JP2001125211A - Photographic printing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To constitute a photographic printing device which separates and gathers sheets of photographic paper varying in size while suppressing an upsizing of the entire part of the device. SOLUTION: In this device, a sorter Cb and tray Cc for gathering the photographic paper P delivered from a discharge port 5 atop the device are separately arranged and the device is provided with a transporting conveyor Ca for sending the photographic paper P delivered from the discharge port 5 in the horizontal direction. The photographic paper P of a standard size is sent to the sorter Cb and the photographic paper P of a large size is sent to the tray Cc by changing over of the drive direction of a transporting motor 12 for driving the transporting conveyor Ca by changing over a forward direction and a backward direction.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a conveying means for conveying photographic paper sent out from an outlet for discharging photographic paper after development processing, and an accumulating section for accumulating photographic paper conveyed by the conveying means. More particularly, the present invention relates to a technique for sending photographic papers having different sizes to different stacking units and stacking them.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-260520 discloses a technique for sending a photographic paper after development processing sent from an outlet to a different stacking section based on the size. In the conventional example, the size of the photographic paper is determined based on the measurement result of the sensor provided on the conveyance path of the photographic paper (photosensitive material), the large-size photographic paper is sent to the tray at the upper position, and the small-size photographic paper is It is configured so that it can be sent downward and sent out onto a transport conveyor at a lower position, and further sent out from this transport conveyor to a sorter to be sorted for each order.

[0003]

However, in recent photographic printing apparatuses, it is relatively easy to change the photographic paper size, and in a specific order, a standard size such as E size or L size is used. In the next order, large-size photographic paper such as six-cut or four-cut may be processed. In such a case, by using the conventional technology, photographic papers having different sizes can be easily stacked at different stacking positions. However, in the case where photographic papers of different sizes are sent vertically through the outlets different in position, the upper and lower dimensions of the photographic paper transport system are increased in order to form the outlets vertically, and a high protrusion is formed on the upper surface of the apparatus. There is room for improvement in that As one means for solving this inconvenience, it is conceivable that large-size photographic paper is also sent to the same sorter and accumulated, similarly to small-size photographic paper. However, stacking large-format photographic paper with a sorter does not only involve increasing the size of the tray, but avoids contact between the edge of the large-format photographic paper lifted by curling and the edge of the next photographic paper to be fed. As a result, it is necessary to increase the distance between the trays so that the order can be surely separated.As a result, the number of sorter trays must be reduced. The number of orders that can be accumulated is reduced, which is not realistic.

An object of the present invention is to rationally configure a photographic printing apparatus capable of easily separating and accumulating photographic papers of different sizes while suppressing an increase in the size of the entire apparatus.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a conveying means for conveying photographic paper sent out from an outlet from which photographic paper after development processing is discharged, and the conveying means. And a stacking unit for stacking the photographic paper conveyed by the means.
And a transport mechanism disposed at a position, wherein the transport means is disposed at a position for receiving the photographic paper from the discharge port,
An actuator which operates the transport mechanism in the forward direction by the forward rotation drive to feed the photographic paper to one stacking unit, and which operates the transport mechanism in the reverse direction by the reverse rotation drive to send the photographic paper to the other stacking unit. The operation and effect are as follows.

According to a second feature of the present invention (claim 2), in claim 1, the transport mechanism is rotatable about an axis in a horizontal posture, and a pair of roller bodies arranged at an equal level; A flexible endless belt wound around the roller body, and the relative positional relationship is set so that the photographic paper from the discharge port is sent out onto the endless belt from a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the endless belt. The operation and effect are as follows.

A third feature of the present invention (claim 3) is that in claim 1, the transport mechanism causes the vertical wall member movably supported in the horizontal direction to reciprocate in the horizontal direction. The operation and the effect are as follows.

A fourth feature of the present invention (claim 4) is that in any one of claims 1 to 3, one of the stacking units is constituted by a sorter provided with a plurality of trays which operate vertically.
The other of the stacking units is constituted by a tray provided on the upper surface of the apparatus, and when a standard-size photographic paper is developed and sent out from the discharge port, the transfer mechanism operates in the forward direction to print on a sorter tray. Paper feeder, and control means for controlling the actuator to supply the photographic paper to the tray by operating the transport mechanism in the reverse direction when the photographic paper larger than the standard size is developed. Yes,
The operation and effect are as follows.

