JP3167211B2 - Photo printing equipment - 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 apparatus for exposing image light of an original image such as a photographed film to a photosensitive material such as photographic paper with light adjusted by a liquid crystal light adjusting member.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When printing an image of a photographed negative film on photographic paper, light can be corrected for each minute area of the image by using a liquid crystal light control member. Such a technique is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 64-10819. In this technique, a light transmission type liquid crystal cell is inserted between a light source and a negative film, and the transmittance is changed for each liquid crystal pixel to control the print density. The photographic paper is exposed to light adjusted through the liquid crystal light control member to form an image.

[0003]

When an image reproduced on a photographic paper has a defect such as a white point or a black point, whether the defect originally occurred in the original image of the negative film,
Alternatively, it cannot be determined merely by looking at the reproduced image whether the defect is due to a defect in the liquid crystal light control member. Even when there is no abnormality in the liquid crystal light control member and a defect has occurred in the negative film, it is not easy to confirm a defect such as a minute spot in an image of one frame of the negative film.

Therefore, it is possible to confirm whether or not the liquid crystal light control member has a defect by detecting the state of light before passing through the liquid crystal light control member and reaching the negative film with an image area sensor such as a CCD. it can. By controlling the applied voltage so that all the pixels of the liquid crystal light control member transmit light, and confirming that light is transmitted through all the pixels of the liquid crystal light control member, each pixel of the liquid crystal light control member can control the light. It can be assumed that there is no impairment of permeability.

However, according to the liquid crystal light control technology disclosed in each of the above publications, the liquid crystal light control member is disposed in a narrow area between the light source and the negative film, so that the liquid crystal light control member and the negative film are not connected to each other. It is difficult to further arrange an image area sensor in between. Further, in order to dispose the image area sensor here, it is necessary to provide an installation space between the liquid crystal light control member and the negative film, so that the distance between the liquid crystal light control member and the negative film is increased. Then, the irradiation angle until the light from the liquid crystal light adjusting member reaches the negative film increases, and the correction effect of adjusting the light for each pixel decreases.

On the other hand, although the image light of the original image can be adjusted by the liquid crystal light adjusting member, it is not always necessary to adjust the image light. When the adjustment is unnecessary, it is necessary to transmit the image light through the liquid crystal light adjusting member. There is no. If image light is transmitted through the liquid crystal light control member even though no light control is required, the image light reaching the negative film will pass through the liquid crystal light control member and lose meaningless light amount. A longer exposure time is required for the reduced amount of light. For this reason, when it is not necessary to adjust the image light, it is preferable to remove the liquid crystal light adjusting member from the optical path.

However, if the liquid crystal light control member is configured to be movable together with its wiring and control device, the exposure apparatus becomes large and complicated, and vibration during movement may cause failure of the liquid crystal light control member. It can be a cause. Therefore, when dimming of image light by the liquid crystal dimming member is unnecessary, a configuration that can be removed from the optical path without moving the liquid crystal dimming member is desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and to provide a photographic printing apparatus capable of easily confirming a defect of a liquid crystal light control member and having a small configuration without complicating the configuration. .

[0009]

The above object according to the present invention is achieved by the following constitutions. (1) In a photographic printing apparatus for exposing an image of a photographic film to a photosensitive material, a light source, a beam splitter (spectroscope), a liquid crystal light control member, and a light control mirror are linearly arranged in this order, and The support for the photographic film and the photosensitive material is arranged in a direction in which light is transmitted through the beam splitter and the liquid crystal light adjusting member, reflected in the opposite direction by the light adjusting mirror, and further reflected by the beam splitter. The light path for exposure is formed in a T-shape, the light control mirror is retreatable from the light path, and a non-light control mirror is provided between the beam splitter and the liquid crystal light control member. A photographic printing apparatus characterized in that the photographic printing apparatus is arranged so as to be insertable into and removable from an optical path so as to face a beam splitter.

(2) The liquid crystal light adjusting member is configured such that liquid crystal is sealed between strip-shaped transparent electrodes in a lattice shape, and is sandwiched between a pair of deflection plates whose deflection directions are orthogonal to each other. The photographic printing apparatus according to (1), wherein a quarter-wave plate (analyzer) is arranged between the beam splitter and the liquid crystal light adjusting member.

(3) A lens is provided between each of the beam splitter and the light source and between the non-dimming mirror and (1) or (2).
A photo printing apparatus according to item 1.

