Transfer apparatus

Details Transfer apparatus Transfer apparatus

2003-12-05

2004-09-07

Tran, Huan (Department: 2861)

Incremental printing of symbolic information

Light or beam marking apparatus or processes

C355S018000, C355S078000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06788327

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a transfer apparatus with which an image recorded digitally by a digital still camera (DSC), video camera, a personal computer or the like is displayed on image display means of transmission type such as a liquid-crystal display device (LCD) and which transfers the displayed image to a light-sensitive recording medium such as an instant photographic film that forms color by illumination with light (this process may be called “image formation”).
Conventionally, various methods are known to transfer, print or otherwise record digitally recorded images onto recording media and they include an ink-jet recording system having dot-like printing heads, a laser recording system and a thermal recording system.
The ink-jet technology has several problems such as prolonged printing step, high likelihood of ink plugging and inability to perform precise printing without the receiving paper getting moist with ink.
In laser recording, lenses and other expensive optical components are required, causing the problem of increased equipment cost. Both the laser recording and thermal recording processes suffer the problem of increased power consumption and hence are unsuitable for use with mobile devices.
A problem that is common to the transfer apparatuses operating on the three recording methods and which becomes particularly noticeable in the ink-jet technology when the printing density increases is the complexity of the drive and control mechanisms and the increase in the size and cost of the apparatuses. Added to this is the problem of prolonged printing.
Under these circumstances, there have been proposed transfer apparatuses in which the image to be transferred is displayed on a liquid-crystal display device (hereunder abbreviated as LCD) and then transferred onto a light-sensitive recording medium such as an instant film at 1× magnification, thereby simplifying the system configuration and reducing the product cost (see, for example, JP 2002-196424 A, JP 2002-196425 A and JP 2002-196426 A).
FIG. 9
is a schematic side view showing in section an outline of a prior art transfer apparatus. As shown, the prior art transfer apparatus comprises a backlight unit
100
having a rod of lamp
122
as a light source, a perforated plate
120
having a large number of through-holes
121
to produce generally parallel light, a liquid-crystal display device (LCD)
130
for displaying a digitally recorded image, a film pack
150
having a multiple of light-sensitive films
140
contained in a removable film case
151
, and a main case
160
enclosing all the components mentioned above.
The main case
160
includes a roller pair
161
for drawing an exposed film and spreading a processing solution on it, a slot
162
through which the exposed film is taken out of the main case
160
, and backup depression pins
163
for urging a stack of light-sensitive films
140
toward the LCD
130
. The roller pair
161
is mounted in a position facing a slot
153
in the film pack
150
(or film case
151
) through which the exposed film is taken out.
The LCD
130
and the film pack
150
as it contains a stack of light-sensitive films
140
in the film case
151
are shown enlarged in FIG.
10
. As
FIG. 10
shows, the film case
151
has a light-shielding rib
152
that not only prevents the light-sensitive films
140
from being exposed to light but also retains them to be confined in the interior of the film case
151
.
In the prior art, the LCD
130
has required the outermost periphery of the image display area to be set aside in a width of about 4-5 mm for providing a sealing member to establish liquid-tightness, wiring, and any other necessary elements. To meet this need, the LCD
130
is usually made larger than the film case
151
as shown in FIG.
10
.
In consequence, the LCD
130
and the light-sensitive film
140
are not in contact but are spaced apart by a distance of d and this has been held as the condition for producing a transfer apparatus that is easy to handle in practical applications.
The following is a specific description of the LCD
130
.
FIG. 11
is a plan view of the LCD
130
and
FIG. 12
is a schematic cross section showing the structure of the LCD
130
.
As
FIG. 11
shows, the LCD
130
has a liquid-crystal layer
104
(see
FIG. 12
) held between two opposed glass substrates
102
and
106
, with a polarizing plate
101
(also see
FIG. 12
) provided on top of the glass substrate
102
which is closer to an image display screen
101
a
. An image is displayed on the surface of the polarizing plate
101
, namely, on the image display screen
101
a
. The glass substrate
106
is provided on the back side of the LCD
130
that is away from the glass substrate
102
which is closer to the image display screen
101
a
. The glass substrate
106
has a larger area than the glass substrate
102
which is closer to the image display screen
101
a
and provided in its peripheral edge portion are wiring areas
110
for providing wiring or other necessary devices, etc. Connected to the wiring areas
110
are a flexible wiring
112
and other elements.
The image display screen
101
a
of the LCD
130
shown in
FIG. 11
may be rectangular, with the ratio of its shorter side Y to the longer side X to the diagonal line L being typically 3:4:5.
We next describe the structure of the LCD
130
. As shown in
FIG. 12
, the LCD
130
comprises the polarizing plate
101
, glass substrate
102
, electrode
103
, liquid-crystal layer
104
, electrode
105
, glass substrate
106
and a film of polarizing plate
107
, and these components are placed one on another in that order, with the glass substrate
102
being closer to the image display screen
101
a
and the glass substrate
106
being on the back side. The liquid-crystal layer
104
is sandwiched between the glass substrates
102
and
106
which, in turn, are held between the polarizing plates
101
and
107
. Provided between the glass substrate
102
and the electrode
103
are R, G and B color filters
108
R,
108
G and
108
B, as well as a black matrix
109
. Needless to say, the LCD
130
has other elements including an alignment layer (not shown), as is well known in the art. In the case of a TFT LCD, the electrode
103
is a common electrode whereas the electrode
105
serves as a display electrode, a gate electrode, etc.
As is clear from
FIGS. 11 and 12
, the image display screen
101
a
of the LCD
130
is determined by specifications with respect to its size and the relative proportions of the shorter and longer sides. The light-sensitive recording medium to which an image is to be transferred also comes in various sizes with a great variety for the relative proportions of the shorter and longer sides. As a result, if one attempts to record the LCD-displayed image on the light-sensitive recording medium at 1× magnification, inconveniences may potentially occur as exemplified by the displayed image being beyond the image forming area of the light-sensitive recording medium or the transferred image coming out smaller than the image forming area. In order to avoid these problems, it is desired for the above-described prior art transfer apparatus that the image display screen
101
a
of the LCD
130
and the light-sensitive recording medium are adjusted to become equal in size.
However, if the manufacturer of the conventional transfer apparatus wants to have the size of the image display screen
101
a
of the LCD
130
match the size of the light-sensitive recording medium, it is not always possible to use a commercial LCD and a custom-made product is often required. As a result, a huge initial investment is needed, leading to an undesirably large increase in the price of the transfer apparatus as the end product.
In the other case where the light-sensitive recording medium is manufactured such that it matches the size of the LCD
130
, initial investment is also required in various jobs including R&D of the light-sensitive recording medium, manufacture of the film container and

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