JP2002350991A - Photographic printing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To rationally constitute a photographic printing device which enables a test print for obtaining uniformity to the end of an exposure head. SOLUTION: The photographic printing device is provided with a sorting mechanism C which sorts and sends out photographic paper to be sent out from the exposure head A. After shifting the photographic paper which passed the region of the exposure head A by the sorting mechanism C, the photographic paper is returned to the side of the exposure head A. Thereby, a test exposure is carried out in the state where the end of the photographic paper is overhung outside from an end in the main scanning direction of the exposure area of the exposure head A. Next, the photographic paper is sent to the sorting mechanism C, and is shifted in an opposite direction by the sorting mechanism C. Then, the photographic paper is returned to the side of the exposure head A again, and the test exposure is carried out in the state where the end at the opposite side of the photographic paper is overhung outside from the end in the main scanning direction of the exposure area of the exposure head A.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention comprises a transport system which sends a photosensitive material cut into a print size to a portion of an exposure head arranged in an exposure space to perform exposure, and thereafter sends the photosensitive material to a developing section. A distributing mechanism that shifts the photosensitive material in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction to send out the photosensitive material in a parallel path, and that is arranged on the upper transport side or the lower transport side of the exposure space. More specifically, the present invention relates to a technique for performing a test print necessary for achieving uniformity of an exposure head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There are a fluorescent beam type and a liquid crystal shutter type as an exposure head. Among these exposure heads, a fluorescent beam type exposure head has a large number of fluorescent elements arranged in a line along the main scanning direction. Has a structure
At the time of exposure, the exposure head is relatively moved in the sub-scanning direction,
A basic exposure mode is set so that image information is exposed by independently driving the fluorescent elements at a timing synchronized with this, and usually, one of the fluorescent elements corresponds to one pixel of the image information. . In addition, a liquid crystal shutter type exposure head has a structure in which a liquid crystal shutter is arranged at a position where light rays from a light source are blocked.
The exposure head is relatively moved in the sub-scanning direction, and a basic exposure mode is set so as to perform exposure of image information by driving a liquid crystal shutter at a timing synchronized with the exposure head. The unit corresponds to one pixel.

[0003] In a fluorescent beam type exposure head,
Since the performance of each fluorescent element decreases with the elapse of the operation time, and the rate of decrease is slightly different for each fluorescent element, the variation in the emission characteristics of each fluorescent element is corrected. It was necessary to make adjustments, that is, to take uniformity. In particular, when the light amount of one fluorescent element is greatly reduced, a linear line appears on the photosensitive material after the development processing, and the image quality is greatly reduced. Like the fluorescent beam type exposure head, also in the liquid crystal shutter type exposure head, the performance of the liquid crystal shutter decreases with the elapse of the operation time, and the rate of the decrease is slightly smaller for each minimum unit in which the liquid crystal shutter can modulate the light beam. Therefore, it is necessary to correct the variation for each minimum unit of the liquid crystal shutter.

Conventionally, when taking uniformity of an exposure head, each exposure unit (one fluorescent element) of the exposure head is signaled by a signal in which information of a predetermined density appears on a photosensitive material after printing (after development). And the minimum unit of the liquid crystal shutter) to expose the photosensitive material (test exposure)
After development, the density of information printed by a flatbed scanner or the like is read, and a process of generating a correction table or the like for each exposure unit based on the information thus read is performed (for example, JP-A-2000-233528, JP-A-2000-35
No. 5119).

[0005]

However, in a conventional photographic printing apparatus, test exposure is performed by an exposure head using a large-sized photosensitive material, but a test image formed on the photosensitive material is not exposed to the exposure head. It did not include an image due to light rays from the end in the main scanning direction. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 17, the maximum width WP that can be printed by a conventional photographic printing apparatus.
Since the effective exposure width WH (for example, 220 mm) of the exposure head H is set so that the photosensitive material P of (for example, 210 mm) can be printed, test exposure is performed using the photosensitive material P having the maximum width WP. In this case, although the test exposure area TE formed on the photosensitive material P cannot include the light exposure from the end area of the exposure head H as shown in FIG. The uniformity has to be taken based on the image of the area TE.

[0006] The dimension in the width direction of the photosensitive material P having the maximum width generally varies slightly depending on the product or manufacturer, and when this photosensitive material is set at the exposure position. However, it is not possible to set the photosensitive material P at a predetermined position with high accuracy due to the influence of the transport structure thereof, and the relative positional relationship between the exposure head and the photosensitive material varies in the main scanning direction. Therefore, even if the test exposure is performed and the uniformity is obtained as described above, the exposure may be performed with light from a region where the uniformity is not obtained at the time of exposure, and the exposure may be performed with an inappropriate amount of light. In addition, there is room for improvement because unnatural color development occurs near the widthwise end of the photosensitive material and inconvenience of lowering image quality.

An object of the present invention is to rationally configure a photographic printing apparatus capable of performing test printing for obtaining uniformity up to the end of an exposure head.

