JPH0518407B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Technical Field of the Invention) This invention performs photographic printing of an original film such as a long (strips) negative film, and
The present invention relates to a photographic printing apparatus capable of cutting a printed original film into a predetermined length and automatically inserting the cut pieces of original film into a negative sheet.

(Technical background of the invention and its problems) In the conventional photographic printing system, as shown in FIG. The image frames are conveyed one frame at a time and printed, and the negative film 3 on which the necessary frames have been printed is sent to the cutting inserter 4, the predetermined length (for example, in units of 6 frames) is visually determined, and the film is cut manually. After forming a short negative film 6 of a predetermined length, the negative film 6 is manually or automatically inserted into the negative sheet 5 and delivered to the customer together with the printed print. Therefore, it is necessary to transport the negative film 3 between the printer 1 and the cutting inserter 4, and the printing operation of the printer 1 and the cutting and inserting operations of the cutting inserter 4 are automatically linked. It was difficult to do.

(Object of the Invention) This invention was made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object of the invention is to provide a photo printing apparatus with a cutting inserter and to print a long negative film loaded in the printer. It is an object of the present invention to provide a photographic printing apparatus which can then automatically cut a negative film of a predetermined length, and furthermore, can automatically insert the cut short negative film into a negative sheet.

(Summary of the Invention) The present invention relates to a photographic printing apparatus, which includes an original image carrier section for positioning frame images of an original film for printing in a printing section, and a means for transporting frame images of the original film to the printing section. an image information detection device comprising: a conveyance mechanism for performing the above-mentioned image processing; and an image sensor for detecting density information of the original image carrier section and the original image film in the printing section, and optically detecting the number of frames and edges of the frame images; a cutting means for cutting the original film according to its size; and a cutting means for controlling the transport mechanism according to information detected by the image information detecting device, and a cutting means for cutting the original film according to its size; A control means for controlling the cutting means is provided. In another invention, a sheet inserting means is provided for inserting and ejecting a predetermined number of frames of original film cut by a cutting means into a negative sheet, so that the printed negative film can be automatically inserted into the negative sheet. .

(Embodiment of the Invention) FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of the present invention, in which a cutting inserter 200 is integrally provided in a printer 100, and a long negative film 2 printed by the printer 100 is inserted into a predetermined length. The negative film is cut into short lengths, which are automatically inserted into the negative sheet 5 and then released to the outside.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show the printing section 11 of the printer 100.
0 shows the configuration of a cutting means 210 in the printer 100 and a sheet inserting device 220 connected to the printer, and the negative film 2 is inserted into the printing section 11.
0 and reaches the position of the cutting means 210 by the drive rollers 111A, 111B, etc., and the short negative film cut to a predetermined length by the cutting means 210 is automatically inserted into the negative sheet by the sheet inserting device 220. It's getting old. The printing section 110 is also provided with a light source 112, which prints the frame images of the negative film 2 illuminated by the light source 112 onto photographic paper, and also prints the frame images of the negative film 2 illuminated by the light source 112 onto photographic paper. film 2
The image of the sheet is optically detected to control the conveying and cutting means 210 and the operation of the sheet inserting device 220.

FIG. 3 shows an example in which the image information detection device 120 of the present invention is installed in the printing section 110, and the negative film 2 sent to the printing section 110 by the negative transport device 102 is yellow Y, magenta M, and The light source 11 passes through three complementary color filters 101 of cyan C.
2, and the transmitted light from the negative film 2 passes through a lens system 103 and a black shutter 104 and reaches photographic paper 105. The photographic paper 105 is wound around a feed roller 106A, and the negative film 2
It is designed to be wound around rollers 106B in synchronization with the conveyance and stop of . An image information detecting device 120 is provided near the negative film 2, inclined to the optical axis LS of the light source 112 and the negative film 2, and has a built-in CCD (Charge).
Coupled Device) and MOS (Metal Oxide
A lens system 122 for imaging approximately the center of the negative film 2 is disposed in front of a two-dimensional image sensor 121 made of a semiconductor, etc., and an image processing A board 123 is attached to which a processing circuit consisting of an IC or the like that performs the processing is mounted.

