JP2599046B2 - Cylindrical inner surface scanning type image recording device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cylindrical inner surface scanning type image recording apparatus for recording an image by scanning a recording medium, for example, a photosensitive material, held on the inner surface of a cylindrical member by a light beam.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a cylindrical inner surface scanning type image recording apparatus includes a drum for holding a photosensitive material on the inner surface, and irradiates a modulated light beam emitted from a laser light source toward the inner surface of the drum with an optical deflector. In addition, there has been known an apparatus in which the light deflector is rotated about the center axis of the drum to scan the photosensitive material held on the inner surface of the drum.

As an optical deflector used in such a cylindrical inner surface scanning type image recording apparatus, for example, a reflection mirror inclined at 45 degrees (hereinafter referred to as an inclined mirror) is used. That is, the modulated light beam is reflected perpendicularly to the incident direction by the inclined mirror and sent to the photosensitive material on the inner surface of the drum, and the inclined mirror is rotated around the center axis of the drum. Thus, the photosensitive material held on the inner surface of the drum is scanned.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-158580 discloses a cylindrical inner surface scanning type image recording apparatus which uses a pentaprism instead of an inclined mirror in order to correct the surface tilt caused by the inclined mirror. .

[0005]

By the way, in such a conventional cylindrical inner surface scanning type image recording apparatus, scanning is performed by using a plurality of light beams, so that an image is compared with the case of using one light beam. Attempts have been made to improve the recording speed.

However, in the above-described cylindrical inner surface scanning type image recording apparatus, as shown in FIG. 9, when a plurality of light beams A2, A3 and A4 are incident on the inclined mirror A1 in parallel, the reflected light is reflected by the inclined mirror A1. A phenomenon occurs in which the spot array on the inner surface of the drum A5 to be irradiated is changed at the rotation angle position of the tilt mirror A1. That is, the arrangement of the spots of the respective light beams constituting the spot row changes, and the arrangement order of the respective spots is changed to the order of the light beams A2, A3, A
4, the light beams A4, A3, and A2 are inverted. For this reason, the scanning lines formed by the plurality of light beams formed on the photosensitive material on the inner surface of the drum do not take a path maintaining a constant interval from each other, and therefore, it is impossible to perform image recording using the plurality of light beams. There was a problem. This problem also occurs when a pentaprism is used instead of the tilt mirror A1.

[0007] The cylindrical inner surface scanning type image recording apparatus of the present invention comprises:
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to eliminate the change in spot arrangement on the inner surface of a drum due to a plurality of light beams during scanning, thereby enabling image recording with a plurality of light beams.

[0008]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve such an object, the following structure is adopted as means for solving the above problems.

That is, the cylindrical inner surface scanning type image recording apparatus of the present invention scans the inner surface of a cylindrical member with a light beam, thereby exposing a recording medium provided on the inner surface to record an image. An image recording apparatus, wherein light beam output means for outputting a plurality of light beams toward the inside of the cylindrical member in a direction parallel to and away from the central axis of the cylindrical member; A light beam that is provided rotatably about the center axis of the cylindrical member as a rotation axis, and that rotates the paths of the plurality of light beams output from the light beam output means about the rotation axis in accordance with the rotation angle position; Rotating means, provided inside the cylindrical member, provided with a reflective surface having rotational symmetry about the central axis of the cylindrical member, with the reflective surface, a plurality of output from the light beam rotating means Light beam A folding mirror for changing the row direction to a direction toward the inner surface of the cylindrical member, and the light beam rotating unit is rotated with respect to the rotation axis to scan the recording medium on the inner surface of the cylindrical member with the light beam from the folding mirror. And scanning means for performing the scanning.

Here, the reflection surface having rotational symmetry in the folding mirror means an axis of symmetry (coincident with the central axis of the cylindrical member).
Means a reflection surface formed by rotating a predetermined line segment at a predetermined angle about the axis of symmetry, and a reflection surface formed by rotating the line segment 360 degrees around the axis of symmetry, of course. Alternatively, the reflection surface may be formed by being rotated by a predetermined angle smaller than 360 degrees, for example, 180 degrees around the axis of symmetry.

