EP0684520A1 - Kodifizierung von Aufträgen - Google Patents

Kodifizierung von Aufträgen Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0684520A1
EP0684520A1 EP95106769A EP95106769A EP0684520A1 EP 0684520 A1 EP0684520 A1 EP 0684520A1 EP 95106769 A EP95106769 A EP 95106769A EP 95106769 A EP95106769 A EP 95106769A EP 0684520 A1 EP0684520 A1 EP 0684520A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
information
areas
film
identification
template
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP95106769A
Other languages
English (en)
French (fr)
Inventor
Walter Charles C/O Eastman Kodak Co. Slater
Gary Wayne C/O Eastman Kodak Co. Ahlquist
Richard Dean C/O Eastman Kodak Co. Young
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Eastman Kodak Co
Original Assignee
Eastman Kodak Co
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Eastman Kodak Co filed Critical Eastman Kodak Co
Publication of EP0684520A1 publication Critical patent/EP0684520A1/de
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
    • G03D—APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING EXPOSED PHOTOGRAPHIC MATERIALS; ACCESSORIES THEREFOR
    • G03D15/00—Apparatus for treating processed material
    • G03D15/001—Counting; Classifying; Marking
    • G03D15/005—Order systems, e.g. printsorter

Definitions

  • the invention relates to photographic processing, and more specifically to the capture of customer supplied information and the use of that information during and after processing.
  • Modern equipment for processing photographic film is highly automated. Individual film rolls contained in cartridges usually arrive at the processing facility in envelopes that identify the dealer and include instructions from the photographer. The film is removed from its packaging, both envelope and cartridge, sorted and spliced together into much larger rolls for high-speed processing.
  • Latent images on the film are developed, usually into negatives, and printed by projection onto photographic paper.
  • the prints are exposed in the requested sizes and number of copies, and the paper is then developed and cut into pictures.
  • the film also is cut, matched with the printed pictures, and packaged for return to the dealer or other customer.
  • the respective parts or corresponding components of a customer order are tracked mechanically by batch position.
  • the film is batched and spliced into a roll that is maintained through development and printing.
  • the paper is printed in large rolls in the same sequence, and the prints remain in that sequence until cut and matched with the film for packaging.
  • Even the original customer envelopes are batched and ordered physically in the sequence of the spliced film rolls.
  • the envelopes are retrieved in that sequence at the end of the process and used to provide the names of any dealer and/or the customer's return mailing address.
  • a back-up system permits recovery from accidents that disturb the envelope order.
  • Linking identification numbers called “splice lDs”
  • splice lDs are applied to the envelope and film early in the process, and to the pictures when they are printed. All of the components of a customer order can be matched after an accident by comparing the splice lDs.
  • Handwritten names and addresses are important data elements typically tracked physically, in batched order, or entered manually on a key board.
  • Back-up systems primarily splice lDs, have been used for many years and certainly permit recovery from accidents. Like data entry, however, most are unduly burdensome and mechanical.
  • a method and apparatus for capturing customer supplied information from envelopes in which film is delivered to a photographic processing operation.
  • the envelopes are viewed and analyzed electronically for information in first areas where a mark represents a customer instruction and second areas where eye-readable, alphanumeric information is located.
  • the information is captured from the envelope by recording the presence of marks in the first areas and a bit-mapped image of the alphanumerics in said second areas.
  • the captured information is stored electronically and used during processing for carrying out the customer's instructions and after processing for providing eye-readable information such as the return name and mailing address.
  • a unique identification of each film roll is used to maintain the association or link between film delivered in a respective envelope and information captured from that envelope.
  • the envelope itself is not needed except, perhaps, for a backup system.
  • a plurality of templates are employed for locating the first and second areas.
  • Each template is identified by a machine readable mark, such as a bar code, representing patterns printed at predetermined locations on the envelope.
  • the code is used to retrieve from electronic memory a corresponding template that locates the first and second areas for information capture.
  • Customer supplied information and instructions are captured and linked automatically, with little or no human intervention, including both machine readable information and eye-readable information that cannot be decoded by machine.
  • An electronic relationship or link is established between information captured from the package and the film delivered in the package. This link is usable throughout the processing operation to retrieve the information at any processing step regardless of the order of processing and including processing in a random order.
  • Customer instructions can be carried out automatically during processing, and information that is not machine readable still can be displayed as an image at any point in the process.
  • the name and mailing address for example, can be printed automatically after processing, eliminating the need for retaining the original envelope.
  • the stations include order receiving and information capture 10 - ( Figure 1), film development 12 ( Figure 2), machine sorting 14 ( Figure 2), printing 16 ( Figures 3 and 4), paper processing 18 (Figure 5), finishing and packaging 20 ( Figures 5 and 6) and an information processing and control network 22 ( Figure 6).
  • the film rolls and cartridges that will be described according to the preferred embodiment are referred to as thrust loading, and are described more fully in Baxter et al. U.S. Patent No. 5,122,823, issued June 16, 1992; and Zander U.S. Patent No. 5,200,777 issued on April 6, 1993.
  • the film is retained with the cartridge during processing and printing, preferably by attachment to a film spool inside the cartridge, and is extended from the cartridge by unwinding the film for the various processing and printing operations.
