JP2001056511A - Magazine for photographic processing machine and photographic processing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable the execution of a rapid processing while averting the enlargement of equipment when printing processing of short-width photographic paper is carried out by providing a magazine with a supporting mechanism to be provided with plural pieces of rolled photographic paper in juxtaposition and providing the magazine with a mechanism for positioning the photographic paper supported in this supporting mechanism in a transverse direction. SOLUTION: This magazine is provided with the supporting mechanism to be provided with plural pieces of the rolled photographic paper in juxtaposition and the mechanism for positioning the photographic paper supported in the supporting mechanism in the transverse direction. For example, this magazine 10 is installed with a rotary cylinder 13 having a rotary axial center along a direction orthogonal with a photographic paper delivery direction as the mechanism for supporting the rolled photographic paper 2 and is provided with engaging stationary circumferential grooves 13A at plural points along the rotary axial center on the outer peripheral surface of the rotary cylinder 13. Also, the magazine is provided with the mechanism consisting of right and left retaining plates 14A coming into contact with the flanks of the photographic paper 2 and fastening means (stationary pieces 15A and moving pieces 15B) to be mounted to these retaining plates 14.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a photographic processor provided with a magazine for accommodating a roll of photographic paper before exposure processing, and a magazine for the photographic processor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a photographic processor of this type, when printing on a small-sized short-width photographic paper, printing is performed by arranging a plurality of rows of short-width photographic papers in order to increase work efficiency. In this case, as a specific form, a form in which a short-width photographic paper is pulled out of a magazine and a sorting device for arranging the short-width photographic paper in a plurality of rows on a path on the way to an exposure position is adopted, There has been a configuration in which a plurality of magazines each storing paper separately are arranged in parallel, and short-width photographic paper fed from the plurality of magazines is simultaneously supplied to an exposure position.

[0003]

In the above case, there is a drawback that a sorting device is required and the printing process is lengthened. In this case, a plurality of magazines are required, and the equipment is enlarged. Could lead to SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a photographic processing machine capable of performing a quick process while avoiding an enlargement of equipment when printing a short width photographic paper.

[0004]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a roll-shaped photographic paper in a space for accommodating the photographic paper along a width direction orthogonal to a photographic paper feeding direction. In addition to providing a support mechanism for arranging a plurality of roll-shaped printing papers in parallel, a mechanism for positioning the roll-shaped printing paper supported by the support mechanism in the width direction is provided. It is as follows.

[Effects] In other words, a plurality of short-width photographic papers can be arranged side by side in a single magazine, so that there is no need for a sorting step and there is no need to provide a plurality of magazines, thereby reducing manufacturing costs. be able to.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a plurality of short-width photographic papers are arranged in a space for accommodating a roll of photographic paper along a width direction orthogonal to a photographic paper feeding direction. And a support mechanism that can be switched to a first state in which a single wide printing paper having a width along the width direction longer than the short width printing paper is provided, and A mechanism for positioning the roll-shaped photographic paper supported by the support mechanism in the first and second states in the width direction is provided. The operation and effect are as follows. [Effects] That is, a plurality of short width photographic papers can be stored in a space that can be stored alone if the printing paper is wide, by the support mechanism. Due to the positioning mechanism, there is no misalignment even for short-width photographic paper, and the required print size can be accommodated without replacing the magazine.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a photographic processing machine provided with the magazine according to the first or second aspect, wherein the photographic paper stored in the magazine is set at an exposure position. The present invention is provided with a feeding device for supplying and an exposure device for exposing the photographic paper, and the operation and effect are as follows. [Effects] That is, it is possible to perform a printing operation in a state in which a plurality of short-width photographic papers are arranged side by side without the need for a sorting device, a sorting step, and a plurality of magazines. As a result, it is possible to prevent the device configuration from becoming complicated while increasing the work efficiency.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An image printing apparatus IP whose schematic block diagram is shown in FIG. 1 employs a digital exposure system, and a photographic film (hereinafter simply referred to as a film) processed by a film developing machine (not shown). A) A film scanner 3 for acquiring one frame image as digital image data, a controller 7 for processing the acquired digital image data to create print data, and a frame image on the photographic paper 2 based on the print data. A digital printing unit 5 for exposing a corresponding image and a development processing unit 6 for developing the exposed photographic paper 2 are provided.
The photographic paper 2 developed by the development processing section 6 is discharged as a finished print through a drying process.