[0008]

The features, functions and effects of the photographic printing apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention are as follows. (Features) The photosensitive material cut to the print size is sent to a portion of an exposure head arranged in an exposure space to perform exposure, and then a transport system is provided for sending to a development processing section,
A photographic print in which a sorting mechanism that shifts the photosensitive material in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction to send out the photosensitive material in a parallel path is disposed on the upper side of the exposure space on the upper side of the transport or on the lower side of the transport. In the apparatus, the exposure head is configured to have an exposure area for performing linear exposure in the main scanning direction, and the distributing mechanism is arranged at a position beyond an end of the exposure area of the exposure head in the main scanning direction. The shift amount is set so that the end of the photosensitive material can be set,
The distributing mechanism shifts the photosensitive material to a position where one end of the photosensitive material exceeds one end of the exposure area of the exposure head in the main scanning direction, and sends the photosensitive material to the exposure space in this shifted state to expose the exposure head. Then, the photosensitive material is returned to the sorting mechanism, and the other end is shifted to a position beyond the other end of the exposure area of the exposure head in the main scanning direction. A test printing means for performing at least two test exposures on a single photosensitive material so that the test exposure is carried out again by sending the wafer to the exposure space in the state and causing the exposure head to perform the test exposure.

[Operation and Effect] According to the above-mentioned feature, the provision of the sorting mechanism enables the photosensitive material to be sent out along a parallel path, thereby enabling highly efficient processing.
Further, the test printing means sends the test material to the exposure position in a state where one end of the photosensitive material is shifted to a position exceeding one end of the exposure area of the exposure head in the main scanning direction by using a sorting mechanism. Exposure is performed, and thereafter, the photosensitive material is returned to the sorting mechanism, and the other end of the photosensitive material is shifted to a position beyond the other end of the exposure area of the exposure head in the main scanning direction. Since the test exposure is sent to the exposure position and the test exposure is performed at least twice, it is possible to expose a single photosensitive material including light rays from both ends in the main scanning direction of the exposure head Becomes As a result, by improving the distribution mechanism so as to perform a shift larger than the conventional shift amount at the time of distribution, an exposure including light rays from both ends in the main scanning direction of the exposure head is recorded on the photosensitive material, and this is recorded. , It is possible to easily achieve uniformity up to the end of the exposure head.

The features, functions and effects of the photographic printing apparatus according to claim 2 of the present invention are as follows. The photographic printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the distribution mechanism is arranged at a position for receiving the photosensitive material sent from the exposure space, and sorts the photosensitive materials sent from the exposure space in directions opposite to each other. In the standard operation mode, the photosensitive material is sent to the development processing unit by arranging the photosensitive material in a plurality of parallel transport paths, and the end of the photosensitive material sent from the exposure space is moved in the main scanning direction of the exposure area of the exposure head. It is configured to be switchable to a test operation mode in which a test exposure is enabled by shifting to a position beyond the end.

According to the above-mentioned feature, during normal printing, by operating the sorting mechanism in the standard operation mode, the photosensitive material is fed through a plurality of parallel paths to enable highly efficient development processing. Also, when performing the test exposure, it is only necessary to shift the photosensitive material in the test operation mode and return the photosensitive material to the exposure position, so that the distribution mechanism is disposed closer to the developing unit than the exposure position. This allows test exposure with light rays from the end of the exposure head. As a result, the sorting mechanism is shifted more than the conventional shift amount at the time of sorting and improved so that the photosensitive material can be sent out in the opposite direction, and a series of processing is automatically performed by setting the control form of the test printing means. Then, the state of exposure by the light beam from the end of the exposure head can be easily recorded.

The features, functions and effects of the photographic printing apparatus according to claim 3 of the present invention are as follows. [Features] In the photographic printing apparatus according to claim 1, the sorting mechanism is arranged at a position where the photosensitive material is sent to the exposure space, and a plurality of rows arranged in parallel by performing an operation of sorting the photosensitive materials in directions opposite to each other. Standard operation mode in which photosensitive material is placed on the transport path of the photosensitive material and sent to the exposure space, and test exposure is possible by shifting the end of the photosensitive material to a position beyond the end of the exposure area of the exposure head in the main scanning direction. In the test operation mode.

According to the above-described feature, during normal printing, by operating the sorting mechanism in the standard operation mode, the photosensitive material is fed through a plurality of parallel paths to enable highly efficient exposure processing and development processing. Also, when performing test exposure, it is only necessary to shift the photosensitive material in the test operation mode and feed it to the exposure position, so that test exposure with light from the end of the exposure head Is possible. As a result, the distribution mechanism is improved so that the shift amount can be shifted larger than the conventional shift amount at the time of distribution, and a series of processing is automatically performed by setting the control mode of the test printing means, so that the light beam from the end of the exposure head is emitted. Can be easily recorded.

