US 6,211,899 B1Granted

Image exposure apparatus

AssigneeFuji Photo Film Co., Ltd.

InventorFutoshi Yoshida

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Abstract

A photodiode is positioned outside an image recording region and receives light from a light source portion prior to image recording processing. When the photodiode detects light at the time of the first main scan, the pulse number of a stepping motor is reset, 0, and thereafter, the pulse number is used to control the driving of the stepping motor. For this reason, an output timing of an image signal in the second and subsequent main scan operations does not depend on the detection of light by the photodiode and allows output of an image signal at a predetermined pulse number. The scan operation based on the control of the pulse number is effected for each image, and at the scan start time of a subsequent image, the pulse number is reset again when light is detected by the photodiode. Accordingly, it is possible to eliminate inconsistency of the start time of each main scan, which is caused by a variation in the time of detection by a sensor for controlling a scan start timing.

Claims18

Dependent claims

An image exposure apparatus which controls emission of a light beam from a light source based on an image data signal to record an image on a photosensitive material by scanning the light beam, comprising:

main scan means which moves the light source with respect to the photosensitive material in a predetermined main scanning direction;
sub-scan means which moves relatively the light source and the photosensitive material in a direction perpendicular to the main scanning direction for each main scan effected by said main scan means;
a detecting sensor which detects a start position of said main scan means;
moving a mount detecting means which detects an amount by which the light source is moved in the main scanning direction;
and
main scan exposure control means which controls an exposure start timing of a light beam in each of the second and subsequent main scan operations until the first main scan operation for scan recording starts, with reference to a detected value of an amount of movement detected by said moving amount detecting means when the start position of said main scan means is detected by said detecting sensor.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.