JP3518390B2 - 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 printing an image on photographic paper by irradiating light from a light source onto the photographic paper as a photosensitive material through a light modulation element, and more particularly to an image printing apparatus. The present invention relates to a photographic printing apparatus capable of printing a good image on a photographic paper.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a study has been made on a photographic printing apparatus as a so-called digital exposure device, which uses, for example, a liquid crystal display device (hereinafter abbreviated as LCD) as a light modulation element,
Development is actively progressing. This type of photographic printing apparatus drives each pixel of the LCD according to the image information, controls the transmission of light from the light source for each pixel, and irradiates the photographic paper with the transmitted light. Is printed on photographic paper.

By the way, as shown in FIGS. 3 (a) to 3 (c), each pixel 51 serving as a light transmitting portion in an LCD.
Are arranged in a matrix, for example, and each pixel 51
A scan line and a signal line (both not shown) for driving the pixel 51 are provided around the pixel so as to be orthogonal to each other, and a TFT (for switching ON / OFF of each pixel 51 An active element (not shown) such as a thin film transistor) is provided for each pixel 51. A black matrix (hereinafter referred to as BM) 52 is provided so as to cover these wirings and active elements.

FIG. 1A shows an example in which the width of the BM 52 in the vertical direction is smaller than the width of the BM 52 in the horizontal direction, and FIG. Is smaller than the width of the BM 52 in the vertical direction, and FIG. 6C shows an example in which the widths of the BM 52 are aligned in both the vertical and horizontal directions.

When an LCD having such a pixel arrangement is irradiated with light, BM52 exists around the pixels 51, so that the light incident on each pixel 51 is controlled in transmission by the pixel 51. The photographic paper is irradiated, but the light incident on the BM 52 is blocked by the BM 52 and does not reach the photographic paper. As a result, a grid pattern (shadow of the BM 52) exists in the image printed on the printing paper, and the quality of the image deteriorates.

Therefore, as a method for avoiding such a deterioration in image quality, for example, methods such as defocus exposure and pixel shift exposure have been conventionally proposed. The former defocus exposure is a method in which first, as shown in FIG. 17A, the photographic paper is focused and exposed, and then, as shown in FIG. 17B, defocused exposure is performed. . In addition,
The shaded area in FIG. 3A indicates pixels on the photographic paper,
Vertical and horizontal stripes formed between each pixel correspond to the shadow of the BM 52. Further, the halftone line portion shown in FIG. 3B shows the area on the photographic paper exposed by defocus exposure.

However, with this method, although the shadow of the BM 52 is inconspicuous, the image becomes a sleepy image (blurred image) as a whole, and it cannot be said that an image of good quality is formed.

On the other hand, the latter pixel shift exposure is shown in FIG.
As shown in (a) and (b), the LCD 62, the lens 63, and the BGR filter 64 are arranged in this order in the light traveling direction on the optical path between the light source 61 and the photographic paper 65, and the photographic paper 65 is exposed. After performing once, the XY stage 66 (or piezo element) shifts one of the LCD 62 and the printing paper 65 relative to the other by, for example, a half pixel in the vertical and horizontal directions, and exposes each time. Is the way to do.
Here, in FIG. 9A, the LCD 62 is fixed and the photographic paper 6 is fixed.
5 shows a configuration in which the LCD 5 is displaced, and FIG. 7B shows a configuration in which the photographic printing paper 65 is fixed and the LCD 62 is displaced.

Therefore, in the first exposure, for example, FIG.
If the image shown in (a) is printed on photographic paper,
2 by the horizontal pixel shift by the XY stage 66
When the second exposure is performed, the image shown in FIG. 19B is printed. Then, the pixel shift in the vertical direction and the pixel shift in the horizontal direction are further repeated to perform the third and fourth exposures, whereby the images shown in FIGS. 19C and 19D are sequentially printed.

According to this method, it is possible to obtain the same pseudo resolution as when the number of pixels of the LCD is increased while keeping the number of pixels of the LCD as it is. However, the price of the apparatus itself rises because the electric microstage called the XY stage 66 and the piezo element are expensive. Further, in particular, in the configuration of FIG. 7B in which the LCD 62 is moved, when the LCD 62 is displaced, the vibration of the XY stage 66 is applied to the LCD 62. LC
As described above, the D62 is provided with a large number of thin wires that are easily broken due to vibration, shock, etc.
When the wiring of 62 is broken, the display quality of the LCD 62 is degraded and the image quality of the printed image is impaired.

Therefore, for example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-83030, an attempt is made to avoid the deterioration of image quality due to the presence of the shadow of the BM, instead of the defocus exposure or the pixel shift exposure as described above. In the technology disclosed in the above publication,
As shown in FIG. 20B, the two-point separation birefringence filter 7
1 is used for exposure.

The above two-point separation birefringent filter 71 has one
It is composed of a quarter-wave plate 72 and a birefringent plate 73.
The quarter-wave plate 72 converts incident light from linearly polarized light into circularly polarized light and emits it. The birefringent plate 73 is shown in FIG.
As shown in the projected view of the optical path in (a), the incident light is birefringent into an ordinary ray whose optical axis goes straight and an extraordinary ray whose optical axis is different from the ordinary ray. 20 (b)
The arrow on the optical axis inside indicates the vibration direction of light (polarization direction).
, And the arrow attached in a spiral shape indicates circularly polarized light.

In this structure, when light from a light source (not shown) enters each pixel (light control region) of the LCD 74, the transmission of light is controlled by each pixel and is directed to the two-point separation birefringent filter 71. Is emitted. Normally, a polarizing plate is provided on the light emitting side of the LCD 74, and therefore the light emitted from the LCD 74 is linearly polarized light. On the other hand, since a BM (light non-control area) is formed in the LCD 74, of the light from the light source, the light incident on the BM is blocked by the BM and does not reach the two-point separation birefringent filter 71.

The linearly polarized light that has entered the two-point separation birefringent filter 71 is converted into circularly polarized light by the quarter-wave plate 72 and enters the birefringent plate 73. In the birefringent plate 73, the incident light is birefringent into an ordinary ray and an extraordinary ray, and the respective rays are applied to the printing paper. At this time, the ordinary ray is applied to the area of the printing paper corresponding to the light control area, and the extraordinary ray is applied to the area of the printing paper corresponding to the light non-control area. Accordingly, if the two-point separation birefringence filter 71 is not used, FIG.
The BM shadow 75 formed as shown in (a) is erased as shown in FIG. 21 (b) by the irradiation of the extraordinary ray.

[0015]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional configuration utilizing the two-point separation birefringent filter 71, the amount of light of the ordinary ray and the amount of extraordinary ray are the same, so that FIG.
As shown in, a superposed region 78 is formed in which the ordinary ray irradiation region 76 and the extraordinary ray irradiation region 77 overlap each other, and the superposed regions 78 are laterally continuous, so that a streak appears in the lateral direction. On the other hand, the extraordinary ray is not emitted to the shadow 79 of the BM running in the vertical direction.
9) remains. Eventually, different kinds of lines run vertically and horizontally, so that the image to be printed is rather unnatural.

Incidentally, for example, as shown in FIG.
A method of making the above-mentioned vertical and horizontal stripes inconspicuous by performing defocus exposure together is also conceivable, but using defocus exposure results in a sleepy image as described above, which is not very preferable. .

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a photographic printing apparatus capable of avoiding deterioration of image quality due to mixture of different kinds of stripes. Especially.

[0018]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a photographic printing apparatus according to the invention of claim 1 is capable of controlling the supply of light to a photosensitive material in accordance with image data. A light modulating element having a region and a light non-controlling region formed around the light controlling region, and irradiating the light-sensitive material with light from a light source through the light modulating device according to the image data. A photoprinting device for printing an image on a light-sensitive material, wherein the light obtained via the light control region of the light modulation element is birefringent into three or more lights for each light control region,
A birefringent means is provided for irradiating at least two of them to the region of the photosensitive material corresponding to the light non-control region, while irradiating the remaining light to the region of the photosensitive material corresponding to the light control region. It has a feature.

According to the above structure, of the light from the light source, the light incident on the light control region of the light modulation element is irradiated onto the photosensitive material via the light control region, but is not irradiated on the light non-control region. The incident light does not reach the photosensitive material because the supply of light to the photosensitive material is not controlled in the light non-control area. As a result, a shadow of the light non-control area is usually formed on the photosensitive material.

However, in the above structure, by providing the birefringent means, the light is irradiated to the region of the photosensitive material (hereinafter referred to as the first region) corresponding to the light non-control region of the light modulation element, so that one If, for example, two light beams are applied to the first region with respect to the light control region, the shadow of the light non-control region can be partially erased. In addition, if the light to be irradiated on the first region with respect to one light control region is, for example, three or more, the method of separating these lights is made the same in all the light control regions, so that the first region It is possible to irradiate the whole with light, which makes it possible to eliminate all shadows in the light non-control area.

