JP2003098604A - Mechanism for carrying film - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress the deterioration of photographic print quality resulting from the change of the transport speed of a film in the case the film is scanned in the process of rewinding into a cartridge. SOLUTION: In a film scanner 1 in which the film 2 is scanned in the process where the film 2 is rewound into the cartridge 70, an oil type clutch 13 for rewinding the film 2 having a holding torque threshold smaller than the holding torque threshold of a power type clutch 12 for feeding the film 2 is arranged between a spool shaft 71 around which the film 2 is wound and a shaft 11a rotated by a motor 11.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a film transport mechanism for feeding and rewinding a film contained in a cartridge.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There is known a photographic processing apparatus capable of automatically performing processing such as exposure, development, bleach-fixing, and stabilization on a photosensitive material such as photographic paper. In recent years, so-called digital exposure has been put to practical use, in which a photosensitive material is exposed with light controlled based on digital image data (image signal) obtained by capturing an image of a film with a film scanner having an image sensor such as a CCD sensor. Has been done. By adopting the digital exposure method, various image processing such as color correction, density correction, and sharpening processing can be performed with a high degree of freedom, and quick reprint processing is possible, and color and density reproducibility is further improved. It is possible to obtain a high-quality and good print excellent in resolution and resolution.

Films photographed by an APS (Advanced Photo System) camera are generally stored in a cartridge. When the film is subjected to a process such as scanning, the film is It must be delivered once from within the cartridge. Here, the film scanner is equipped with a film transport mechanism for feeding and rewinding the film stored in the cartridge, and press scanning is performed in the process of feeding the film out of the cartridge, and the film is fed. In some cases, scanning is performed in the process of being rewound into the cartridge. In a film scanner for obtaining digital image data, a film is conveyed by a pair of conveying rollers arranged so as to sandwich a scanning (press scanning) position, and an image is picked up by an image pickup device such as a linear CCD sensor. Many.

In such a film scanner, when a cartridge accommodating a film is mounted in the film scanner main body, it is rotationally driven by a spool shaft around which the film is wound in the cartridge and a motor provided in the scanner main body. The shaft is connected through a member such as a clutch. A delivery clutch used when the film is delivered from the cartridge and a rewinding clutch used when the film is rewound into the cartridge are separately arranged between the spool shaft and the shaft. Has been done. Powder type clutches are often used as the sending clutch and the rewinding clutch, and when the torque acting between the spool shaft and the shaft reaches the holding torque limit value, the shaft is rotated by the shaft. Allows to rotate faster than.

Here, when the film is sent out from the inside of the cartridge, it may not be properly sent out from inside the cartridge due to the leading end of the film being caught. Then, if the spool shaft further rotates while the leading end portion of the film is not properly fed, the film is bent and deteriorates. Therefore, the delivery clutch is used to regulate the magnitude of the torque acting between the spool shaft and the shaft when the film is not properly delivered from the cartridge.

Further, in such a film scanner, when the film is rewound into the cartridge, the speed of transporting the film by the rotation of the shaft is controlled to be higher than the speed of transporting the film by the pair of transport rollers. , The film can be wound around the spool shaft without slack. Further, at this time, the transport speed of the film during scanning must be kept substantially constant at the transport speed of the transport roller pair. Therefore, the rewinding clutch is used to absorb the difference between the transporting speed of the film by the transporting roller pair and the transporting speed (rewinding speed) of the film due to the rotation of the shaft.