Here, the CCD two-dimensional image sensor 121
As shown in FIG. 4, there is an imaging unit 121A that optically captures an image, a holding unit 121B that holds charges transferred from the imaging unit 121A, and outputs the charges held in this holding unit 121B. It consists of an output register 121C for
By controlling the drive signals AS to CS from the drive circuit, two-dimensional image information is photoelectrically converted and an analog image signal PS is serially output from the output register 121C. Also, substrate 1
The circuit configuration installed in the image sensor 23 is, for example, as shown in FIG.
21 are drive signals AS, BS, from the drive circuit 124;
The light driven by the CS and irradiated onto the imaging section 121A of the image sensor 121 is transmitted to the output register 1.
21C as an image signal PS, which is sent to the sample hold circuit 125 at a predetermined sampling period.
The signal is sampled and held at the A/D converter 126, and the held value is converted into a digital signal DS by the A/D converter 126. The digital signal DS from the A/D converter 126 is input to a logarithmic conversion circuit 127 and is logarithmically converted, converted into a density signal DN, and then written into the memory 129 via a write control circuit 128.

In this invention, an image information detection device 120 incorporating a two-dimensional image sensor 121 made of CCD is disposed near the negative film 2, and the entire screen of the negative film 2 is divided into a large number of aligned pixels to detect image information. That's what I do. That is, drive circuit 1
A predetermined drive signal is sent from 24 to the image sensor 121.
By providing AS, BS, and CS, the two-dimensional image sensor 121 receives the transmitted light of the negative film 2 placed in the printing section 110 via the lens system 103. As shown in FIG. A, the entire negative film 2 can be divided into a large number of aligned small pixels 2A, and the entire screen of the negative film 2 can be sequentially scanned along the scanning line SL. After scanning the entire screen, the image signal PS is sequentially output from the output register 121C of the image sensor 121,
This image signal PS is sampled and held by the circuit 125.
Sample and hold the hold value with A/D
A converter 126 converts it into a digital signal DS.
The digital signal DS from the A/D converter 126 is logarithmically converted by the logarithmic converter circuit 127 and converted into a concentration signal.
DN, and this density signal DN is stored in the memory 129 under the control of the write control circuit 128 in an array corresponding to the pixels as shown in FIG. 6B and as a density digital value of the negative film. become. If such density information is detected and stored for each of the three RGB colors using a mosaic filter (not shown) closely attached to each pixel of the CCD, LATD using a photodiode, etc.
(Large Area Transmittance Density) photometry, the above data can be used for exposure calculation and exposure correction for photographic printing.

Further, the sheet insertion device 220 has a configuration as shown in FIG. 7, and the negative sheet supply section 221 is equipped with multi-type negative sheets for 135 full size, 135 half size, and 126 negative sizes, or negative sheets for 110 size, etc. up to 500 m long. A roll negative sheet having a length of about 100 mm is loaded, and the negative sheet supplied from the negative sheet supply section 221 is detected by the negative sheet stop position sensor 222. That is, the position sensor 222 detects a blank printed area or a mark on the negative sheet and automatically stops the negative sheet, and the sheet roller 223 seals the negative sheet and removes the negative from a short negative film of less than 6 frames. There are usually eight sealing positions, and sealing is performed automatically according to the length of the negative piece. Further, the negative sheet containing the negative pieces is conveyed by a negative sheet feed roller, a press roller, etc. 224, and a negative sheet slitter 225 facilitates cutting by making perforations in each conveyed negative sheet. The perforations are automatically entered for each case, and the perforated negative sheet is wound up by the negative sheet winding section 226 as needed. Furthermore, a piece negative feed roller 227 is provided on the side of the negative sheet insertion section for conveying the cut piece negative to the negative sheet entrance.