The plurality of light beams output from the light beam rotating means take a course of rotation about a rotation axis in accordance with the rotation angle position of the light beam rotating means. Not only those traveling in the direction parallel to the central axis of the cylindrical member but also those traveling in parallel to each other in a direction different from the central axis of the cylindrical member.

The light beam rotating means is provided on a rotation axis, and reflects a plurality of light beams output from the light beam output means in a first direction different from the direction of the rotation axis. A second reflecting surface provided at a position distant from the rotation axis and reflecting a plurality of light beams from the first reflection surface in a second direction different from the first direction; A third reflecting surface provided on the upper surface and reflecting a plurality of light beams from the second reflecting surface in a direction parallel to the rotation axis may be provided.

[0013] Further, the light beam rotating means is provided on the rotation axis, and refracts the plurality of light beams output from the light beam output means in a first direction different from the direction of the rotation axis; A reflection surface that is provided at a position away from the rotation axis and reflects a plurality of light beams from the incident surface in a second direction different from the first direction, and is provided on the rotation axis;
The prism may be provided with an emission surface that refracts a plurality of light beams from the reflection surface in a direction parallel to the rotation axis.

[0014]

The cylindrical inner surface scanning type image recording apparatus according to the present invention having the above-described configuration is capable of transmitting a plurality of light beams in a direction parallel to and away from the central axis of the cylindrical member. The output means outputs the light toward the inside of the cylindrical member, and the scanning means rotates the light beam rotating means about its rotation axis. In this way, the paths of the plurality of light beams output from the light beam output means are rotated about the rotation axis by the light beam rotating means according to the rotation angle position. Next, the traveling direction of the plurality of light beams output from the light beam rotating means is changed to a direction toward the inner surface of the cylindrical member by a folding mirror with a reflecting surface having rotational symmetry about the central axis of the cylindrical member. . By such a series of operations, the recording medium on the inner surface of the cylindrical member is scanned by the light beam from the folding mirror.

Therefore, when the light beam rotating means rotates with respect to the rotation axis, the plurality of light beams output from the light beam rotating means travel on the reflecting surface of the turning mirror so that a spot array of the light beams is cylindrical. Irradiation is performed so as to rotate about the central axis of the member. Moreover, since the reflecting surface has rotational symmetry about the central axis, the arrangement of the spots of the light beams on the inner surface of the cylindrical member does not change depending on the scanning position.

[0016]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In order to further clarify the structure and operation of the present invention described above, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a main part of a cylindrical inner surface scanning type image recording apparatus as a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing the inside of a drum of the cylindrical inner surface scanning type image recording apparatus, FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 2, and FIG. It is a schematic structure figure shown with the structure of a system.

As shown in these figures, a cylindrical inner surface scanning type image recording apparatus 1 includes a drum 5 having a cylindrical shape and holding a photosensitive material 3 on the inner surface, an optical system 7 arranged inside the drum 5, and an optical system 7. A light beam output unit 9 serving as a light beam output unit for sending a light beam to the system 7; and a reciprocating movement of the optical system 7 in a traveling direction of the light beam, that is, in the direction of the central axis AX of the drum 5 (y direction in the figure). Mechanism 10 (FIGS. 2 and 4).

The light beam output unit 9 includes a laser light source 11, a beam splitter 12, first to third modulators 13 to 15,
And the first to third reflecting mirrors 16 to 18 and operate as follows. The laser light source 1
Reference numeral 1 denotes, for example, an argon laser, a helium neon laser, a semiconductor laser, or the like. Also, the light beam output unit 9
May have a configuration in which three units each including a semiconductor laser and a collimator lens are provided, and the semiconductor laser is directly driven for modulation.

First, a light beam emitted from a laser light source 11 is split into three light beams by a beam splitter 12, and first to third light beams B1, B2, and B3 parallel to each other are emitted from the beam splitter 12. . Next, the first light beam B1 is applied to the first modulator 13, the second light beam B2 is applied to the second modulator 14, and the third light beam B3 is applied to the third modulator 15.
The on / off control is performed according to the image to be recorded on the photosensitive material 3 on the inner surface of the drum. For example, photosensitive material 3
In the above, a light beam is turned on for a pixel to be recorded and exposure is performed, and a light beam is turned off for a pixel not to be recorded.