  • the cartridge is designed so the outermost convolution of film will be stripped from its roll by such unwinding and expelled through the cartridge opening.
  • the order receiving and information capture station 10 includes a transport 24, an envelope reader 26 and an operator station 28.
  • the transport 24 extends in three sections 29, 30 and 31, for conveying the customer order and its contents between a plurality of operating positions.
  • the first transport section 29 is an endless belt adapted for receiving unopened customer orders spaced sequentially in a row for convenient delivery, one-at-a-time to the second section 30.
  • the second section operates intermittently to deliver the envelopes to an information capture station 32, where an air bladder 34 inflates inside a rigid frame to flatten the belt and envelope against a transparent platen 36.
  • the platen and envelope are illuminated by a light source 38, and viewed by an electro-optical imaging camera 40, including a CCD (charge coupled device), that captures a bit-mapped image of portions or the entire order envelope.
  • the image is stored in memory in association with a code, referred to as a local product code or LPC, that identifies characteristics of the order.
  • LPC local product code
  • envelope as it is used throughout this specification, is intended broadly to mean the package in which film rolls are delivered with instructions for processing or in which prints are returned after processing.
  • the envelopes are retrieved manually from the central section at fence 42 and opened to remove the film in its cartridge.
  • the cartridge includes a unique identification number, sometimes referred to as a cartridge ID or CID, which is applied during manufacture as a bar code, or other machine readable mark, and may be associated with information about the type of film in the cartridge and its roll length.
  • the cartridge ID (CID) is captured at station 28 by a bar-code reader 44 and stored in memory with a link or tag to the information captured from the envelope.
  • the CID is used throughout the processing operation at the respective stations to track each film cartridge on an individual basis and to determine information about the film pertinent to its processing.
  • the envelope is kept primarily as a back-up, and for this reason is marked in an envelope printer 46 with the cartridge ID. It is then stored for some relatively short period and discarded.
  • a computer 48 with a keyboard 49 and video display 50 are provided for verification and manual entry if the primary automated system is unable to find or decipher the information it requires.
  • the order receiving and information capture station 10 electronically captures customer supplied information of two types, preferably associated with two predetermined areas on the envelopes.
  • a mark represents a customer instruction that can be interpreted and used by the processing equipment.
  • the information is eye-readable, alphanumeric information, perhaps a hand-written name and address, that is not decipherable by the equipment. Both types of information are linked in memory to the film cartridge and the corresponding customer order, and can be retrieved from the system at any time using the cartridge identification (CID).
  • CID cartridge identification
  • the film rolls move from the order entry and information capture station 10 to the film development station 12 ( Figure 2) where they are transferred from transport section 31 into hopper 51. No particular order of the film units is required and the rolls are not spliced together. Instead each film roll is handled together with its cartridge as an individual unit that is developed by extending or thrusting the film from its containing cartridge and moving it between the required processing solutions so the film will extend from the cartridge into the solutions.
  • the developing process sometimes is referred to as dip-and-dunk, because the film rolls, 52 and 54 for example, are extended from their cartridges and lowered into a plurality of tanks 56, 58 and 60 of developing solutions, one-tank-after- another, according to a conventional developing process.
  • the film is rewound into the same cartridge for movement to the next station.
  • the film is actually attached to the cartridge so it will not accidentally separate from the cartridge or the unique CID and information associated therewith.
  • the film may be removed from and reattached to the cartridge at various points in the process.
  • the film After the film is developed into a printable negative, it moves to station 14 for machine sorting to separate the rolls by size or the paper surface required for printing.
  • the rolls are loaded in hopper 62 and pass through a sorting section 64 that reads the CID from the cartridge, retrieves the customer provided instructions associated therewith and directs the film rolls into various bins 66, 68, 70 and 72, depending on the surface finish, other properties required in the desired prints or any other sort parameter.
  • the film rolls from each bin then are collected in film loading magazines 74 that are suitable for carrying the film between stations and loading it into the printer.
  • a printing operation is depicted in which the film rolls are loaded for printing one-at-a-time from the film loading magazine 74, and unloaded after printing into a film batching magazine 76.
  • the magazine 76 defines a batch of film rolls, in the same order they were printed, and maintains that batch and order for the remainder of the processing operations until the film is matched with the developed prints for packaging as a completed order.
  • the batch size is established during the printing operation to improve processing efficiency and particularly in consideration of the use of photographic paper.
  • Film loading magazine 74 is mounted in printer 16 on a rotary support 80 suspended on arm 82 above a film-handling spider-turret 84.
  • the film rolls are pushed from the magazine by a push-rod, or the like, and are manipulated between the printing stations by the turret until reloaded after printing into the batching magazine 76.
  • the turret includes a number of radially-extending reciprocatable arms represented at 86, 88, 90 and 92, that index with the turret between the respective printing stations 94, 96, 98, and 100.