The features, functions and effects of the photographic printing apparatus according to claim 4 of the present invention are as follows. (Characteristic) In the photographic printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the test printing means performs an exposure based on preset information at least two times of test exposure, and performs the test exposure. The point is that a processing mode is set so as to sometimes perform exposure of specific information indicating a specific position of the exposure head in the main scanning direction.

According to the above feature, at least two test exposures are performed on a single photosensitive material with a light beam from one end of the exposure head and the other end of the exposure head. Exposure with light from the unit can be performed, and information specific information indicating a specific position in the main scanning direction of the exposure head is exposed on the photosensitive material. It is possible to accurately grasp the correspondence between the exposure areas of the exposure head in the exposure area. As a result, using a single photosensitive material that has been developed under the same conditions as compared to a method that exposes multiple photosensitive materials, it is possible to achieve high uniformity over the entire exposure area of the exposure head using a single photosensitive material. Become.

The features, functions and effects of the photographic printing apparatus according to claim 5 of the present invention are as follows. [Features] The photographic printing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the exposure head is a light source of three primary colors of red, green, and blue, and a liquid crystal shutter that modulates light from each light source, And a lens array for guiding the light from the liquid crystal shutter to the photosensitive material.

[Action and Effect] According to the above-mentioned characteristics, the performance decreases with the elapse of the use time for each minimum unit capable of modulating a light beam. Can be easily reflected on the photosensitive material. As a result, even when a liquid crystal shutter type exposure head is used, a print serving as a source of information for correction can be easily obtained.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, an exposure processing section E for exposing image information to a silver halide photographic paper P (hereinafter referred to as photographic paper) as a photosensitive material, and A photographic printing apparatus is provided with a housing 1 provided with a development processing section D for performing development processing of the photographic paper P. The exposure processing unit E includes a halogen lamp (not shown)
A light source 2 for transmitting light from the light source 2, a film carrier 3 to which the light from the light source 2 is supplied, and a light beam transmitted through the photographic film F set in the film carrier 3 are imaged in an exposure space inside the housing 1. A projection type exposure structure having an optical lens 4 for exposing the printing paper P in an exposure space.

The exposure processing section E includes a film carrier 3
A sensor unit S for photoelectrically converting image information contained in a light beam transmitted through the photographic film F set in the processing unit 5, and a processing device 5 for processing the image information captured by the sensor unit S; And a console 7 for inputting processing information are provided outside the housing. The processing device 5 is set with a program for performing an exposure process on the photographic paper P and a process for performing a test print on the photographic paper P as described later. The processing device 5 constitutes a test printing unit.

A transport mechanism 10 having a pressure roller for feeding a photographic paper P of a photographic paper magazine M for storing a long photographic paper (an example of a photosensitive material) inside the housing 1 in the exposure processing section E.
A cutter 11 composed of a pair of blades for cutting the photographic paper P sent by the transport mechanism 10 into a print size, and a belt for feeding the photographic paper P cut to the print size by the cutter 11 to an exposure position in an exposure space. -Type exposure transport mechanism B and photographic paper P sent out from this exposure transport mechanism B
And a distributing mechanism C for transmitting the photographic paper P to a pair of parallel paths by shifting the photographic paper P in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction.

The developing section D has a plurality of processing tanks 12 for developing the photographic paper P, a transport unit 13 for sending the photographic paper P to each processing tank 12, and the photographic paper P after the developing processing. Has a drying mechanism consisting of a blower 14 for sending drying air to the printer 1 and a number of pressure rollers 15 for sending photographic paper, and receives and transports the photographic paper P sent after drying to the outer surface of the housing 1. Belt-conveying horizontal conveyor 16
And a belt-conveying order conveyor 17 for feeding photographic paper from the horizontal conveyor in a state of being sorted in order units.

The optical lens 4 is supported on a slide member 20 slidably movable in a direction perpendicular to an optical axis L connecting the film carrier 3 and the exposure position. And a mirror 21 having an inclined posture for guiding a light beam from the film carrier 3 to the sensor unit S. With such a structure, when the slide member 20 is set at the position shown in the drawing, image information of the photographic film F supported on the film carrier 3 is guided to the exposure position to perform projection exposure.
When the mirror 21 is set on the optical axis L by moving the mirror 0 in the horizontal direction, the image information of the photographic film F supported by the film carrier 3 is guided to the sensor unit S to perform photoelectric conversion of the image information. ing.

The sensor unit S includes a photographic film F
R (red), G (green), and B (green) so that the image information of R (red), G (green), and B (blue) are sequentially separated in a line shape in a state of being separated into three primary colors and photoelectrically converted. Blue) and a line CCD corresponding to the film carrier 3.
Has a pressure roller for feeding the photographic film F in the longitudinal direction, and an electric motor (not shown) for driving the pressure roller. When the image information of the photographic film F is taken in by the sensor unit S, the photographic film F set on the film carrier 3 is moved at a predetermined speed in the sub-transport direction, and the line is synchronized with the moving speed. CC
In D, image information in the main scanning direction is fetched line by line, and the image information is stored in a storage area secured in a semiconductor memory or a hard disk of the processing device 5 in a state managed in order. The processing mode of the processing means 5 is set to perform the processing.