Thereafter, the first light beam B1 is reflected by the first reflecting mirror 16, and the second light beam B2 is reflected by the second reflecting mirror 17.
The third light beams B3 are respectively reflected by the third reflecting mirrors 18 and sent in the direction of the central axis AX of the drum 5. Thus, the first to third light beams B1 to B3 reflected by the first to third reflection mirrors 16 to 18 are parallel to the central axis AX of the drum 5 and are linearly outward in order from the central axis AX. Sent in a shifted direction.

The optical system 7 includes an imaging lens 21, a main scanning motor 22, an image rotator 23, and a folding mirror 24 arranged in order in the central axis AX direction of the drum 5.

The main scanning motor 22 has a rotor 31 on the outside.
(FIG. 2) is an outer rotor type motor in which the center of rotation of the rotor 31 is the center axis A of the drum 5.
It is arranged so as to coincide with X. Moreover, a through hole 32 is formed at the center of rotation of the main scanning motor 22, and light beams B 1 to B 3 output from the light beam output unit 9 and passing through the imaging lens 21 can pass through the through hole 32. It has a simple structure. In FIG. 2, only one light beam (third light beam B3) is shown and other light beams are omitted to avoid complicating the drawing.

The image rotator 23 receives the driving force of the main scanning motor 22, and receives the first to third light beams B1 to B1.
A device for rotating an image incident in the form of B3, which corresponds to a light beam rotating unit. More specifically, an angled member (angled member) 33 fixed near the center of an end surface 31y in the y direction of the rotor 31 of the main scanning motor 22 and a fixed outer surface of the end surface 31y opposed to the angled member 33. And two reflecting mirrors, that is, an incident-side reflecting mirror 35a and an emitting-side reflecting mirror 35b, are respectively disposed on both tapered portions corresponding to the slopes of the angled member 33. Further, one reflection mirror (intermediate reflection mirror) 35c is disposed inside the semicircular column 34. In addition,
The incident-side reflection mirror 35a, the emission-side reflection mirror 35b, and the intermediate reflection mirror 35c emit a virtual light beam on the central axis AX of the drum 5 as shown by a chain line in FIG. The arrangement positions of the reflection mirrors 35a, 35b, 35c are determined so that the reflection mirrors 35a, 35b, and 35c travel on the central axis AX of the drum 5 even after the reflection by the side reflection mirror 35b.

The folding mirror 24 forms a conical dent in a cylinder, and forms the surface of the dent with a light beam reflecting surface 24a.
This is a reflection mirror having rotational symmetry. The folding mirror 24 is disposed so that the center axis AX of the drum 5 and the symmetry axis thereof coincide with each other, and the reflection surface thereof faces the direction in which the image rotator 23 is located, that is, the −y direction.

Next, the operation of the optical system 7 having such a configuration will be described. The first light output in the y direction from the light beam output unit 9
Or the third light beams B1 to B3
1 and then through the through-hole 32 of the main scanning motor 22. Subsequently, the light reaches the incident-side reflection mirror 35a of the image rotator 23, is reflected by the incident-side reflection mirror 35a, the intermediate reflection mirror 35c, and the emission-side reflection mirror 35b in this order, and is emitted in the y direction. Then, the first to third
The light beams B1 to B3 reach the folding mirror 24, are reflected by the reflection surface 24a of the folding mirror 24, and reach the photosensitive material 3 held on the inner surface of the drum 5.

The first to third light beams B1 to B3 traveling to the incident side reflection mirror 35a are, as described above,
Since the light advances in the y-direction while maintaining a state of being sequentially deviated outward from the center axis AX of the drum 5, the emission-side reflection mirror 35
The first to third light beams B1 to B3 reflected by b also
It proceeds in the y direction while maintaining the same displacement. Thus, the spots of the first to third light beams B1 to B3, which are sequentially shifted outward from the symmetry axis, are provided on the reflection surface 24a of the folding mirror 24 arranged so that the symmetry axis coincides with the central axis AX. A row will be formed.