The film scanner 3 includes an illumination optical system 21, an imaging optical system 22, and a photoelectric conversion unit 23 using a CCD sensor as main components. Illumination optical system 2
Reference numeral 1 includes a halogen lamp 21a as a white light source, a dimming filter 21b, a mirror tunnel 21c, and the like, and irradiates a frame image of the film 1 by adjusting a color distribution and an intensity distribution of a light beam from the light source. Although not shown, the imaging optical system 22 for processing the transmitted light beam from the film 2 is a mirror that changes the direction of the projection light, a lens unit, and a prism that splits the light beam that has passed through the lens unit into three directions. It is composed of When the film 1 is fed at a predetermined scanning speed by the film transport mechanism 9, the frame image of the film 1 is scanned in the sub-scanning direction, that is, in the longitudinal direction of the film.

The photoelectric conversion unit 23, which photoelectrically converts the light beam guided by the imaging optical system 22, receives three light beams separated by the prism of the imaging optical system 22, and includes three CCD sensors. And each CCD
The sensor is a line sensor in which a large number (for example, 5000) of CCD elements are arranged in the main scanning direction, that is, in the width direction of the film 1, and the charge accumulation operation and the charge accumulation time are controlled during the main scanning by the sensor driving circuit. . Each CC
The imaging surface of the D sensor is provided with a color filter that allows only the blue component, red component, and green component of the light beam to pass therethrough.
Only the green component is photoelectrically converted. Each pixel signal output from each CCD sensor is sampled and held, and each pixel signal becomes a continuous image signal. Each pixel signal is converted into a digital signal having a predetermined number of bits (for example, 12 bits).

When the frame image of the film 1 is positioned at a predetermined scanning position, a reading process of the frame image is started. Each frame image of the film 1 is sequentially read by the photoelectric conversion unit 23 in a form divided into a plurality of slit images by feeding the film 1 by the film transport mechanism 9 and sent to the controller 7 as raw digital image data. .
Such an illumination optical system 21 of the film scanner 3,
Each control of the imaging optical system 22 and the photoelectric conversion unit 23 is performed by the controller 7.

In the present embodiment, the digital printing section 5 employs a PLZT shutter system. In other words, an exposure head 5a and a light source 5b are provided as an exposure device EM for exposing an image to the photographic paper 2 conveyed in two rows from one magazine 10 described later.
Adopts a shutter array composed of PLZT elements. The shutter array composed of this PLZT element utilizes the electro-optic effect of the material,
Light of each color of R, G, and B is introduced into each shutter from a light source 5b via a number of optical fibers. This exposure head 5
a extends over the photographic paper 2 arranged in two rows along the width direction of the photographic paper 2, that is, in the transverse direction of the transport direction, and is transported not only in the wide photographic paper 2 transported in one row but also in two rows. Photographic paper 2 can be simultaneously exposed to images. When a voltage of a predetermined level is applied to each shutter, the shutter enters a light transmitting state, and when the application of the voltage is stopped, the shutter enters a light blocking state. Therefore, when a drive voltage is applied to the shutter corresponding to each pixel from the controller 7 based on the print data, the shutter is opened and light of the color introduced from the light source is irradiated on the printing paper 2. In other words, looking at each of the photographic papers 2 to be exposed, the entire width of the image in the direction intersecting (orthogonal in the present embodiment) with the photographic paper transport direction and part of the image width in the photographic paper transport direction (the In the embodiment, the photographic paper 2 is configured to be exposed in a state where the exposure amount is set for each pixel (for one pixel width).

The light source 5b is provided with a rotation filter composed of optical filters of three colors of R, G, and B. By controlling the rotation phase of the rotation filter, R, G, B
Is selectively opposed to the light source, and light of the selected color is sent to the shutter through an optical fiber through a filter of that color. In addition to the PLZT shutter method, a liquid crystal shutter method, a fluorescent beam method, a FOCRT method, and the like are known as a method of the digital printing unit, and can be arbitrarily selected according to an exposure specification.

The print data sent from the controller 7 is based on the image data read by the film scanner 3 in principle, but is input from an external image input unit 7c connected to the controller 7. The image data sent to the digital printing unit 5 is sent to the photographic paper 2
Can also be exposed. The image data input to the controller 7 from the film scanner 3 or the external image input unit 7c is displayed on the monitor 7a as a simulated image that would be obtained when printing on the photographic paper 2. While confirming the display on the monitor 7a, an instruction for correcting the color tone or the like of the image can be input from the console 7b, and the image data after the correction is sent to the digital print section 5.