As means for scanning the image information of the photographic film F, the information of the area of the frame image of the photographic film F is taken in using an image sensor, or the line CCD is fixed to the line CCD while the photographic film F is fixed. It is also conceivable to set the processing mode so that the guided light beam is captured by scanning by swinging movement of the mirror.

The exposure and transport mechanism B winds a transport belt 24 having a large number of air holes around two idler pulleys 22 and one drive pulley 23, and moves the transport belt 24 to the upper and lower positions. The pressure roller 25 is disposed at the position and a transport motor M23 which is a stepping motor for driving the drive pulley 23, a negative pressure case 26 which applies a negative pressure to the rear surface side of the transport area of the transport belt 24, By providing a suction fan 28 for sucking air through a duct 27 communicating with the pressure case 26,
The photographic paper P can be conveyed while being attracted to the conveyance surface of the photographic paper P.

As shown in FIG. 7, the exposure head A
R (red), G (green), B
A plurality of (blue) light emitting diodes LED are provided in a line, and a liquid crystal shutter LCS is disposed below the plurality of light emitting diodes LED, and a microlens array Le (Selfoc lens) is disposed at the lowermost position. Exposure in a form in which the minimum unit that can be modulated corresponds to one pixel of the image information is enabled.
As shown in FIG. 7, the exposure of the exposure area Ea by the exposure head A can be performed. In the figure, the exposure area Ea is shown as a surface having a spread. In this exposure area Ea, the area to be exposed by each of R (red), G (green) and B (blue) has a width on the order of microns. Can be regarded as a line with

The longitudinal direction of the exposure area Ea is the main scanning direction, and the exposure head A is configured to be movable in the sub-scanning direction perpendicular to the main scanning direction. As shown in FIG. 3, the exposure head A is disposed inside a frame 31 which is rectangular in plan view, and is movably supported by the rotational force of a ball screw 32 supported by the frame 31. The motor-type exposure motor M32 is configured to be rotatable. HA shown in FIG. 6 is a home position of the exposure head A, and although not shown in the drawing, a home position sensor for detecting the presence of the exposure head A at the home position HA is provided. Is performed, the intermittent signal for driving the exposure motor M32 is counted with reference to the home position HA, so that the exposure head A
The processing mode of the processing device 5 is set so as to specify the position.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the width of an area EP that can be exposed by projection exposure in the exposure space is indicated by WP, when the projection exposure is performed, the area EP that can be exposed is Exposure can be performed by supplying a photographic paper P of a slightly smaller size. Further, the exposure head A is designed to perform exposure by using the photographic paper P of this size.
The width WH of the exposure area Ea in the main scanning direction is determined,
This WH is set to a size that is about WX larger at both ends than WP.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the distributing mechanism C has a pair of chucking rollers 35 composed of a main roller 35A and a sub-roller 35B so as to sandwich the photographic paper P sent from the exposure transport mechanism B. At the same time, a feed motor M35 that rotationally drives a main roller 35A of each chucking roller 35, and a shift block 3 that supports each chucking roller 35 movably in the width direction of the printing paper P.
6. Further, a shift block 36 is connected to a toothed belt 38 wound around a pair of pulleys 37 arranged in a horizontal positional relationship, and a shift motor M37 for driving the pulleys 37 is provided. This sorting device C
In FIG. 6, the attitude of the slave roller 35B around the drive axis of the main roller 35A is changed to the chucking attitude Y shown in FIG.
(B), an arm 39 is provided to switch to the discharge posture X shown in FIG. 3 (b), an electromagnetic solenoid 40 for applying a driving force to the arm 39 is provided, and the leading end of the photographic paper P fed to the The lower end of the direction)
Is provided with a guide plate 41 for guiding the downward direction. Each of the shift motor M37 and the feed motor M35 is constituted by a stepping motor which can rotate forward and backward.

The distributing mechanism C has, in addition to the above-described structure, a belt-type unloading mechanism CA for feeding the photographic paper P discharged from the chucking roller 35 to the developing unit D. The unloading mechanism CA has a structure in which a pair of endless belts 43 are wound in close contact with rollers 42 provided in an up-and-down positional relationship. And a feed motor M42 for driving the roller 42. The print paper P is transported from the upper end to a belt transport system connected thereto.

Each of the chucking rollers 35 is provided with a home position H1, H2. Although not shown in the drawing, each chucking roller 35 is provided with a home position sensor for detecting that it is located at each of the home positions H1, H2. When the shift operation of the king roller 35 is performed, the shift motor M37 is used based on the home positions H1 and H2.
The processing mode of the processing device 5 is set so that the position of the chucking roller 35 can be specified by counting the intermittent signal that drives the.