[0012]

In order to expose the photosensitive material with the adjusted light, the light from the light source is transmitted through the beam splitter and the liquid crystal light control member, reflected in the opposite direction by the light control mirror, and transmitted through the liquid crystal light control member again. The photographic film is illuminated with the light that has been incident on the beam splitter and reflected, and the light-sensitive material is exposed by the light transmitted through the photographic film. Light from the light source is adjusted for each pixel by a liquid crystal light adjusting member.

In order to expose the photosensitive material without adjusting the light of the light source, a non-dimming mirror is provided between the beam splitter and the liquid crystal light adjusting member so that the light from the light source does not reach the liquid crystal light adjusting member. The light is transmitted through the beam splitter, is returned, and is reflected by the beam splitter to expose the photosensitive material.

In order to detect whether or not the liquid crystal light control member is defective, all pixels of the liquid crystal light control member are transparent when the light source is in operation.
Optical conditions such as excess, light blocking, refraction, scattering, etc. are equal
Then, a driving signal is applied , an image area sensor is arranged in place of the dimming mirror, or the transmission state of light transmitted through the liquid crystal dimming member is visually inspected.

According to the above arrangement, the photosensitive material can be exposed by the light adjusted for each pixel by the liquid crystal light adjusting member. However, the light incident on the beam splitter and the light emitted therefrom are collected by the lens, so that the beam splitter can be exposed. Can be used. Since a small beam splitter can be used, the exposure apparatus can be configured to be small.

Further, since the light from the beam splitter is magnified by the lens, a large liquid crystal light adjusting member having a large pixel can be used. Since a liquid crystal light control member having a large pixel can be manufactured at a low cost, the cost of an exposure apparatus is reduced. In addition, when the pixels of the liquid crystal light control member are large, defects can be easily found visually and maintenance is easy.

In the liquid crystal light control member according to the present invention, the transmittance can be adjusted in pixel units. For this purpose, one pixel is constituted by the strip-shaped transparent electrodes facing each other in a lattice pattern. preferable. The liquid crystal to be enclosed differs depending on the light control content. To perform light / dark dimming, STN
(Super Twisted Nematic) liquid crystal, TN (Twisted Nemat)
ic) liquid crystal, ferroelectric liquid crystal, dynamic scattering
ing) type liquid crystal can be used. For dimming the hue, an ECB (birefringent) liquid crystal can be used.

When an STN liquid crystal, a TN liquid crystal, a ferroelectric liquid crystal, or an ECB liquid crystal is used, a pair of polarizing plates whose deflection directions are orthogonal to each other are required on both sides of the liquid crystal member. Requires a quarter-wave plate (analyzer). When a dynamic scattering type liquid crystal is used, the brightness of light can be controlled for each pixel by utilizing a scattering state without the need for a polarizing plate and a quarter-wave plate.

[0019]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited only to this embodiment. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a photographic paper printing apparatus as a photographic printing apparatus.

A light source 2, a beam splitter 4, a quarter-wave plate 6, a liquid crystal light adjusting member 8, and a light adjusting mirror 10, which are main elements of the exposure apparatus, are arranged linearly. A heat insulating filter 12 is disposed on the light emitting side of the light source 2.
A color filter 16 is provided. The light quality (color) of the light from the light source 2 is adjusted by transmitting the light through the filter 16.

The parallel light transmitted through the filter 16 becomes diffused light by transmitting through the diffusion box 18 and enters the deflection beam splitter 4. The beam splitter 4 reflects a part of the incident light upward in the drawing by its deflection function,
The remaining part of the light is transmitted. The light reflected upward is not used for exposure.

The light transmitted through the beam splitter 4 is 1/4.
The light is shaped by the wave plate 6 and enters the liquid crystal light adjusting member 8.
The liquid crystal light adjusting member 8 is composed of a pair of deflection plates 2 whose deflection directions are orthogonal to each other.
The liquid crystal panel 24 is inserted between 0 and 22.
The liquid crystal plate 24 is composed of strip-shaped transparent electrodes facing each other in a grid pattern.
Pixels are formed, and liquid crystal is sealed between the two electrodes. The orientation of the liquid crystal material is changed by applying a voltage between the two electrodes, and the light transmittance and the refractive index are changed, so that the brightness and color of light can be controlled for each pixel. The amount of dimming the voltage applied to the electrodes, Shin
It can be controlled by changing the number, and the property of light changes before and after passing through the liquid crystal light adjusting member 8.

