JPH0248889B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a print mask device used for printing images onto photographic paper, and more particularly to a variable print mask device capable of adjusting the opening area of the print mask portion.

As is well known, color prints are available in B size, 3S size (approx. 85mm x approx. 85mm), and E size (approx.
82.5mm x approx. 115mm), etc. E size in particular has lengths of 114mm, 117mm, and 120mm for the same photographic paper width (approximately 82.5mm).
They have slightly different dimensions, and are used to meet customer requests and as advertising materials for DP stores. Furthermore, each size print has a border.
We also meet requests for ``borderless'' printing. Therefore, in response to requests from color laboratories that process items of various sizes, a printing device (printer) that can freely change the size has been desired. The photographic paper on which color prints are printed is usually in the form of a roll, and is moved over the print mask to be printed. The feed rate of photographic paper itself can be adjusted relatively easily using a step motor, but print masks are available in a wide variety of sizes to accommodate the diversification of sizes. It must be replaced manually with one of the appropriate size, which reduces work efficiency.
There was a drawback in terms of cost.

Therefore, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 54-43723, a printing device in which the area of the mask opening can be adjusted has been proposed. However, the mask frame forming the mask opening in the above-mentioned publication is constructed in a rectangular shape by combining two separate vertical and horizontal members, and the squareness of the vertical and horizontal mask opening edges can be accurately adjusted without leaking light. In order to maintain the mask frame, there were problems such as not only the holding structure of the mask frame but also the drive system tending to be complicated.

In view of the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks, an object of the present invention is to enable the print mask opening area to be easily adjusted without complicating the device, and to prevent accidental leakage of projected light near the periphery of the mask opening. It is an object of the present invention to provide a print mask device capable of responding to a wide range of changes in printing size on photographic paper.

In a print mask device, a print mask opening is provided along the feeding direction of a rolled photographic paper, and when the photographic paper stops on the print mask opening, light is projected and printed through the print mask opening. Opposing surfaces are composed of a pair of movable mask plates, and both movable mask plates are L-shaped and engage on the same plane with their inner bent portions facing each other at diagonal positions, so as to open the print mask opening. The movable mask plate is removably supported by a pair of movable mask plate fixing plates that are respectively movable in opposite directions on the base, and the movable mask plates are mutually engaged with each other. The mating sliding surfaces have protrusions on one side and grooves on the other side, and are slidably engaged with each other, and the printed surfaces are slidably engaged by the sliding movement of both movable mask plates in mutually opposite directions. This is achieved by a print mask device characterized in that the opening area of the mask opening is adjustable.

That is, in the present invention, a pair of L-shaped movable mask plates are arranged so as to serve as photographic paper passing surfaces, and an opening defined between the movable mask plates is used as a print mask portion. The movable mask plate is removably supported by a pair of movable mask plate fixing plates provided on the base, and the movable mask plate can be replaced as necessary. A pin is fixedly protruded from each movable mask plate fixing plate and connected to a slider slidably provided on the base. A motor is further fixed on the base, and a single screw fixed coaxially with a pinion meshing with a gear fixed to the motor shaft is screwed into each slider. The screws on opposite sides of the pinion are oriented in opposite directions, and as the pinion rotates, the sliders move in opposite directions, and the sliders move in opposite directions, causing a pair of movable mask plates to move. By moving the fixed plate and the movable mask plate in opposite directions via the pins, the opening area of the print mask portion can be easily adjusted. The movable mask plate can further be provided with means for forming data marks, cut marks, and sort marks on the photographic paper (in the case of "bordered" printing),
In the case of "borderless" printing, a punch means can also be installed to form a through hole at the cut location.

The present invention will be specifically described below with reference to Examples.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the main parts of a print mask according to the present invention. The base 1 has a drive motor 2
is fixed, and a gear 3 is fixed to the motor shaft. The gear 3 meshes with the pinion 4 and rotates a screw 5 coaxially fixed to the pinion 4.
The screw 5 is rotatably supported at both ends by support members 6 and 7 fixed to the base 1, and screws 5' and 5'' on opposite sides of the pinion 4 are supported at both ends by support members 6 and 7 fixed to the base 1.
are in opposite directions. Sliders 8 and 9 that slide on the base plate 1 are screwed into the respective screws 5' and 5'', and as the screw 5 rotates due to the rotation of the pinion 4, the sliders 8 and 9 are moved against each other. Slide in the opposite direction.