As described above, the digital printing section 5 can simultaneously expose each of the photographic papers 2 in a plurality of rows, in this embodiment, in two rows, as shown in FIGS. . For this reason, the photographic paper transport mechanism 8 as a transport device is divided into a photographic paper supply line 8A for transporting the photographic paper 2 in a horizontal attitude, an exposure transport line 8B for transporting the photographic paper 2 in a vertical attitude, and a developing transport line 8C. Have been.

A photographic paper supply line 8A is provided with a magazine 10 for storing the long photographic paper 2 in a roll shape at the upstream end thereof.
A first magazine 10a and a second magazine 10b are provided detachably, and the magazine 10
a, a paper cutter 11 for cutting the photographic paper 2 drawn out from the paper 10b according to the print size, and a film ID, a frame number, and an image formed at the time of creating print data on the back (non-photosensitive surface) of the photographic paper 2 A back print unit 12 that prints correction information indicating processing and the like, and an upstream transport unit AT that transports the photographic paper 2 therebetween are provided. In FIG. 3, in order to make the drawing easier to see,
The illustration of the first magazine 10a, the back print unit 12, the nipping roller 34 for exposure, and the like are omitted. As shown in FIG. 1, the first magazine 10a is disposed above the conveying surface of the photographic paper 2 by the upstream conveying means AT, and the second magazine 10b is conveyed by the upstream conveying means AT. The upstream transport means AT is disposed below the surface, and selectively pulls out the photographic paper 2 from any one of the magazines 10a and 10b and transports it.

The upstream transport means AT for transporting the photographic paper 2 on the upstream side in the transport direction includes a transport roller 32 for pulling out the photographic paper 2 from the magazine 10, and two pairs of transport rollers arranged so as to sandwich the back print unit 12. A motor 31 for rotating the transport rollers 31 and 32 (not shown) and a guide for guiding the printing paper 2 are provided. At the transfer site from the photographic paper supply line 8A to the exposure conveyance line 8B, two direction changing rollers 35 are provided so as to sandwich and drive the photographic paper 2 to be conveyed,
The photographic paper 2 that moves horizontally is configured to be switched to the vertically rising state.

The exposure transport line 8B is provided with a downstream transport means BT for transporting the photographic paper 2 so as to be positioned at an exposure position EP by the exposure head 5a. The downstream transport means BT includes an upstream transport means BT. A receiving roller 33 for receiving the photographic paper 2 introduced from the means AT via the direction changing roller 35, a nipping roller 34 for exposing and transporting on both sides of the exposing position EP by the exposing head 5a in the photographic paper transporting direction,
A motor (not shown) for rotating the receiving roller 33 and the holding roller 34 and a guide member (not shown) are provided between the two holding rollers 34, and two guides are provided. The photographic paper 2 to be transported is arranged to be transported in the same plane.

Next, the structure for storing the photographic paper 2 in the magazine 10 will be described. The magazine 10 is, as shown,
Although two are provided, at least one of them may have the following configuration. As shown in FIG. 3 (a), a second state in which the wide photographic paper 2 having a wide width direction along the direction perpendicular to the feeding direction of the photographic paper 2 is singly attached, and FIG. As described above, it is possible to switch to the first state in which two or three short-width printing papers 2 shorter in width than the wide-width printing paper 2 are arranged. As the first state,
A mode in which the short width photographic paper 2 is attached to the first magazine 10a will be described. As shown in FIGS. 3 (b), 4 and 5, as a mechanism for supporting the roll-shaped photographic paper 2, a rotary cylinder 13 having a rotation axis X along a direction orthogonal to the photographic paper feeding direction. The engaging fixed peripheral groove 13 </ b> A is provided at a plurality of positions along the rotation axis X on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating cylinder 13. As a mechanism H for positioning the roll-shaped photographic paper 2 with respect to the rotary cylinder 13, the mechanism H includes left and right pressing plates 14 that come into contact with the side surface of the photographic paper 2, and a stopper 15 attached to the pressing plate 14. Is provided.

