JP2007178876A - Photographic processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a photographic processing device where the influence of heat by dry wind from a dry processing part is suppressed, and exact colorimetry can be performed. <P>SOLUTION: The photographic processing device 1 includes: a dry processing part 60 of performing dry processing to printing paper P subjected to development processing; a carrier part of carrying the printing paper P in the dry processing part 60; an exhaust hole 68 of exhausting the printing paper P carried by the carrier part to the outside of the device 1; a density measurement part 80 arranged closely to the exhaust hole 68 and measuring the density of each zone body formed on the printing paper P exhausted from the exhaust hole 68; and a control part 87 of performing the calibration in the density measurement part 80. The control part 87 performs the calibration in the density measurement part 80 immediately before the measurement in the density of each zone body formed on the printing paper P in the density measurement part 80. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a photographic processing apparatus that calibrates a colorimetric unit mounted to measure the density of an image formed on a test print.

  In general, in a photographic processing apparatus, various processing conditions are adjusted in order to perform these optimum processes before the exposure and development processes are started. Making this adjustment is called setup work. The setup operation is performed by measuring the color development state of the developed test print (test photosensitive material used for the setup operation) and adjusting the processing conditions based on the result.

As a photographic processing apparatus that performs such setup work, a colorimetric unit, which is a means for measuring the color development state of a test print, is provided in the photosensitive material discharge unit in the drying processing unit, and automatically after the test print is discharged. One that performs colorimetry (density measurement) and performs setup has been proposed (see Patent Document 1).
For example, the set-up operation can be completed automatically without the intervention of an operator, such as when the discharged test print is manually set in the color measurement unit and color measurement is performed.
JP 2000-221649 A (released on August 11, 2000)

However, the conventional photographic processing apparatus has the following problems.
That is, since the high temperature drying air used in the drying processing unit blows out from the photosensitive material discharge unit in the drying processing unit, the colorimetric unit is affected by the heat. In particular, if the environmental temperature difference in the colorimetric unit is large between the calibration of the colorimetric unit and the actual colorimetry of the test print, the color measurement result of the test print fluctuates and accurate colorimetry cannot be performed. . As a result, the accuracy of the setup work itself is also lowered.

  In FIG. 7, the result of having measured the temperature change of the colorimetry part accompanying the time passage after a drying process start is shown with a graph. FIG. 7A shows the temperature change of the colorimetric part until 20 minutes have elapsed after the start of the drying process, when the temperature at the start of the drying process is 13 ° C. and when it is 35 ° C. It shows. From this result, it can be seen that the temperature of the colorimetric unit increases with time until a stable state is reached. FIG. 7B shows an enlarged view up to 10 minutes of the graph of FIG. It can be seen that the temperature rises approximately linearly for 10 minutes from the start of the drying process. As described above, as the time elapses, the environmental temperature difference of the color measurement unit increases when the color measurement unit is calibrated and when the test print color measurement is performed, resulting in variations in the color measurement results.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a photographic processing apparatus capable of performing accurate colorimetry while suppressing the influence of heat from drying air from a drying processing unit.

  A photographic processing apparatus according to a first invention includes a drying processing unit, a transport unit, a discharge unit, a color measurement unit, and a control unit. The drying processing unit performs drying processing on the photosensitive material that has been subjected to development processing. The transport unit transports the photosensitive material in the drying processing unit. The discharge unit discharges the photosensitive material conveyed by the conveyance unit to the outside of the apparatus. The colorimetric unit is disposed close to the discharge unit, and measures the density of each band formed on the photosensitive material discharged from the discharge unit. The control unit calibrates the color measurement unit. Furthermore, the control unit calibrates the colorimetric unit immediately before measuring the density of each band formed on the photosensitive material in the colorimetric unit.

Here, in a photographic processing apparatus equipped with a color measurement unit arranged close to the discharge port of the drying processing unit, the calibration of the color measurement unit (calibration) is performed in order to suppress the influence of heat from the drying air from the drying processing unit. 1 shows a configuration of a photographic processing apparatus that controls the image processing to be performed immediately before the colorimetry (density measurement) of the photosensitive material.
In the photographic processing apparatus, stabilizing the colorimetric accuracy of the photosensitive material by the colorimetric unit leads to an improvement in the accuracy of the setup operation, and as a result is indispensable for maintaining the development processing accuracy of the photosensitive material.