[0007]

However, the holding torque limit value of the powder type clutch is a relatively large value, which is convenient when the film requiring a large torque is fed out from the cartridge, while the film winding method is advantageous. When returning, when the shaft rotates faster than the spool shaft, the transport speed of the film at the scanning position may change intermittently. As described above, if the transport speed of the film changes (unevenness of film transport occurs), scanning cannot be performed properly, and the quality of photographic prints deteriorates.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a film transport mechanism capable of suppressing deterioration of photographic print quality due to a change in film transport speed.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, a film transport mechanism according to a first aspect of the present invention rotates a spool shaft around which a film is wound to feed a film stored in a cartridge and In a film transport mechanism for rewinding, a film which is arranged between a shaft driven to rotate by a drive source and the spool shaft and the shaft, and which feeds a film acting between the spool shaft and the shaft. A first clutch that allows the shaft to rotate faster than the spool shaft when the torque in the direction reaches its holding torque limit, and is disposed between the spool shaft and the shaft, The film rewinding torque acting between the spool shaft and the shaft reaches the holding torque limit value. And a second clutch that enables the shaft to rotate faster than the spool shaft, and the holding torque limit value of the second clutch is the holding torque limit value of the first clutch. It is characterized by being smaller than.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when scanning is performed in the process of rewinding the film stored in the cartridge and then rewinding the film into the cartridge, when the shaft rotates faster than the spool shaft, It is possible to suppress a change in the transport speed of the. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the scanning from not being properly performed due to the change in the transporting rate of the film that occurs in the process of rewinding the film into the cartridge. As a result, the quality of the photographic print is less likely to deteriorate.

Further, in the film transport mechanism of claim 2, the holding torque limit value of the first clutch is 500.
˜600 (N · m), the holding torque limit value of the second clutch is 200 to 300 (N · m).
It is characterized by being a value in the range of.

Further, in the film transporting mechanism of claim 3, the first clutch is a powder type clutch,
The second clutch is a hydraulic clutch.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a film scanner including a film transport system according to this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the film supply unit of the film transport system. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of the film supply unit of the film transport system. Note that FIG.
The solid arrow in the middle indicates the film feeding direction, and the dotted arrow indicates the film rewinding direction.

As shown in FIG. 1, the film scanner 1 of the present embodiment has a film transport system 40 and an illumination optical system 5.
0 and the image pickup optical system 60. A cartridge 70 accommodating the film 2 can be attached to and detached from the film scanner 1.

The film transport system 40 is arranged so as to sandwich the scanning position for the film 2 and the film supply section 10 for sending the film 2 out of the cartridge 70 or rewinding it into the cartridge 70, and press scanning and scanning. And a scanning unit 30 for transporting the film 2 at that time.

The film supply unit 10 transmits the rotation of the motor 11 to the spool shaft 71 around which the film 2 is wound in the cartridge 70, so that the cartridge 70 is rotated.
The film 2 can be fed from the inside or rewound into the cartridge 70. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the film supply unit 10 includes a motor 11 and
A shaft 11a rotated by a motor 11, a powder type clutch 12, an oil type clutch 13, a spool key 18a, and a gear 1 for connecting them.
4, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 and the like. The motor 11 is connected to a controller (not shown), and its rotation speed and its direction are controlled by the controller.

A gear 14 having a shaft 11a extending therethrough.
Mesh with the gear 15 and the gear 19. Gear 15
The shaft member 15a is inserted therethrough, and a one-way clutch (not shown) capable of transmitting only the rotation of the film 2 in the feeding direction is arranged between the gear 15 and the shaft member 15a. Therefore, only when the gear 15 rotates in the feeding direction of the film 2 (clockwise in FIG. 3),
The rotation is transmitted to the shaft member 15a, and the shaft member 15a also rotates at the same speed. On the other hand, when the gear 15 rotates in the film rewinding direction (counterclockwise in FIG. 3), the rotation is not transmitted to the shaft member 15a.

The shaft member 15a is provided so as to extend through the powder type clutch 12 and the gear 16. Therefore, the powder type clutch 12 and the shaft member 15
The a is integrally rotated at the same speed in the same direction. Here, a predetermined holding torque limit value is set for the powder type clutch 12. Therefore, when the torque in the feeding direction of the film 2 acting between the shaft member 15a and the gear 16 is smaller than the holding torque limit value, the shaft member 15a and the gear 16 respectively rotate at the same speed, while the shaft When the torque in the feeding direction of the film 2 which acts between the member 15a and the gear 16 reaches the holding torque limit value, the shaft member 15a rotates at a speed faster than the gear 16.