When a thin film transistor (TFT) or a thin film diode is used for each minute area of the liquid crystal light adjusting member 8 for forming a pixel, in order to reduce the adverse effect of light from the light source 2 on these thin film elements. Preferably, a matrix-shaped matrix light-blocking member having a light-blocking property in portions other than the pixels is layered on the surface of the liquid crystal light control member 8 on the beam splitter side. The matrix light-shielding member is preferably made of a material such as nickel so as to have not only light-shielding properties but also reflectivity. If the matrix light-blocking member has a light-blocking property and a reflective property, the photographic paper 26 can be exposed while reducing the adverse effect on the thin film element and preventing the loss of the light quantity.

The light control mirror 10 provided adjacent to the liquid crystal light control member 8 is used to expose the photographic paper 26 when the liquid crystal light control member 8 is exposed.
, And reflects light transmitted through the liquid crystal light adjusting member 8 to the liquid crystal light adjusting member 8 again .

The light transmitted through the liquid crystal light adjusting member 8 is again reduced to 1 /
The light passes through the four-wavelength plate 6 and is shaped, and then enters the beam splitter 4. The beam splitter 4 is a quarter-wave plate 6
A part of the light transmitted through is selected by its own deflection function and reflected toward the negative film 28. The reflected light illuminates the negative film 28 loaded on the negative carrier 40, and the light transmitted through the negative film 28 further reaches the photographic paper 26 through the lens 42 and the mask 46, and the photographic paper 26 is projected and exposed. It has become. As described above, the optical path from the light source 2 to the photographic paper 26 is T-shaped.

On the other hand, in order to observe the light transmission state of the liquid crystal light adjusting member 8, a light adjusting mirror 10 adjacent to the liquid crystal light adjusting member 8 is required.
Is retracted from the position facing the liquid crystal light control member 8, and the liquid crystal light control member 8 can be directly observed visually. For this reason, it is preferable that the liquid crystal light adjusting member 8 is arranged in a portion that is easily visible from outside the device.

In order to visually observe the state of the liquid crystal light adjusting member 8 , a drive signal for causing the entire surface of the liquid crystal light adjusting member 8 to be in a transmissive or light-shielded state is applied to the electrodes of all the pixels and observed. At this time, if there is any abnormality in the pixel, the pixel presents a different state from the other pixels, so that even a very small abnormal pixel can be visually confirmed.

Further, without observing the light transmission state of the liquid crystal light adjusting member 8 visually, an image area sensor 3 such as a CCD is used.
0 can also be observed. The image area sensor 30 can be installed in place of the dimming mirror 10, and can be arranged to face the liquid crystal dimming member 8. The light receiving state of the transmitted light of the liquid crystal light adjusting member 8 by the image area sensor 30 can be easily confirmed by connecting the simulation CRT 32. The image area sensor 30 is disposed so as to face the liquid crystal light control member 8 so that all the pixels of the liquid crystal light control member 8 are in a transmissive or light-shielded state.
By applying the drive signal and detecting the state of the light transmitted through the liquid crystal light adjusting member 8, it is possible to easily detect a defect of a pixel of the liquid crystal light adjusting member 8. Further, the transmittance can be corrected for each minute area in consideration of the density unevenness of the liquid crystal light adjusting member 8 itself.

Observing the state of the liquid crystal light control member 8 using the image area sensor 30 is preferably performed at regular intervals, and the liquid crystal light control is automatically performed each time the photographic paper 26 is exposed. It is more preferable to observe the member 8. When a long time driving a liquid crystal light control member 8 has the liquid crystal property is changed by the temperature rise due to the irradiation light, since a cause of lowering the reliability of the light control, for non-dimming when the liquid crystal by the dimming required Preferably, the mirror 36 is quickly inserted into the optical path to prevent light from entering the liquid crystal light adjusting member 8.

According to the printing apparatus configured as described above,
If the original image of the negative film 28 is partially too dark or too bright, if the negative film 28 is illuminated with light adjusted to compensate for this by the liquid crystal light adjusting member 8, a good gradation image can be obtained. Can be reproduced.

On the other hand, when no light control by the liquid crystal light control member 8 is required, it is not necessary to illuminate the negative film 28 with light transmitted through the liquid crystal light control member 8. When the light is transmitted through the liquid crystal light control member 8, the exposure time needs to be increased because light is lost. However, when the light control by the liquid crystal is unnecessary, the light is transmitted through the liquid crystal light control member 8. Instead, the negative film 28 may be illuminated. for that reason,
A non-light adjusting mirror 36 can be inserted and removed between the beam splitter 4 and the liquid crystal light adjusting member 8. When dimming by the liquid crystal is unnecessary, a non-dimming mirror 36 is inserted between the beam splitter 4 and the liquid crystal dimming member 8 so that the light from the beam splitter 4 is reflected to the beam splitter 4 as it is, and a negative film is formed. What is necessary is to illuminate 28 and expose the photographic paper 26,
It is not necessary to transmit light to the liquid crystal light adjusting member 8.

