Seiko Instruments Inc

Eastman-kodak Company

Yuji Hosoi

Saburo Imai

Kazuo Wakabayashi

Shigeru Inagaki

Tatsuji Saigo

Hidenori Fujioka

Masayuki Yamada

Masayuki Andoh

Takashi Maeda

Syoji Tozaki

Morihiko Yamada

Kensuke Moritan

Masao Gomi

A digital camera which is capable of printing instantly after photographing and is easy to be carried and handled and inexpensive is disclosed. A print unit A for allowing a latent image to be formed on a print paper on which a photosensitive type microcapsule has been coated by optically scanning on the basis of an image signal and applying a mechanical pressure to the print paper and developing it, and a display image pickup unit B having a semiconductor image pickup device for converting a video image of a photographing object into digital image signals and a solid state image display for displaying the object are constructed. A flash memory card interface is provided for the display image pickup unit B and a flash memory interface is provided for the print unit A. The display image pickup unit B is controlled by a control unit including a CPU in the print unit A.

Digital camera capable of printing instantly after photographing

An optical writing printer head capable of reducing the printing time in the proportion to the print resolution (dot density) is provided. An optical writing printer head is designed to print onto a sheet of photosensitive print paper, which is intermittently fed at a constant paper feeding pitch Qp in a paper feeding direction Z, by irradiating light onto the print paper when the paper is scanned in a scanning direction X intersecting the paper feeding direction Z, and is provided with a first light source group Sr in the paper feeding directgion. The first light source group Sr includes N pieces of light sources Sr , Sr of one color which are arrayed along the paper feeding direction Z at the standard pitch Qs of 1/N of the paper feeding pitch Q, where N is a natural number which is 2 or larger. The first light source group Sr further includes an upstream side light source Sr of the one color at an interval corresponding to the standard pitch Qs positioned at an upstream side of the light sources Sr , Sr with respect to the paper feeding direction Z, and the upstream side light source Sr has a length Lr in the paper feeding direction Z equal to (N&minus;1) times the standard pitch Qs.

Optical writing printer head and printer using the same

A printer for intermittely feeding printing sheets to which a photoconductive microcapsule is applied in a sheet feeding direction and printing images on the printing sheets, includes a frame, an exposure head which is supported by the frame and irradiates light to the sheets to form a latent image thereon; and a pressing and developing head which is supported by the frame so as to reciprocate in a scanning direction intersecting the sheet feeding direction on the downstream side of the exposure head with respect to the sheet feeding direction and applies pressure to the latent image forming part of the sheet in cooperation with a sheet supporting means disposed on the rear surface side of the sheet to develop a latent image. The pressing and developing head is supported by a support base supported on the frame main body and extending in the scanning direction of the sheet independently of the exposure head so as to apply a pressing and developing force to the sheet and can reciprocate in the scanning direction on the support base.

Printer using printing sheet to which photosensitive microcapsule is applied and printing system using printer

A printer has a printer body, a carriage for undergoing scanning movement over a print paper in a scanning direction, and a cassette removably connected to the printer body for storing print paper and having a code element indicative of photosensitive characteristics of the print paper. The print paper contains photosensitive microcapsules encapsulating a color developing material and a photo-curing material and has an image receiving layer for developing color by a reaction of the color developing material with the image receiving layer. The carriage has a light emitting element for emitting light of a preselected wavelength to which the photosensitive microcapsules are exposed to thereby form a latent image on the print paper. A photosensitive characteristics identifying mechanism is disposed on the carriage for reading the code element of the cassette to identify the photosensitive characteristics of the print paper. A light emission controller controls the intensity or the time period of emission of the light emitted by the light emitting element in accordance with the photosensitive characteristics of the print paper identified by the photosensitive characteristics identifying mechanism. A pressurizing mechanism applies mechanical pressure to the print paper after a latent image has been formed thereon to collapse the photosensitive microcapsules which were not exposed to the light emitted by the light emitting element and thereby develop the latent image by reaction of the color developing material in the photosensitive microcapsules with the image receiving layer.

Printer, printing system, and printing method using print paper with photosensitive microcapsules applied thereto

Growing community of inventors

Chiba, Japan

Yuji Hosoi