Next, the distribution operation of the photographic paper P by the distribution mechanism C will be described. FIGS. 10 (a) to 11 (e) are views showing, in parallel, a direction view perpendicular to the distribution direction and a direction view along the distribution direction, and are standard such as so-called L size and E size. Exposure on photographic paper P of typical size,
Alternatively, after the exposure by the exposure head A is performed, the photographic paper P is sent out from the center position N in the width direction of the transport belt 24 of the exposure transport mechanism B.

When the photographic paper P is sent out from the conveyor belt 24 as described above, one of the chucking rollers 35 is used.
Is set to the chucking posture Y, the chucking roller 35 is driven at a speed synchronized with the conveyor belt 24 by the feed motor M35, and the main roller 35A and the sub-roller of the chucking roller 35 are driven. The printing paper P is chucked in a state where the photographic paper P is sandwiched between the photographic paper P and the printing paper P. Even after the chucking is performed in this way, the photographic paper P is drawn by continuing to drive the feed motor M35,
The leading end of the printing paper P is guided downward by contact with the guide plate 41 (FIG. 10A).

Next, the feed motor M35 is stopped immediately before the rear end of the photographic paper P (the upper end in the transport direction) reaches the chucking roller 35 to stop the drawing of the photographic paper P. By driving the solenoid 40, the chucking roller 35 is set to the discharging position, and the shift motor M37 is set.
To move the chucking roller 35 to the home position H1 (FIGS. 10B, 10C).

After reaching this state, the feed motor M
The printing paper P is fed into the endless belt 43 of the unloading mechanism CA by reversing 35 and sending the rear end side of the printing paper P upward, and the unloading mechanism CA moves to the first transport path R1 shown in FIG. The photographic paper P is conveyed along [FIG. 11 (d)]. After the photographic paper P is sent to the carry-out mechanism CA by this operation, the chucking roller 35 on the other side is moved.
Is set to the chucking posture Y, moved to the center position N, and stands by [FIG. 11 (e)]. After the photographic paper P is chucked by the waiting chucking roller 35, the same operation as described above is performed, so that the endless belt 43 of the unloading mechanism CA is moved from the home position H2 of the chucking roller 35. The photographic paper P is sent to the photographic paper P along the second transport path R2.

By performing the sorting operation in this manner, the printing paper P is arranged and sent in a staggered two rows in parallel to the carry-out mechanism CA, thereby enabling efficient conveyance. . The sorting mechanism C is a photographic paper P
Not only for sorting and transporting the photographic paper P, but also by switching the front and back of the photographic paper P and sending the photographic paper P to the developing processing section D, so that the photosensitive surface in the developing processing section D is efficiently brought into contact with the processing liquid to perform the developing process. In order to make the image of the photographic paper P stacked on the order conveyor 17 face upward. When processing a large-size photographic paper P, each chucking is performed. While holding the rollers 35 at the home positions H1 and H2, the photographic printing paper P is chucked, the leading end is guided downward, and then the unloading mechanism C is moved from the rear end side.
The operation of feeding into A is performed. As a technique for performing an operation similar to this operation, there are techniques disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 11-352662 and 11-352664.

The above configuration is basically the same as that of the conventional photographic printing apparatus. The photographic printing apparatus of the present invention provides the entire width of the exposure area Ea of the exposure head A for a single photographic paper P in the exposure space. It is characterized in that it is configured to be able to perform a test print in a form in which a light beam is supplied to the photographic paper P.

FIG. 9 shows an outline of the configuration of a processing system which enables the operation of the present invention. The processing device 5 includes a microprocessor, a semiconductor memory for storing information, an I / O for enabling access to information, and the like.
An exposure head A, an exposure motor M32 for moving the exposure head A, a transport motor M32 for driving the transport belt 24 of the exposure transport mechanism B, a shift motor M37 for shifting the chucking roller 35, and a chucking roller 35
Motor M35 for driving and rotating the motor, and the unloading mechanism CA
And an output system for each of the unloading motors M42 for driving the motors.

When information for performing the processing in the test exposure mode is input to the processing device 5, the information from the test exposure sequence data and the test exposure data table is transmitted to the processing device 5. Is loaded. The data loaded in this manner may be stored in the processing device 5 in advance, but when the data is loaded, the following operation is performed based on the test exposure sequence data, and the test exposure data table is used. 12A to 12J, the exposure head is controlled on the basis of the data of FIG.
The test exposure is performed on the printing paper P as shown in FIG.

That is, each of the chucking rollers 35 of the distribution mechanism C is configured to be movable to a position opposite to the center position (outside) from the home positions H1 and H2. The process is started using a photographic paper P having a size sufficiently larger than half the width of the exposure area Ea in the main scanning direction.

In this test print processing, the photographic paper P fed by the transport belt 24 is chucked by the respective chucking rollers 35 by synchronously driving the transport motor M23 and the feed motor M35 as shown in FIG. And
The driving of the respective feed motors M35 is continued so that the printing paper P
And the rear end of the printing paper P is separated from the conveyor belt 24 (b). When the separated state is reached, the driving of each chucking roller 35 is stopped, and each chucking roller 35 is moved to one end (c). When this state is reached, each feed motor M3
5 and the transport motor M24 are driven in reverse to feed the photographic paper P from the chucking roller 35 to the transport belt 24, and set the photographic paper P at the exposure position (d). Further, even after the photographic printing paper P is sent to the transport belt 24, the respective chucking rollers 35 maintain their positions.