  • the printing stations include a loading station 94, adjacent magazine 74, for removing the film rolls from the loading magazine; a scanning station 96, for scanning the film to determine various printing characteristics of the negatives; a printing station 98, where the film images are exposed to a light source 102 in lamp house 104, for projecting images of the negatives through appropriate optics (not shown) onto the photographic paper; and an unloading station 100 for positioning the film rolls in the batching magazine 76.
  • the batching magazine is mounted for rotation at 106 on arm 108.
  • Photographic paper is supplied in large rolls 110 contained in light-tight cartridges 112, at one end of the printer, and taken-up after printing in similar rolls 114 and cartridges 116 at the other end of the printer. Between the supply and take-up rolls, 110 and 114, the paper is threaded though a print exposure section 118 where it is tensioned for exposure to the image projected from exposure station 98 by light source 102 and associated optics (not shown).
  • Communications and set-up of the printing operation is provided through channels represented by CRT 120.
  • film rolls are mounted on the printer substantially in random order at the loading station 94 and moved through the respective printer stations, one-at-a-time by the spider turret 84.
  • the film is extended, by unwinding the film from its cartridge, information required by that station is retrieved from the image processing and control network using the unique cartridge identification number (CID) for retrieval, the operation for that particular station is completed, and the film is rewound into the same cartridge for indexing to the next station.
  • the film rolls are loaded into the batching magazine 76 to retain the order in which they were printed and for movement to the paper developing and finishing stations.
  • Figure 5 depicts the paper developing operation.
  • the paper rolls 114 are transferred from the printer to the developing station in their light tight cartridges 116.
  • the paper is withdrawn in a dark room and threaded for development through a plurality of developing solutions in tanks 122 and 124, and a drying chamber 126, according to conventional processes. After drying the prints are wound into rolls 128 for delivery to the inspection and finishing stations.
  • the prints may be visually inspected at table 130 and are rewound into rolls 132 for finishing in station 20.
  • the paper is cut into individual prints at station 134, matched with the appropriate film roll from batching magazine 76 and packaged in a new envelope retrieved from supply 136 for return to the customer.
  • the film rolls which have been retained in their batched order from the printer, easily are matched with their corresponding prints.
  • Figure 6 depicts the information processing and control network 22, including a production management computer 140 coupled to logic associated with each of the processing stations.
  • Numeral 142 represents the path of a film roll as it moves between the respective stations during processing.
  • the envelope and the film cartridge it contains are viewed to capture the customer instructions and other information from the envelope and to link that information to the cartridge and its ID.
  • the cartridge ID may be used to determine the film type for processing.
  • the unique number is used to retrieve the customers instructions regarding paper surface requested and other sort parameters.
  • the customer information is used to determine the number of prints. Some information may be printed onto the backs of the prints to facilitate subsequent order matching.
  • the information may be used for printing the dealer or other customer return address (or other information) and applying it to the mailing envelope, label, etc. for return.
  • the envelope 150 in which film is delivered for processing, includes a template identification 152, areas 154 and 156 where a mark indicates a predetermined customer instruction that can be deciphered by the processing apparatus, and areas 158 and 160 that might include eye-readable information, such as a handwritten name and address that is not decipherable by the apparatus.
  • the respective areas are physical locations depending on the template that are designed to contain the instructions and information.
  • the areas may be identified in some manner other than physical location, such as a machine readable identifier of each respective section or by actually reading the information in the first areas using OCR (optical character reading) techniques.
  • Figure 9 depicts the overall process for capturing the marked instructions and mapped information.
  • Row 170 represents the capture of the marked instructions from the envelope, and includes moving the envelope to the information capture station 172, scanning for the bar code that identifies the dealer and its template 173, selecting the template 174, reading the marked boxes in the locations specified by the template box 175, verifying the scan to make sure required information is captured box 176, assigning a unique local product code LPC 177 and continuing on to row 180.
  • Row 180 depicts the process for capturing the bit map, and includes recording the image representing the eye-readable information 182, enhancing the image box 183, and opening the envelope and removing its contents 184.
  • Row 190 depicts capture of the cartridge identification (CID), and includes locating and scanning the cartridge, 191 and 192, to capture the cartridge identification (CID).
  • the CID is uploaded to the computer and linked in memory with the LPC mentioned above, 194.
  • the CID is printed on the envelope 195, and the envelope is archived, 196, until processing of the corresponding order is completed and returned.
  • the cartridge then moves on to processing, 197.
  • the captured information may be machine readable, like a bar code, machine decipherable, like an instruction mark, or only eye-readable, like a handwritten address. All such information can be linked and used with little human intervention.
  • the information and link is usable throughout the processing operation to retrieve instructions and other information at any processing step regardless of the order of processing and including processing in a random order.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Projection-Type Copiers In General (AREA)
  • Character Discrimination (AREA)
EP95106769A 1994-05-12 1995-05-05 Kodifizierung von Aufträgen Withdrawn EP0684520A1 (de)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US24209194A 1994-05-12 1994-05-12
US242091 1994-05-12