Here, even if the first region is irradiated with two lights for one light control region, the respective light amounts of these lights are exposed to the light control region of the light modulation element. Material
If the amount of light applied to the material region (hereinafter referred to as the second region ) is made smaller, for example, even if an overlapping region in which the irradiation regions of each light overlap is formed, this overlapping region is It is less conspicuous than in the conventional case where the same amount of light is applied to both areas. As a result, it is possible to reduce the recognition of the overlapping region as a line different from the shadow of the light non-control region.

Further, in this case, for example, the incident light is birefringent so that the light obtained through the light control regions individually corresponding to the two regions is irradiated between the two adjacent regions in the second region. With this configuration, an image in which the image data of the two areas are mixed is printed between the two areas, and the images (pixels) are smoothly connected in the arrangement direction of the two areas.

Therefore, according to the above configuration, the shadow of the light non-control area can be completely eliminated, or the presence of the overlapping area can be lightened. Therefore, the shadow of the light non-control area and the foreign line are mixed. It is possible to avoid deterioration of image quality due to.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a photographic printing apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention has the structure of the first aspect.
The birefringence means is characterized by birefringence of incident light so that the entire area of the photosensitive material corresponding to the light non-control area can be irradiated with light.

According to the above arrangement, since the light is irradiated to the entire first area, the shadow of the light non-control area formed in the first area can be completely erased. Thereby, even if the irradiation areas of the respective lights overlap to form an overlapping area, which appears as a streak on the photosensitive material, it does not mean that the overlapping area is formed with the shadow of the light non-control area. There is no discomfort in appearance as an image. Therefore, according to the above configuration, an image with good image quality can be obtained.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the photographic printing apparatus according to the invention of claim 3 has the following structure:
The birefringent means is characterized in that incident light is squarely separated.

According to the above arrangement, when the arrangement state of the light control regions in the light modulation element is a square arrangement, the shadow of the light non-control regions formed in the first region can be completely erased,
This is effective when the light control region is in such an array state.
There is also an effect that the shadow of the light non-control area can be completely erased by using only four lights by the square separation.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a photographic printing apparatus according to a fourth aspect of the present invention has the structure of the first aspect.
In the birefringence means, the light amount of one light irradiated onto the region of the photosensitive material corresponding to the light non-control region via the predetermined light control region is applied to the light control region via the same light control region. It is characterized in that the incident light is birefringent so as to be smaller than the light amount of the light irradiated to the corresponding region of the photosensitive material.

According to the above construction, even if a superposed area in which the light radiated to the first area and the light radiated to the second area overlap is formed, the superposed area is formed in both of the above areas. It is less conspicuous than the conventional one in which the amount of light to be irradiated is the same. As a result, it is possible to reduce the recognition of the superimposition region as a line different from the shadow of the light non-control region, and avoid the deterioration of the image quality due to the mixture with the shadow of the light non-control region.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a photographic printing apparatus according to a fifth aspect of the present invention has the structure of the fourth aspect.
The birefringence means may irradiate light obtained through the light control regions respectively corresponding to the two regions, between two adjacent regions of the photosensitive material corresponding to the light control regions,
The feature is that the incident light is birefringent.

According to the above arrangement, in the area (first area) formed between two adjacent areas (second areas) of the photosensitive material corresponding to the light control area, the image data of the two areas is stored. The mixed image is printed. As a result, images (pixels) can be smoothly connected in the arrangement direction of the two areas, and the image quality can be further improved.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a photographic printing apparatus according to a sixth aspect of the present invention has the structure according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, in which the birefringence means causes incident lights to vibrate in mutually different vibration directions. It is characterized in that a plurality of birefringent members for making a plurality of lights birefringent are bonded together.

A conversion element for converting incident light from linearly polarized light to circularly polarized light, such as a quarter-wave plate, has been indispensable in the past in constructing the birefringent means. Since such a conversion element is not included, the birefringence means can be made thinner and the cost can be reduced.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a photographic printing apparatus according to the invention of claim 7 has the following structure:
The birefringent means is characterized by comprising three birefringent members.

According to the above construction, the incident light can be surely birefringently made into three or more lights only by constructing the birefringent means by three birefringent members.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the photographic printing apparatus according to the invention of claim 8 has the structure of claim 6 or 7, wherein each of the birefringent members directs incident light in the direction of separation of the birefringent members. The extraordinary ray that oscillates and the ordinary ray that oscillates in the direction perpendicular to the separation direction are separated, and the separation direction of the birefringent member on which the light obtained through the light modulation element first enters is k is an integer. 45 ° ± 90 with the vibration direction of the incident light
It is characterized by forming an angle of ° × k.

According to the above construction, the incident light can be reliably separated into the extraordinary ray and the ordinary ray, and the light amounts thereof are equal to each other. If a light amount difference is generated between the two light beams in the birefringent member to which the light obtained through the light modulation element first enters, the two light beams are birefringently one after another while maintaining such a light amount difference. When the light is transmitted through the member, uneven light amount due to the difference in light amount is likely to occur in the final printed image. However, according to the above configuration,
The occurrence of the uneven light amount can be avoided by eliminating the light amount difference between the two light rays in the first birefringent member.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a photographic printing apparatus according to a ninth aspect of the present invention has the structure according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, in which the birefringence means causes incident lights to vibrate in mutually different vibration directions. At least a plurality of birefringent members for birefringently refracting a plurality of lights are provided, and the thickness and material of each birefringent member are set according to the arrangement state of the light control regions of the light modulation element.

According to the above construction, by setting the thickness and material of the birefringent member as described above, the light emitted from the birefringent means can be made to correspond to the arrangement state of the light control regions of the light modulation element. It is possible to accurately irradiate the first region and the second region formed in a shape. Therefore, it is possible to easily deal with various arrangement states of the light control regions.

[0040]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION [First Embodiment] The following will describe one embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8.

As shown in FIG. 2, the photographic printing apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a lamp 1 as a light source, and further, an LCD 2 (on the optical path from the lamp 1 to the photographic paper 6 (photosensitive material). The optical modulator), the birefringent filter 3 (birefringent means), the printing lens 4, and the BGR filter 5 are provided in this order.

The LCD 2 is a liquid crystal display device in which a liquid crystal layer is sandwiched between a transparent substrate in which TFTs, which are active elements, are arranged for each pixel, and a transparent counter substrate in which a counter electrode is formed. By controlling the voltage applied to the liquid crystal for each pixel according to the data, the transmission of light from the lamp 1 is controlled for each pixel. In this embodiment, since the BGR filter 5 is arranged on the optical path, the LCD 2 does not have a color filter on the counter substrate. If the BGR filter 5 is not provided, it is necessary to configure the LCD 2 with a color filter.

As shown in FIG. 3C, each pixel 7 (light control region) of the LCD 2 is formed in a matrix.
The pixel pitch is 26 μm, for example. Around each pixel 7, scanning lines and signal lines (both not shown) for driving each pixel 7 are provided so as to be orthogonal to each other, and the above TFT is provided at the intersection thereof. ing. And, to cover these wiring and TFT,
A BM8 (light non-control area) is provided.

Polarizing plates are provided outside the transparent substrate and the counter substrate of the LCD 2 (on the side opposite to the liquid crystal layer), and only linearly polarized light enters the LCD 2.
Alternatively, it is emitted to the outside of the LCD 2. For convenience of description below, it is assumed that the linearly polarized light emitted from the LCD 2 has a vertical vibration direction.

The LCD 2 is TN (Twisted Nemati).
c) -LCD, STN (Super Twisted Nematic) -L
It may be a CD or the like. Also, instead of TFT, MIM
An LCD using (Metal Insulator Metal) as an active element may be used.

The printing lens 4 is a lens for forming an incident light image on the photographic printing paper 6 at a predetermined magnification. The BGR filter 5 is equipped with color filters 5B, 5G, and 5R corresponding to each color of B (blue), G (green), and R (red), and is rotated so that any color filter is located on the optical path. To do.

The birefringence filter 3 birefringes the incident light from the LCD 2 into four lights having different optical axes from the incident light,
One of them is guided to the area of the photographic paper 6 corresponding to the predetermined pixel 7 of the LCD 2, while the remaining light is guided to the area of the photographic paper 6 corresponding to the BM8, that is, the shadow of the BM8.
This makes it possible to irradiate the entire area of the photographic printing paper 6 corresponding to the BM 8 with light. In the present embodiment, the birefringent filter 3 is configured by laminating three birefringent plates 9 shown in FIG.

