JP2005022824A - Printing device, and method for carrying photosensitive material - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing device, and a method for carrying photosensitive material in which photosensitive material can be effectively used, and in which banding can be prevented. <P>SOLUTION: This printing device 10 includes an exposure unit 86 to expose a long photographic paper sheet S. A loop forming part 60 is provided to form a loop L of the photographic paper sheet S at the upstream side of the exposure unit 86. A sensor 58 to detect a rear end of the photographic paper sheet S is provided at the upstream side of the loop forming part 60. Based on the result of detection by the sensor 58, action of a pair of rollers 60a provided at an upstream end part of the loop L is controlled. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a printing apparatus and a photosensitive material conveyance method, and more particularly to a printing apparatus and a photosensitive material conveyance method used when images are continuously formed on a long photosensitive material.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Since this type of printing apparatus has an advantage that images can be continuously formed on a photosensitive material, it is effective in a large-scale developing place where a large amount of printing is performed.
An example of this type of prior art is disclosed in Patent Document 1.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-228667 discloses a technique for forming a loop of a photosensitive material on the upstream side of an exposure unit in order to always perform exposure accurately at a constant speed, and determining that an error has occurred when the loop is not detected.
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-9-171219 [0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the technique of Patent Document 1, when the rear end of the photosensitive material passes through the roller pair at the upstream end portion of the loop (conveying roller pair 56 in Patent Document 1), the photosensitive material moves greatly by its own weight, and as a result. In some cases, banding occurred in the exposed area.
As a countermeasure, it is conceivable to provide a loss paper at the rear end of the photosensitive material to terminate the exposure of the photosensitive material before the rear end of the photosensitive material passes through the roller pair. Since loss paper is always required at the rear end of the material, the photosensitive material is wasted.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, a main object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus and a photosensitive material conveying method capable of effectively using a photosensitive material and preventing banding.
[0004]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a printing apparatus according to claim 1 is a printing apparatus for continuously forming an image on a long photosensitive material, the exposure means for exposing the photosensitive material, upstream of the exposure means. Loop forming means provided on the side and forming a loop of the photosensitive material, detection means provided on the upstream side of the loop forming means and detecting the rear end of the photosensitive material, and the loop forming means based on the detection result of the detection means Control means for controlling the operation is provided, the loop forming means includes a roller pair provided at the upstream end of the loop, and the control means controls the operation of the roller pair based on the detection result by the detection means. .
[0005]
The photosensitive material transport method according to claim 2 is a photosensitive material transport method for transporting a photosensitive material to an exposure unit in order to continuously form an image on a long photosensitive material, wherein a loop is formed upstream of the exposure unit. A first step of detecting the rear end of the photosensitive material on which the photographic material is formed on the upstream side of the loop, and based on the detection of the rear end of the photosensitive material, the pair of rollers provided at the upstream end of the loop is stopped to expose the photosensitive material to the exposure unit And a third step of resuming the driving of the roller pair after a predetermined time has elapsed since detection of the trailing edge of the photosensitive material.
[0006]
In the printing apparatus according to the first aspect, when the rear end of the photosensitive material is detected on the upstream side of the loop, the driving of the roller pair at the upstream end of the loop is stopped. Accordingly, the photosensitive material can be continuously supplied to the exposure unit without the photosensitive material being detached from the roller pair (without the rear end of the photosensitive material passing through the roller pair). Then, after a predetermined time has elapsed, for example, at the timing when the loop is almost eliminated, the driving of the roller pair is resumed, and the photosensitive material is supplied to the exposure unit. As a result, when the trailing edge of the photosensitive material moves away from the roller pair, the photosensitive material loop is eliminated or almost eliminated, so that the photosensitive material does not move greatly due to its own weight, and the photosensitive material can be smoothly transported, and banding at the exposure unit can be performed. Can be prevented. In addition, since it is usually unnecessary to provide loss paper, the photosensitive material can be used effectively.
The same applies to the photosensitive material conveying method according to claim 2.
[0007]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
1 to 3, a printing apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention is an apparatus that is preferably used in a large-scale developing place or the like that performs a large amount of printing. Further, it is suitably used for a separation type image printing system in which subsequent development processing, cutting, sorting, and the like are performed by separate apparatuses.