When the main scanning motor 22 is driven to rotate the image rotator 23, the incident side reflection mirror 3
5a, the intermediate reflection mirror 35c and the exit side reflection mirror 3
Since the positional relationship of 5b does not change, the rotation angle position of the image rotator 23, that is, the intermediate reflection mirror 3
In accordance with the rotation angle position 5c, the spot array on the turning mirror 24 is only rotated twice the angle around the symmetry axis of the turning mirror 24, and the deviation from the symmetry axis to the outside is not changed. Therefore, the reflecting surface 24a of the folding mirror 24
The arrangement of the spots on the inner surface of the drum 5 by the first to third light beams B1 to B3 reflected by the light source does not change depending on the scanning position.

The optical system 7 reciprocates in the center axis AX of the drum 5 by the reciprocating mechanism 10. The configuration of the reciprocating mechanism 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. A mounting table 40 is provided below the optical system 7, and the imaging lens 21, the main scanning motor 22 to which the image rotator 23 is connected, and the folding mirror 24 are mounted on the mounting table 40. Have been.

The reciprocating mechanism 10 is a ball screw mechanism,
It has one screw rod 41 with a helical thread, and two guide rails 42 and 43 having an H-shaped cross section, which are arranged in parallel with the center axis AX direction of the drum 5. . A support member 44 (FIG. 3) fixed to the center of the bottom surface of the mounting table 40 is screwed to the screw rod 41, and the rotation shaft of the sub-scanning motor 45 is connected to the end. .
In addition, first to fourth support legs 46 to 49 are fixedly provided at four corners of the bottom surface of the mounting table 40.
Are guide rails 4 formed by notches formed inside each of them.
2 and 43 respectively. By driving the sub-scanning motor 45 with such a configuration, the screw rod 41 rotates, and the support member 44 and, consequently, the mounting table 40 are moved by the screw rod 41 while being guided by the guide rails 42 and 43.

As shown in FIG. 4, the cylindrical inner surface scanning type image recording apparatus 1 further includes a scanning system control circuit 50 for controlling the operations of the main scanning motor 22 and the sub-scanning motor 45. The scanning system control circuit 50 drives the main scanning motor 22 by controlling the main scanning driving circuit 51, and controls the sub-scanning motor 4 by controlling the sub-scanning driving circuit 52.
5 is driven. As a result, the image rotator 23
The drum 5 rotates at a constant speed around the central axis AX, and in parallel, the entire optical system 7 including the image rotator 23 moves at a constant speed from the predetermined position in the predetermined direction (for example, the y direction) on the central axis. .

A magnet piece (not shown) is adhered to the bottom surface of the mounting table 40 of the optical system 7, and this magnet piece and a scale (not shown) constitute a magnetic linear encoder. As a result, the position of the mounting table 40 in the sub-scanning direction is detected, and the position of the light emitted from the optical system 7 (FIG. 1) in that direction is detected. Further, a code plate (not shown) is connected to the rotor 31 of the main scanning motor 22, and the rotation angle of the main scanning motor 22, ie, the rotation angle of the main scanning motor 22, The rotation angle of the light emitted from the optical system 7 is detected.

Output signals from the linear encoder and the rotary encoder are input to a scanning system control circuit 50 via a main scanning driving circuit 51 and a sub-scanning driving circuit 52, respectively. The scanning system control circuit 50 takes in these output signals and sends them to the image processing device 60.

The image processing device 60 is a device for generating image data to be sent to the cylindrical inner surface scanning type image recording device 1, and has a CCD
One-dimensional storage type photoelectric conversion element (hereinafter C
An output signal from the CCD 61 is referred to as A /
An A / D converter 62 for performing D-conversion, an output signal from the A / D converter 62 and the scanning system control circuit 50 are taken in, image processing is performed, and the resulting image data is converted into the first to third modulators 13. To 15 are provided.