The birefringent plate 9 is made of, for example, a hexagonal crystal such as calcite or quartz, as shown in FIG.
An ordinary ray 9a whose optical axis goes straight as it is and an extraordinary ray 9b whose optical axis is refracted are separated. Extraordinary ray 9
b is shifted from the ordinary ray 9a in the separation direction (shift direction) by t and emitted from the birefringent plate 9. The shift amount t of the extraordinary ray 9b with respect to the ordinary ray 9a is determined by the birefringence plate 9
Of the shift amount t as the thickness m increases.
Will increase. The extraordinary ray 9b is linearly polarized light that vibrates in the shift direction and does not follow the law of refraction. On the other hand, the ordinary ray 9a is a linearly polarized light that oscillates in the direction perpendicular to the shift direction, and is emitted from the birefringent plate 9 according to the law of refraction.

Therefore, in order to obtain the ordinary ray 9a and the extraordinary ray 9b at the birefringent plate 9 at the same time, the component that vibrates in the separating direction of the birefringent plate 9 and the component that vibrates in the direction perpendicular to the separating direction. It is essential that the incident light has a component to This is because, as described above, the component of the incident light that vibrates in the separating direction becomes the extraordinary ray 9b, and the component that vibrates in the direction perpendicular to the separating direction is the ordinary ray 9a.
It is because Therefore, if the incident light has only one of the above components, the birefringent plate 9
Therefore, only the light corresponding to that component is emitted from.

The birefringent filter 3 is, as shown in FIG.
Three birefringent plates 9 having separation directions of 135 °, 225 °, and 0 ° are attached in this order along the light traveling direction. Hereinafter, each of the birefringent plates 9 will be referred to as a birefringent plate 10, 11, 12 (birefringent member), respectively.

Here, the separation direction of each birefringent plate is defined as follows on the drawing. First, from the origin O on the XY plane, points where X> 0 and Y = 0 (for convenience of explanation,
The direction toward this point is referred to as point P) is defined as 0 °. When the separating direction of each birefringent plate is represented by an arrow, the starting point of the arrow when the birefringent filter 3 is seen from the downstream side of the light traveling direction (from the direction A in the figure) is the XY above. The angle θ (0 ° ≦ θ <360 °) between the end point of the arrow and the origin O and the point P is located at the origin O on the plane.
Represents the separation direction. In addition, the separation direction and the vibration direction of light appearing in each of the embodiments described below are also based on such definitions.

When the materials of the birefringent plates 10, 11, and 12 are all the same, the thickness thereof is, for example, 1.56.
5 ± 0.05 mm, 1.565 ± 0.02 mm, 2.2
It is set to 0 ± 0.05 mm. That is, the thickness ratio of the birefringent plates 10, 11, and 12 is 1: 1: √2. By setting the error in the thickness of the birefringent plates 10, 11, and 12 as described above, the shift amount of the extraordinary ray in the birefringent plate 12 is 13 ± 0 with respect to the pixel pitch of the LCD 2 (26 μm in both length and width). It is possible to secure 0.2 μm.

As to the accuracy of the error in the thickness of the birefringent plate 11, a higher accuracy than that of the other birefringent plates 10 and 12 is required as described above. In this case, the light incident on the birefringent plate 11 may be emitted as it is without becoming an extraordinary light (this point will be described later), but at this time, the optical axes of the incident light and the emitted light are highly accurate. This is because it is necessary to match with.

Next, the operation of the photographic printing apparatus of this embodiment will be described mainly with reference to FIG.

When the LCD 2 is irradiated with light from the lamp 1 shown in FIG. 2, each pixel 7 of the LCD 2 (see FIG. 3C).
Transmission of the light incident on the pixel 7 is controlled by the pixel 7,
The polarizing plate forms linearly polarized light that vibrates in the vertical direction as shown in FIG. 1 and enters the birefringent plate 10 of the birefringent filter 3. The surface indicates the vibration direction of light when the light incident surface of the birefringent plate 10 is viewed from the A direction, but the optical axis of the incident light is set to be doubled for easy understanding of the description below. It is drawn so as to be located at the center of the refraction plate 10.

Since the incident light on the birefringent plate 10 vibrates vertically (90 ° or 270 ° in the figure), it should be separated into a component in the 135 ° direction and a component in the 225 ° direction. Is possible. Therefore, the separation direction is 135 °
The light incident on the birefringent plate 10 and the ray a1 (extraordinary ray) vibrating in the direction of 135 ° in the birefringent plate 10 and the vibration direction are perpendicular to this, that is, the 45 ° direction (or 225 °). Light beam b1 (ordinary ray) vibrating in the direction) and is incident on the birefringent plate 11. The surface is a birefringent plate 10.
The vibration direction of the light is shown when the light exit surface of No. 2 is viewed from the direction A, but at this time, there is still light whose optical axis coincides with that of the incident light.

The light ray a1 has a vibrating direction of 135 °, and vibrates in a direction perpendicular to the separating direction 225 ° of the birefringent plate 11. That is, the light ray a1 does not have a component in the separation direction of 225 °. Therefore, the ray a1
When is incident on the birefringent plate 11, as shown in the surface, no extraordinary ray is emitted from the birefringent plate 11, and only the ray a1 which is an ordinary ray is emitted toward the birefringent plate 12. The surface indicates the vibration direction of light when the light exit surface of the birefringent plate 11 is viewed from the A direction.

On the other hand, the light beam b1 has a vibration direction of 225.
And the light vibrates in the separation direction 225 ° of the birefringent plate 11. That is, the light ray b1 does not have a component that vibrates in the direction perpendicular to the separation direction. Therefore, when the ray b1 enters the birefringent plate 11, the ordinary ray is not emitted from the birefringent plate 11, and only the ray a2 which is an extraordinary ray is emitted toward the birefringent plate 12.

Next, when the light rays a1 and a2 are incident on the birefringent plate 12 having the separation direction of 0 °, the light rays a1 and a2 have the above-mentioned separation direction component and a component perpendicular thereto.
As shown in the surface, from the birefringent plate 12, light rays a3 and a4 that vibrate in a direction perpendicular to the separation direction, and a ray a5 that is an abnormal light ray a1 that vibrates in the separation direction,
A light ray a2 which is a light ray which is an extraordinary light ray and which vibrates in the separation direction is emitted. The surface is a birefringent plate 12.
2 shows the vibration direction of light when the light exit surface of is viewed from the A direction.

Here, since the thickness ratio of the birefringent plates 10/11/12 is 1: 1: √2, the ratio of the extraordinary ray shift amount in each birefringent plate is also 1: 1: √2. Is. Then, the figure connecting the intersections of the optical axes of the light rays a3 to a6 with the surface becomes a square with one side being the hypotenuse of the 90 °, 45 °, and 45 ° isosceles right triangle. The manner of separation in which such a square is formed on the surface will be referred to as square separation hereinafter.

The four light rays a3 to a6 emitted from the birefringent filter 3 are applied to the photographic paper 6 through the printing lens 4, and the light ray a6 corresponds to a predetermined pixel 7 of the LCD 2, for example. On the other hand, three light beams a3 to a5 are formed around the predetermined pixel 7 while being radiated to the area on the upper side of the pixel B.
In the area on the printing paper 6 corresponding to M8, the irradiation area is
It is irradiated so that it becomes the shape of. At this time, the rotation of the BGR filter 5 causes the light ray a3 transmitted through the printing lens 4 to pass.
To a6 are color filters 5B and 5G of the BGR filter 5.
The image of each color is printed on the photographic printing paper 6 by sequentially passing through 5R.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the incident light is squarely separated into four lights, and a plurality of lights are applied to the area of the photographic paper 6 corresponding to the BM 8 of the LCD 2 so that the photographic paper 6 is exposed. You can erase both shadows of BM8 running vertically and horizontally at the same time. As a result, even if the streaks in the overlapping area where the irradiation areas of the respective lights overlap are formed in the vertical and horizontal directions on the photographic printing paper 6, they are not formed mixedly with the shadow of the BM 8.
There is no discomfort in appearance as an image. Therefore, according to the configuration of this embodiment, it is possible to obtain an image with good image quality.

Particularly, in this embodiment, the shift amount of the extraordinary ray in the birefringent plate 12 is set to 13 ± 0.2 μm, which is a half pixel, with respect to the pixel pitch of 26 μm of the LCD 2, so that the above-mentioned overlapping region is obtained. BM8 while forming the minimum
Can be almost completely eliminated, and an image with good image quality can be reliably obtained.

Further, in the present embodiment, the birefringent filter 3
The light incident on is transformed into an extraordinary light at least once when passing through the three birefringent plates 10, 11 and 12, and as a result, the optical axes of the four lights emitted from the birefringent filter 3 are: Figure 1
As can be seen, the positions are all shifted from the optical axis of the incident light on the birefringent filter 3. That is, there is no ordinary ray as it is. The configuration of the present embodiment is decisive from the Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-83030 described in the prior art in that the light having the same optical axis as the incident light to the birefringent filter 3 is not emitted. Is different.