In this state, the end of the printing paper P is located outside the end of the exposure area Ea of the exposure head A in the main scanning direction. And in this state,
The exposure motor M32 is driven to shift the exposure head A to the exposure position. When the exposure head A reaches a position set in advance as exposure position data, a test exposure is performed based on the respective exposure pattern data, exposure amount data, and moving speed data. Start.

In this test exposure, R (red), G (green), B
(Blue) The minimum unit of the liquid crystal shutter LCS corresponding to each is driven by the set signal, so that R (red),
This is a process of forming a line of a predetermined density with a hue of G (green) and B (blue) of about several millimeters to 1 cm. When this process is performed, R (red), G (green), B
(Blue), information for determining which exposure corresponds to, and a mark (a center mark, which will be described later) required to specify the position of each minimum unit of the liquid crystal shutter are formed by exposure. . The exposure region formed by this test exposure is shown in FIG.
E, the test exposure area TE has a light beam from the area from the position including the center position of the exposure area Ea of the exposure head A in the main scanning direction to one end, and the test print area TE
It is to be sent to.

After the first test print is completed, the transport motor M23 is driven to move the photographic paper P in the sending direction by the transport belt 24, and the photographic paper P is moved to the respective chucking rollers in the same manner as described above. Then, the photographic paper P is drawn in by driving the respective feed motors M35 again, and the rear end of the photographic paper P is separated from the conveyor belt 24 (e). When the separated state is reached, each chucking roller 35 is moved to the other end (f). When this state is reached, the feed motor M35 and the transport motor M24 are driven in reverse rotation to feed the photographic paper P from the chucking roller 35 to the transport belt 24, and set the photographic paper P at the exposure position (g).
Further, even after the photographic printing paper P is sent to the transport belt 24, the respective chucking rollers 35 maintain their positions.

In this state, the opposite end of the printing paper P is located outside the end of the exposure area Ea of the exposure head A in the main scanning direction, as described above. Then, in this state, the exposure motor M32 is driven to shift the exposure head A to the exposure position. When the exposure head A reaches a position preset as exposure position data (a position different from the position where the test exposure was previously performed), the exposure is started. The test exposure is started based on each of the pattern data, the exposure data, and the moving speed data. The exposure area formed by the test exposure is called a test exposure area TE. By this test exposure, light rays from the region from the position including the center position of the exposure region Ea of the exposure head A in the main scanning direction to the other end portion are sent to the photographic paper P without leaving.

After the test exposure is completed, the transport motor M23 and the feed motor M35 are driven synchronously to move the photographic paper P in the sending direction by the transport belt 24, and the photographic paper P is moved to the respective chucking rollers. 35 (h). Further, the respective feed motors M35 are driven to draw the photographic paper P. With the rear end of the photographic paper P separated from the conveyor belt 24, the respective chucking rollers 35 are moved. Are moved to the home positions H1 and H2 (i), the chucking roller 35 is set to the discharging position, and then the feed motor M35 is rotated in reverse, and the discharge motor M42 is driven synchronously, thereby the endless belt of the discharge mechanism CA. The photographic paper P is fed to the printer 43 to perform a developing process (j).

As shown in FIG. 8, an image is formed on two test exposure areas TE on the photographic printing paper P which has been subjected to the test exposure and development processing, and R (red), In addition to the image information of G (green) and B (blue), a center mark CM indicating a center position (an example of specific information indicating a specific position of the exposure head) is formed. The performance of each unit can be determined. Although a specific process is not described, after obtaining the photographic paper P on which an image is formed by the test exposure as described above, the photographic paper P is scanned by a flatbed scanner or the like, and the liquid crystal is aligned with the center mark CM as a reference. The state of each of the minimum units of the shutter is determined for R (red), G (green), and B (blue), and a correction table is generated (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 200-200).
0-355119).

As described above, according to the present invention, the distribution amount of the distribution mechanism C is increased, the hardware is improved so that the transport system can be reversed, and the photographic paper P is shifted by the distribution mechanism C before the exposure. By making an improvement by adding software so as to return to the position and perform the test exposure with the exposure head A, not only the apparatus having the liquid crystal shutter type exposure head A as in this embodiment, but also the fluorescent beam type exposure Even in a device having a head, uniformity of the exposure head A can be easily obtained by performing test exposure with light rays from all regions including both ends of the exposure head A in the main scanning direction. .

In the present invention, the distributing mechanism C is constituted by a pair of chucking rollers 35. The distributing mechanism C may be a single distributing mechanism as long as it has a function of distributing the photographic paper P. May be three or more. Instead of the rollers, a structure may be adopted in which a belt for sandwiching the photographic paper P is provided so as to be freely shiftable in the lateral direction.