  However, in the configuration in which the color measurement unit is arranged in the vicinity of the discharge unit in the drying processing unit as in this photographic processing apparatus, since high-temperature dry air from the drying processing unit blows out from the discharge unit into the color measurement unit, The color measurement accuracy deteriorates due to the heat of the part. This is partly due to an environmental temperature difference in the colorimetric unit between the calibration of the colorimetric unit itself and the colorimetric measurement of the photosensitive material. This is because if the colorimetric unit is not used at the same temperature as when the colorimetric unit is calibrated, the processing conditions differ from those at the time of calibration, resulting in a deterioration in colorimetric accuracy.

Therefore, in the photographic processing apparatus according to the present invention, the control unit performs control such that the colorimetric unit is calibrated immediately before the colorimetric measurement of the photosensitive material.
This minimizes the time difference between the calibration of the colorimetric unit and the actual colorimetric measurement of the photosensitive material, thereby reducing environmental temperature fluctuations during calibration of the colorimetric unit and during actual colorimetry. Can do. As a result, even if the temperature inside the color measurement unit rises due to the effect of heat transmitted from the drying air in the drying processing unit to the color measurement unit, the color measurement accuracy of the photosensitive material can be minimized with minimal heat effects. Can be secured.

A photographic processing apparatus according to a second aspect is the photographic processing apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the drying processing unit has a position detection sensor for detecting the position of the photosensitive material. When the position detection sensor detects that the photosensitive material has reached a predetermined position, the control unit calibrates the colorimetric unit after a predetermined time has elapsed.
Here, a photographic processing apparatus is shown in which the control unit determines the calibration timing of the colorimetric unit using the position of the photosensitive material in the transport unit detected by the position detection sensor.

In order to reduce the time difference between the calibration of the colorimetric unit and the colorimetric measurement of the photosensitive material and to complete the operation accurately so that the operations do not overlap, it is important to control the timing of the calibration of the colorimetric unit It is.
Therefore, for example, the position of the tip of the photosensitive material conveyed by the conveyance unit is used as a cue for starting calibration of the colorimetric unit. Specifically, when it is detected that the photosensitive material in the transport unit has reached a predetermined position using a position detection sensor provided in the drying unit, the control unit until the photosensitive material reaches the position where the color is measured. The colorimetric unit is controlled to start calibration of the colorimetric unit after a predetermined time has elapsed so that the calibration of the colorimetric unit is completed.

As a result, the time difference between the calibration of the colorimetric unit and the actual colorimetric measurement of the photosensitive material can be reduced, and these can be terminated accurately. Therefore, accurate colorimetry of the photosensitive material can be performed.
Note that the photographic processing apparatus according to the present invention is the photographic processing apparatus according to the second invention, wherein the predetermined time is calculated based on the transport distance and transport speed of the photosensitive material. it can.

Here, a method for determining a predetermined time from when it is detected that the photosensitive material has reached a predetermined position of the transport unit to when calibration of the colorimetric unit is started will be described.
In the photographic processing apparatus, the conveyance speed of the photosensitive material is known, and the distance at which the photosensitive material is conveyed from the discharge port to the position facing the color measurement unit is constant in the color measurement unit.
Therefore, the time calculated from the conveyance distance and conveyance speed of the photosensitive material is used so that the calibration of the color measurement unit can be performed at an optimal timing immediately before the color measurement of the photosensitive material. When the position detection sensor detects that the photosensitive material has reached a predetermined position, the control unit controls the colorimetric unit to start calibration of the colorimetric unit after the elapse of the predetermined time.

As a result, the time difference between the calibration of the colorimetric unit and the actual colorimetric measurement of the photosensitive material can be reduced, and these can be terminated accurately. Therefore, accurate colorimetry of the photosensitive material can be performed.
Furthermore, the photographic processing apparatus according to the present invention is the photographic processing apparatus according to any one of the first to third inventions, wherein the colorimetric unit is formed at the time of calibration of the colorimetric unit and on each photosensitive material. It has a temperature detection sensor that detects the temperature of the colorimetric unit when measuring the density of the band. The control unit can also be expressed as correcting the concentration measurement value of each band based on the temperature measurement result.