The birefringent filter 3 has three birefringent plates.
The number of components of the birefringent filter 3 is reduced by one as compared with the case where the birefringent plate and the quarter-wave plate are used as in Embodiments 4 and 5 described later. be able to. This makes the birefringence filter 3 thinner,
Cost reduction can be realized.

In the present embodiment, the birefringent plate 10 is separated in the direction of 135 °, but if it is a direction forming an angle of 45 ° with the incident linearly polarized light (vibration direction is 90 ° in the present embodiment). Well, in addition to the 135 ° exemplified, 45 °, 2
The angles can be set to 25 ° and 315 °. Further, the separating direction of the birefringent plate 11 may be a right angle with respect to the separating direction of the birefringent plate 10, and is not limited to the exemplified 225 °. Further, the separation direction of the birefringent plate 12 may be a direction in which the above respective vectors are combined or the opposite direction when the respective separation directions of the birefringent plates 10 and 11 are considered as vectors, and they are exemplified. It is not limited to 0 °. Considering such conditions, the combination of the separation directions of the birefringent plates 10, 11, and 12 is
In addition to the combination of the present embodiment, the following may be considered, for example. (Separation direction of birefringent plate 10, separation direction of birefringent plate 11, separation direction of birefringent plate 12) = (135
°, 225 °, 180 °), (135 °, 45 °, 27
0 °), (135 °, 45 °, 90 °), ...

When the separating direction of the birefringent plate 12 is opposite to the direction in which the respective vectors of the separating directions of the birefringent plates 10 and 11 are combined as in this embodiment, the birefringent filter 3 is used. The incident light is squarely separated into four lights so as to surround the optical axis of the incident light. On the other hand, the separation direction of the birefringent plate 12 is
When the vectors of the separation directions of the birefringent plates 10 and 11 are set to be the combined direction, the incident light is squarely separated so that the optical axis of the incident light to the birefringent filter 3 is not included.

Further, even if the positions of the birefringent plate 10 and the birefringent plate 11 are exchanged, the light rays a1 and a2 incident on the birefringent plate 12 at the same positions as in the present embodiment can be obtained without any change. Of course, such a configuration does not matter.

The separation direction of each birefringent plate is 45.
Although the numerical value is shown in the unit of °, it is preferable that this numerical value is good, and the value is not limited to such a value. Further, the linearly polarized light incident on the birefringent plate 10 is exemplified as light that vibrates in the vertical direction, but linearly polarized light that vibrates in other directions may of course be used. As in this embodiment,
The separation direction of the birefringent plate 10 is 45 ° with the vibration direction of the incident light.
By forming the angle of, it is possible to reliably separate the incident light into the extraordinary ray and the ordinary ray so that the light amounts become equal to each other.

In this embodiment, complete square separation is illustrated, but this is because the pixel pitch of the LCD 2 is as shown in FIG.
This is because the vertical direction and the horizontal direction are the same as shown in (c) (the pixel array is also referred to as a square array). LC
If the pixel array of D2 is, for example, a rectangle as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B (if the figure formed by connecting the centers of four adjacent pixels is a rectangle), for example, as shown in FIG. The refraction plates 10 and 11 may have the same thickness, and the birefringence plate 12 may be formed to have a thickness larger than √2 times the thickness of the birefringence plates 10 and 11. In this case, the shift amount of the extraordinary ray obtained by the birefringent plate 12 is larger than that in the case of FIG. 1, and as shown in the figure, a figure connecting the intersections of the optical axes of the rays a3 to a6 and the surface. Is a horizontally long rectangle. Thus, the ray a
By appropriately setting the thicknesses of the birefringent plates 10, 11, and 12 so that the irradiation areas 3 to a6 correspond to the pixel array of the LCD 2, the shadow of the BM 8 can be completely removed in any pixel array. It can be erased.

Further, in the case where the pixel array of the LCD 2 is a square, in order to make sure that the shadow of the BM 8 disappears, in this embodiment, the birefringent plates 10, 11, 12 are made of the same material,
Although the thickness ratio is set to 1: 1: √2, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, the birefringent plates 10 and 11 are made of the same material, and the birefringent plate 12 is replaced by the birefringent plate 10. If the material is different from 11, and the amount of extraordinary ray shift in the birefringent plate 12 is √2 times that of the birefringent plate 10/11, the thickness of the birefringent plate 10/11/12 is large. The effects of the present embodiment can be obtained while keeping all the same.

As shown in FIG. 7, the birefringent plate 12
1 may be rotated counterclockwise by, for example, 10 ° as compared with the case of FIG. 1 so as to be bonded to the birefringent plate 11. In this case, the four lights emitted from the birefringent plate 12 are in a separated state such that the figure connecting the intersections of the optical axes of the light rays a3 to a6 and the surfaces becomes a rhombus.

Here, assuming that the irradiation area of light as shown in FIG. 8A is formed by the square separation of the incident light, when the mounting angle of the birefringent plate 12 is changed, as shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), the irradiation regions of the light rays a3 to a6 are in a positional relationship in which they are displaced from each other, and no overlapping region where all four irradiation regions overlap is formed. Therefore, according to the configuration of FIG. 7, it is possible to obtain better image quality than that of the configuration of FIG.

The square separation shown in this embodiment is L
This is particularly effective in the case of a pixel array in which a figure connecting the centers of four adjacent pixels of the CD2 is a square. With such a square array, the effect of the present invention is obtained even if the pixel shape is rectangular. Can be obtained.

[Second Embodiment] The following will describe another embodiment of the present invention in reference to FIG. For convenience of explanation, the same components as those in the first embodiment will be designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

The photographic printing apparatus according to this embodiment has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment except that the birefringent filter 3 is replaced with the birefringent filter 15 shown in FIG. The birefringent filter 15 includes the three birefringent plates 10 shown in FIG.
Birefringent filter 3 consisting of 11 and 12, and birefringent plate 1 whose thickness is half that of birefringent plate 10/11/12.
And a birefringent filter 3'consisting of 0 ', 11', and 12 '. Therefore, the shift amount of the extraordinary ray in the birefringence filter 3 ′ is half that of the birefringence filter 3.

In this structure, the light from the LCD 2 (see FIG. 2) enters the birefringent filter 3 and
At 4 points, the light is separated into four points and enters the birefringent filter 3 '. In the birefringent filter 3 ′, as shown in the surface, each of the four incident lights is squarely separated, and the birefringent filter 15 eventually outputs a total of 16 lights. Become.

The surface shows the separation state of the light on the light exit surface of the birefringent plate 12 ', and the light other than the light rays a3 to a6, that is, the optical axis of the light generated by the birefringence in the birefringent filter 3'. The position is indicated by X in the figure. The shift amount of the extraordinary ray in the birefringent filter 3'is half that of the birefringent filter 3, so that 16 light beams are emitted from the birefringent filter 3'with their optical axes equally spaced both vertically and horizontally. Moreover, as in the first embodiment, the light having the same optical axis as the incident light on the birefringent filter 15 is not emitted from the birefringent filter 15.

Of the 16 light beams, for example, 7 light beams whose optical axes are located in the vicinity of two sides of the four sides forming the birefringent filter 15 and sandwiching a right angle, are photographic papers corresponding to the BM 8 of the LCD 2. While the area 6 is irradiated, the remaining 9 lights are irradiated to the area of the printing paper 6 corresponding to the pixel 7. The number of lights radiated to each of the above areas of the printing paper 6 is L
The thickness can be appropriately changed by adjusting the thickness and material of each birefringent plate according to the shape of the BM 8 of the CD 2.

Such a birefringent filter 1 with 16-point separation
It is needless to say that the shadow of the BM8 can be completely eliminated by configuring No. 5, but 16 light irradiation areas are formed in a crowded manner, and a superposed area in which two or more light irradiation areas overlap is implemented. It is formed in a considerably large number as compared with the form 1. As a result, it becomes as if one dot is formed with 16 dots as a whole, and the overlapping region becomes rather inconspicuous. Therefore, it is difficult to obtain a sharp image with a sharp outline, but it is possible to obtain an image having a uniform image quality as a whole.

[Embodiment 3] Another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11.
It is as follows. For convenience of explanation, the first embodiment
Alternatively, the same components as those in 2 are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

The photographic printing apparatus according to the present embodiment has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment except that the birefringent filter 3 according to the first embodiment is replaced with the birefringent filter 16 shown in FIG. .

As shown in the figure, the birefringence filter 16 is made of the same material and has a separation direction of 135 °.
Three 225 ° and 90 ° birefringent plates 10, 11 and 12 are bonded together. The thickness ratio of the birefringent plates 10, 11, and 12 is the same as in the case of FIG. 1, and is 1: 1: √2.