[0008]
The printing apparatus 10 includes a supply magazine 12 that winds and stores photographic paper S, which is a photosensitive material to be supplied, in roll form, an exposure processing unit 14 that performs image exposure (printing) on the photographic paper S, and photographic paper that has been subjected to exposure processing. A take-up magazine 16 for winding and storing S again in a roll shape, a control unit 18 for controlling the operation of the printing apparatus 12, an input unit 20 such as a keyboard and a mouse for an operator to input data and instructions, and an operator Includes a display unit 22 for displaying a GUI (Graphical User Interface) and an image to be formed on the photographic paper S so that the printing apparatus 10 can be easily operated.
[0009]
As shown in FIG. 3, the exposure processing unit 14 includes a supply unit 24 for pulling out the roll-shaped photographic paper S stored in the supply magazine 12. A paper end sensor 26 for detecting the end of the photographic paper S and a joint of the photographic paper S are detected on the transport path of the long photographic paper S drawn by the supply unit 24 and on the downstream side of the supply unit 24. A splicing sensor 28, a paper cutter 30 used when ordering or forcibly cutting the photographic paper S, a guide roller 32 for changing the direction of the photographic paper S, and a loop forming portion 34 are disposed.
[0010]
The rollers in the supply unit 24 are driven by a motor 36, and the paper cutter 30 and the guide roller 32 are driven by motors 38 and 40, respectively. The tension or the like applied to the photographic paper S is absorbed by the loop forming unit 34. In addition, sensors 42 to 48 are provided in order to detect the degree of loop of the photographic paper S by the loop forming unit 34.
The same applies to loop forming units 60 and 80 described later.
[0011]
Paper sensors 50 and 52 for detecting the position of the photographic paper S are arranged on both sides of the loop forming unit 34, and are used to determine the presence or absence of a paper jam, the position of the photographic paper S, and the like. The same applies to paper sensors 58, 78 and 84 described later.
[0012]
A guide roller 54 for changing the direction of the photographic paper S, a punch 56 for forming a punch hole as a mark in the photographic paper S, a paper sensor 58, a loop forming unit 60, and exposure are further provided on the conveyance path of the photographic paper S. A mark sensor 62 for detecting a mark for processing or the like is arranged.
[0013]
The mark sensor 62 detects a cut mark or an order mark made of punch holes formed in the photographic paper S. Cut marks are formed for each image (frame), and order marks are formed for each order. The punch holes are formed in the photographic paper S as indicated by H in FIG. Sensors 64 and 66 for detecting a loop of the photographic paper S are arranged in the vicinity of the loop forming unit 60.
[0014]
The guide roller 54 is driven by a motor 68, and one roller pair 60a and the other roller pair 60b of the loop forming unit 60 are driven by motors 70 and 72, respectively.
[0015]
On the downstream side of the mark sensor 62, conveyance roller pairs 74 and 76 are arranged, and further, a paper sensor 78, a loop forming unit 80, a conveyance roller pair 82, and a paper sensor 84 are arranged. The exposure unit 86 scans and exposes the long photographic paper S at the exposure portion P between the conveying roller pairs 74 and 76, and a plurality of images are continuously formed as latent images. Sensors 88 and 90 for detecting a loop of the photographic paper S are arranged in the vicinity of the loop forming unit 80.
[0016]
The conveyance roller pairs 74 and 76 are driven by a motor 92, and the pressure bonding / crimp release operation of the pressure roller 74a constituting the conveyance roller pair 74 is performed by the motor 94, and the pressure bonding / pressure bonding of the pressure roller 76a constituting the conveyance roller pair 76 is performed. The releasing operation is performed by the motor 96, and the conveying roller pair 82 is driven by the motor 98.
[0017]
The photographic paper S processed by the exposure processing unit 14 is wound up in the magazine 16 without being developed and stored in a roll shape. As the subsequent processing, for example, the photographic paper S is manually loaded into another processing device (not shown), and development processing, cutting, and sorting are performed, and a finished print is produced.