Here, a photographic processing apparatus is shown in which the control unit performs control so as to also correct the final colorimetric value using the temperature of the colorimetric unit detected by the temperature detection sensor.
The color measurement unit is constantly affected by heat from the high-temperature drying air from the inside of the drying processing unit even while performing color measurement of the photosensitive material. Thereby, among the bands formed on the photosensitive material, for example, the temperature of the color measurement unit at the time of color measurement may be different between the band measured first and the band measured last. For this reason, the colorimetric value is corrected in consideration of the fact that the colorimetric result fluctuates due to the change in temperature of the colorimetric unit between the end of calibration of the colorimetric unit and the end of colorimetry of the photosensitive material. Control is also preferably performed.

Therefore, first, the temperature at the time of calibration of the color measurement unit and the temperature of each band at the time of color measurement are measured using a temperature detection sensor. The control unit performs control to correct each colorimetric value based on the temperature measurement result.
Thereby, it is possible to suppress the influence of heat caused by the drying air from the drying processing unit during color measurement, and to perform more accurate color measurement of the photosensitive material.

According to the photographic processing apparatus of the first invention, it is possible to perform accurate colorimetry of the photosensitive material while suppressing the influence of heat from the drying air from the drying processing section.
According to the photographic processing apparatus of the second invention, accurate colorimetry of the photosensitive material can be performed.

A photo print system (photo processing apparatus) 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
[Configuration of Photo Print System 1]
A photo print system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is a so-called digital minilab photo print system as shown in FIG.

The photo print system 1 includes an operation unit 20 and a print unit 50.
The operation unit 20 captures image data from a medium such as a memory card in which digital image data shot with a developed photographic film F or a digital camera is stored, creates print data, and transmits the print data to the print unit 50 To do.
The print unit 50 performs exposure processing and development processing on the photographic paper (photosensitive material) P (see FIG. 2) based on the print data received from the operation unit 20, and prints a photographic print image or a test print TP for setup. (Hereinafter, test print TP) is formed.

[Configuration of Operation Unit 20]
As shown in FIG. 1, the operation unit 20 includes a monitor 21, a keyboard 22, a mouse 23, a computer unit 30, a media reader 31, and a film scanner 40.
The computer unit 30 is connected to the monitor 21, the keyboard 22, and the mouse 23, and controls operations of each unit included in the film scanner 40 and the printing unit 50, image processing, input / output of image data, and the like.

The monitor 21 displays a GUI (Graphical User Interface) for various controls and an image to be processed.
The media reader 31 is mounted on the computer unit 30 that functions as a controller of the photographic print system 1 and transfers digital data of an image taken by a digital camera or the like from a medium such as a memory card, various semiconductor memories, or a CD-R. take in.

The film scanner 40 captures an image corresponding to the photographed frame developed on the photographic film F as digital image data.
[Configuration of Print Unit 50]
As shown in FIG. 1, the print unit 50 forms a photographic print image by performing exposure processing and development processing on the photographic paper P while conveying the photographic paper P based on the print data received from the operation unit 20. To do.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the print unit 50 includes two photographic paper magazines 51, a sheet cutter 52, a back print unit 53, a print exposure unit (exposure unit) 54, a pressure-conveying roller pair 57, A chucker type conveyance unit 58, a processing tank unit (development processing unit) 55, a drying unit (drying processing unit) 60, a conveyor 56, a sorter (not shown), a density measuring unit (colorimetric unit) 80, ,have.

The two photographic paper magazines 51 accommodate one roll of photographic paper P inside the printing unit 50, and a necessary amount of photographic paper P is drawn out by the pressure-conveying roller pair 57.
The sheet cutter 52 is disposed on the downstream side of the plurality of press-contact conveyance roller pairs 57 that draw out the photographic paper P from the photographic paper magazine 51, and cuts the photographic paper P drawn out from the photographic paper magazine 51 into a desired size.