The processing unit 63 is a well-known CPU 63
a, an input port 63 to which an output signal from the A / D converter 62 and the scanning system control circuit 50 is input as an arithmetic logic circuit centered on the ROM 63b, the RAM 63c, and the like.
d, an output port 63e for outputting image data to the first to third modulators 13 to 15, and the like.

An input image signal obtained by photoelectrically scanning an original image (not shown) by the CCD 61 is converted into multi-gradation digital image data by an A / D converter 62 and temporarily stored in a RAM 63 c in a processing unit 63. You. The processing unit 63 appropriately reads out the stored image data, performs halftone generation processing for creating halftone dots, and converts the halftone image data into three-channel image data Di1 and D3.
i2, Di3, and the image data Di1, Di in order.
2, and Di3 are output to the first to third modulators 13 to 15, respectively. The image data Di1, Di2, and Di3 are binary data, and the on / off of the light beam is represented by 1 and 0 for each dot constituting the halftone dot. The first to third modulators 13 to 15 output these image data Di1, Di2, D
On / off control of each light beam B1, B2 is performed according to i3. Note that the processing unit 63 takes in an output signal from the scanning system control circuit 50 and outputs image data corresponding to the scanning position to the first to third modulators 13 to 15, respectively.

Therefore, in the cylindrical inner surface scanning type image recording apparatus 1, three light beams modulated by the image data generated by the image processing apparatus 60 are transmitted to the image rotator 2.
The light is irradiated toward the inner surface of the drum 5 via the mirror 3 and the folding mirror 24. Moreover, the three light beams are applied to the drum 5
While rotating around the center axis AX of the camera, it is sequentially moved from a predetermined origin position along the axial direction. As a result, the inner surface of the drum 5 is sequentially exposed spirally, and an image is recorded on the photosensitive material 3 held on the inner surface of the drum 5.

In the cylindrical inner surface scanning type image recording apparatus 1 of the present embodiment configured as described above, as described above, the first to third light beams B1 to B
The arrangement of spots on the inner surface of the drum 5 by 3 does not change depending on the scanning position (the circumferential position of the drum 5). As a result, image recording with a three-channel light beam becomes possible.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a main part of the cylindrical inner surface scanning type image recording apparatus of the second embodiment.

As shown in the figure, the inner surface scanning type image recording apparatus 100 of this embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the main scanning motor 122 and the image rotator 123
05 and the configuration in which the imaging lens 121 is disposed in front of the folding mirror 124 and the configuration of the reciprocating mechanism 110 are different, and other configurations such as the drum 105 and a light beam output unit (not shown) Is the same.

That is, the main scanning motor 122 and the image rotator 123 having the same configuration as in the first embodiment
The first to third light beams (only the third light beam B3 in the drawing) from the light beam output unit are fixedly provided outside the drum, which is an extension of the central axis AX of the main scanning motor 122.
Is incident on the image rotator 123 through the through hole 132. Image rotator 123
The first to third light beams B1 to B3 emitted in the same manner as in the first embodiment thereafter enter the turning mirror 124 via the imaging lens 121, and are subsequently reflected by the turning mirror 124. The photosensitive material 103 is held on the inner surface of the drum 105.

Next, the configuration of the reciprocating mechanism 110 for changing the irradiation position of the inner surface of the drum by the light beams B1 to B3 in the sub-scanning direction will be described. The reciprocating mechanism 110 is a mechanism that reciprocates only the imaging lens 121 and the return mirror 124 unlike the first embodiment, and moves the mounting table 130 on which the imaging lens 121 and the return mirror 124 are fixed.

The reciprocating mechanism 110 includes two guide rods 131,
132, which are arranged parallel to the direction of travel of the incident light beam. Both guide rods 131 and 132 are
The support member 133 fixed to a lower portion of the mounting table 130 penetrates. A timing belt 135 is disposed inside the drum 105 in parallel with the traveling direction of the incident light beam.
3 is fixed via an intermediate member 136. The timing belt 135 is hung on a pulley 146 attached to the shaft of the sub-scanning motor 145. By driving the sub-scanning motor 145 with such a configuration,
The timing belt 135 moves, and the support member 133 and eventually the mounting table 130 move while being guided by the guide rods 131 and 132.