According to the first feature, the developed photographic paper sent out from the discharge port is received by the transport mechanism, and is accumulated in one accumulation section by the forward rotation of the transport mechanism. By the reverse rotation drive of the transport mechanism, the sheets are stacked on the other stacking unit. In other words, even when photographic papers of different sizes are stacked on the stacking unit at different positions from the outlet, it is only necessary to switch the driving direction of the transport mechanism, and it is not necessary to form a plurality of outlets as in the related art. Alternatively, the vertical dimension of the entire apparatus can be reduced.

According to the second feature, since the transport mechanism is configured to transport the photographic paper horizontally by the pair of roller members and the endless belt wound around the roller members,
The vertical dimension of the apparatus can be further reduced, and the photographic paper can be transported continuously. In addition, since the photographic paper is sent out from the direction orthogonal to the direction of transport of the photographic paper by the endless belt to the intermediate position of the transport path of the endless belt, the photographic paper sent from the discharge port is received without difficulty and each of the stacking sections is received. Can be conveyed at the shortest distance to

According to the third feature, when the photographic paper is transported by the transport mechanism, the vertical wall member is moved in a form of pushing the paper in contact with the end face of the photographic paper. The transfer is more reliable than the one.

According to the fourth feature, the standard size photographic paper is transferred from the transport mechanism to the sorter.
Also, since large-format photographic paper is transferred from the transport mechanism to the tray, the performance of the conventional sorter is not degraded, and the frequency of printing is relatively low, and sorting by order is necessary. Large-size photographic paper having low properties is stacked on a tray, so that the work becomes easy.

[Effects of the Invention] Therefore, a photographic printing apparatus which can rationally separate and accumulate photographic paper while reasonably suppressing enlargement of the entire apparatus by setting the drive mode of the transport mechanism has been rationally constructed. . In addition, the photographic paper transport mode is reasonable and reasonable, and the transport mechanism can reliably transport the photographic paper.
By suppressing the enlargement of the sorter, photographic papers of different sizes were accumulated to enable a reasonable operation.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the photographic printing apparatus includes an exposure processing section A, a development processing section B, and a sorting section C disposed above the development processing section B. Above the exposure processing section A, a light source 1 containing a luminous body such as a halogen lamp, a film carrier 2 on which a photographic film is set, a monitor 3 on which image information and the like of a pre-scanned photographic film are displayed, various types of information are displayed. A printing paper magazine (not shown) containing roll-shaped printing paper, and a transport system for cutting the printing paper from the printing paper magazine into a print size and setting the printing position at an exposure position, in addition to each of the consoles 4 for inputting. When performing an exposure process, a light beam from a light source 1 is sent to a photographic film set on a film carrier 2, and a light beam transmitted through the photographic film is supplied to a photographic paper P (FIG. 3, (See FIG. 4), and after projecting and exposing, it is divided into a plurality of rows (three rows) and supplied to the development processing section B in a parallel state. Although not shown in the developing section B, a plurality of developing tanks, a transport system for supplying the exposed photographic paper P to these developing tanks, and a drying apparatus for drying the photographic paper P after the developing processing are provided. The photographic paper P dried by the dryer is fed in a plurality of rows (three rows) from a discharge port 5 formed in the upper surface of the apparatus. .

The sorting section C receives the photographic paper P from the discharge port 5 and conveys the photographic paper P from the discharge port 5 in a horizontal direction orthogonal to the direction in which the photographic paper P is sent out. A sorter Cb arranged as a stacking part on the front side approaching an operator's work position (a position where the console 4 and the monitor 3 are arranged) based on the transport conveyor Ca, and an accumulating part on the side away from the operator. And a tray Cc arranged as a.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, the conveyor C
a comprises a pair of roller members 10 rotatably supported around an axis in a horizontal posture, and an endless belt 11 made of a flexible material such as rubber wound around the roller members 10. Then, it is driven by a stepping motor type transport motor 12 as an actuator for driving the roller body 10. The support shafts 10A of the respective roller bodies 10 are freely rotatably supported by a frame 13 provided on the upper surface of the apparatus.
0A and the output pulley 15 provided on the output shaft 12A of the transport motor 12 to transmit the power transmission belt 1
6 and the endless belt 11 is driven by the driving force of the conveying motor 12.
Are formed in both directions.

A guide portion 11B is formed so as to protrude at the center position in the width direction on the inner surface side of the endless belt 11, and the guide portion 1B
A concave groove 10B in which the endless belt 11 is fitted is formed on the entire circumference of the center position of the roller body 10 to stabilize the position of the endless belt 11, and the endless belt 11 A guide plate 9 for preventing drooping is arranged, and on the upper surface of the guide plate 9, a number of protrusions are formed to enhance the slidability of the endless belt 11, and the guide portion 11B is provided on the upper surface of the intermediate portion. A recess 9B to be fitted is formed.