The gear 16 is in mesh with the gear 17, and the gear 17 is in mesh with the gear 18. And gear 1
When the cartridge 70 is mounted on the film scanner 1, the spool key 18a penetrating the disk 8 is engaged with the spool shaft 71 in the cartridge 70. That is, when the motor 11 is rotated in the feeding direction of the film 2,
By transmitting the rotation to the spool shaft 71,
The film 2 is sent out from the cartridge 70.

A shaft member 19a is inserted through the gear 19, and a one-way clutch (not shown) capable of transmitting only the rotation of the film 2 in the rewinding direction is provided between the gear 19 and the shaft member 19a. Are arranged. Therefore, only when the gear 19 rotates in the film rewinding direction (counterclockwise in FIG. 3), the rotation is transmitted to the shaft member 19a, and the shaft member 19a also rotates at the same speed. On the other hand, when the gear 19 rotates in the film feeding direction (clockwise in FIG. 3), the rotation is caused by the shaft member 19a.
Not transmitted to.

The shaft member 19a has a bearing 13a and an oil type clutch 13 fixedly mounted on the bearing 13a, and a gear 20. Therefore, the oil type clutch 13 and the shaft member 19a integrally rotate in the same direction at the same speed. Here, a predetermined holding torque limit value is set for the oil type clutch 13. Therefore, when the torque in the rewinding direction of the film 2 acting between the shaft member 19a and the gear 20 is smaller than the holding torque limit value, the shaft member 19a and the gear 20 rotate at the same speed, respectively, When the torque in the rewinding direction of the film 2 that acts between the shaft member 19a and the gear 20 reaches the holding torque limit value, the shaft member 19a rotates at a faster speed than the gear 20.

The gear 20 meshes with the gear 21, and the gear 21 meshes with the gear 18. And gear 1
When the cartridge 70 is mounted on the film scanner 1, the spool key 18a penetrating the disk 8 is engaged with the spool shaft 71 in the cartridge 70. That is, when the motor 11 is rotated in the rewinding direction of the film 2,
By transmitting the rotation to the spool shaft 71,
The film 2 is rewound into the cartridge 70.

The holding torque limit value of the powder type clutch 12 used in this embodiment is 509 (N · m).
And the holding torque limit value of the oil clutch 13 is 2
It is 20 (N * m). Thus, the holding torque limit value of the oil type clutch 13 used when rewinding the film 2 is set to a value smaller than the holding torque limit value of the powder type clutch 12 used when feeding the film 2.

The scanning unit 30 has a plurality of conveying roller pairs 31 arranged so that the film 2 is run at a predetermined speed and the slit light is traversed in the sub-scanning direction perpendicular to the main scanning direction. ing. Therefore, the scanning unit 30 is a CCD
The film 2 can be conveyed at a constant speed in the sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction for press scanning or scanning by the sensors 63a to 63c. In addition,
The transport roller pair 31 is rotationally driven by a motor 32 connected to the controller, and the transport speed of the film 2 by the transport roller pair 31 is controlled by the controller.

The illumination optical system 50 includes a halogen lamp 52 in the lamp house 51 and a light control filter 53 for adjusting the color distribution of the light beam from the halogen lamp 52 as needed.
And a mirror tunnel 54 for similarly adjusting the intensity distribution.