Since the separating directions of the birefringent plates 10 and 11 are 135 ° and 225 °, respectively, which are the same as those in the first embodiment,
The principle until the two rays a1 and a2 (both are extraordinary rays) are emitted from the birefringent plate 11 is exactly the same as in the first embodiment. In FIG. 10, the optical axis of the incident light on the birefringent plate 10 is positioned so that the optical axis of the light ray a1 is located at the center of the birefringent plate 10.

The separating direction of the birefringent plate 12 is 90 °,
Rays a1 and a whose vibration directions are 135 ° and 225 °, respectively
2 has a component in the separation direction and a component in the vertical direction. Therefore, the light rays a1 and a2 are transmitted by the birefringent plate 12
When incident on, the rays a1 and a2 are separated into an extraordinary ray and an ordinary ray. That is, for the ray a1, 0 °
A ray that vibrates in the direction (ordinary ray) and a ray a7 that vibrates in the 90 ° direction (an extraordinary ray) are separated. On the other hand, ray a
For 2, a ray a8 oscillating in the 0 ° direction (ordinary ray)
And a ray that vibrates in the 90 ° direction (extraordinary ray).

Since the birefringent plate 12 is twice as thick as the birefringent plates 10 and 11, the ordinary ray for the ray a1 and the extraordinary ray for the ray a2 have the same optical axis. Then, the light beam a9 is emitted from the birefringent plate 12. Therefore, the ratio of the amount of light rays a7, a9, and a8 is
It becomes 1: 2: 1. Note that, also in the present embodiment, similarly to the first and second embodiments, it is emphasized here that the light having the same optical axis as the incident light to the birefringent filter 16 is not emitted from the birefringent filter 16. Keep it.

The central ray a9 is, as shown in FIG.
The light beam a7 on the upper side of the area P of the photographic paper 6 corresponding to the pixels 7 of the LCD 2 is radiated to the area B above the area P.
The light ray a8 on the lower side irradiated on the shadow Q of M8 is the area P
The shadow Q of the BM8 located on the lower side is illuminated.

Each circle shown in the figure shows each light spot, and the size of each circle corresponds to the above-mentioned amount of light. Further, although two light irradiation areas are formed in the area Q, this is for clarifying the three-point separation. In reality, these two light irradiation areas are combined to form one irradiation area. A region is formed.

In the present embodiment, the light ray a7 (or the light ray a)
Since the light amount of 8) is smaller than the light amount of the light ray a9 (half in this embodiment), even if the irradiation areas of the light ray a7 and the light ray a9 overlap and a superposition area is formed, this superposition area is It is less noticeable than the conventional one in which the same amount of light is applied to both areas, and the possibility of being recognized as streaks like the shadow of the BM8 is low. Therefore, although the shadow of the BM 8 remains in the vertical direction, the stripes in the horizontal direction of the photographic printing paper 6 become thin, so that the deterioration of the image quality due to the mixture with the shadow of the BM 8 does not occur.

Moreover, since the light quantity ratio (luminance ratio) of the light rays a7, a9, and a8 is 1: 2: 1, the light quantity ratio between the light applied to the area P and the light applied to the shadow Q of the BM8 is , About 1: 1. Then, in the shadow Q, an image formed by combining image data corresponding to the region P located above the shadow Q and image data corresponding to the region P located below the shadow Q is formed. There is. As a result, the pixels are continuously and smoothly connected from the top to the bottom of the photographic printing paper 6. Therefore, when the light amount ratio is set as described above, even though the shadow of the BM8 remains due to such pixel smoothing, deterioration of the image quality due to the mixture with the shadow of the BM8 is reliably avoided.

In the configuration of this embodiment, the shadow of the BM 8 running in the vertical direction cannot be erased.
As shown in (a), the configuration of the present embodiment is very effective when using the LCD 2 in which the thin BM 8 is formed in the vertical direction. Further, if the birefringent filter 16 is rotated by 90 ° and arranged, as shown in FIG.
It is possible to deal with the case where the LCD 2 in which 8 is formed is used.

In each of the first to third embodiments described above, the configuration in which the photographic printing paper 6 is exposed by using a plurality of lights whose optical axes are different from the incident light to the birefringent filter has been described.
It is possible to obtain three or more lights from the birefringent filter, and at least two lights of them can be obtained from the BM8 of the LCD2.
If it is possible to irradiate the area of the photographic paper 6 corresponding to the above, even if one of the plurality of lights for exposing the photographic paper 6 is the light having the same optical axis as the incident light to the birefringent filter, The effect can be obtained. Hereinafter, such configuration examples will be described as Embodiments 4 to 7.

[Fourth Embodiment] The following description will explain another embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIGS. 12 (a) to 12 (c). For convenience of explanation,
The same components as those in the first to third embodiments are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

The photographic printing apparatus according to this embodiment has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment except that the birefringent filter 3 of the first embodiment is replaced with the birefringent filter 17 shown in FIG. is there. The birefringence filter 17 has two 1 /
It is composed of a four-wave plate and two birefringent plates, and these are alternately arranged along the traveling direction of light. In other words, the birefringence filter 17 includes the quarter-wave plate 18, the birefringence plates 19 and 1 in order from the LCD 2 (see FIG. 2) side.
A quarter-wave plate 20 and a birefringent plate 21 are arranged.

The birefringent plates 19 and 21 have the same functions as the birefringent plate 9 shown in FIG. The birefringent plates 19 and 21 have the same thickness and the separating direction is 90 °.
Has become.

The quarter-wave plates 18 and 20 convert the incident linearly polarized light into circularly polarized light. By disposing the quarter-wave plates 18 and 20 in front of the birefringence plates 19 and 21, respectively, it is possible to always obtain two lights, an ordinary ray and an extraordinary ray, at the birefringence plates 19 and 21. . This is because, in order to emit the ordinary ray and the extraordinary ray from the birefringence plates 19 and 21, as described above,
It is an absolute condition that the light incident on has a component that always vibrates in the same direction as the ordinary ray and a component that vibrates in the same direction as the extraordinary ray (a component whose vibration direction is perpendicular to the ordinary ray). This is because circularly polarized light always has both such components.

In the above structure, the linearly polarized light emitted from the LCD 2 enters the quarter-wave plate 18 of the birefringent filter 17, is converted into circularly polarized light, and enters the birefringent plate 19.
In the birefringent plate 19, the incident circularly polarized light is divided into an ordinary ray in which the optical axis of the incident light goes straight as shown in the projection diagram of the optical path in FIG. 7B and an extraordinary ray in which the optical axis is refracted. The light rays are refracted and are incident on the quarter-wave plate 20. And 1
The / 4 wavelength plate 20 converts the incident ordinary ray and extraordinary ray into circularly polarized lights c1 and c2, respectively, and makes them incident on the birefringent plate 21. Since the circularly polarized light c2 is an ordinary ray obtained by the birefringent plate 19, the circularly polarized light c2 has the same optical axis as the incident light on the quarter-wave plate 18.

In the birefringent plate 21, as shown in the projection view of the optical path in FIG. 9A, the incident circularly polarized lights c1 and c2 are further birefringent into ordinary rays and extraordinary rays. At this time, since the birefringence plates 19 and 21 have the same thickness, the extraordinary ray shift amounts in the birefringence plates 19 and 21 are also the same. Therefore, the ordinary ray for circularly polarized light c1 and
The optical axis coincides with the extraordinary ray with respect to the circularly polarized light c2, and the luminance is double that of the extraordinary ray with respect to the circularly polarized light c1 and the ordinary ray with respect to the circularly polarized light c2. 6 areas are irradiated. On the other hand, the extraordinary ray of the circularly polarized light c1 and the ordinary ray of the circularly polarized light c2 are respectively applied to the areas of the photographic paper 6 corresponding to the BM 8 located above and below the area.

Therefore, since the birefringent filter 17 constitutes a three-point-separated birefringent filter similar to that of the third embodiment, the same effect as that of the third embodiment can be obtained.

In this embodiment, the ordinary ray of the circularly polarized light c2 is emitted from the birefringent plate 21, and the photographic printing paper 6 is exposed using the light having the same optical axis as the incident light to the birefringent filter 17. As described above, the light is applied not to the area of the photographic paper 6 corresponding to the pixels 7 of the LCD 2 but to the area of the photographic paper 6 corresponding to the BM 8 and the incident light at the birefringent filter 17. The configuration of the present embodiment is different from that of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-83030 in that the light is separated into three lights for exposure.

[Fifth Embodiment] The following will describe another embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIGS. 13 (a) to 13 (c). For convenience of explanation,
The same components as those of the first to fourth embodiments are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

The photographic printing apparatus according to this embodiment has the same structure as that of the fourth embodiment except that the birefringent filter 17 of the fourth embodiment is replaced with the birefringent filter 17 'shown in FIG. The birefringent filter 17 'has two 1 /
The four-wave plates 18 and 20 and the two birefringent plates 19 and 21 'are alternately arranged. The birefringence plate 21 ′ has a separation direction of 180 ° and is perpendicular to the birefringence plate 19 having a separation direction of 90 °.