The back print unit 53 is disposed on the downstream side of the sheet cutter 52, and prints print processing information such as color correction information and a frame number on the back side of the photographic paper P cut to a desired size such as a print size. .
The print exposure unit 54 is disposed adjacent to the chucker type conveyance unit 58 on the downstream side of the back print unit 53, and prints on the surface of the photographic paper P cut to the print size or the test print size. The photographed image is exposed.

  The processing tank unit 55 is disposed adjacent to a plurality of pressure-conveying roller pairs 57 on the downstream side of the print exposure unit 54, and stores a color developing tank 55a for storing a color developing processing liquid and a bleach-fixing processing liquid. A bleaching / fixing tank 55b and a stable processing tank 55c for storing a stable processing solution are provided. Then, the exposed photographic paper P is conveyed through the processing tanks 55a to 55c in this order, so that a desired photographic print image and a test print image for setup (see FIG. 4) can be obtained. It is formed on the surface of P.

The drying unit 60 is disposed on the downstream side of the processing tank unit 55 and is provided for drying the photographic paper P that has been developed. The configuration of the drying unit 60 will be described in detail later.
The conveyor 56 is exposed at the upper part of the printing unit 50, and conveys the photographic paper P on which the photographic print image is formed on the surface and discharged after the drying process in the direction of the sorter.

The sorter is arranged in a state where a plurality of trays are arranged in the vertical direction on the front side of the printing unit 50, and distributes the printed photographic paper P conveyed by the conveyor 56 to each tray, for example, in order units.
The pair of pressure-conveying and conveying rollers 57 and the chucker-type conveying unit 58 draw out the roll-shaped photographic paper P accommodated in the photographic paper magazine 51 and print the photographic paper P cut into a print size or the like inside the printing unit 50. Are conveyed at a conveyance speed corresponding to various processes performed on the photographic paper P. The pressure-conveying roller pair 57 is configured by combining two rollers, and conveys the photographic paper P to the downstream side by rotating the photographic paper P in pressure contact with a gap between the two rollers. The chucker-type conveyance unit 58 conveys the downstream side (front end side) of the photographic paper P cut to a print size or the like by pinching from both sides in the conveyance direction.

The density measurement unit 80 is disposed on the downstream side of the drying unit 60 and measures (colorimetry) the density of each band of the test print TP. The concentration measuring unit 80 will be described in detail later.
(Configuration of drying unit 60)
The drying unit 60 is provided with a device for blowing out warm air such as a blower (not shown), and dries the photographic paper P that has been subjected to development processing while transporting it. As shown in FIG. 3, the drying unit 60 includes a pressure-conveying conveyance roller pair 61, a turn roller pair 62, a conveyance switching guide 63, a carry-out roller pair 64, and a turn guide 66 (the above-described conveyance unit is formed. ), A carry-out hole 68, and a position detection sensor 82.

The pressure-conveying roller pair 61 is configured by combining a driving roller and a contact roller, and the photographic paper P is moved downstream by sandwiching the photographic paper P between the two rollers and rotating the driving roller. Transport.
The pair of turn rollers 62 is a group of rollers for changing the transport direction so that the photographic paper P transported upward from the upstream side is transported downward, for example, a drive roller and a plurality of driven rollers. It consists of and.

The conveyance switching guide 63 is disposed immediately downstream of the turn roller pair 62. If the photographic paper P being conveyed is a normal print, the conveyance switching guide 63 is indicated by a broken line in FIG. 3 if the photographic paper P is the conveyance path a and the test print TP as shown by a solid line in FIG. Is switched to transport the photographic paper P to the transport path b.
The carry-out roller pair 64 is a roller for discharging the normal printing photographic paper P guided by the conveyance switching guide 63 to the conveyor 56, and rotates the driving roller by sandwiching the photographic paper P between the two rollers. Then, the photographic paper P is carried out. The photographic paper P passes through the carry-out hole 65 and is dropped and conveyed to the conveyor 56.

The turn guide 66 is a guide for guiding the printing paper P of the test print TP guided by the transport switching guide 63 to the density measuring unit 80. The turn guide 66 changes the conveyance direction of the photographic paper P sent from the turn roller pair 62 and conveyed from vertically above to a substantially horizontal direction.
The carry-out hole 68 is a discharge port through which the photographic printing paper P of the test print TP is sent to the density measuring unit 80.

