Exposure device utilizing differently colored light emitting elements

Abstract

An exposure device includes: at least three light-emitting elements for respectively emitting light of mutually different colors and forming a slit beam; an optical shutter array in which a plurality of optical shutter elements for allowing the slit beam incident thereupon to be transmitted therethrough or shut off as the optical shutter elements are opened or closed, and being provided in a number corresponding to the number of pixels constituting a row of pixels in a scanning line of the photosensitive material along a direction corresponding to the cross-sectionally longitudinal direction of the slit beam; and a control member for controlling the light-emitting elements and the optical shutter array such that an amount of exposure applied to a predetermined pixel on the photosensitive material becomes substantially equal to an amount of exposure of a corresponding pixel of color image data. Since the light-emitting elements and the optical shutter array are controlled by the control member such that the amount of exposure applied to a predetermined pixel on the photosensitive material becomes substantially equal to the amount of exposure of a corresponding pixel of the color image data, it is unnecessary to provide a movable portion such as a filter cylinder for converting the white light into R light, G light, and B light.