In this structure, the linearly polarized light emitted from the LCD 2 is incident on the quarter-wave plate 18 of the birefringent filter 17 ', converted into circularly polarized light, and then incident on the birefringent plate 19.
In the birefringent plate 19, the incident circularly polarized light is divided into an ordinary ray in which the optical axis of the incident light goes straight as it is and an extraordinary ray in which the optical axis is refracted as shown in the projection diagram of the optical path in FIG. The light rays are refracted and are incident on the quarter-wave plate 20. And 1
In the / 4 wavelength plate 20, the ordinary ray and the extraordinary ray that have entered are converted into circularly polarized lights c1 and c2, respectively, and enter the birefringent plate 21 '. Since the circularly polarized light c2 is an ordinary ray obtained by the birefringent plate 19, the circularly polarized light c2 has the same optical axis as the incident light on the quarter-wave plate 18.

In the birefringent plate 21, as shown in the projection diagram of the optical path in FIG. 7C, the incident circularly polarized lights c1 and c2 are further birefringent into ordinary rays and extraordinary rays. At this time, since the separating directions of the birefringent plates 19 and 21 'are orthogonal to each other, if the birefringent plates 19 and 21' have the same thickness, four points are squarely separated, and the thicknesses may be different. If it becomes a rectangular separation state. Of the four lights emitted from the birefringence filter 17 ′, for example, three lights are LCD2.
The area of the photographic paper 6 corresponding to the BM 8 is irradiated. On the other hand, the remaining light is photographic paper 6 corresponding to the pixels 7 of the LCD 2.
Is irradiated to the area.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the incident light is separated into four lights, and a plurality of lights are applied to the area of the photographic paper 6 corresponding to the BM 8 of the LCD 2 so that the photographic paper 6 is exposed. Both the shadows of the BM8 running vertically and horizontally can be erased at the same time. This makes it possible to obtain the same effects as the effects of the four-point separation structure described in the first embodiment.

The shift amount of the extraordinary ray in the birefringent plates 19 and 21 'is 13 ± with respect to the pixel pitch of 26 μm.
If the material and the thickness of the birefringent plates 19 and 21 are set so as to be 0.2 μm, the separation at the birefringent plate 21 ′ becomes a square separation, and the LCD 2 in particular has the pixel arrangement shown in FIG. Very effective if you have.

In this embodiment, the ordinary ray of the circularly polarized light c2 is emitted from the birefringent plate 21, and the photographic printing paper 6 is made by using the light having the same optical axis as the incident light to the birefringent filter 17 '. It is exposed, but birefringence filter 1
The point that the four light birefringent at 7'is used for exposure,
In addition, the configuration of this embodiment is that the area of the photographic printing paper 6 corresponding to the BM 8 of the LCD 2 is irradiated with a plurality of lights so that the shadow of the BM 8 can be completely eliminated.
0-83030 is different.

[Sixth Embodiment] The following will describe another embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIGS. 14 and 15A and 15B. For convenience of explanation,
The same components as those in the first to fifth embodiments are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

The photographic printing apparatus according to this embodiment has the same structure as that of the first embodiment except that the birefringent filter 3 of the first embodiment is replaced with the birefringent filter 22 shown in FIG. The birefringent filter 22 includes two birefringent plates 23 and 24 having separation directions of 135 ° and 270 °, respectively.
Are bonded together, and the quarter wave plate is not included.

As shown in the surface showing the vibration direction of the light on the light incident surface of the birefringent plate 23, the linearly polarized light emitted from the LCD 2 is light vibrating in the 90 ° direction. When such linearly polarized light enters the birefringent plate 23, the linearly polarized light has a component in the separation direction (135 ° direction) of the birefringent plate 23 and a component in the direction (225 ° direction) perpendicular thereto. Since it has, the ray d1 (the extraordinary ray) whose optical axis is refracted by the birefringent plate 23 and the ray d whose optical axis is the same as the incident light
The light is birefringent into 2 (ordinary rays) and enters the birefringent plate 24, respectively.

As shown in the surface, the ray d1 has a vibrating direction of 135 ° and a separating direction (2
It has a component in the direction of 70 ° and a component in the direction perpendicular to this (direction of 180 °). The surface indicates the vibration direction of light on the light exit surface of the birefringent plate 23. Therefore, in the birefringent plate 24, the light ray d1 is separated into a light ray d3 (ordinary ray) and a light ray d4 (extraordinary ray).

As shown on the surface, the light ray d2 has a vibration direction of 225 °, a component of the separation direction (direction of 270 °) of the birefringent plate 24 and a direction perpendicular to the component (18).
Component in the direction of 0 °). Therefore, in the birefringent plate 24, the light ray d2 is the light ray d5 (ordinary ray) and the light ray d2.
6 (extraordinary ray). The surface indicates the vibration direction of light on the light exit surface of the birefringent plate 24.

In this embodiment, the figure connecting the intersections of the light rays d3 to d6 and the light exit surface of the birefringent plate 24 has the same thickness as the birefringent plates 23 and 24 are made of the same material. If so, it becomes a rhombus, and if the thickness is different, it becomes a parallelogram. Of the four lights separated by the birefringent filter 22, for example, a light beam d5 is applied to the area of the photographic paper 6 corresponding to the pixel 7 of the LCD 2, and the remaining three light beams d3.d.
4 · d6 is applied to the area of the photographic printing paper 6 corresponding to BM8.

Therefore, the LCD 2 viewed from the photographic paper 6 side
The pixel array of FIG.
Given the arrangement shown in (a), the birefringent filter 22
It can be said that, when is inserted in the optical path, pixels are artificially created in the area where the BM8 between each pixel is formed, as shown in FIG. The figure (b)
The hatched portion of indicates the pixels corresponding to the four lights d3 to d6 in FIG. In this way, the shadow of the BM 8 on the photographic printing paper 6 can be erased in both the vertical direction and the horizontal direction without the square separation, and the image quality of the printed image can be improved.

Further, by appropriately changing the thickness and material of the birefringent plates 23 and 24 and changing the separation state of the emitted light, the pixel 7 of the LCD 2 as shown in FIGS. 3 (a) to 3 (c) is changed. Of course, it is possible to correspond to various arrangements.

The separating direction of the birefringent plates 23 and 24 is
It is not limited to the above 135 ° and 270 °,
It suffices if the following conditions are satisfied. That is, the separation direction of the birefringent plate 23 need not be ± 90 ° × p (p is an integer) of the vibration direction of the linearly polarized light incident on the birefringence filter 22, and the separation direction of the birefringent plate 24 is the birefringence plate. The separation direction of the refraction plate 23 need not be ± 90 ° × q (q is an integer).

In the present embodiment, the birefringent filter 2
A light beam d5 having the same optical axis as the incident light of No. 2 is obtained, but four light beams birefringent by the birefringent filter 22 are used for exposure, and a quarter wavelength plate is not used. ,and,
In the area of the photographic paper 6 corresponding to BM8 of LCD2, BM8
The configuration of the present embodiment has a configuration in which a plurality of lights are radiated so that the shadow of the image can be completely eliminated.
No. 30 publication is different.

[Seventh Embodiment] The following will describe another embodiment of the present invention in reference to FIG. For the sake of convenience of explanation, the same components as those in the first to sixth embodiments are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

The photographic printing apparatus according to this embodiment has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment except that the birefringent filter 3 of the first embodiment is replaced with the birefringent filter 25 shown in FIG. The birefringent filter 25 includes three birefringent plates 1
It is composed of 0.26.21. The birefringent plate 26 is
The birefringent plate 11 of FIG. 1 is arranged so as to be swung by 10 ° in the clockwise direction, and therefore the separation direction is 215 °. As a result, the birefringent filter 25 with 8-point separation is configured. The principle of emitting eight lights from the birefringent filter 25 is as follows.

On the birefringent plate 10 of the birefringent filter 25, L
The process until the linearly polarized light of 90 ° in the vibration direction from CD2 is incident on the birefringent plate 10 is separated into a ray a1 (extraordinary ray) and a ray b1 (ordinary ray). It is the same as the form 1.

Next, since the ray a1 is an extraordinary ray, its vibration direction is 135 ° which is the separating direction of the birefringent plate 10. On the other hand, since the ray b1 is an ordinary ray, its vibration direction is 225 °. The separation direction of the birefringent plate 26 is set to 215.
The difference between the vibrating direction of each light and the separating direction (215 °) of the birefringent plate 26 is calculated by 90 ° ×
Instead of r (r is an integer), the light rays a1 and b1 respectively have a component in the 215 ° direction which is the separation direction of the birefringent plate 26 and a component in the direction perpendicular thereto. As a result, the ray a1 is separated into the ray e1 (extraordinary ray) and the ray e2 (ordinary ray) by the birefringent plate 26, while the ray b1 is divided into the ray e3 (extraordinary ray) and the ray e4 (ordinary ray). To be separated.