[0018]
Returning to FIG. 1, the supply magazine 12, the exposure processing unit 14, the take-up magazine 16, the input unit 20 and the display unit 22 are controlled by the control unit 18.
The control unit 18 includes a CPU 104, a ROM 106, a RAM 108, a hard disk drive (HDD: including a hard disk) 110, and a CD-ROM drive 112 connected to each other via a bus 102.
[0019]
The CPU 104 executes various programs stored in the ROM 106, the HDD 110, and the like, gives instructions to each component in the printing apparatus 10 and the scanner 116, and controls the operation of the printing apparatus 10.
[0020]
The ROM 106 stores a startup program and the like. The activation program is executed by the CPU 104 when the printing apparatus 10 is turned on. As a result, a program such as an operating system (OS) recorded in the HDD 110 is loaded into the RAM 108, and various processes and controls can be executed.
[0021]
In the RAM 108, a program for controlling the printing apparatus 10 is developed. The processing result of this program, temporary data for processing, and display data (text data, image data for displaying information on the screen of the display unit 22). Etc.) and is used as a work area of the CPU 104. The display data developed on the RAM 108 is transmitted to the display unit 22, and the display unit 22 displays the display content (text, image, etc.) corresponding to the display data on the screen.
[0022]
The HDD 110 is a device for recording and reading programs, control data, text data, image data, and the like on the hard disk in accordance with instructions from the CPU 104.
[0023]
In this embodiment, a program for operating the printing apparatus 10 is stored in a hard disk in the HDD 110, and image data of an image to be formed on the photographic paper S is stored. Processing is executed by the CPU 104 reading and executing the program.
[0024]
The CD-ROM drive 112 reads programs and data recorded on the CD-ROM 114 in accordance with instructions from the CPU 104.
In addition, a scanner 116 is connected to such a control unit 18. The scanner 116 reads an image to be formed on the photographic paper S as image data, and the image data is stored in the HDD 110.
[0025]
Next, an example of an operation for transporting the photographic paper S of the printing apparatus 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. Note that the roller pair 60b and the conveying roller pairs 74 and 76 are continuously driven during the following operations.
[0026]
First, it is determined whether or not the paper sensor 58 has detected the trailing edge of the photographic paper S while the guide roller 54 and the roller pair 60a are driven and the photographic paper S is being conveyed (step S1). The driving of the guide roller 54 and the roller pair 60a is continued until the trailing edge of the photographic paper S is detected (see FIG. 6A). If the trailing edge of the photographic paper S is detected, the guide roller 54 and the roller pair 60a are driven. The driving is stopped (see FIG. 6B) (step S3). Then, as the photographic paper S is conveyed to the exposure unit P, the loop L becomes smaller. Then, it is determined whether or not the sensor 64 detects the photographic paper S (step S5). If the photographic paper S is not detected (see FIG. 6C), the process proceeds to step S7. In step S7, when a certain amount of time has elapsed from when the photographic printing paper S is no longer detected and the loop amount of the loop L almost disappears (see FIG. 6D), the driving of the roller pair 60a is resumed (step S9). Then, the trailing edge of the photographic paper S passes through the roller pair 60a, and the photographic paper S is supplied to the exposure unit P (see FIG. 6E).
[0027]
Thus, according to the printing apparatus 10, when the trailing edge of the photographic paper S is detected on the upstream side of the loop L, the driving of the roller pair 60 a at the upstream end of the loop L is stopped. Accordingly, the photographic paper S can be continuously supplied to the exposure unit P without the photographic paper S being detached from the roller pair 60a. Then, after a predetermined time has elapsed, the driving of the roller pair 60a is resumed, and the photographic printing paper S is supplied to the exposure unit P. Thus, when the trailing edge of the photographic paper S moves away from the roller pair 60a, the loop L of the photographic paper S is eliminated or almost eliminated, so that the photographic paper S does not move greatly in the loop forming unit 60 due to its own weight. Can be smoothly conveyed, and banding of the photographic paper S at the exposure part P can be prevented. In addition, since it is usually unnecessary to provide loss paper, the photographic paper S can be used effectively.
[0028]
In the printing apparatus 10 described above, the remaining amount of the photographic paper S in the supply magazine 12 may be set either manually or automatically as necessary.
