JP3158792B2 - Photo printing method and apparatus - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a photographic printing method and apparatus for printing from film in a cartridge.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional photographic printing apparatus for printing a color image from a film onto a photosensitive material is provided with a scanner unit, a printing exposure unit, and a film transporting apparatus. It is known to read optically, adjust the density of light from a light source based on the data with a light control filter of one of three primary colors, irradiate the film, and print an image on a photosensitive material.

The scanner unit is illuminated by a light source different from the printing exposure means, reads image information by a sensor for optically detecting information such as image density, converts it into an electric signal, and sends printing conditions to the printing exposure means. .

The film from which information such as image density has been read is conveyed by a film conveying device and sent to printing exposure means, where printing is performed. In this case, as a method of determining printing conditions, image density information of each frame of the entire film is read, and image density information of a plurality of frames is averaged to calculate an average density. A method of determining the printing conditions is adopted.

[0005]

By the way, in the above-mentioned conventional photographic printing apparatus, one film is fed into the apparatus manually, or a plurality of film terminals are spliced to be reeled. There has been proposed an apparatus in which the continuous film is automatically fed into the apparatus from a film supply unit.

The film fed in this way is:
Image information is read by a scanner unit arranged along the path of the transport device, and printing exposure is performed based on the data. In this case, in general, functional parts such as reading of image density and calculation of the information and a printing machine are used. The processing speed of the former is faster and that of the latter is lower.

[0007] Due to such a difference in processing speed, generally, the following 1-step operation is performed until the printing operation is completed for one film.
The reading of the image density on the book film is not performed, and the apparatus stands by. While the printing is completed and the image density is read, the printing operation is stopped and the apparatus stands by.

However, when such a processing method is adopted, when a plurality of films are continuously processed, a large amount of operation time is wasted and efficient high-speed processing cannot be performed. Therefore, a photographic printing apparatus in which the scanner unit and the printing exposure unit are independently driven, and a loop portion for adjusting the film feed is provided between them is conceivable.

If a continuous film is wound on a reel and connected and supplied to such a photographic printing apparatus as described above, the processing speed can be considerably improved and the efficiency can be increased.

[0010] However, such devices usually include
Since only one reel for supplying film can be mounted and continuous film wound on multiple reels cannot be processed at the same time, the processing speed of the photographic printing apparatus cannot be said to be sufficient. There is room for improvement.

The present invention pays attention to the above-mentioned problems of the conventional photographic printing apparatus, and feeds the cartridge along a circumferential path in order to cut the film in the cartridge from the cartridge and to perform the printing process efficiently without splicing. An object of the present invention is to provide a photographic printing method and apparatus in which a film in a plurality of cartridges can be processed in parallel by a scanner unit and printing exposure means provided independently along the path.

[0012]

As a means for solving the above-mentioned problems, the present invention relates to a method in which a film stored in a cartridge fed on a circumferential path having a predetermined radius is placed on a center line passing an arbitrary position on the circumferential path. The film is fed out to a scanner section provided outside the circumferential path, the image information of the film is read out, the printing condition is set based on the data, and the fed out film is rewound into the cartridge, and the cartridge is further moved on the circumferential path. The film is fed out again to the printing exposure means provided outside the circumferential path on the center line passing through the other position of the circumferential path, and printing is performed according to the printing conditions set for each frame, and the above-described processing is performed. This is a photographic printing method which is performed in parallel on a plurality of cartridges by an independent scanner unit and printing exposure means.

[0013] Then, as an apparatus for performing this method,
A rotary table rotatable with respect to a substrate for mounting various members is provided, and a plurality of cartridge holding portions are provided at appropriate intervals on the periphery of the rotary table, and the cartridge holding portion is provided when the rotary table is stopped at an arbitrary position. A cartridge feeding unit is provided at a position on the substrate corresponding to one of the above, and a scanner unit is provided at a position on the substrate corresponding to the other cartridge holding unit, and the rotary table is rotated by an arbitrary angle to correspond to the scanner unit. A printing exposure device is provided at a position on the substrate where the cartridge holding portion has been moved, and a printing exposure device corresponding to the cartridge holding portion is provided, and the scanner unit and the printing exposure device are independently configured so that a plurality of cartridges can be freely processed in parallel. It was a device.