Here, the position detection sensor 82 is provided on the most upstream side of the drying unit 60 and detects the position of the leading end portion of the test print TP conveyed through the processing tank unit 55. This detection result is transmitted to the control part 87 in the density | concentration measurement part 80 mentioned later.
(Configuration of concentration measuring unit 80)
Next, a schematic configuration of the concentration measuring unit 80 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  The density measuring unit 80 measures the density of each band while feeding the photographic paper P of the test print TP conveyed. As shown in FIG. 3, the concentration measuring unit 80 is disposed in the immediate downstream side with respect to the carry-out hole 68, and includes a housing 81, a conveyance roller 83, a light irradiation unit 84, a concentration meter 85, A control unit 87 and a temperature detection sensor 88 are provided. The test print TP will be described in detail later.

The casing 81 is installed so as to cover all the members such as the position detection sensor 82. This is to keep the temperature and brightness in the density measuring unit 80 constant. For example, the material is formed from a synthetic resin member or the like.
One conveyance roller 83 is provided on each of the upstream side and the downstream side in the density measuring unit 80, and conveys the test print TP while feeding it frame by frame. Specifically, when the position detection sensor 82 in the drying unit 60 recognizes that the leading end portion of the test print TP has reached a predetermined position, the transport roller 83 receives the test print TP according to an instruction from the control unit 87. Start frame-by-frame conveyance. By performing frame-by-frame conveyance, the densitometer 85 can measure the density of each band of the setup test print TP.

  The light irradiation part 84 is arrange | positioned at the front-end | tip part of the densitometer 85, as shown in FIG. This irradiates the measurement light for density measurement to each central portion of the strips F1 to F22 (see FIG. 4) of the test print TP that is frame-conveyed by the detection result of the position detection sensor 82. Is. As the light irradiation part 84, a light emitting diode (LED) can be used, for example.

  The densitometer 85 includes, for example, a filter such as a Latin filter (registered trademark) designed to have transmission characteristics with respect to light of a specific wavelength, and a CCD. In the densitometer 85, the reflected light of the measurement light irradiated by the light irradiation unit 84 is captured, and the density of each band is obtained by analyzing the reflected light. These measurement results are transmitted to the control unit 87 again. When the density measurement of all the strips F1 to F22 by the densitometer 85 is completed, the test print TP is conveyed to the discharge unit 86 by the conveyance roller 83 on the downstream side.

  In this embodiment, the control unit 87 is provided in the densitometer 85, and controls each part such as the transport roller 83, controls calibration of the densitometer 85, corrects the density measurement result, and the like. Further, the position information of the test print TP by the position detection sensor 82 of the drying unit 60, the density measurement value of the densitometer 85, and the temperature of the densitometer 85 measured by the temperature detection sensor 88 described later are also received. .

As shown in FIG. 3, the temperature detection sensor 88 is provided in the densitometer 85 and detects the temperature of the densitometer 85. This detection result is transmitted to the control unit 87 and used for correcting the concentration measurement result.
(Description of operation of concentration measuring unit 80)
Next, an example of the color measurement operation flow in the density measuring unit 80 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

That is, the position detection sensor 82 detects that the leading end of the test print TP has reached the position of the position detection sensor 82 (see FIG. 3) of the drying unit 60, and the information is transmitted to the control unit 87 (step). S1).
The control unit 87 that has received the information stores a predetermined time calculated from the transport distance and transport speed of the test print TP. This predetermined time is a time that allows the calibration of the densitometer 85 to be started one minute before the start of color measurement so that the environmental temperature difference between the calibration of the densitometer 85 and the color measurement is within 2 ° C.

The controller 87 waits for the predetermined time to elapse after the position detection sensor 82 detects the leading edge of the test print TP (S2), and immediately before the calibration of the densitometer 85 is started, the temperature detection sensor 88, the temperature of the densitometer 85 is measured (S3), and control is performed to start calibration of the densitometer 85 (S4).
When the calibration of the densitometer 85 is completed, the test print TP transported from the drying unit 60 to the density measuring unit 80 by the transport unit has reached a position directly below the densitometer 85 by the upstream transport roller 83. . Specifically, the center of the first band F1 formed on the test print TP shown in FIG. 4 is conveyed to a position directly below the densitometer. Therefore, color measurement of the band F1 is started (S5). When the color measurement of F1 is completed, the temperature of the densitometer 85 is measured again using the temperature detection sensor 88 (S6).