The base plate 1 is formed with long holes 10 and 11, and pins 14 and 15 fixedly protruding from a pair of movable mask plate fixing plates 12 and 13, which will be described later, pass through the long holes 10 and 11, and sliders 8, A recess 16 formed in 9,
It is engaged with 17. The base 1 is further configured to have guide plates 18 and 19 fixed to both ends in the photographic paper feeding direction to guide the sliding movement of the movable mask plate fixing plates 12 and 13. ，
By providing 21, when using this device,
The support columns 20, 21 and the bottom surface 2' of the drive motor 2 support the device at three locations (FIG. 4 a and b).

The movable mask plate fixing plates 12 and 13 removably fix L-shaped movable mask plates 22 and 23, respectively, and form a print mask opening 24 between them. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of the movable mask plates 22, 23.
23 are configured so that the opening area of the print mask opening 24 can be adjusted by sliding movements (approaching and separating movements) in mutually opposite directions. That is, the L-shaped movable mask plates 22 and 23 are
The inner bent portions are provided diagonally opposite each other on the same plane, and a protrusion 25 and a groove 26 are formed on the sliding end surface between the two, and the two are slidably fitted and engaged with each other. There is. In this way, since it is an L-shaped assembly, the print mask opening 24
The perpendicularity of the rectangle is easily maintained, and the concave-convex fitting structure of the movable mask plates 22 and 23 prevents leakage of projected light at the sliding portions, thereby preventing deterioration of printing performance.

Further, a roll of photographic paper (not shown) intermittently runs on the movable mask plate along the direction of arrow a, and as it runs, it is guided by a guide member 27 fixed on the movable mask plate. As a result, misalignment of the photographic paper in the width direction is prevented. Furthermore, movable mask plate 2
2 and 23 are a data mark printing window 28 for printing the date, brand name, etc. on the border when printing with a border, and for plotting the cutting and sorting points after the roll is printed. cut mark and sort mark burning windows 29 are formed, and data mark burning devices 30 (first
), cut mark, and sort mark printing device 31
(Fig. 1) can be attached. Furthermore,
In the case of "blind" printing, punching means may be attached to the apparatus in order to form through holes between adjacent images, detect the through hole locations, and perform cutting.

The movable mask plates 22 and 23 according to the present invention can be removed from the movable mask plate fixing plates 12 and 13 as necessary and replaced with movable mask plates of other shapes having different variable opening areas. FIG. 3A is a plan view of the movable mask plates 22 and 23 shown in FIG. 2 fixed to the movable mask plate fixing plates 12 and 13, and FIG. 3B is a plan view of the movable mask plates 22 and 23 shown in FIG. FIG. In FIG. 3B, the base plate 1 has an opening 32 larger than the print mask opening area so that a data mark printing device, cut mark, and sort mark printing device can be mounted on the movable mask plates 22 and 23.

FIG. 4A is a side view seen from the direction of arrow b in FIG. 3A, and FIG. 4B is a side view seen from the direction of arrow c in FIG. 3A. , the drive motor 2 and the strut 2 as described above.
0,21.

Next, the operation of the device of the present invention will be explained below.

After setting the amount of movement of the movable mask plates 22, 23 using a suitable electrical device, the drive motor 2
It operates according to the flowchart shown in the figure.
The rotation of the drive motor 2 causes the gear 3 to rotate, and therefore the pinion 4 meshing with the gear 3 and the screw 5 integrally fixed to the pinion 4 to rotate. Since the screws 5' and 5'' on opposite sides of the pinion 4 are oriented in opposite directions, the sliders 8 and 9 that are engaged with the respective screws are rotated by the rotation of the screw 5. pins 14 and 1 that are engaged with sliders 8 and 9, respectively.
Since the pins 5 are fixed to the movable mask plate fixing plates 12 and 13, the sliding movement of the sliders 8 and 9 causes the pins 14 and 15 to move along the long holes 10 and 11. Therefore, the movable mask plate fixing plates 12 and 13 move in mutually opposite directions along the guide plates 18 and 19, and as a result, the movable mask plate 22, which is detachably supported by the movable mask plate fixing plates 12 and 13, 23 in opposite directions to each other until the print mask opening 24 reaches the target value (the movable mask plate 2
2, 23) drive motor 2 until it reaches the target position.
continues to drive.

In addition, in the flowchart shown in Figure 5, *1 "Reading current position data" can be done by memorizing the signal of the same step one step above and using it.

*2 "Resetting the counter to zero" means returning the counter to zero for counting the number of times this movement-start confirmation step is repeated.