In this photographic printing apparatus, the scanner section and the printing exposure means may be provided at positions facing each other on the center line of the rotary table.

Alternatively, the center distance between the scanner unit and the printing exposure means may be made to correspond to the corresponding center distance of the non-rotating printing apparatus, and the film transport unit and the rotary table may be exchangeable.

In any case, it is preferable that the cartridge holding section is provided with an automatic opening / closing mechanism of the light shielding door of the cartridge and a drive section for discharging and rewinding the film.

Further, a stocker for storing the cartridge may be provided near the cartridge feeding section so that the supply of the cartridge can be automatically supplied.

Further, a bar code detector may be provided on the cover plate of the cartridge holding portion to detect the cartridge number displayed on the cartridge and print the number on the back surface of the photosensitive paper when printing. .

[0019]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a photographic printing apparatus according to an embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II.

As shown in FIG. 1, the photographic printer includes a rotatable table 2 at the center of a substrate 1 on which various components are mounted. Four cartridge holders 3 are provided on the periphery of the turntable 2 on a center line orthogonal to the turntable 2. The cartridge holder 3 is driven by the drive unit 4, and details thereof will be described later. Reference numeral 5 in FIG. 2 denotes a driving unit of the rotary table 2.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a cartridge feeding section provided on the substrate 1, and sends a cartridge containing a film to the cartridge holder 3 when one of the cartridge holders 3 on the turntable 2 is stopped at a corresponding position. Or eject the processed cartridge.

The position of the cartridge holder 3 at a position where the phase of the cartridge holder 3 corresponding to the cartridge feeding section 6 is advanced by 90 ° in the direction of the arrow in FIG. The scanner unit 10 is provided at a position further outside.

2, the scanner unit 10 is composed of a scanner unit 10 'and a film feeding unit 10 "provided on the substrate 1. The scanner unit 10' is the same as the conventional one. Filter light 1
2, the film F is irradiated through the shutter 13, the mirror tunnel 14, and the scanner opening 15 provided in the substrate 1, and the image light is received by the scanner 18 through the reflection mirror 16 and the lens 17.

The film feeding unit 10 ″ feeds the film F wound in the cartridge X set in the cartridge holder 3 by the feed roller 19 composed of a number of roller pairs provided on the substrate 1, and temporarily transfers the film F. When the reading of each frame image of the film F by the scanner unit 10 'is completed, the frame F is rewound back to the cartridge X of the cartridge holder 3. Reference numeral 21 denotes a bar code detector; 22, a magnetic head; and 23, a perforation detector.

A printing exposure unit 30 is provided at a position outside the rotary table 2 on the opposite side of the scanner unit 10. The printing exposure unit 30 includes a printing exposure unit 30 'and a film feeding unit 30 ".

The printing exposure unit 30 ′ has the same mechanism as that of the related art, and emits light from the light source 31 through the heat ray absorption filter 32, the dimming filter 33, the mirror tunnel 34, and the printing opening 35 provided in the substrate 1. The film F is irradiated, and the image light is printed and exposed for each frame of the photosensitive material PC held by the paper mask 37 through the lens 36.

The film feeding unit 30 "is basically the same as the film feeding unit 10" of the scanner unit 10, and includes a feed roller 39 and a winder 40. 41 is a perforation detector and 42 is a magnetic head.

The above-described scanner unit 10 and printing exposure unit 30 are provided independently and driven independently.

The distance between the center of the scanner unit 10 and the printing / exposure means 30 is not limited to a dedicated machine for printing a film housed in a cartridge as in this embodiment, but is set in a conventional manner. If the distance between the scanner unit of the photographic printing apparatus of the type to be sent by the transporting apparatus and the installation distance of the printing exposure means is made to match, the substrate 1 including the rotary table 2 is removed and the printing of the conventional type or vice versa. It can also be used as a device.