The image pickup optical system 60 includes a lens unit 61 including a zoom lens and a mirror 62 for changing the direction of irradiation light.
And a photoelectric conversion unit 63 for processing the transmitted light beam obtained by passing through the film 2. Here, the photoelectric conversion unit 63 is for receiving and photoelectrically converting a light beam, and includes three CCD sensors 63a, 63b, 63c assigned to detect each color of RGB. Here, the CCD sensors 63a to 63c are
A large number (for example, 5000) of CCD elements are in the main scanning direction,
That is, the line sensor is arranged in parallel with the width direction of the film 2, and the charge storage operation and the charge storage time are controlled during the main scanning by the sensor drive circuit. On the image pickup surface of the red CCD sensor 63a, a color filter that allows only the red component of the light transmitted through the film 2 to pass, and similarly, on the image pickup surface of the green CCD sensor 63b, a color filter that allows only the green component to pass, A color filter that allows only the blue component to pass is provided on the image pickup surface of the blue CCD sensor 63c, and basically only the blue component, the red component, and the green component are photoelectrically converted. The respective pixel signals output from the respective CCD sensors 63a to 63c are sampled and held to become continuous image signals of the respective pixel signals, and the respective pixel signals are converted into digital signals having a predetermined number of bits (for example, 12 bits). And stored as image data in the controller.

Between the illumination optical system 20 and the image pickup optical system 30, an auto film mask (not shown) for determining the irradiation range of the film 2 with light is arranged. The auto film mask is provided with a passage hole forming block (not shown) that guides the light emitted from the illumination optical system 20 and transmitted through the film 2 to the imaging optical system 30 as slit light.

Next, the operation of the film supply unit when the film is sent out from the cartridge will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

First, in FIG. 3, when the shaft 11a is rotationally driven in the counterclockwise direction by the motor 11, the gear 14 through which the shaft 11a extends is also rotated in the counterclockwise direction. When the rotation of the gear 14 is transmitted to the gear 15 meshed with the rotation of the gear 14, the gear 15 moves to the shaft member 15
Rotate clockwise with a. At this time, the rotation of the gear 14 is also transmitted to the gear 19 meshed therewith, but the shaft member 19a is provided by the function of the one-way clutch arranged between the gear 19 and the shaft member 19a.
Does not rotate.

Here, when the torque in the feeding direction of the film 2 acting between the shaft member 15a and the gear 16 is smaller than the holding torque limit value of the powder type clutch 12, the rotation of the shaft member 15a is changed to the gear 16. And the shaft member 15a and the gear 16 rotate at the same speed. On the other hand, when the torque in the feeding direction of the film 2 acting between the shaft member 15a and the gear 16 reaches the holding torque limit value of the powder clutch 12, the rotation of the shaft member 15a is changed to the gear 1.
6 is not transmitted, and the shaft member 15a comes to slide with respect to the gear 16. That is, the gear 16 does not rotate,
Only the shaft member 15a comes to rotate.

The clockwise rotation of the gear 16 is sequentially transmitted to the gear 17 meshing with the gear 16 and the gear 18 meshing with the gear 17, and the gear 18 rotates clockwise. At this time, the spool key 18 a penetrating the gear 18 and the spool shaft 71 in the cartridge 70 engaged with the spool key 18 a rotate together with the gear 18, whereby the film 2 is sent out from the cartridge 70. .

On the other hand, the operation of the film supply unit when the film is rewound into the cartridge will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

First, in FIG. 3, when the shaft 11a is driven to rotate clockwise by the motor 11, the gear 14 through which the shaft 11a extends is also rotated clockwise. Then, when the rotation of the gear 14 is transmitted to the gear 19 meshing with the gear 14, the gear 19 rotates counterclockwise together with the shaft member 19a. At this time, the gear 1
Although the rotation of No. 4 is transmitted to the gear 15 meshing with it, the shaft member 15a does not rotate due to the function of the one-way clutch arranged between the gear 15 and the shaft member 15a.

If the torque in the rewinding direction of the film 2 acting between the shaft member 19a and the gear 20 is smaller than the holding torque limit value, the rotation of the shaft member 19a is transmitted to the gear 20, The shaft member 19a and the gear 20 rotate at the same speed. On the other hand, when the torque in the rewinding direction of the film 2 that acts between the shaft member 19a and the gear 20 reaches the holding torque limit value, the rotation of the shaft member 19a causes the gear 20 to rotate.
The shaft member 19a slides on the gear 20. That is, the shaft member 19a rotates at a speed corresponding to the rotation of the motor 11, but the gear 20 does not rotate.
The rotation speed is lower than the rotation speed of 9a.