Such a light separation theory is based on the birefringence plate 12
The same can be said for. That is, since the light rays e1 and e3 are extraordinary rays, the vibration direction thereof is 215 °, which is the separation direction of the birefringent plate 26, and the light rays e2 and e4 are ordinary rays, so the vibration direction thereof is 125 °. . Therefore, the vibration direction of each light and the separation direction of the birefringent plate 12 (0 °)
The difference between and is not 90 ° × s (s is an integer) in the calculation, and the light rays a1 and b1 respectively have a component in the 0 ° direction which is the separation direction of the birefringent plate 12 and a component in the direction perpendicular thereto. It will be.

As a result, the ray e
1 is separated into a ray f1 (extraordinary ray) and a ray f2 (ordinary ray), and a ray e2 is a ray f3 (extraordinary ray) and a ray f4.
(Ordinary ray) and separated. The light ray e3 is the light ray f5.
(Extraordinary ray) and ray f6 (ordinary ray) are separated, and ray e4 is separated into ray f7 (extraordinary ray) and ray f8 (ordinary ray). Of the light rays f1 to f8 thus obtained, a plurality of rays are applied to the area of the photographic paper 6 corresponding to the pixels 7 of the LCD 2, and the remaining light is applied to the area of the photographic paper 6 corresponding to the BM2 of the LCD 2. To be done. The number of lights radiated to each of the above areas of the photographic printing paper 6 can be appropriately changed by adjusting, for example, the thickness of each birefringent plate according to the shape of the BM 8 of the LCD 2.

Such an 8-point separation birefringent filter 25
With the above configuration, since eight light irradiation regions are formed in a crowded manner, the overlapping region where two or more light irradiation regions overlap becomes less conspicuous as in the second embodiment.
Therefore, the same effect as that of the second embodiment can be obtained.

From the above separation theory, the ray f8 is
It can be seen that the light incident on the birefringent plate 10 has the same optical axis. However, in the point where the eight lights birefringent by the birefringent filter 25 are used for exposure, the point where the quarter wavelength plate is not used, and the area of the photographic paper 6 corresponding to the BM8 of the LCD 2, The configuration of this embodiment is different from that of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-83030 in that a plurality of lights are emitted so that the shadow of the BM 8 can be completely eliminated.

In each of the above embodiments, three-point separation, four-point separation, eight-point separation, and sixteen-point separation are described, but the thickness, material, separation direction, and number of each birefringent plate are set appropriately. By doing so, it is of course possible to use a separation method other than these.

In each of the above embodiments, an example in which the light modulation element is composed of the light transmission type LCD 2 has been shown, but the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a light reflection type LCD.
, DMD (Digital Micromirror Device),
PLZT exposure head, LED (Light Emitting Diode)
It may be a panel or the like.

[0128]

The photographic printing apparatus according to the invention of claim 1
As described above, a light modulation element having a plurality of light control regions capable of controlling the supply of light to the photosensitive material according to image data, and a light non-control region formed around the light control region, A photoprinting apparatus for printing an image corresponding to the image data on a photosensitive material by irradiating the photosensitive material with light from a light source through the light modulating element, which is obtained through a light control region of the light modulating element. 3 for each light control area
More than one light beam is birefringent, and at least two of the light beams are irradiated to the region of the photosensitive material corresponding to the light non-control region, while the remaining light is irradiated to the region of the photosensitive material corresponding to the light control region. This is a configuration including a birefringent means.

Therefore, with respect to one light control area, for example, if the light irradiating the area of the photosensitive material (hereinafter referred to as the first area) corresponding to the light non-control area of the light modulation element is two. For example, it is possible to erase a part of the shadow of the light non-control area. Further, if the light to be irradiated on the first region with respect to one light control region is, for example, three or more, by making the method of separating these lights the same in all the light control regions,
It is possible to irradiate the entire first region with light, which makes it possible to eliminate all shadows in the light non-control region.

Further, when the light for irradiating the first area with respect to one light control area is two, the respective light quantities of these lights are set to the photosensitive material corresponding to the light control area of the light modulation element.
If the amount of light irradiated to the material region (hereinafter referred to as the second region ) is made smaller, for example, even if an overlapping region in which the irradiation regions of each light overlap is formed, this overlapping region is It is less conspicuous than in the conventional case where the amount of light applied to both areas is the same, and the degree of recognition as a line different from the shadow of the light non-control area is reduced. Further, for example, the second
If the structure is such that the incident light is birefringent so that the light obtained through the light control regions individually corresponding to the two regions is irradiated between the two regions adjacent to each other in the region, between the two regions, The image in which the image data of the two areas are mixed is printed, and the images (pixels) are smoothly connected in the arrangement direction of the two areas.

Therefore, according to the above configuration, the shadow of the light non-control area can be completely eliminated, or the presence of the overlapping area can be lightened. Therefore, the shadow of the light non-control area and the foreign line are mixed. It is possible to avoid the deterioration of the image quality due to.

As described above, in the photographic printing apparatus according to the invention of claim 2, in the structure of claim 1, the birefringence means irradiates the entire area of the photosensitive material corresponding to the light non-control area with light. As described above, the incident light is birefringent.

Therefore, since the entire first area is irradiated with light, the shadow of the light non-control area formed in the first area can be completely erased. As a result, even if the overlapping areas are formed by overlapping the irradiation areas of the respective lights, it is possible to reliably avoid the image quality deterioration due to the mixture of the overlapping areas and the shadows of the light non-control areas. .

As described above, in the photographic printing apparatus according to the invention of claim 3, in the configuration of claim 2, the birefringence means is configured to squarely separate incident light.

Therefore, in addition to the effect of the second aspect, when the arrangement state of the light control regions in the light modulation element is a square arrangement, the shadow of the light non-control regions formed in the first region is completely eliminated. There is an effect that it can be erased. Also,
The effect that the shadow of the light non-control area can be completely erased by only four lights by the square separation is also obtained.

As described above, in the photographic printing apparatus according to the invention of claim 4, in the structure of claim 1, the birefringent means corresponds to the light non-control area through the predetermined light control area. So that the amount of light of one light radiated to the region of is smaller than the amount of light radiated to the region of the photosensitive material corresponding to the light control region through the same light control region,
This is a configuration in which incident light is birefringent.

Therefore, even if a superposed area in which the light applied to the first area and the light applied to the second area overlap is formed, this superposed area is the same as the light applied to both areas. It is less noticeable than the conventional one in which the same amount of light is used. As a result, it is possible to reduce the recognition of the overlapping region as a line different from the shadow of the light non-control region. Therefore, even if a part of the shadow of the light non-control area remains, it is possible to reliably avoid the deterioration of the image quality due to the mixture of the overlap area and the shadow of the light non-control area.

As described above, in the photographic printing apparatus according to the invention of claim 5, in the structure of claim 4, the birefringence means is provided between two adjacent areas of the photosensitive material corresponding to the light control area. It is characterized in that the incident light is birefringent so that the light obtained through the two regions and the light control regions respectively corresponding thereto are irradiated.

Therefore, in the area (first area) formed between two adjacent areas (second areas) of the photosensitive material corresponding to the light control area, an image in which the image data of the two areas are mixed is formed. Since it is printed, in addition to the effect of the configuration according to claim 4, an image (pixel) is formed in the arrangement direction of the two areas.
It is possible to smoothly connect the images, and it is possible to further improve the image quality.

As described above, in the photographic printing apparatus according to the invention of claim 6, in the structure of any one of claims 1 to 5, the birefringent means converts the incident light into a plurality of lights having different vibration directions. This is a configuration in which a plurality of birefringent members that are birefringent are bonded together.

Therefore, since the birefringence means does not include a conversion element such as a quarter-wave plate which has been essential in the past, for example, in addition to the effect according to any one of claims 1 to 5, The birefringence means can be made thinner and the cost can be reduced.

As described above, in the photographic printing apparatus according to the invention of claim 7, in the structure of claim 6, the birefringent means is composed of three birefringent members.

Therefore, in addition to the effect of the sixth aspect, incident light can be surely birefringent into three or more lights only by constructing the birefringent means with three birefringent members. Thus, the effect of reliably obtaining the effect of the present invention is achieved.

As described above, in the photographic printing apparatus according to the invention of claim 8, in the structure of claim 6 or 7, each of the birefringent members is an extraordinary ray that vibrates the incident light in the separating direction of the birefringent member. And the separation direction is to separate into an ordinary ray that oscillates in the vertical direction, and the separation direction of the birefringent member on which the light obtained through the light modulation element first enters is k This is a configuration that forms an angle of 45 ° ± 90 ° × k with the vibration direction.