FIGS. 3 to 6 show the details of the cartridge holder 3, the driving unit 4, and the cartridge feeding unit 6. FIG. The cartridge holder 3 is a box-shaped box having an openable and closable lid plate 302 on a side wall 301. The cover plate 302 is a small motor 3
Although the opening and closing are performed at 03, any other opening and closing method may be used. 304 is a bar code detector.

The drive unit 4 is provided so as to be able to freely contact with and separate from the cartridge holder 3.
For example, the guide 402 is moved forward and backward by the air cylinder 401 to be moved. The rotational driving force of the motor 403 is transmitted to the rotating shaft 405 via the belt 404, and the driving force of the solenoid 406 is transmitted to the rotating shaft 408 via the link bar 407. The tips of the rotating shafts 405 and 408
When the drive unit 4 is joined to the cartridge holder 3, the drive unit 4 penetrates through the side wall 301 and protrudes inside the holder, and fits into an engagement hole of the cartridge X stored in the holder in advance.

A slide table 601 in the form of a pillow for receiving the cartridge X is provided in the cartridge feeding section 6 so as to be movable in a groove 602 provided in the radial direction of the rotary table 2. As shown in the sectional view of FIG.
A rack 605 that engages with a pinion 604 that is driven to rotate by a motor 603 is provided below the one apron table 601a, so that the cartridge X can be sent into the cartridge holder 3 from the sending position.

Although the cartridge X is shown in the shape of a cochlea, it is not limited to this, and various types can be adopted. Cartridge X shown
Has a core a for winding the film F and a shaft b for opening and closing the light-shielding door c. Engagement holes a 'and b' are provided at ends of the core a and the shaft b. A bar code d is printed on the outside of the cartridge X in advance.

The printing process by the photographic printing apparatus of the embodiment having the above-described configuration is as follows.

When any one of the cartridge holders 3 stops at the position (A) of the cartridge feeding section 6, the driving section 4 is disengaged from the cartridge holder 3, the cover plate 302 fixing the cartridge X is opened, and the cartridge is opened. The slide table 601 housed inside the holder 3 is sent out toward the cartridge feeding unit 6 by driving the motor 603.

If there is a cartridge X for which printing has already been completed, the cartridge X is removed and the next cartridge X is set on the slide table 601. In addition,
Although not shown, a cylinder having a push rod used when a stocker for a cartridge described later is provided may be provided to automatically discharge the cartridge.

After setting the next cartridge X on the slide table 601 and waiting until the processing at all other positions is completed, the slide table 601 is sent to the cartridge holder 3 and the cartridge X is stored in the holder. . Next, the lid plate 302 is closed, the cartridge X is fixed, and the drive unit 4 is joined to the cartridge holder 3. In this state, the turntable 2 is rotated by 90 °, and the cartridge X is transferred to the position (B) of the scanner unit 10. Meanwhile, cover plate 3
After closing 02, the bar code detector 304 reads the cartridge number represented by the bar code d of the cartridge X.

At the position of the scanner section 10, the image density / magnetic data of the film F stored in the cartridge X is detected. For this reason, first, the film F is sent out from the cartridge X. Since the tip of the rotating shaft 408 of the driving unit 4 is engaged with the engaging hole b 'of the shaft b for opening and closing the light shielding door c of the cartridge X, when the solenoid 406 is driven to rotate the rotation shaft 408, the light shielding door is rotated. c is opened.

Next, the motor 403 is driven, and its power is transmitted to the winding core a via the belt 404 and the rotating shaft 405 to feed out the film F. The fed film F is fed by a feed roller 19 and wound on a winder 20. Meanwhile, detection of the image position by the perforation detector 23,
Detection of film magnetic data by the magnetic head 22 and detection of a latent image barcode by the barcode detector 21 are performed.

Each frame image detected by the perforation detector 23 is temporarily stopped at the position of the scanner opening 15, and the image density is measured. The measurement of the image density by the scanner unit is a general one, and the description is omitted.