The counterclockwise rotation of the gear 20 is
The gears 18 meshed with the gear 20 and the gear 18 meshed with the gear 21 are sequentially transmitted, and the gear 18 rotates counterclockwise. At this time, the spool key 18a penetrating the gear 18 and the spool shaft 71 in the cartridge 70 engaged with the spool key 18a
The film 2 is rewound into the cartridge 70 by rotating with it.

Next, regarding the operation of the film scanner when the prescanning and the scanning are performed,
A description will be given with reference to the drawings. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a film transport system when a film is sent out from the cartridge. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the film transport system when the film is rewound into the cartridge. Note that FIG.
In FIG. 5 and FIG. 5, the shaft 11a rotatably driven by the motor 11 is simply illustrated as being directly connected to the powder type clutch 12 or the oil type clutch 13 without using a gear or the like.

Here, in the present embodiment, the film 2 is loaded from the inside of the cartridge 70 mounted in the film scanner 1.
The pre-scanning is performed in the process of feeding the film, and the scanning is performed in the process of rewinding the fed film 2 into the cartridge 70.

First, when the cartridge 70 accommodating the film 2 is mounted on the film scanner 1, the spool shaft 7 around which the film 2 is wound in the cartridge 70.
1 is engaged with the spool key 18a of the film supply unit 10. Therefore, the rotation of the motor 11 of the film supply unit 10 can be transmitted to the spool shaft 71.

As the motor 11 of the film supply unit 10 is driven, as shown in FIG.
When is rotated in the feeding direction of the film 2, the rotation is transmitted to the spool shaft 71 in the cartridge 70 and the leading end portion of the film 2 is fed from the cartridge 70. When the leading end of the film 2 sent out from the cartridge 70 reaches the scanning unit 30, the leading end of the film 2 is nipped by the pair of transport rollers 31. It should be noted that the spool shaft 71 becomes rotatable due to the excitation of the motor 11 almost at the same time that the leading end portion of the film 2 is pinched by the pair of transport rollers 31, so that the spool shaft 71 is rotated by the scanning unit 30. It rotates at a speed corresponding to the transport speed of. Therefore, the film 2 is scanned by the scanning unit 30.
The press scanning is performed while the film 2 is being conveyed at the conveying speed of 1.

Here, the leading end of the film 2 is caught in the cartridge 70 so that the cartridge 70
If it is not properly fed from the inside, the torque in the feeding direction of the film 2 acting between the shaft member 15a of the film supply unit 10 and the gear 16 is the powder type clutch 1.
The holding torque limit value of 2 is reached, and the shaft member 15
a becomes slippery with respect to the gear 16. That is, since the rotation of the motor 11 is not transmitted to the spool shaft 71, the spool shaft 71 does not rotate. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the spool shaft 71 from further rotating in a state where the leading end portion of the film 2 is not properly fed, and to prevent the film 2 from deteriorating.

Incidentally, the holding torque limit value of the powder type clutch 12 has a size required for the leading end of the film 2 to be fed out from the inside of the cartridge 70, and the leading end of the film 2 is fed properly from inside the cartridge 70. It is set to such a value that the shaft member 15a slips with respect to the gear 16 before the film 2 is deteriorated when it is not taken out. Therefore, it is preferable that the holding torque limit value of the powder type clutch 12 is a value in the range of 500 to 600 (N · m).

When the prescanning is completed, the rotation of the motor 11 of the film supply unit 10 is switched to the opposite direction, and the scanning is performed in the process of rewinding the film 2 into the cartridge 70.

As shown in FIG. 5, the shaft 11a is driven by driving the motor 11 of the film supply unit 10.
When the film 2 rotates in the rewinding direction of the film 2, the rotation is transmitted to the spool shaft 71 in the cartridge 70, and the film 2 is rewound into the cartridge 70. In addition,
The transport speed of the film 2 in the film supply unit 10 is controlled to be higher than the transport speed of the film 2 in the scanning unit 30.