The light transmitted through the negative film 28 is photographic paper 2
6 is read by the image detection image area sensor 34 via the half mirror 38 and the lens 44 prior to the exposure of, the detected state of the image of the negative film 28, the liquid
The necessity of light control by the crystal is determined. When light control is required depending on the content of the original image, the light from the light source 2 is controlled by the liquid crystal light control member 8. The light control by the liquid crystal light control member 8 is performed after the content of the negative film 28 is once read.

A series of operations involved in the exposure of the printing paper 26 having the above configuration will be described. First, the non-dimming mirror 36
Then, the light source 2 is operated and the light transmitted through the beam splitter 4 is transmitted to the liquid crystal light control member 8 in a state where the light control mirror 10 is retracted from the optical path and the image area sensor 30 is installed instead of the light control mirror 10. Incident. Here, the liquid crystal plate 2
The energization of the liquid crystal light control member 4 is controlled to display the bright state and the dark state for one second each, and it is checked whether or not the liquid crystal light control member 8 has a defect. If there is a defect, measures such as repair are taken without proceeding to the next light control and exposure control. Thereby, even if there is a defect in some pixels of the liquid crystal plate 24 and an operation failure occurs, the defect can be easily detected before exposure, so that the photographic paper 26 is exposed and the photographic paper 26 is wasted. Can be prevented. If there is unevenness in the density, a uniform drive signal is temporarily stored in the controller that drives the liquid crystal light adjusting member 8.

After confirming that the liquid crystal light adjusting member 8 has no defect and that the unevenness is minimized, the state of the image on the negative film 28 is detected. The non-light adjusting mirror 36 is inserted in front of the liquid crystal light adjusting member 8, the negative film 28 is loaded on the negative carrier 40, and the light source 2 is turned on. The light transmitted through the beam splitter 4 is reflected back to the beam splitter 4, and the reflected light is further radiated to the negative film 28. By illuminating the negative film 28 with light that does not pass through the liquid crystal light adjusting member 8, it is possible to measure the density of the original image and the like without loss of light amount.

Next, the light transmitted through the negative film 28 is measured by the image area sensor 34 to measure the color, density distribution, and the like of the original image. Calculate the amount of exposure and filter each color
Calculate each set time and transmit light for each filter
To make the exposure possible.

At this time, from the measured density distribution values, a specific portion (a portion where the negative image density is low) where, for example, the image is exposed to the photographic paper 26 and is blackened and good gradation characteristics cannot be obtained when the photographic paper 26 is exposed is found. In this case, the non-light adjusting mirror is instantaneously retracted from the optical path, and the light enters the liquid crystal light adjusting member 8. Then, after driving the liquid crystal light adjusting member 8 such that the transmittance of the minute area of the liquid crystal corresponding to the specific portion is reduced and the amount of light re-entering the beam splitter 4 is reduced, the printing paper 26
Is exposed. Then, since the amount of light irradiating the negative film 28 with respect to the specific portion having reduced transmittance is reduced, it is possible to prevent the entire specific portion from being darkened,
A good image can be obtained.

Liquid crystal plate 8 for correcting the density of a specific portion
The drive signal and the like are calculated in advance and stored in the memory. The control device refers to the contents stored in the memory and controls the drive signal to the liquid crystal panel 24 in consideration of the correction of unevenness. Therefore, the energization of the liquid crystal plate 24 is controlled based on the information specifying the pixel and the correction information.

Conversely, when a specific portion (a portion having a high negative image density) is found where the image is exposed to white and no good gradation characteristics are obtained upon exposure, the same applies to the specific portion. The liquid crystal light adjusting member 8 is driven so that the photographic paper 26 is exposed so that the transmittance of the minute region of the liquid crystal to be increased increases and the amount of light re-entering the beam splitter 4 increases. Then
Since the amount of light irradiating the negative film 28 with respect to the specific portion whose transmittance has been increased is increased, it is possible to prevent the entire specific portion from being whitened and to form a good image. As a liquid crystal for producing such a light / dark dimming function, a TN (Twisted Nematic) type liquid crystal,
There are a ferroelectric liquid crystal and a dynamic scattering liquid crystal.

