transparent electrode used in the previous example. It is used.

In the scanning recording element of this example, there is no problem even if the electrodes are transparent electrodes, and in this case, the light emitting pattern can be taken out from both sides of the scanning recording element 2. Note that the driver control system shown in FIG. 7 or 8 is also used with this scanning recording element. It's Kade.
As for the method of the phosphor, either the method shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. 5 is applied.

By the way, as in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 and 8,
When scanning and recording one line by J: in divided driving, the light emission time per dot can be set to be multiplied by the number of divisions, so that the load on light emission brightness can be reduced accordingly. Furthermore, if each divided block is caused to emit light for the same time (pulse time), the scanning recording time for one line becomes 1/1 of the number of divisions, thereby making it possible to speed up the recording. This means that C
It is possible to achieve a high-speed recording function that cannot be achieved with the RT line recording method.

9 to 12 show examples of a printing apparatus using the above-mentioned scanning recording element, and the printing apparatus shown in FIG. 9 uses the type shown in FIG. 6 as the scanning recording element. A roof mirror lens array 18 is used as the imaging element.
It uses Further, a recording medium and a drum-shaped photoreceptor 19 are used.

In the recording apparatus configured in this way, the light emission pattern from the scanning recording element 2 is reflected by the roof mirror lens array 18.
A desired information image is recorded on the photoreceptor by forming an image on the surface of the photoreceptor 19 via the photoreceptor. In this case, the photoreceptor 19 rotates in the sub-scanning direction (indicated by the symbol B) orthogonal to the above-described main scanning direction. The printing apparatus shown in FIG. 10 uses the type shown in FIG. 3 as a scanning printing element. The recording apparatus shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 uses a convergent light transmitting array 21 as an imaging element by changing the type of scanning recording element.

Note that when a roof mirror lens array is used as an imaging element, there is less chromatic aberration than a converging light transmitting element array, so there is an advantage that the wide spectral range of the phosphor can be used as is. Since the roof mirror lens array has a deep depth of focus, it has the advantage of widening the positioning tolerance on the imaging plane of the recording medium, making it possible to obtain a good recorded image. In addition, a porroprism lens array described in Japanese Patent Application No. 184845/1984 previously filed by the applicant may be used as the imaging element.

Note that the imaging element and the recording medium are not limited to the eleventh embodiment described above, and may be replaced with other ones as long as they achieve the same function. In addition, in the above-mentioned recording device, the scanning recording element is fixed,
Although the recording medium is moved, it is also possible to fix the recording medium and move the scanning recording element. Note that this scanning recording element can also be applied to a display tube type one.

By the way, as understood from the above explanation, the recording device of the present invention is characterized by the use of a fluorescent display element, and the various effects of using such an element can be summarized as follows. It will be like that.

1) Since it is a complete solid-state scanning recording method, it does not require a movable mechanism such as a polygon used in a laser printer.

2) Compared to laser printers, the scanning optical system requires a simpler configuration, so the device itself can be made smaller and lighter.

3) Unlike when using a crystal device such as an LED array, there is no need to connect each chip, and the scanning element can be integrated into a long length.

4) By using the divided simultaneous drive method for the drive circuit, the light emitting time (exposure time) of a single dot can be set longer than that of the pre-CR recording method that performs raster scanning, and the light emitting brightness can be set longer. The burden can be further reduced. If each divided block is made to emit light for the same amount of time, the scanning time for one line can be reduced to 1 outside of the plurality of divisions, making high-speed scanning possible.

5) Since the light emitting efficiency is superior to that of LEDs, power consumption can be reduced, and the amount of heat generated is extremely small.

6) Normal illumination light sources such as fluorescent tubes are used in optical shutter array printers, and there are problems with their service life.
According to the present scanning recording element, such problems can be eliminated and a so-called maintenance-free function can be achieved.

In addition, various effects of each embodiment are as follows.

1) In the phosphor configuration shown in Fig. 5, the phosphor itself has the size of a light-emitting dont, so the pattern of one dont can be well regulated into a desired shape, and the pattern of one dont can be well controlled to the desired shape, and the phosphor itself can be shaped into a desired shape. It is possible to significantly reduce crosstalk.