In such a configuration, the negative film 2 to be subjected to printing is conveyed along the negative conveyance path to the printing section 1.
After passing through 10 negative carriers and being printed frame by frame, it finally reaches the end of the negative conveyance path and is sent to the position of cutting means 210. Here, the negative carrier is attached according to the size of the negative film to be used, and the size of the opening of the negative carrier corresponds to the frame size of the negative film, and the snaking part at the periphery of the image frame is attached to the negative carrier. It does not protrude beyond the edge of the opening. The area where the two-dimensional image sensor 121 receives light includes not only the frame images of the negative film, but also the non-transmitted light portion of the negative carrier so that it can handle large-sized negative films with ease. The image information of the area detected by the two-dimensional image sensor 121 is as shown in FIG. 8A in the case of a 110 size negative carrier, and as shown in FIG. 8B in the case of a 135 full size negative carrier. These Figure 8 A and B
are examples of detected image information for snooker images when no images are taken on negative film, respectively.
Or, an example is shown in which there is no negative film, and the part surrounded by the broken line in the center shows the opening. Since the size of the opening corresponds to the size of the negative film, the image sensor 1
The area of the opening can be determined by detecting the density "0" (or a value close to this) indicating a snook from the opening information read by 21 and calculating the number of spots. It is possible to determine the size of the film.

Here, the negative film 2 is placed in the printing section 110.
When printing is carried out by transporting the image frames 2A, 2B, 2C, and 2C, as shown in FIG. 9A,
It is necessary to accurately position the image frame on the negative carrier, and after printing the image frame, the negative film 2 must be conveyed, position the next image frame, and then stop. Conventionally, in order to stop the detection of image frames, a notch for automatically stopping the image frame at a predetermined position was previously formed on the negative film using a visual manual notcher or an automatic notcher. On the other hand, if image information for each pixel of the image sensor 121 as shown in FIG. 9B is detected for the negative film 2 as shown in FIG. , 2B, 2C, ... can be detected, and unphotographed areas RA, RB, RC, ... between adjacent image frames can also be detected from the density data. Image frame detection can be stopped.
However, if all of the detection information is used to stop detecting image frames, the calculation will take a lot of time, and in order to do it at high speed, the processing power of the microcomputer etc. must be increased, which increases the cost of the device. There are drawbacks to being invited.

Therefore, in the present invention, as shown in FIG. 6A, a line-shaped portion 2B at the center of the two-dimensional image sensor 121 and perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the negative film 2 is electrically extracted, and this line-shaped portion 2B is The edges of the negative film 2 are detected in the portion 2B. In the case of the central part, there is an advantage that image information on the same line can be selectively processed even when changing the negative size.

In the above configuration, the processing operation for one negative film of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 11 and 12.
This will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in the figure.

The conveyance of the negative film 2 for photo printing is stopped according to the flow shown in FIG. 11, and a negative carrier 32 corresponding to the size of the negative film 2 to be printed is loaded at a predetermined position in the printing section 110 (step S1). , the size of the opening 32 of the negative carrier 102 is adjusted to the size of the image sensor 121 using the method described above.
(Step S2). Note that this size measurement may be input visually.According to this size measurement, the conveyance amount of the negative film 2 is controlled, and the printing exposure amount and its correction amount are controlled.

Next, a long negative film 2 to be printed is supplied to the photo printing device, and when the leading edge of the negative film 2 is loaded onto the negative drive roller 111A (step
S3), the drive motor is driven to convey the negative film 2 (step S4), and then the presence or absence of the negative film 2 is determined by the two-dimensional image sensor 121 (step S5). Detection is continued at the center of the negative film 2.
If the leading edge of the negative carrier 102 is detected in the region 2B inside the opening 32, then a low-speed minute feed is performed (step S6), during which image information is detected by the two-dimensional image sensor 121,
Data for each pixel as shown in FIG. 9B is obtained. As is clear from the correspondence between A and B in FIG. 9, image frames 2A and 2 taken on the negative film 2
B, 2C... and unphotographed areas RA, RB between frames,
Since there is generally a noticeable difference in the density value between RC, ..., the area where the density value changes sharply in the horizontal direction and within a certain range of change in the vertical direction (direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the negative film) is , by searching on the line of the image sensor 121, image frame 2 is found.
Edges of A, 2B, 2C... RA, RB, RC,...
...can be detected. FIG. 10 shows this situation, in which the negative film 2 is conveyed in the N direction to the printing section of the negative carrier 102, and the edge RB is detected by the line-shaped portion of the image information detection device 120. The line-shaped portion 40 is arranged at the center of the opening 32 of the negative carrier 102. Although the width of the edge is shown wide for convenience in FIG. 10 and FIG. I can do it. When detecting an edge using a sensor with low resolution, the snake part and the frame image part do not change sharply, but change gradually, so it is approximately 0.1
The negative film 2 is conveyed with a fine pitch of about mm pitch, and the direction of change is determined based on the amount of time-series change in the line-shaped portion 40 of one line consisting of one pixel in the width direction, or information on the relative difference or relative ratio between two adjacent lines. The time of reversal (or the position where the change value becomes zero) is detected as an edge.