*2'"Increase the counter by 1" means to add 1 to the counter value when the above confirmation step is performed for one cycle.

*3 "Is the counter 10?" Since it is clearly abnormal if the above confirmation step is repeated many times, a warning is issued, and 10 is an example of the number of times it can be repeated.

As described above, in the print mask device of the present invention, the mask portion of the mask portion is composed of a pair of movable mask plates, the surfaces of which face the photographic paper, and both of the movable mask plates are L-shaped and the inner bent portions of each other are at diagonal positions. The four sides of the print mask aperture are formed by facing and engaging with each other, so the squareness of the four corners of the print mask aperture does not depend on the structure and accuracy of the drive/operation system, as with conventional print mask plates. dependent problems are avoided and guaranteed by the printed mask board itself. Moreover, the two print mask plates are arranged so that they can slide on the same plane by engaging with each other so that their end surfaces face each other, so they can be arranged so that they overlap in the thickness direction like conventional print mask plates. Compared to the case where the printing paper and the print mask board move, the distance between the photographic paper and the print mask board can be reduced, so-called adhesion can be improved, and this is effective in preventing light from going around when projecting light. Furthermore, the sliding engagement of the end surfaces of the print mask boards is such that the protrusion on the other end surface that fits into the groove on one end surface has a side-like convex shape that forms a step along the side of the end surface. , leakage of light during projection from this sliding engagement portion can be completely avoided.

In addition, the print mask board according to the present invention can be made thicker because it has good adhesion to photographic paper without having to make the mask board itself thinner. Since the mask plate assembly itself is made of a composite structure, it is not only possible to simplify the support structure for the printed mask plate to ensure its movement compared to conventional methods, but also to make the printed mask plate sturdy. For example, it is possible to directly attach punching means for forming a through hole at a cut location, data mark burning means, cut mark, sort mark burning means, etc. to the print mask board. Also, there is no need to adopt a special holding structure for each of the above-mentioned means, and it is possible to avoid complication of the device.

In addition, since the pair of print mask plates can be attached to the print mask device, for example,
Change to another printed mask board with a different adjustment range of opening area, or change to "bordered" or "borderless" (change including opening width perpendicular to the direction of mask movement), or if necessary. It is extremely easy and convenient to make a wide range of changes such as changing the printing size and specifications such as changing the printing size and specifications of data marks and cut marks on which data marks and cut marks can be printed, and changing their positions. Can be dealt with quickly.

As described above, according to the configuration of the present invention, it is possible to effectively prevent light leakage, and it is possible to cope with a wide range of changes such as the printing size on photographic paper, which could not be solved with conventional devices. We were able to solve both of these problems at the same time, and avoid complicating the equipment.

It goes without saying that the technical idea of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but extends to various modifications within the scope of the claims.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the main parts of a print mask according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of a movable mask plate applied to the present invention, and Fig. 3A is a perspective view showing an example of a movable mask plate. Figure 3B is a plan view of the movable mask plate fixed to the fixing plate; Figure 4A and Figure 4B are views of the movable mask plate as viewed from the directions of arrows b and c in Figure 3A. The side view and FIG. 5 are flowcharts showing the progress of movement from setting of the variable mask. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Base, 2... Drive motor, 3... Gear, 4... Pinion, 5... Screw, 6, 7... Support member, 8, 9...
Slider, 10, 11... Long hole, 12, 13... Movable mask plate fixing plate, 14, 15... Pin, 18, 19...
Guide plate, 20, 21... Support column, 22, 23... Movable mask plate, 24... Print mask opening, 25...
Projection, 26... Groove, 27... Guide member, 28... Data mark burning window, 29... Cut mark, sort mark burning window, 30... Data mark burning device, 31...
Cut mark and sort mark printing device.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a print mask device, a print mask opening is provided along the feeding direction of rolled photographic paper, and when the photographic paper stops on the print mask opening, light projection printing is performed through the print mask opening. The surface facing the paper consists of a pair of movable mask plates, both movable mask plates are L-shaped and engage on the same plane with their inner bent portions facing each other at diagonal positions, and the printed mask The movable mask plate is provided to form an opening, and the movable mask plate is removably supported by a pair of movable mask plate fixing plates that are respectively movable in opposite directions on the base, and The sliding surfaces, whose end surfaces face each other and engage with each other, have a protruding side on one side and a groove-like side on the other side, and these two sides fit to slidably engage with each other. A print mask device characterized in that the opening area of the print mask opening can be adjusted in the direction of the sliding movement by sliding movement of the movable masks in mutually opposite directions.