The sorter Cb is configured to be large enough to receive the photographic paper P having a size of less than 152.4 mm (less than 6 inches wide) such as L size or E size from the conveyor Ca. The tray Cc is set to a size large enough to easily receive the photographic paper P having a size of 152.4 mm or more (6 inches or more). That is, the sorter Cb has an upper sprocket 20 to which power from a stepping motor type elevating motor 18 is transmitted via a chain transmission mechanism 19.
And a lower sprocket 21 arranged below the endless chain 2 wound around these sprockets 20 and 21.
2 and a plurality of trays 23 which are supported in a freely switchable manner around an axis centered in a lateral posture with respect to the endless chain 22 and are foldable at an intermediate portion, and the trays 23 are located on the supply path side. A plurality of trays 23 are maintained in a substantially horizontal posture at a set interval in a state where the trays 23 are placed on the return path side, and the tray 23 is switched to an inclined posture in a folded form when the trays 23 are positioned. I have.
Also, the level of the tray 23 at the upper end position is set so that the photographic paper P from the transport conveyor Ca can be received in the stacked state until it reaches one order with respect to the tray 23 at the upper end position on the supply path side. Is set sufficiently lower than the transport level of the photographic paper P in the above.

The tray Cc is composed of a plate 24 shaped in a horizontal posture and in a planar shape, and provided with a plurality of guide rollers 25 on the lower surface side of the plate 24. The level of the plate 24 is sufficiently higher than the transport level of the photographic paper P on the transport conveyor Ca so that large-size photographic paper can be received in a stacked state with respect to the plate 24. Is set low.

As shown in FIG. 2, the present photographic printing apparatus is arranged such that the back side is close to the indoor wall surface W, and as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. The wall portion 28 and the front wall portion 29 of the development processing section B are configured to be openable and closable about an axis in a vertical position, and by switching these front wall portions 28 and 29 to an open position, the inside is changed. It is widely opened so that the photographic paper magazine can be replaced, the developing solution can be replenished, and the equipment can be easily inspected and maintained from the front side. Further, the part of the sorter Cb is configured to be able to swing open and close around the axis in the vertical position, and by switching the sorter Cb to the open position as shown by a virtual line in FIG.
The inspection and maintenance of the electric heater and the blower located on the rear side of the sorter Cb can be easily performed from the front side.

In the present photographic printing apparatus, the photographic paper P is cut to a print size in the exposure processing section A, and the photographic paper P cut to the print size is exposed. A control unit (an example of a control unit) having a microprocessor (not shown) having a microprocessor for automatically controlling the sheet to be conveyed to the unit B, dried, and sent out, is provided. When P is sent out from the discharge port 5, the photographic paper P is forwardly driven by the transport motor 12, so that the photographic paper P received by the transport conveyor Ca is sent to the tray 23 at the upper end position of the sorter Cb. When the number of the photographic papers P sent to the tray reaches one order, the lift motor 18 is driven to lower the tray 23 of the sorter Cb by one pitch. When the drawing paper P is sent out from the discharge port 5, the conveyance motor 12 is rotated in the reverse direction to send the large-sized printing paper P received by the conveyance conveyor Ca to the tray Cc, and to place it on the upper surface of the tray Cc. It is intended to do.

More specifically, in the present photographic printing apparatus, an amount proportional to a drive signal, such as a stepping motor or a synchronous motor, for transporting the photographic paper P from the exposure processing section A through the development processing section B is used. The control device stores the size and order identification number of the photographic paper P exposed by the exposure processing unit A in a memory or the like at the time of print processing, and based on a drive signal. (For example, from the process of counting the number of pulses of the pulse signal for driving the stepping motor), the transport position of the photographic paper P can be managed.
Is sent out from the outlet 5, the size and order of the photographic paper P are determined based on the management information.
When the photographic paper P sent out from the printer is of a standard size, the transport motor 12 is driven to rotate forward to continuously send the photographic paper P sent out onto the transport conveyor Ca to the tray 23 of the sorter Cb. When the number of the photographic papers P reaches one order, the tray 23 of the sorter Cb is lowered by one pitch to control the photographic papers P of the next order to be accumulated. ing. And
The photographic paper P sent out from the outlet 5 based on the management information
Is determined to be a large format, the transport motor 12 is driven to rotate in the reverse direction, and the photographic paper P sent out on the transport conveyor Ca is sent out to the upper surface of the plate 24 of the tray Cc to be accumulated. In order to determine the size of the photographic paper P sent out from the discharge port 5, the photographic paper P
It is also possible to provide a sensor for determining the size of the photographic paper P with respect to the path for sending