When the reading of the density of each frame image is completed,
The feed roller 19, the drive motor 403, and the winder 20 rotate in the reverse direction, and the film is rewound into the cartridge X. Thereafter, the turntable 2 is rotated by 90 °, and the cartridge X is transferred to the calculation / communication position (C).

At the calculation / communication position, printing conditions for each image based on the measured image density data, magnetic data and bar code data are calculated and determined. Note that this calculation is
It may be performed after stopping at the communication position (C), or may be performed while passing through this position. Rotary table 2 is 90
The cartridge X is rotated to transfer the cartridge X to the magnetic data input position (D), and the printing conditions are changed by the printing exposure unit 30.
Send to

At the printing and magnetic data input position (D), the leading end of the film is discharged from the cartridge X by driving the rotating shaft a in the same manner as the processing in the scanner section 10. The discharged film is conveyed into a film guide by a feed roller 39 and is subjected to a perforation detector 41.
, The image position is detected, and the magnetic head 42 inputs printing condition data.

The image detected by the perforation detector 41 is positioned in the printing opening 35 and printed on the photosensitive material PC, and the cartridge number (bar code) displayed on the surface of the cartridge is indicated by a bar on the cover plate 302. The number detected by the code detector 304 is printed on the back surface of the photosensitive material PC. The above process is repeated for each frame image on the film. The film discharged at this time is temporarily wound up by the winder 40.

When the processing for each frame image is completed, the feed roller 39, the motor 403, and the winder 40 are reversed, the film F is rewound into the cartridge X, and the light shielding door c is closed.

The rotary table 2 is rotated by 90 °, and the cartridge X is transferred to the cartridge insertion / ejection position A.

The above processes can be performed in parallel by rotating the rotary table 2 with respect to the four cartridges X stored in the four cartridge holders 3 on the rotary table 2. In this case, since the scanner unit 10 and the printing exposure unit 30 are provided independently and driven independently, while the printing process of the film F stored in the preceding cartridge X is performed, the subsequent cartridge X Parallel processing can be performed, such as calculation and communication for the film F in the cartridge, and detection of image density and magnetic data for the film F in the cartridge X thereafter.

The detection of image density and magnetic data in the scanner section 10 is performed, for example, using only the image density.
The magnetic data may be read by providing a magnetic head 22 on the substrate 1 corresponding to the operation / communication position (C).

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the cartridge X is loaded manually by the cartridge feeding section 6 one by one. However, the cartridge may be automatically fed by using a stocker. A supply method using this stocker will be described with reference to FIGS. 3, 7, and 8. FIG.

FIG. 3 shows the outline of the stocker by a dashed line. FIG. 7 shows a cross section of the stocker. In this embodiment, the stocker 7 is installed right above the cartridge feeding section 6. A plurality of cartridges X are stacked in the stocker 7, and solenoids 7 a having locking pins as holding means for holding the cartridges X are provided at two sides on the side. Upper stage solenoid 7a
When the locking pin of the lowermost solenoid 7a is retracted while holding the upper cartridge X, the cartridge X falls and is supplied to the cartridge feeding section 6.

A cylinder 8 having a push rod 8a is provided on the side of the cartridge feeding section 6. The push rod 8a of the cylinder 8 is provided for automatically discharging the cartridge X when the cartridge X for which all the above-described printing apparatuses have been completed returns to the feeding section 6 again. The ejected cartridge X indicated by the solid line is pushed by the push rod 8a and ejected to the position indicated by the two-dot chain line.

FIG. 8 shows a modified embodiment. The structure of the cylinder 8 having the stocker 7 and the push rod 8a is shown in FIG.
However, the difference is that the installation position of the stocker 7 is shifted to the side of the cartridge feeding section 6. Therefore, in this case, the cartridge X dropped from the stocker 7 is once placed on the substrate 1 and pushed by the pushing rod 8 of the cylinder 8 to be moved to the position of the cartridge feeding section 6 and supplied. When ejecting, it is pushed farther and ejected.