[Another Embodiment] In the present invention, in addition to the above-described embodiment, for example, as shown in FIG. 13, a distributing mechanism C is disposed at a position well-conveyed on the basis of an exposure space in which an exposure head A is disposed. It is also possible to apply the present invention to those having the same functions as those of the above-described embodiment.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14,
A plurality of press-type conveying rollers 51 for guiding the photographic paper P from one of the two photographic paper magazines M, M upward, and a pair of blades for cutting the photographic paper P from the conveying rollers 51 into a print size. And a sorting mechanism C for sorting and sending the photographic paper P cut to the print size to the two rows of transport paths R1 and R2, and a pair of the photographic papers P thus sorted. Receiving a pair of pressure-sensitive receiving rollers 53 that can be independently transported along the two rows of transport paths R1 and R2, and the photographic paper P from the receiving rollers 53 is transported to the exposure position in a pressure-bonded state. A pair of exposure rollers 54 arranged at the upper position and lower position of the transport of the exposure position, and an exposure head A for exposing the photographic paper P transported by the exposure roller 54,
The printing apparatus is provided with a plurality of pressure-sensitive discharge rollers 55 for feeding the photographic paper P exposed by the exposure head A.

The sorting mechanism C includes a pair of chucking rollers 58 having a pair of rollers for sandwiching the printing paper P, and has a horizontal positional relationship with a feed motor M58 for driving one of the rollers constituting the chucking roller 58. Toothed belt 60 wound around a pair of arranged pulleys 59
, A shift motor M59 connected thereto, and an operation block 61 that supports the shift motor M59 is vertically movably supported. Also, the operation block 61 is supported by a toothed belt 63 wound around a pair of pulleys 62 disposed at an up and down position. And a lifting / lowering motor M62 for driving the pulley 62 is provided.

Although the control system is not shown in the drawing, when performing control in the test exposure mode, the control unit controls the distribution mechanism C based on the test exposure sequence data and the data set in the test exposure data table. The point that the exposure is performed by shifting the photographic paper P is basically the same as the above-described embodiment.

The distribution operation of the photographic paper P by the distribution mechanism C is a well-known technique and is not shown in the drawing. The photographic paper P to be sent out is chucked by the chucking roller 58, and the photographic paper P is sent to one of the receiving rollers 53 by an operation of lifting upward while shifting the photographic paper P outward, thereby setting the photographic paper P. When it is sent to the position, the receiving roller 53 is held in a pressed state. Next, the transport roller 5
When the next photographic paper P is sent out from 1, the photographic paper P is chucked by the other chucking roller 58, and the photographic paper P is lifted upward while being shifted outward, whereby the photographic paper P is transferred. An operation of feeding the photographic paper P to the other receiving roller 53 is performed, and the photographic paper P and the photographic paper P already held are simultaneously sent to the exposure position of the exposure head A in a parallel state to perform exposure. (For example, JP-A-2001-33883, JP-A-2001-33889, JP-A-2001-3)
No. 3890).

In this alternative embodiment, each of the chucking rollers 58 of the distribution mechanism C is also configured to be movable from the home positions H1 and H2 to the opposite center position (outside) to perform test printing. At this time, the process is started using a photographic paper P having a size sufficiently larger than half the width of the exposure area Ea of the exposure head A in the main scanning direction.

In the test print processing, the process shown in FIG.
The processing of sending the printing paper P is performed in the order shown in FIGS. That is, when the test exposure is started, (a)
As shown in FIG.
And the respective feed motors M58 are driven to draw in the photographic paper P.
Is driven to lift upward in the chucking state, thereby separating the lower end of the photographic paper P from the transport roller 51 (b). When the separated state is reached, each chucking roller 58 is moved to one end (c).

In this state, the end of the printing paper P is located outside the end of the exposure area Ea of the exposure head A in the main scanning direction. In this state, each chucking roller 58 and the receiving roller 53 are driven to send the photographic paper P to the receiving roller 53. Further, the receiving roller 53 sends the photographic paper P to the exposure roller 54 to perform test exposure at the exposure position. Start (d). During this exposure, the chucking roller holds the fed position. At the time of this exposure, test exposure is performed based on each of the exposure position data, exposure pattern data, exposure amount data, and moving speed data, as in the above-described embodiment.

After the exposure is completed, the exposure roller 54, the receiving roller 53, and the chucking roller 58
And the printing paper P is transferred to the chucking roller 53 (e), and when the upper end position of the printing paper P reaches a state of being separated from the receiving roller 53, each chucking roller 58 is moved to the other side. (F).

In this state, the edge of the photographic paper P is located outside the edge of the exposure area Ea of the exposure head A in the main scanning direction. In this state, each of the chucking rollers 58 and the receiving roller 53 are driven to send the photographic paper P to the receiving roller 53,
3 to the exposure roller 54 to perform test exposure at a different position from the position where the test exposure was previously performed in the exposure position in the same manner as described above (g).