[0029]
Since the remaining amount of the photographic paper S in the supply magazine 12 can be manually set, for example, even when the photographic paper S is cut and used in an arbitrary length in the laboratory, it is displayed on the printing apparatus 10. Since the remaining amount of the photographic paper S and the remaining amount of the photographic paper S actually loaded can always be made equal, the usage amount of the photographic paper S can be managed accurately and the remaining amount of the photographic paper S can be grasped. In the case of manual setting, at the time of paper end, a notification of paper end and a message for manually setting the remaining amount of photographic paper S of the supply magazine 12 to be set next may be displayed.
Further, when the photographic paper S having a constant length is used, the automatic setting is effective.
[0030]
Further, in the printing apparatus 10, the shortest dimension and the longest dimension of the winding length to the winding magazine 16 are set, and the length of the photographic paper S is set when, for example, a setup print or a machine adjustment test print is performed. Is less than the shortest dimension, a shortage of loss paper is automatically added to the photographic paper S to automatically secure the shortest dimension that can be processed by the developing device, while the length of the photographic paper S is May reach the longest dimension, the photographic paper S may be automatically cut when the length is exceeded.
[0031]
In addition, when a paper end occurs during the conveyance of the loss paper to ensure the minimum winding length, a message indicating that the minimum winding length cannot be secured may be displayed. Good.
[0032]
In addition, when the photographic paper S is temporarily stopped in the printing apparatus 10 for a long time, color variation due to aging of the photographic paper S or color change due to roller pressing may occur. Therefore, when a certain time has elapsed after the stop, the function of forcibly feeding and winding the photographic paper S and the portion of the photographic paper S that has already been drawn into the printing apparatus 10 when printing is resumed are not exposed. And a function for displaying a message notifying the operator that there is photographic paper S in the printing apparatus 10 may be added to the printing apparatus 10. Furthermore, a function capable of arbitrarily selecting such a function or a function capable of setting an arbitrary processing start time may be added.
[0033]
As a result, it is possible to reduce loss printing due to color fluctuation or the like when the printing process is paused for a long time, and to enhance the function of notifying the operator when the printing process is paused for a long time.
The photosensitive material used in the present invention is not limited to photographic paper, and may be a cloth or a plastic film.
[0034]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, the photosensitive material can be smoothly conveyed and banding at the exposure part can be prevented. In addition, since it is usually unnecessary to provide loss paper, the photosensitive material can be used effectively.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an external view showing an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an illustrative view showing an outline of one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is an illustrative view showing one example of punch holes formed in the photographic paper.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is an illustrative view for explaining the operation of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Printing apparatus 12 Supply magazine 14 Exposure process part 16 Winding magazine 18 Control part 20 Input part 22 Display part 32,54 Guide roller 34,60,80 Loop formation part 50,52,58,78,84 Paper sensor 60a, 60b Roller pair 42, 44, 46, 48, 64, 66, 88, 90 Sensor 86 Exposure unit P Exposure unit S Printing paper L Loop

Claims (2)

A printing apparatus for continuously forming images on a long photosensitive material,
Exposure means for exposing the photosensitive material;
A loop forming means provided upstream of the exposure means and forming a loop of the photosensitive material;
A detection unit that is provided upstream of the loop formation unit and detects a rear end of the photosensitive material, and a control unit that controls the operation of the loop formation unit based on a detection result by the detection unit;
The loop forming unit includes a roller pair provided at an upstream end of the loop, and the control unit controls the operation of the roller pair based on a detection result by the detection unit. A photosensitive material transport method for transporting the photosensitive material to an exposure unit in order to continuously form images on a long photosensitive material,
A first step of detecting a rear end of the photosensitive material having a loop formed on the upstream side of the exposure unit on the upstream side of the loop;
A second step of stopping the pair of rollers provided at the upstream end of the loop based on detection of the trailing edge of the photosensitive material and transporting the photosensitive material to the exposure unit, and predetermined detection from detection of the trailing edge of the photosensitive material. A photosensitive material conveying method comprising a third step of resuming driving of the roller pair after a lapse of time.

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