Next, the control unit 87 corrects the colorimetric values of the band F1 based on the temperatures measured in S3 and S6 (S7).
The transport roller 83 transports the test print TP in the transport direction by a distance corresponding to the width of one band. Thereby, the same measurement as F1 is performed with respect to the next strip F2. By the transport roller 83 repeating this operation, the densitometer 85 can sequentially measure the respective densities of the strips F1 to F22 in the test print TP.

When the measurement of the last band F22 is completed (S8), the control operation relating to color measurement is completed.
Thereafter, the test print TP is transported to the discharge unit 86 by the downstream transport roller 83.
The relationship between the temperature and the colorimetric accuracy when the above colorimetry is performed will be described below with reference to the graphs shown in FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b).

  Specifically, (1) when the colorimetry is performed at the same temperature as the temperature immediately before or during calibration of the densitometer 85 (the most ideal colorimetry), and (2) 2 from the temperature immediately before or at the time of calibration. It was examined how much the colorimetric value (density value) fluctuated when the colorimetry was performed when the temperature rose. As a result, FIG. 6A shows the case where the densitometer 85 has a calibration temperature of 19 ° C., and FIG. 6B shows the case where the densitometer 85 has a temperature of 34 ° C. In both FIGS. 6A and 6B, the difference between the density values in the cases (1) and (2), that is, the colorimetric values, is taken to see the variation. According to these results, as shown in FIG. 6 (a) and FIG. 6 (b), which is the result at a higher temperature, if the temperature difference is about 2 ° C., the variation in the colorimetric values is the density. The variation was within the range of 85 specifications, and there was no problem in actual use.

<Automatic setup with photo print system 1>
The photographic print system 1 measures the density (density pattern) of each band in the test print TP printed for setup every day when the operation starts, with a densitometer 85 mounted on the density measuring unit 80. Then, the computer unit 30 performs setup for adjusting the output state of the print exposure unit 54 based on the measurement result of the densitometer 85.

  Usually, the print quality (print density) output from the print unit 50 varies depending on the light emission state of the light source of the print exposure unit 54 and the state of each processing solution (processing solution temperature, oxidation state, degree of activation, etc.). End up. For this reason, the density of each of the strips having different densities formed on the test print TP is measured by the densitometer 85, and the output state of the print exposure unit 54 is adjusted based on this measurement result, that is, so-called setup. By performing such a setup, a highly reproducible photo print can be performed regardless of the state of the print exposure unit 54. Note that, in general, the setup refers to adjusting a cause related to the print exposure unit 54 among the above-described causes that influence the printing state.

  In the setup in the photo print system 1 of the present embodiment, when the setup mode is selected by the GUI displayed on the monitor 21, a series of setups is automatically performed. Specifically, the computer unit 30 controls the print exposure unit 54 so that a test print TP is output from the print unit 50 in the current state based on predetermined image data. The contents of the image data of the test print TP at this time will be described in detail later. The test print TP exposed by the print exposure unit 54 and thereafter developed is automatically measured for the density of each band by the densitometer 85 constituting the density measurement unit 80. At this time, in order to perform more accurate measurement, the measured value of the density of each band is corrected. Further, a density difference between the measurement result and a predetermined reference density is calculated, and the output state of the print exposure unit 54 is adjusted based on the density difference. The print exposure unit 54 can be adjusted by, for example, a method of rewriting the LUT of image data provided in an exposure control device (not shown) of a laser exposure engine (an example of the print exposure unit 54).

<Test print TP for setup>
In the photographic print system 1 of the present embodiment, the test print TP printed for setup and whose density of each band is measured is formed of 22 gradation bands F1 to F22 as shown in FIG. ing.
[Features of Photo Print System 1]
(1)
In the photographic print system 1 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the test print TP that has been subjected to development processing and then dried in the drying section 60 is discharged from the carry-out hole 68 to the density measuring section 80 by the transport section. And perform colorimetry (density measurement). Colorimetry is performed by measuring the density of each band formed on the test print TP using the densitometer 85 in the density measuring unit 80. Further, the density measuring unit 80 is controlled by the control unit 87 so that the densitometer 85 is calibrated immediately before color measurement.