Conveyance of the negative film 2 is continued at a low speed until the edge of the first image frame is detected (step S6), and when the edge RB of the image frame is detected, the size determined by the above size measurement is Based on the size information, the frame is transported by a distance D/2 until it is positioned in the printing section 110 (steps S7 to
S9) and then stop (step S10). In this case, from the edge of the image frame located in the center of the negative carrier 102,
The distance (D/2) can be determined in advance by calculation if the frame size is known, and if the frame is transported by D/2 from the state shown in FIG. Film 2 will stop.

After conveying and stopping the negative film 2 in this way,
It is determined whether the stopped frame is suitable for burning (step S11), and if it is not suitable for burning, the step
Skip to S13, and if it is suitable for printing, print the stopped frame with the determined exposure amount and correction amount (step S12), and after the printing of the frame is completed, the next 2nd and subsequent image frames are transferred to the printing section. 110 for printing, it is determined whether or not there is still negative film 2, and if there is, the negative film 2 is transferred to 1/2 the frame interval according to the input size information.
Only the weakest parts are transported at high speed (steps S13 and S4). Conveyance of the negative film 2 is continued at a low speed until the edges of such image frames are detected (step
S15), if the edge RB of the image frame is detected (steps S16, S17), the frame is transported a distance D/2 from the size information obtained by the size measurement to positioning the frame in the printing section 110. (Step S19), and if the edge RB of the image frame cannot be detected, the negative film is advanced by one frame (Step S18), and then stopped (Step S18).
S10).

The presence or absence of the negative film 2 is determined by detecting that when the negative film 2 disappears from the opening 32 of the negative carrier 102, all the image information at the opening becomes "0" as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B. be able to. Also, to determine whether a stopped frame is suitable for printing, all of the image information in Figure 6B must be above a certain value (corresponding to an extremely overexposed negative), or below a certain value (e.g. aerial photography, out of focus, etc.). (equivalent to an extremely underexposed negative) or within a certain value (equivalent to an extremely low contrast negative). By repeating the above-described conveyance and stopping, it is possible to automatically print each image frame in sequence. And step S13
After a certain period of time after detecting that the negative film has run out, the negative drive rollers 111A and 111B
Automatically stops idling and ends.

In the above-described embodiment, the single processing operation for strip negative film has been described, but the same method can be applied to the continuous processing operation for long roll negative film.

All of the above explanations have been made using density values, but it goes without saying that the logarithmic conversion circuit 127 may be suspended and information on antilog values may be used. Furthermore, although the above description is based on the assumption that detection is to be performed at the center of the original film located at the center of the opening 32 of the negative carrier 102, this does not preclude detection near the center.

In parallel with the conveyance control for photographic printing of negative film as described above, in the present invention, negative feed and negative cutting are performed simultaneously while negative cut position discrimination processing is always performed. That is, in the cutting inserter process of the present invention, as shown in FIG.
S20), the negative film 2 is conveyed in order to cut the first piece of the negative film 2 until the last frame of one piece is detected (steps S21, S22). When the last frame of one piece is detected by the method described later, the drive of the conveying device is momentarily or temporarily stopped, and the negative film 2 is cut by the cutting means 210 (step 210).
S23), and then the cutting position of the second and subsequent pieces from the beginning is determined (step S24). These cut position determination processes (steps S21 and S24) are
In response to the printing of frame images on negative film 2, it is necessary to avoid cutting in the middle of the frames of negative film 2 and to cut accurately between frames. The figure also shows how the cutting signal CT to be applied to the cutting means 210 is generated. In addition, this cut signal CT
can also be generated by software.