The fixing member 15 is composed of two parts, and includes a fixed piece 15A attached and fixed to the holding plate 14, and a movable piece 15B arranged so as to face the fixed piece 15A. The movable piece 15B is attached to the holding plate 14 so as to be movable within a certain range through a long hole, and is urged by a leaf spring 16 in a direction approaching the fixed piece 15A. In order to position the roll-shaped photographic paper 2 with respect to the rotary cylinder 13, a fixing member 15 attached to a holding plate 14 is fixed at one end of the rotary cylinder 13. In the case of fixing, the movable piece 15B is externally mounted on the rotary cylinder 13 in a state where the movable piece 15B is separated from the fixed piece 15A against the urging force of the spring. 15B
Is released, and the inner end of the movable piece 15B is engaged with the engagement fixed circumferential groove 13A by the urging force. At the same time, the inner end of the fixed piece 15A also engages with the engagement fixed circumferential groove 13A from the side opposite to the movable piece 15B. Thereby, the positioning of the one stopper 15 with respect to the rotary cylinder 13 can be performed.

In the same manner, the other fixing member 15 is engaged with the fixing fixed circumferential groove 13A on the opposite side with the roll-shaped photographic paper 2 interposed therebetween.
And presses the holding plate 14 against the photographic paper 2 to fix it. Thereby, the positioning of the roll-shaped photographic paper 2 with respect to the rotary cylinder 13 can be performed. With the above configuration,
When the rotating cylinder 13 rotates, the two roll-shaped printing papers 2 can be simultaneously rotated to feed out the printing paper 2.

As shown in FIG. 3 (a), in order to attach one roll-shaped photographic paper 2 to the rotary cylinder 13, a stopper 1
A pair of left and right pressing plates 14 each having the respective 5 attached thereto are provided, and the roll-shaped photographic paper 2 is sandwiched between the pressing plates 14 to be positioned at a predetermined position of the rotary cylinder 13. By the way,
When one roll-shaped photographic paper 2 is attached, the photographic paper width is 12 inches of wide photographic paper, and when two roll-shaped photographic papers 2 are attached, the photographic paper width is 5 inches of short photographic paper 2. There is a 2-inch gap between the papers 2. With the same configuration, three or more roll-shaped photographic papers 2 can be attached to the rotary cylinder 13.

In FIG. 4, reference numeral 17 denotes an arm mechanism which projects outward from the outer peripheral surface of the rotary cylinder 13 and pushes out the core material of the roll-shaped photographic paper 2. The arm mechanism 17 is fitted on the rotary cylinder 13 and the rotary cylinder 13. It is designed to enhance the integral rotation with the roll-shaped photographic paper 2, and is configured to switch between a state of protruding from the rotating cylinder 13 and a state of not protruding by operating the operation shaft 18. Reference numeral 19 in FIG. 5 denotes a width regulating guide that regulates the photographic paper 2 fed from the roll in the width direction and restricts meandering or the like.

[Other Embodiments] (A) In addition to the above-described embodiment, five printing papers 2 having a width of 3.5 inches can be arranged in parallel. Inch-width photographic paper 2 to 12
Up to the inch width photographic paper 2 can be installed in one magazine 10. (B) The magazine 10 is not a dual-purpose magazine capable of storing a single photographic paper 2 and a plurality of photographic papers 2, but may be a dedicated magazine capable of storing only a plurality of photographic papers 2.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a photographic processor.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a photographic paper conveyance state to an exposure position.

3A is a perspective view showing a state in which a wide printing paper is attached. FIG. 3B is a perspective view showing a state in which two short printing papers are attached.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a state in which two short-width printing papers are attached to a rotary cylinder.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a state in which photographic paper is stored in a magazine.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 photographic paper 2A short-width photographic paper 2B wide-width photographic paper 8 transport device 10 magazine EM exposure device EP exposure position H positioning mechanism

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A support in which a plurality of roll-shaped photographic papers (2) are juxtaposed in a space for accommodating the roll-shaped photographic papers (2) along a width direction orthogonal to a photographic paper feeding direction. A magazine for a photographic processor provided with a mechanism and a mechanism (H) for positioning a roll-shaped photographic paper (2) supported by the support mechanism in the width direction. 2. A plurality of short-width photographic papers (2A) arranged in a space for accommodating a roll of photographic paper (2) along a width direction orthogonal to a photographic paper feeding direction. The state and the width along the width direction correspond to the short width photographic paper (2
A) A second installation of a longer single wide paper (2B)
And a mechanism (H) for positioning the roll-shaped photographic paper (2) supported by the support mechanism in the first and second states in the width direction. Magazine for photo processing machines. 3. A photographic processor comprising the magazine (10) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the roll-shaped photographic paper (2) stored in the magazine (10) is exposed to an exposure position (EP). (8)
And a photo-processing machine comprising: an exposure device (EM) for exposing the photographic paper (2).