Calibrating the densitometer 85 before colorimetry is necessary to obtain accurate colorimetric results. However, since the colorimetric accuracy of the densitometer 85 is easily affected by temperature changes, it is desirable that the difference in environmental temperature of the densitometer 85 be as small as possible during calibration and during colorimetry.
Therefore, in the photographic print system 1 of the present embodiment, a series of colorimetry is controlled using the control unit 87 so that the densitometer 85 is calibrated immediately before colorimetry.

As a result, even when the temperature of the densitometer 85 rises because high-temperature drying air from the inside of the drying unit 60 blows out from the carry-out hole 68 to the concentration measuring unit 80, the measurement is performed at the time of calibration of the densitometer 85 due to temperature fluctuations. An accurate color measurement result can be obtained by suppressing the difference in environmental temperature from the time of color.
(2)
In the photographic print system 1 of this embodiment, the position of the test print TP in the photographic print system 1, that is, the tip of the test print TP is detected by the position detection sensor 82 installed in the drying unit 60. When the control unit 87 detects this result, the control unit 87 performs control such that calibration of the densitometer 85 is started after a predetermined time has elapsed. The predetermined time is a time that allows the calibration of the densitometer 85 to be started one minute before the start of color measurement so that the environmental temperature difference between the calibration of the densitometer 85 and the color measurement is within 2 ° C.

As a result, it is possible to signal the fact that the tip of the test print TP has passed a predetermined position, and to achieve the operation timing of the calibration of the densitometer 85 and the color measurement of the test print TP. As a result, these operations can be terminated accurately, and an accurate color measurement result can be obtained.
(3)
In the photo print system 1 of the present embodiment, the predetermined time is calculated based on the transport distance and transport speed of the test print TP.

Immediately before the color measurement of the test print TP, in order to calibrate the densitometer 85 at an optimal timing, a certain time is calculated from the transport distance and the transport speed of the test print TP.
As a result, both the calibration of the densitometer 85 and the color measurement of the test print TP can be completed accurately, and an accurate color measurement result can be obtained.
(4)
In the photographic print system 1 of the present embodiment, a temperature detection sensor 88 is installed in the densitometer 85, and the temperature at the time of calibration of the densitometer 85 and the color measurement of each band formed on the test print TP is measured. Using these measurement results, the control unit 87 also corrects the color measurement results of the bands F1 to F22.

Here, in order to obtain a more accurate color measurement result, the temperature of the densitometer 85 is increased under the influence of heat from the high-temperature drying air from the inside of the drying unit 60 even during actual color measurement. Consider.
In the photographic print system 1 of the present embodiment, the colorimetry is performed based on these results by measuring the temperature at the time of colorimetric measurement of each band formed on the test print TP immediately before the calibration of the densitometer 85 is started. Correct the result.

Thereby, even when the temperature of the densitometer 85 constantly fluctuates to prevent accurate color measurement, an accurate color measurement result that eliminates the influence can be obtained.
[Other Embodiments]
As mentioned above, although one Embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various change is possible in the range which does not deviate from the summary of invention.

(A)
In the above embodiment, the photographic print system 1 has been described with an example in which the control unit 87 in the density measurement unit 80 performs calibration timing control of the densitometer 85 and correction of the color measurement result of the test print TP. However, the present invention is not limited to this.
For example, the control unit 87 may perform only the calibration timing control of the densitometer 85.

Even in this case, it is possible to maintain a certain degree of colorimetric accuracy by suppressing the environmental temperature difference between the calibration of the densitometer 85 due to temperature fluctuations and the time of colorimetry.
However, in order to further stabilize the color measurement accuracy, it is preferable to consider the temperature change at the time of color measurement. Therefore, the above embodiment is more preferable.
Further, the controller 87 for calibrating the densitometer 85 does not have to be provided in the density measuring unit 80 and is disposed in another place in the operation unit 20 or the printing unit 50 of the photo print system 1. May be.