Publications (1)

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EP0684520A1 true EP0684520A1 (de) 1995-11-29

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EP95106769A Withdrawn EP0684520A1 (de) 1994-05-12 1995-05-05 Kodifizierung von Aufträgen

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EP (1) EP0684520A1 (de)
JP (1) JP2875766B2 (de)

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0905563A2 (de) * 1997-09-30 1999-03-31 Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. Aufzeichnungs-Medium für Bestellungsinformation und Bestellungs-Datei Erzeugungsgerät für einen Photographischen Service
EP0881599A3 (de) * 1997-05-29 2000-09-27 Pitney Bowes Inc. Ausschaltung einer Frankiermaschine, wenn kein Druckkopf installiert ist

Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4637712A (en) * 1984-11-21 1987-01-20 Hasco International, Inc. System for package photoprinting
EP0588056A2 (de) * 1992-09-14 1994-03-23 PAUL KIESER DRUCKEREI GmbH & Co. KG Einrichtung zum Bearbeiten von Fotoaufträgen

Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4637712A (en) * 1984-11-21 1987-01-20 Hasco International, Inc. System for package photoprinting
EP0588056A2 (de) * 1992-09-14 1994-03-23 PAUL KIESER DRUCKEREI GmbH & Co. KG Einrichtung zum Bearbeiten von Fotoaufträgen

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0881599A3 (de) * 1997-05-29 2000-09-27 Pitney Bowes Inc. Ausschaltung einer Frankiermaschine, wenn kein Druckkopf installiert ist
EP0905563A2 (de) * 1997-09-30 1999-03-31 Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. Aufzeichnungs-Medium für Bestellungsinformation und Bestellungs-Datei Erzeugungsgerät für einen Photographischen Service
EP0905563A3 (de) * 1997-09-30 1999-09-15 Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. Aufzeichnungs-Medium für Bestellungsinformation und Bestellungs-Datei Erzeugungsgerät für einen Photographischen Service
US6327049B1 (en) 1997-09-30 2001-12-04 Fuji Photo Film Co. Ltd. Order information recording medium and order file generating apparatus for photographic service

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
JPH086169A (ja) 1996-01-12
JP2875766B2 (ja) 1999-03-31

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