At this time, the film 2 is being scanned while being conveyed at the conveying speed of the film 2 in the scanning unit 30, and the film 2 acting between the shaft member 19a of the film supply unit 10 and the gear 20 is moved. The torque in the rewinding direction reaches the holding torque limit value of the oil clutch 13, and the shaft member 19a slides on the gear 20. That is, the motor 1 with respect to the spool shaft 71
Since the rotation of 1 is not transmitted as it is, the spool shaft 71 rotates at a speed lower than the speed corresponding to the rotation of the motor 11. As described above, the oil-type clutch 13 is configured so that the film 2 is transported by the transport roller pair 31 in the scanning unit 30 and the film 2 is transported by the rotation of the shaft 11 a in the film supply unit 10 (rewinding speed). Can absorb the difference. Therefore, the transport speed of the film 2 at the scanning position is maintained substantially constant, and the film 2 is properly wound around the spool shaft 71 without slack.

Here, the holding torque limit value of the oil type clutch 13 is such that the transport speed of the film 2 at the scanning position is maintained substantially constant and the film 2 is properly wound around the spool shaft 71 without slack. Is set to any value. Therefore, the oil type clutch 13
The holding torque limit value of is preferably a value in the range of 200 to 300 (N · m).

As described above, in the film transport system 40 of the present embodiment, when the film 2 stored in the cartridge 70 is sent out and then scanned in the process of being rewound into the cartridge 70, Shaft 1
When the film 1a rotates faster than the spool shaft 71, the change in the transport speed of the film 2 is suppressed. Therefore,
It is possible to prevent the scanning from not being properly performed due to the change in the transporting rate of the film 2 that occurs in the process of rewinding the film 2 into the cartridge 70. As a result, the quality of the photographic print is less likely to deteriorate.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and as long as it is stated in the claims,
It is possible to make various design changes. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the powder type clutch is used as the film feeding clutch, and the oil type clutch is used as the film rewinding clutch, but the present invention is not limited to this. If the same effect as that of the present embodiment is obtained, the type of clutch and the holding torque limit value can be arbitrarily changed.

[0048]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, when scanning is performed in the process of rewinding the film stored in the cartridge and then rewinding the film into the cartridge, the shaft is moved from the spool shaft. Even when the film rotates at a high speed, the change in the film transport speed is suppressed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the scanning from not being properly performed due to the change in the transporting rate of the film that occurs in the process of rewinding the film into the cartridge. As a result, the quality of the photographic print is less likely to deteriorate.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a film scanner including a film transport system according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a film supply unit of the film transport system shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of a film supply unit of the film transport system shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a film transport system when a film is sent out from the cartridge.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a film transport system when a film is rewound into a cartridge.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 film scanner 2 films 10 Film supply department 11 Motor (drive source) 11a shaft 12 Powder type clutch (1st clutch) 13 Oil type clutch (second clutch) 30 scanning unit 40 Film transport system (film transport mechanism) 70 cartridges 71 spool shaft

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A film transport mechanism for feeding and rewinding a film contained in a cartridge by rotating a spool shaft around which the film is wound, the shaft being rotationally driven by a driving source, and When the torque in the film feeding direction, which is arranged between the spool shaft and the shaft and acts between the spool shaft and the shaft, reaches the holding torque limit value, the shaft is moved more than the spool shaft. A first clutch that enables high-speed rotation, and a torque that is arranged between the spool shaft and the shaft and that acts between the spool shaft and the shaft in a film rewinding direction When the holding torque limit value is reached, the shaft is allowed to rotate faster than the spool shaft. And a second clutch, wherein a holding torque limit value of the second clutch is smaller than a holding torque limit value of the first clutch. 2. The holding torque limit value of the first clutch is a value in the range of 500 to 600 (N · m), and the holding torque limit value of the second clutch is 200 to 300.
2. A value in the range of (N · m).
The film transport mechanism described in. 3. The film transport mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the first clutch is a powder clutch, and the second clutch is a fluid clutch.