(B)
In the above embodiment, the photo print system 1 is configured such that the density measuring unit 80 starts calibration of the densitometer 85 one minute before the densitometer 85 starts color measurement. However, the present invention is not limited to this.
It is preferable to set operation start timings such as calibration and colorimetry of the densitometer 85 in consideration of the environment in which the photographic print system 1 is used and various maintenance situations.

(C)
In the above embodiment, the photo print system 1 has the position detection sensor 82 on the upstream side of the drying unit 60. However, the present invention is not limited to this.
The position where the position detection sensor 82 is installed can be appropriately set to an optimal position in consideration of a series of flow of calibration of the densitometer 85 and correction of the colorimetric result.

(D)
In the embodiment described above, an example in which the predetermined time is calculated based on the transport distance and the transport speed of the test print TP in the photo print system 1 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this.
In the photographic print system 1, other calculation methods may be used as long as the densitometer 85 can be calibrated at an optimal timing immediately before the color measurement of the test print TP.

(E)
In the above embodiment, in the photographic print system 1, the example has been described in which the test print TP whose density is measured by the density measuring unit 80 is formed of the 22 gradation bands F1 to F22. However, the present invention is not limited to this.
The gradation of the band may be other than 22 gradations, for example, 14 gradations, and even in that case, a series of colorimetric operations can be performed as in the above embodiment.

  Since the present invention can stabilize the colorimetric accuracy by suppressing the influence of heat, and has the effect of preventing the accuracy of the setup operation from being lowered, the measurement is performed near the drying processing unit and the drying processing unit. The present invention can be widely applied to a photographic processing apparatus, an image forming apparatus, a printing apparatus, and the like equipped with a color portion.

1 is an external view of a photographic print system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Sectional drawing which shows the internal structure of the photograph printing system of FIG. FIG. 2 is an enlarged side view of the periphery of a drying unit mounted on the photo print system of FIG. 1. A test print for setup output by the photo print system of FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a series of colorimetric operations in the photo print system of FIG. 1. The graph which shows the fluctuation | variation of the colorimetric value in the photographic print system of FIG. 1 when the temperature just before the calibration of the colorimetric unit is 19 ° C. and (b) the temperature just before the calibration of the colorimetric unit is 34 ° C. The graph which shows the temperature change of the color measurement part in the photographic print system of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Photo printing system 20 Operation part 21 Monitor 22 Keyboard 23 Mouse 30 Computer unit 31 Media reader 40 Film scanner 50 Print part 51 Printing paper magazine 52 Sheet cutter 53 Back print part 54 Print exposure part (exposure part)
55 Processing tank unit (development processing section)
55a Color developing tank 55b Bleaching and fixing tank 55c Stabilizing tank 56 Conveyor 57 Pressure conveying roller pair 58 Chucker type conveying unit 60 Drying section (drying processing section)
61 Pressure-conveying roller pair (conveying unit)
62 Turn roller pair (conveyance unit)
63 Conveyance switching guide 64 Unloading roller pair (conveyance unit)
65 Unloading hole 66 Turn guide (conveying section, discharging section)
68 Unloading hole 80 Density measurement part (colorimetry part)
81 Housing 82 Position detection sensor 83 Conveying roller 84 Light irradiation unit 85 Densitometer 86 Discharge unit 87 Control unit 88 Temperature detection sensor P Printing paper (photosensitive material)
F photographic film F1-F22 belt

Claims (2)

A drying processing section for drying the photosensitive material that has been subjected to development processing;
A transport unit for transporting the photosensitive material in the drying processing unit;
A discharge unit for discharging the photosensitive material conveyed by the conveyance unit to the outside of the apparatus;
A colorimetric unit that is disposed in proximity to the discharge unit and measures the density of each band formed on the photosensitive material discharged from the discharge unit;
A control unit for calibrating the colorimetric unit;
With
The control unit calibrates the colorimetric unit immediately before measuring the density of each band formed on the photosensitive material in the colorimetric unit.
Photo processing device. The drying processing unit has a position detection sensor for detecting the position of the photosensitive material,
When the position detection sensor detects that the photosensitive material has reached a predetermined position, the control unit calibrates the colorimetric unit after a predetermined time has elapsed.
The photographic processing apparatus according to claim 1.

Images