Therefore, it is not necessary to make each electrode +iJ extremely small for this arrangement pinch.

2) In the phosphor configuration shown in FIG. 2, the width of the light emitting dot in the direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction can be regulated by the phosphor itself, so that, for example, the width of the light emitting dot in the direction perpendicular to the main scanning direction can be There is no need for a light-shielding member such as a medium-sized slit opening in the scanning direction, and patterns can be easily produced.

3) By using a transparent electrode as the electrode of the scanning recording element,
The light emitting pattern can be taken out from the substrate glass side,
In this case, there is no fear that the luminous flux will be vignetted or fluctuated by the cathode filament, the grind electrode, the face glass, etc., and the luminous flux can be efficiently guided to the outside.

4) The scanning recording element is configured as shown in FIG. 6, and the light emitting pattern is taken out from the smooth face glass 17 side by 1! In the configuration for normal display, the phosphor 7
The luminous flux from the surface of the phosphor, that is, the luminous flux from the surface of the phosphor that is hit by electrons, is directly used, and the light utilization efficiency can be further improved.

5) Regarding the spectral energy characteristics of the phosphor,
Various types are available over a wide range and therefore have good compatibility with the spectral sensitivity of the recording medium.

As described above, since the recording apparatus of the present invention uses an inexpensive, extremely compact, and long integrated scanning recording element having a self-luminous function, it is possible to make the recording apparatus itself extremely small in size, and it also achieves low cost. In addition, it is possible to achieve a function of reducing power consumption, and there is no need for a light-shielding member to restrict the shape of the light-emitting dots, and a high-contrast light-emitting pattern can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

=15- FIG. 1 is a plan view of a scanning recording element included in the recording apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the same scanning recording element, and FIG.
The figure is an enlarged side sectional view of the above scanning recording element, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the above scanning recording element, FIG. 5 is an enlarged plan view of the scanning recording element using another phosphor configuration, and FIG. 6 is an enlarged side cross-sectional view of another example of the scanning recording element, FIGS. 7 and 8 are diagrams each showing an example of a driver circuit for controlling the scanning recording element, and FIGS. 9 to 12 are diagrams showing the recording device of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the apparatus for each embodiment. 1.2 - Scanning recording element, 3... Substrate glass, 4
・Face glass, 6... Electrode array, 6a, 6
b Electrode, 7, 7a... Fluorescent material, 9... Cathode filament, 18... Roof mirror lens array as an imaging element, 19-... Photoreceptor as a recording medium, 21
Focusing light transmitter array as an imaging element. 16- Figure 12

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A recording medium, a scanning recording element that forms a light emitting pattern in the main scanning direction to record an information image on the recording medium,
A recording device comprising an imaging element that forms an image on a recording medium using a light emitting pattern as imaging light, the scanning recording element comprising:
An electrode array in which single minute electrodes are arranged in an array in the main scanning direction, a phosphor adjacent to the electrode array and forming a light emitting dot pattern in an array in the main scanning direction, and a phosphor arranged in an array in the main scanning direction. and a cathode filament, these are
A scanning recording element is provided in an inner seal formed by a smooth substrate glass and a face glass covering the substrate glass, from the substrate glass to the glass substrate, and includes an electrode array. A recording device that uses a driver circuit to drive each electrode to obtain optical information output corresponding to an electrical signal. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the scanning recording element uses a transparent electrode array as an electrode layer, and the light emitting pattern is extracted from the substrate glass side. 3. The scanning recording element uses a metal electrode array as the electrode array and a face glass made smooth like the substrate glass, and the light emitting pattern is extracted from the face glass side. Recording device as described in section. 4. The recording device according to claim 1, wherein the phosphor is in the form of an elongated strip in the main scanning direction. 5. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the phosphors are minute block-shaped objects corresponding to light-emitting dots arranged in an array in the main scanning direction. 6. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the imaging element is a roof mirror lens array. 7. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the imaging element is a porroprism lens array. 8. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the imaging element is a convergent light transmission body array.