After the exposure, the photographic printing paper P is fed into the developing tank 12 by the carry-out roller 55 to perform the developing process, thereby forming two test exposure areas TE (h). Is formed with a center mark CM indicating the center position, whereby the performance of the minimum unit of the liquid crystal shutter LCS can be determined.

As described above, in this embodiment, the distribution amount of the distribution mechanism C is increased, the hardware is improved so that the transport system is configured to be reversible, and the photographic paper P is shifted by the distribution mechanism C. Later, by making an improvement by adding software so as to perform a test exposure with the exposure head A, not only the apparatus having the liquid crystal shutter type exposure head A as in the present embodiment but also a fluorescent beam type exposure head Even with the apparatus having the exposure head A, uniformity (uniformity) of the exposure head A can be easily obtained by performing test exposure with light rays from all regions including both ends of the exposure head A in the main scanning direction.

In this embodiment, the sorting mechanism C is composed of a pair of chucking rollers 35. However, the sorting mechanism C may be a single unit if it has a function of sorting the photographic paper P. Or three or more. Instead of the rollers, a structure in which a belt for sandwiching the photographic paper P is freely shiftable in the lateral direction may be adopted.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a photo printing device.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an exposure transport mechanism and a distribution mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a distribution mechanism.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a relationship between an exposure area of an exposure head and an area that can be exposed;

FIG. 6 is a side view showing when the photographic paper is received and discharged in the sorting mechanism.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of an exposure head.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an area of test exposure on photographic paper;

FIG. 9 is a block circuit diagram of a control system.

FIG. 10 is a diagram sequentially showing the movement of the printing paper during the sorting operation.

FIG. 11 is a diagram sequentially showing the movement of the photographic paper during the sorting operation;

FIG. 12 is a diagram sequentially showing the movement of photographic paper when performing test exposure.

FIG. 13 is a side view showing an exposure transport system according to another embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a front view of a distribution mechanism according to another embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a diagram sequentially showing the movement of photographic paper when performing test exposure in another embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a diagram sequentially illustrating the movement of photographic paper when performing test exposure in another embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a dimensional relationship between a conventional exposure head and a photosensitive material.

[Explanation of symbols]

 5 Test printing means A Exposure head C Distributing mechanism D Developing section CM Specific information Ea Exposure area P Photosensitive material R1, R2 Transport path

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A photosensitive material cut to a print size is sent to a portion of an exposure head arranged in an exposure space to perform exposure, and a transport system for sending the photosensitive material to a development processing section is provided. By shifting the photosensitive material in the direction, a sorting mechanism that sends out the photosensitive material in a parallel path, the upper transport side of the exposure space, or a photographic printing apparatus that is disposed on the lower transport side, The exposure head is configured to have an exposure area for performing linear exposure in the main scanning direction, and the distributing mechanism is configured to apply a photosensitive material to a position exceeding an end of the exposure area of the exposure head in the main scanning direction. The shift amount is set so that the end can be set. By this sorting mechanism, the photosensitive material is moved so that one end thereof exceeds one end of the exposure area of the exposure head in the main scanning direction. The exposure material is sent to the exposure space to perform test exposure with the exposure head. After that, the photosensitive material is returned to the distribution mechanism, and the other end of the photosensitive material is moved to the main portion of the exposure area of the exposure head. At least two test exposures on a single photosensitive material so as to shift to a position beyond the other end in the scanning direction, and in this shift state, re-send the exposure space to perform a test exposure with an exposure head. A photograph printing apparatus provided with a test printing means for performing the following. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the distributing mechanism is disposed at a position for receiving the photosensitive material sent from the exposure space, and performs an operation of distributing the photosensitive material sent from the exposure space in opposite directions. The standard operation mode in which the photosensitive material is placed in the transport path of the photosensitive material and sent to the developing section, and the end of the photosensitive material sent from the exposure space is shifted to a position beyond the end of the exposure area of the exposure head in the main scanning direction. 2. The photographic printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the photographic printing apparatus is configured so as to be switchable between a test operation mode and a test operation mode which enables test exposure. 3. The distributing mechanism is arranged at a position where the photosensitive material is sent to the exposure space, and performs an operation of distributing the photosensitive material in directions opposite to each other, thereby disposing the photosensitive material on a plurality of parallel transport paths. Switchable between the standard operation mode in which the end of the photosensitive material is shifted beyond the end of the exposure area of the exposure head in the main scanning direction to enable test exposure. The photographic printing device according to claim 1, wherein the photographic printing device is configured as follows. 4. The test printing means performs exposure based on preset information at least at the time of test exposure, and specifies a specific position in the main scanning direction of the exposure head at the time of the test exposure. The photographic printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a processing mode is set to perform information exposure. 5. The exposure head includes a light source of three primary colors of red, green, and blue, a liquid crystal shutter for modulating light beams from the respective light sources, and a lens array for guiding the light beams from the liquid crystal shutter to a photosensitive material. Claims 1 to 4
A photographic printing device according to any one of the preceding claims.