Therefore, since the incident light can be reliably separated into the extraordinary ray and the ordinary ray so that the light amounts become equal to each other, in addition to the effect of the configuration of claim 6 or 7, It is possible to prevent the unevenness of the light amount from appearing in the statically printed image by eliminating the light amount difference between the two light rays in the first birefringent member.

As described above, in the photographic printing apparatus according to the invention of claim 9, in the structure of any one of claims 1 to 5, the birefringent means converts the incident light into a plurality of lights having different vibration directions. At least a plurality of birefringent members for birefringence are provided, and the thickness and material of each birefringent member are set according to the arrangement state of the light control regions of the light modulation element.

Therefore, the light emitted from the birefringent means can be accurately applied to the first region and the second region formed in the shape corresponding to the arrangement state of the light control regions of the light modulation element. Therefore, in addition to the effect of the configuration according to any one of claims 1 to 5, it is possible to easily cope with various arrangement states of the light control regions.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a principle that incident light is squarely separated by a birefringent filter with four-point separation in a photographic printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of the photographic printing apparatus.

3A is a plan view showing an arrangement of pixels such that a vertical BM in an LCD is thinner than a horizontal direction, and FIG. 3B is a horizontal view in which a horizontal BM is thinner than a vertical direction. It is a top view which shows arrangement | positioning of such a pixel, and (c) is a top view which shows arrangement | positioning of the pixel whose pixel pitch becomes a vertical and horizontal equal intervals.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing how incident light is separated into an ordinary ray and an extraordinary ray in a birefringent plate which constitutes a part of the birefringent filter.

FIG. 5 shows another example of the configuration of the birefringent filter, and shows the principle of separating the incident light so that the intersection of the light emitting surface of the birefringent filter and the optical axis of each emitted light is located at the apex of a rectangle. It is an explanatory view shown.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a principle that incident light is separated into squares in a birefringent filter in which birefringent plates all have the same thickness.

FIG. 7 shows another configuration example of the birefringent filter, and illustrates the principle of separating the incident light so that the intersection of the light emitting surface of the birefringent filter and the optical axis of each emitted light is located at the apex of the rhombus. It is an explanatory view shown.

8A is an explanatory diagram showing irradiation areas of respective lights on a photographic paper in a case where four light irradiation areas overlap each other by square separation, and FIG. 8B is shown in FIG. It is an explanatory view showing an irradiation area on a photographic paper of light emitted from a birefringent filter.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing another configuration example of the birefringent filter.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the principle of light separation in a birefringent filter with three-point separation.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing an irradiation area on a printing paper of light emitted from the birefringent filter.

12 (a) and 12 (b) are explanatory views showing projected optical paths of light passing through the respective birefringent plates shown in FIG. 12 (c), and FIG. 12 (c) shows three-point separation. It is explanatory drawing which shows the separation principle of the light in the other birefringent filter.

13 (a) and 13 (c) are explanatory views showing projected optical paths of light passing through the respective birefringent plates shown in FIG. 13 (b), and FIG. 13 (b) is four-point separation. It is explanatory drawing which shows the separation principle of the light in the other birefringent filter.

FIG. 14 shows another configuration example of the birefringent filter,
It is explanatory drawing which shows the principle which an incident light is isolate | separated so that the intersection of the light-projection surface of a birefringent filter and the optical axis of each outgoing light may be located in the vertex of a parallelogram.

FIG. 15A is a plan view showing a pixel arrangement of an LCD when the birefringent filter is not arranged,
(B) shows that by arranging the above birefringent filter,
FIG. 9 is a plan view showing that pixels are pseudo-formed at the position of BM of LCD.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration example of a birefringent filter with 8-point separation, and also showing a principle of separating light in the birefringent filter.

FIG. 17A is a plan view showing pixels on photographic paper before performing defocus exposure, and FIG. 17B is an explanatory view showing the surface of photographic paper after performing defocus exposure.

18A and 18B are perspective views showing a schematic configuration of a conventional photographic printing apparatus that shifts pixels by shifting the printing paper, wherein FIG. 18A shows a type that shifts the printing paper, and FIG. 18B shows a type that shifts the LCD. It is a figure.

FIG. 19A is an explanatory diagram showing pixels on a photographic paper that constitutes an image printed by the first exposure by the photographic printing apparatus of FIGS. 18A and 18B. (B)
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing pixels on photographic paper that form an image printed by the second exposure. FIG. 3C is an explanatory diagram showing pixels on photographic paper that form an image printed up to the third exposure. FIG. 4D is an explanatory diagram showing pixels on photographic paper that form an image printed by the fourth exposure.

20 (a) is an explanatory view showing a projected optical path of light passing through the birefringent plate shown in FIG. 20 (b), and FIG.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a conventional photo printing apparatus using a birefringent filter for separating two points.

FIG. 21 (a) is a plan view showing a pixel on a photographic paper when the birefringence filter is not used, and FIG. 21 (b) is an ordinary ray and an extraordinary ray irradiation when the birefringence filter is used. It is an explanatory view showing a field.

FIG. 22 (a) is an explanatory diagram showing a superposed region formed by irradiation of an ordinary ray and an extraordinary ray, and FIG.
It is explanatory drawing which shows the printing paper surface when the said superimposition area | region was blurred by defocus exposure.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 lamp (light source) 2 LCD (light modulator) 3,3 'birefringent filter (birefringent means) 6 Printing paper (photosensitive material) 7 pixels (light control area) 8 BM (light non-control area) 10, 10 'Birefringent plate (birefringent member) 11,11 'Birefringent plate (birefringent member) 12,12 'Birefringent plate (birefringent member) 15 Birefringence filter (birefringence means) 16 Birefringence filter (birefringence means) 17,17 'Birefringent filter (birefringent means) 19 Birefringent plate (Birefringent member) 21'21 'Birefringent plate (birefringent member) 22 Birefringent filter (Birefringent means) 23 Birefringent plate (Birefringent member) 24 Birefringent plate (Birefringent member) 25 Birefringent Filter (Birefringent Means) 26 Birefringent plate (Birefringent member)

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A-9-314898 (JP, A) JP-A-10-83030 (JP, A) JP-A-10-104752 (JP, A) JP-A-2000-171908 (JP, A) JP 2000-267195 (JP, A) JP 9-160140 (JP, A) JP 9-160141 (JP, A) JP 3-241965 (JP, A) JP Hei 4-241965 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G03B 27/00-27/80

Claims (9)

(57) [Claims] 1. A light modulation element having a plurality of light control regions capable of controlling the supply of light to a photosensitive material according to image data, and a light non-control region formed around the light control region,
A photoprinting apparatus for printing an image corresponding to the above image data on a photosensitive material by irradiating the photosensitive material with light from a light source through the light modulating element, which is obtained through a light control region of the light modulating element. Light is birefringent into three or more lights for each light control region, and at least two of the lights are irradiated to the region of the photosensitive material corresponding to the light non-control region, while the remaining light is applied to the light control region. A photographic printing apparatus comprising birefringence means for irradiating a corresponding region of a photosensitive material. 2. The birefringent means birefringently incident light so that the entire area of the photosensitive material corresponding to the light non-control area can be irradiated with light.
Photographic printing apparatus described in. 3. The photographic printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the birefringence means squarely separates incident light. 4. The birefringence means is configured such that the amount of one light beam radiated through a predetermined light control region to a region of the photosensitive material corresponding to the light non-control region is the same through the same light control region. The photographic printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the incident light is birefringent so as to be smaller than the light amount of the light irradiated to the region of the photosensitive material corresponding to the light control region. 5. The birefringence means is configured to irradiate light obtained through the light control regions respectively corresponding to the two regions between two adjacent regions of the photosensitive material corresponding to the light control regions. 5. The photographic printing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the incident light is birefringent. 6. The photograph according to claim 1, wherein the birefringent means comprises a plurality of birefringent members for birefringently refracting incident light into a plurality of lights having different vibration directions. Printing device. 7. The photographic printing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the birefringent means comprises three birefringent members. 8. Each of the birefringent members separates incident light into an extraordinary ray that vibrates in the separating direction of the birefringent member and an ordinary ray that vibrates in a direction perpendicular to the separating direction. 7. The separation direction of the birefringent member on which the light obtained via the first incidence is at an angle of 45 ° ± 90 ° × k with the vibration direction of the incident light, where k is an integer. Or the photographic printing apparatus described in 7. 9. The birefringent means includes at least a plurality of birefringent members for birefringently refracting incident light into a plurality of lights having different vibration directions, and the thickness and material of each birefringent member are the same as those of the light modulation element. 6. The photographic printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the photographic printing apparatus is set according to the arrangement state of the light control areas.