As described above, in the photographic printing apparatus of the present invention, while the photographic papers P of different sizes are sent out from the single discharge port 5, the photographic paper of the standard size is switched by switching the transport direction of the transport conveyor Ca. Paper P is sorter Cb
And the large-size photographic paper P is collected on the tray Cc, so that the discharge port 5 does not need to be formed vertically as in the prior art. As a result, the vertical dimension of the entire apparatus is reduced. Is made possible. In particular, since the sorter Cb is arranged on the side approaching the operator, it is easy to sort and handle a standard-size photographic paper P having a high print frequency, and a large-size photographic paper P having a low print frequency. Are accumulated on the tray Cc arranged in a region which is originally a dead space at a position away from the operator, so that the space on the upper surface of the apparatus can be effectively utilized.

[Other Embodiments] In the present invention, in addition to the above-described embodiment, the transport mechanism can be configured as follows. That is, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the plate 31 in the horizontal position is arranged at a position where the photographic paper P is sent out from the discharge port 5, and the direction in which the photographic paper P is sent from the discharge port 5 to this plate 31. A slit 31A is formed in a space between the sorter Cb and the tray Cc in a direction perpendicular to the slit 31A, and an operating member 32 that can reciprocate in the direction in which the slit 31A is formed is vertically inserted into the slit 31A. A vertical wall member 33 is provided at the upper end of the operating member 32,
Further, an actuating member 32 is connected and fixed to a chain 35 wound around a pair of sprockets 34, 34, a guide 36 is provided for slidingly contacting the inside of the chain 35, and an actuator for driving the sprocket 34 in both forward and reverse directions. By providing the stepping motor 37 as the
Is reciprocally movable in the horizontal direction, and when the printing paper P is sent out from the discharge port 5, the vertical wall member 33 is retracted to the side opposite to the direction in which the printing paper P is conveyed, and printing is performed on the plate. Immediately after the paper P is sent out, the printing paper P is transferred to the vertical wall member 33.
The operation mode is set and configured to extrude.

With this configuration, the outlet 5
Is sent on the plate 31 so as to be pushed out by contact with the vertical wall member 33, and the photographic paper P can be transported more reliably from the transport conveyor Ca of the above embodiment. ing.

Further, in addition to the above embodiments, the present invention provides a digital exposure type photographic printing apparatus in which, for example, a frame image of a photographic film is photoelectrically converted and digitized, and an exposure head is driven based on the digital signal. The present invention is also applicable to a printer in which photographic paper is sent out in a single line from a discharge port.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a photographic printing device.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a photo printing device.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the arrangement of a conveyor, a sorter, and a tray.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a conveyor and a guide plate.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a sorter.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the arrangement of a transport conveyor, a sorter, and a tray.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the arrangement of a transport conveyor, a sorter, and a tray according to another embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a conveyor according to another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 5 Discharge port 10 Roller body 11 Endless belt 12 Actuator 33 Vertical wall member 36 Actuator Ca transport mechanism Cb Sorter Cc Tray P Printing paper

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A photographic print comprising: transport means for transporting photographic paper sent out from an outlet for discharging photographic paper after development processing; and a stacking unit for stacking photographic paper transported by the transport means. An apparatus, wherein the stacking unit is disposed at two places separated from each other, and the transport unit is disposed at a position where the transport unit receives photographic paper from the discharge port, and the transport mechanism is driven in a forward direction by a forward rotation drive. The photographic printing apparatus comprises: an actuator that operates to feed photographic paper to one stacking unit, and operates the transport mechanism in the reverse direction by reverse rotation driving to send the photographic paper to the other stacking unit. 2. The transport mechanism includes a pair of roller members rotatable about an axis in a horizontal posture and arranged at the same level, and a flexible endless belt wound around the roller members. 2. The photographic printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a relative positional relationship is set such that photographic paper is sent from said discharge port onto said endless belt in a direction orthogonal to a conveying direction of said endless belt. 3. The transport mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the transport mechanism includes a vertical wall member movably supported in a horizontal direction, and an actuator for reciprocating the vertical wall member in a horizontal direction. Photo printing equipment. 4. One of the stacking units is constituted by a sorter provided with a number of trays which operate up and down, and the other of the stacking units is constituted by a tray provided on the upper surface of the apparatus. The photographic paper is supplied to the sorter tray by the forward operation of the transport mechanism when the paper is developed and sent out from the discharge port. When the photographic paper larger than the standard size is developed, the reverse of the transport mechanism is performed. The photographic printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising control means for controlling the actuator to supply photographic paper to the tray by operation in the direction.