In the cylindrical inner surface scanning type image recording apparatus 100 of the second embodiment configured as described above, similarly to the first embodiment, the drum 1 by the first to third light beams B1 to B3 is used.
The arrangement of spots on the inner surface of the scan position 05 (drum 10
(Circumferential position of No. 5), and image recording with a three-channel light beam becomes possible.

In the cylindrical inner surface scanning type image recording apparatus 100 of this embodiment, since the main scanning motor 122 and the image rotator 123 are fixed outside the drum 105, the reciprocating mechanism 110 includes the imaging lens 121. It is only necessary that only the turning mirror 124 can be reciprocated. For this reason, the reciprocating mechanism 110 may have a simple configuration such as a belt mechanism, and the configuration of the entire apparatus can be simplified.

In the cylindrical inner surface scanning type image recording apparatuses 1 and 100 of the first and second embodiments, the image rotators 23 and 123 having three reflecting mirrors are used as the light beam rotating means. Alternatively, the configuration may be such that the incident light beam is reflected and output by five reflecting mirrors.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a main part of a cylindrical inner surface scanning type image recording apparatus of the third embodiment.

As shown in the figure, in the cylindrical inner surface scanning type image recording apparatus 200, the structure of an image rotator as a light beam rotating means is different from that of the first embodiment as follows. Is the same. That is, the image rotator 223 is connected to the rotor 2 of the main scanning motor 222.
31 has an arcuate semi-cylindrical column 23 on the end surface 231y in the y direction.
4 is fixed, and a trapezoidal Dove prism 240 is fixed inside the semicircular column 234.

The first to third light beams B output from a light beam output unit (not shown) and entered through the imaging lens 221 and the through hole 232 of the main scanning motor 222
1 to B3 pass through the Dove prism 240. In the Dove prism 240, as shown in FIG. 7, the incident first to third light beams B1 to B3 are incident on the incident surface 240a in the direction of the rotation axis of the image rotator 223 (coincident with the central axis AX of the drum 205). The light is refracted in a different first direction, and then reflected on the reflecting surface 240b in a second direction different from the first direction, and then refracted on the exit surface 240c in a direction parallel to the rotation axis.

In the cylindrical inner surface scanning type image recording apparatus 200 of the third embodiment configured as described above, similarly to the first embodiment, the drum 2 by the first to third light beams B1 to B3 is used.
The arrangement of the spots 05 on the inner surface does not change depending on the scanning position, and image recording with a three-channel light beam becomes possible.

In the first to third embodiments described above, the folding mirrors 24 and 124 may have different shapes as described below. That is, the folding mirror may have a configuration in which the reflection surface is a curved surface, and the light beam can be focused on the reflection surface. As a result, the imaging lens 2
1 and 121 become unnecessary, and the configuration of the entire apparatus can be simplified.

Further, as shown in FIG.
01 may be a shape obtained by cutting a conical mirror by a plane including the central axis of the conical mirror. In such a case, the range over which the inner surface of the drum can be scanned is limited to an angle of 180 degrees in the circumferential direction of the drum. By setting the angle with respect to the center axis of the folding mirror 401 to 45 degrees, the light beam is perpendicular to the inner surface of the drum. Can be incident. For this reason, in the internal scanning type image recording apparatus using the folding mirror 401, when recording an image with a plurality of light beams, the focal depth of each light beam can be kept constant, and a clear image can be recorded. can do.

In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which a plurality of light beams incident on the image rotator are arranged on one plane including the center axis AX of the drum.
The present invention can be implemented without necessarily arranging all the light beams on one plane including the central axis AX. As the image rotator, in addition to the above-described embodiments, an image rotator prism in which a right-angle prism with a base angle of 30 degrees and an equilateral triangular prism are joined, or a Schmidt-type image rotator having an erect prism of Schmitt having a flat roof surface A prism or the like can be used.

In the first to third embodiments described above, the reciprocating mechanisms 10 and 110 are configured to perform scanning in the sub-scanning direction.
205 may be configured to reciprocate in the direction of its central axis. Further, the main scanning motors 22, 122, 222
Is an outer rotor type motor. Alternatively, the image rotator 23, 123, 223 may be configured to rotate using a normal motor whose shaft rotates.

Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments at all, and various embodiments can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. Of course, it can be implemented.

[0056]

As described above in detail, according to the cylindrical inner surface scanning type image recording apparatus of the present invention, the arrangement of the spots by the plurality of light beams on the inner surface of the cylindrical member irradiated at the time of scanning depends on the scanning position. Does not change. As a result, image recording using a plurality of light beams becomes possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a main part of a cylindrical inner surface scanning type image recording apparatus as a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially broken perspective view showing the inside of a drum of the cylindrical inner surface scanning type image recording apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a configuration of the cylindrical inner surface scanning type image recording apparatus together with a configuration of a control system.

FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a main part of a cylindrical inner surface scanning type image recording apparatus as a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a partially broken perspective view of a main part of a cylindrical inner surface scanning type image recording apparatus as a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a traveling path of a light beam of a Dove prism used in the cylindrical inner surface scanning type image recording apparatus.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a modified example of the folding mirror.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram relating to a problem of the related art.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cylindrical inner surface scanning type image recording apparatus 3 Photosensitive material 5 Drum 7 Optical system 9 Light beam output unit 10 Reciprocating mechanism 22 Main scanning motor 23 Image rotator 24 Folding mirror 33 Angle member 34 Semi-cylindrical 35a Incident-side reflecting mirror 35b Exit-side reflecting mirror 35c Intermediate reflection mirror 40 Mounting table 41 Screw rod 42 Guide rail 45 Sub-scanning motor 50 Scanning system control circuit 51 Main scanning drive circuit 52 Sub-scanning drive circuit 100, 200 Cylindrical inner surface scanning type image recording device 103 Photosensitive material 105, 205 Drum 110 Reciprocating mechanism 122, 222 Main scanning motor 123, 223 Image rotator 124, 401 Folding mirror 130 Mounting table 131 Guide rod 132 Through hole 135 Timing belt 145 Sub-scanning motor 240 Dove prism 240a Incident surface 240b Surface 240c emitting surface

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A cylindrical inner surface scanning type image recording apparatus for recording an image by exposing a recording medium provided on said inner surface by scanning an inner surface of the cylindrical member with a light beam, wherein: A light beam output unit that outputs a plurality of light beams toward the inside of the cylindrical member in a direction parallel to the axis and away from the central axis, and rotatable around the central axis of the cylindrical member as a rotation axis. Light beam rotating means for rotating the paths of the plurality of light beams output from the light beam output means about the rotation axis in accordance with the rotational angle position, and provided inside the cylindrical member. A reflecting surface having rotational symmetry about the central axis of the cylindrical member, and the reflecting surface allows the traveling directions of the plurality of light beams output from the light beam rotating means to be directed to the inner surface of the cylindrical member. In the direction to go A cylindrical mirror, comprising: a turning mirror for changing; and a scanning means for rotating the light beam rotating means with respect to the rotation axis to scan a recording medium on the inner surface of the cylindrical member with a light beam from the folding mirror. Inner surface scanning type image recording device. 2. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light beam rotating means is provided on a rotation axis and rotates the plurality of light beams output from the light beam output means. A first reflecting surface that reflects in a first direction different from the direction of the axis; and a plurality of light beams from the first reflecting surface that are provided at positions away from a rotation axis and are different from the first direction. A second reflecting surface that reflects in a second direction; and a third reflecting surface that is provided on a rotation axis and reflects a plurality of light beams from the second reflection surface in a direction parallel to the rotation axis. A cylindrical inner surface scanning type image recording apparatus comprising: 3. The image recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the light beam rotating means is provided on a rotation axis and rotates the plurality of light beams output from the light beam output means. An incident surface refracted in a first direction different from the direction of the axis; and a plurality of light beams from the incident surface provided at a position distant from the rotation axis and reflected in a second direction different from the first direction. Cylindrical inner surface scanning type image recording comprising a prism provided on a rotation axis and having an emission surface refracting a plurality of light beams from the reflection surface in a direction parallel to the rotation axis. apparatus.