In the above-described embodiment, the cartridge holder 3 is moved along the circumferential path by the rotary table 2. In addition, for example, a circular track is provided on the substrate 1,
The cartridge holder may move on the circular track.

Various modifications can be made to the film feeding method and mechanism within the scope of the concept of the present invention.

[0055]

As described in detail above, in the photographic printing method and apparatus according to the present invention, the film stored in the cartridge is sent on the circumferential path, and the data such as the image density is read by the scanner section on the way, and further advanced. The photosensitive material is printed in accordance with the printing conditions based on the data by the printing exposure means in the middle of the circumferential path, and the reading and printing of the data are performed independently so as to be processed in parallel. There is an advantage that the printing operation can be performed extremely efficiently by performing different processes in parallel.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a photographic printing apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the vicinity of a cartridge holder and a cartridge feeding unit.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the above.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line VV in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the above for explaining the operation;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a stocker.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of another example of a stocker.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate 2 Rotary table 3 Cartridge holder 4 Drive unit 5 Drive unit 6 Cartridge feeding unit 7 Stocker 10 Scanner unit 10 'Scanner unit 10 "Film feeding unit 11 Light source 18 Scanner 19 Feed roller 20 Winder 21 Barcode detector 22 Magnetic head 23 perforation detector 30 printing exposure means 30 'printing exposure unit 30 "film feeding unit 31 light source 37 paper mask 39 feed roller 40 winder 41 perforation detector 42 magnetic head X cartridge F film

Continuation of front page (56) References JP-A-61-109043 (JP, A) JP-A-63-123032 (JP, A) JP-A-2-93633 (JP, A) JP-A-2-275935 (JP) JP-A-2-93635 (JP, A) JP-A-2-116840 (JP, A) JP-A-3-267931 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB (Name) G03B 27/32 G03B 27/46

Claims (7)

(57) [Claims] 1. A film stored in a cartridge fed on a circumferential path of a predetermined radius is fed out to a scanner section provided outside a circumferential path on a center line passing an arbitrary position of the circumferential path, and the film is fed to the scanner section. The image information is read, the printing conditions are set based on the data, and the unwound film is rewound into the cartridge. The cartridge is further fed on the circumferential path, and the circle on the center line passing through another position on the circumferential path. The film is fed out again to the printing exposure means provided outside the peripheral path, printing exposure is performed according to the printing conditions set for each frame, and the above-described processing is performed on a plurality of cartridges by independent scanner units and printing exposure means. A photographic printing method comprising performing in parallel. 2. When a rotary table rotatable with respect to a substrate for mounting various members is provided, a plurality of cartridge holding portions are provided at appropriate intervals on the periphery of the rotary table, and when the rotary table is stopped at an arbitrary position. The cartridge feeding unit is provided at a position on the substrate corresponding to one of the cartridge holding units, and the scanner unit is provided at a position on the substrate corresponding to the other cartridge holding unit. A printing exposure unit corresponding to the cartridge holding unit is provided at a position on the substrate where the cartridge holding unit corresponding to the scanner unit has moved, and the scanner unit and the printing exposure unit are independently configured so that a plurality of cartridges can be processed in parallel. Photo printing equipment. 3. A photographic printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said scanner section and printing exposure means are provided at positions facing each other on a center line of the rotary table. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a center distance between the scanner unit and the printing exposure unit is made equal to a corresponding center distance of a non-rotating printing apparatus, and the film transport unit and the rotary table are interchangeable. The photographic printing apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein 5. The cartridge holding unit is provided with a mechanism for automatically opening and closing a light shielding door of the cartridge and a driving unit for discharging and rewinding a film.
The photographic printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4. 6. A photographic printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a stocker for storing the cartridge is provided near the cartridge feeding section, so that the supply of the cartridge can be automatically supplied. . 7. A bar code detector is provided on a lid plate of the cartridge holding portion, and a cartridge number displayed on the cartridge is detected, and the number is printed on the back surface of the photosensitive paper at the time of printing. Claims 2 to 6
A photographic printing apparatus according to any one of the above.