If it is found from the photometry by the image area sensor 30 that the color of a specific portion of the negative film 28 has changed, the transmitted light of the liquid crystal light adjusting member 8 is compensated to compensate for this color. Adjust color. By adjusting the color of the pixel of the liquid crystal light adjusting member 8 corresponding to the specific portion, the color of the original image of the negative film 28 can be adjusted for each pixel. An ECB (birefringent) liquid crystal can be used as a liquid crystal for providing such a hue adjustment function. Of course, the color density and hue can be adjusted even when the three primary color filters corresponding to the respective pixels are superposed on the STN liquid crystal, TN liquid crystal, ferroelectric liquid crystal, and dynamic scattering liquid crystal.

Although the first embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the exposure apparatus of the present invention can be modified as shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a second embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the configuration in which lenses 50, 52 and 54 are arranged around the beam splitter 4, and the other configurations are the same.

The beam splitter 4 and the diffusion box 1
8, lenses 50, 52, and 54 are provided between the non-light control mirror 36 and the negative film 28, respectively. The lenses 50, 52, and 54 focus the image light beam. I have. By using the lenses 50, 52, 54, a small beam splitter 4 can be used. Further, since the cross-sectional area of the light beam is reduced, the insertion / removal distance of the non-light control mirror 36 is shortened, and the insertion / removal time is shortened. By shortening the insertion / removal time of the non-light control mirror 36, instantaneous switching movement is possible even when performing double exposure in which normal exposure and exposure in which a minute area is corrected are performed. It will be easier.

Also, by using the lenses 50, 52, and 54, the optical path incident on the liquid crystal light adjusting member 8 is expanded, so that the liquid crystal light adjusting member 8 does not require a fine pixel on the liquid crystal plate 24, and has a large pixel size. It can be applied to the liquid crystal plate 24 as well.
Therefore, an inexpensive large-sized liquid crystal panel can be used without using an expensive micro-pixel liquid crystal panel, and the device can be provided at low cost. Further, as the size of the pixels on the liquid crystal plate 24 increases, it becomes easier to find defects.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the photosensitive materials for photography and printing that can be used in the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned films and papers.
As a photosensitive material for photography, for example, a color reversal film,
Color positive films, black-and-white films and the like can be mentioned, and photosensitive materials for printing include color reversal paper and black-and-white paper. The printing apparatus of the present invention can be applied to, for example, a large or small automatic developing machine, an integrated machine with a film processor, and the like.

[0044]

According to the present invention, light before passing through the liquid crystal light control member and reaching the photographic film can be confirmed with a simple structure, so that a defect of the liquid crystal light control member can be easily detected. And the size of the printing apparatus can be reduced.
When the liquid crystal light control member is not used, a non-light control mirror is inserted in front of the liquid crystal light control member, and the photographic film is exposed to light that does not pass through the liquid crystal light control member, thereby exposing the photosensitive material. Also, there is no loss of light applied to the photographic film, and the exposure time is not prolonged.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a first embodiment of a printing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a second embodiment of a printing apparatus according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 2 light source 4 beam splitter 6 1/4 wavelength plate 8 liquid crystal light control member 10 light control mirror 12 heat insulating filter 14 driver 16 3 color filter 18 diffusion box 20, 22 deflection plate 24 liquid crystal plate 26 printing paper 28 negative film 30 light source Image area sensor 32 CRT 34 Image image area sensor 36 Non-dimming mirror 38 Half mirror 40 Negative carrier 42, 44 Lens 46 Mask 50, 52, 54 Lens

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G03B 27/72

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] In a photographic printing apparatus for exposing an image on a photographic film to a photosensitive material, a light source, a beam splitter, a liquid crystal light control member, and a light control mirror are linearly arranged in this order, and light from the light source is emitted. A supporting portion for the photographic film and the photosensitive material is disposed in a direction that is transmitted through the beam splitter and the liquid crystal light control member, is reflected in the opposite direction by the light control mirror, and is further reflected by the beam splitter. A light path for exposure is formed in a T-shape, the light control mirror is retreatable from the light path, and a non-light control mirror is provided between the beam splitter and the liquid crystal light control member. A photographic printing apparatus characterized in that the photographic printing apparatus is disposed so as to be able to be inserted into and removed from the optical path so as to face the optical path. 2. The liquid crystal light adjusting member comprises a liquid crystal sealed between strip-shaped transparent electrodes in a lattice shape, and sandwiched between a pair of deflection plates whose deflection directions are orthogonal to each other. 1/4 between the beam splitter and the liquid crystal light adjusting member
The photographic printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a wave plate is disposed. 3. The photographic printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a lens is provided between the beam splitter and the light source and between the non-dimming mirror.