At step S5 in FIG. 11, if there is a negative film 2, a film presence signal FP is output, and during the conveyance of the negative film 2 at steps S6, S9, S14, S15 and S19, the negative film 2 is
A negative feed pulse FF corresponding to the conveyance amount is output,
If an edge is detected in the determinations in steps S8 and S17, an edge detection pulse EA of the image frame is output. The film presence signal FP and the negative feed pulse FF are input to an AND circuit 230, and the AND output SG1 is input to a counter 231. The counter 231 is preset with the number of feed pulses 232 for one frame of the pulse motor that conveys the negative film 2, and each time the negative feed pulse FF reaches the number of frame pulses 232, a signal is sent from the counter 231.
SG2 is output and input to the OR circuit 233 together with the edge detection pulse EA, and its output SG3 is input to the mono multivibrator 234, so that two or more pulses are not output in one frame. The output SG4 of the mono multivibrator 234 is input to a counter 236, and the counter 236 is preset with the number of frames 235 to be cut into a piece negative film (usually 6 frames), and when the signal SG4 reaches this preset number, that is, When the number of frames to be cut is reached, the counter 236 outputs a signal SG5. The signal SG5 is input to the counter 238, and the counter 238 shows the number of idle feeds of the pulse motor indicating the distance feed from the sensor position to the cutting frame.
237 is preset. Therefore, the counter 238 outputs the cut signal CT when the number of the signal SG5 reaches the preset blank feed number 237, temporarily (momentarily) stops feeding the negative film, and cuts the negative film 2 to the means 120. Cut with . That is, after a negative film having a length corresponding to a specified number of frames passes through the sensor section and an edge is detected, the film is automatically cut by moving the distance between the sensor section and the cutting means. Cutting may be performed manually by notifying the operator of the cutting timing with a buzzer and visually determining the cutting timing. And step S13
With the completion of one negative film (for one case),
The counters 231 and 23 are reset by the reset signal RP.
6 and 238 are reset.

By generating such a cut signal CT, the cutting means 120 cuts the negative film 2, and determines whether or not it has reached the end of the negative film 2 (step S25). If it is determined that it has reached the end, it cuts the negative film 2. The cut piece negative is conveyed to the sheet insertion device 220 and inserted into the negative sheet (step S30),
The inserted sheet is transported (step
S31), it is determined whether the sheet is in the cut position (step S32), and if it is in the cut position, the negative sheet slitter 225 performs a cutting operation to make perforations in the negative sheet (step S33), and the processing for one item is completed. .

If it is determined in step S25 that the negative film is not at the end, the cut negative piece is inserted into the negative sheet (step S26), the inserted sheet is conveyed, and the process returns to step S21 (step S27).

In the above embodiment, an example of a 135 size negative film was explained, but this invention can be applied to a 126 size or
The same method can be applied to negative films such as 110 size. In the above embodiment, a photographic printing apparatus has been described, but the present invention can be similarly applied to recording on storage media such as magnetic tapes, optical discs, and magnetic disc films.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the photo printing apparatus of the present invention, image frames and image frames in the printing section can be detected by the image sensor to control their conveyance, and the number of image frames can be detected. Therefore, in parallel with the printing operation, the negative film can be automatically cut at a predetermined number of frames by the cutting means, and the short negative film thus cut can also be automatically inserted into the negative sheet. This makes it possible to simplify and improve the efficiency of photo printing operations. Furthermore, since the above operations can be performed by sharing the exposure calculation sensor, an inexpensive photographic printing apparatus can be realized.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the schematic structure of the present invention, FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the image sensor used in the present invention. FIG. 5 is a block configuration diagram showing its control system. Figures A and B are diagrams for explaining an example of detection by the image sensor of the present invention, Figure 7 is an external configuration diagram of a sheet insertion device used in the present invention, and Figures 8A and B are diagrams for explaining size detection by the image sensor. FIGS. 9A and 9B are diagrams for explaining how frame images are detected according to the present invention, FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining conveyance control according to the present invention, and FIGS. 11 and 12 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the present invention, FIG. 13 is a diagram showing how a cut signal is generated, and FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of a conventional photographic printing apparatus. 1,100... Printer, 2... Negative film, 4,200... Cutting inserter, 5...
... Negative sheet, 110 ... Printing section, 112 ... Light source, 120 ... Image information detection device, 121 ... Image sensor, 210 ... Cutting means.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An original image carrier section for positioning frame images of an original film for printing in a printing section, a transport mechanism for transporting frame images of the original film to the printing section, and a transport mechanism for transporting frame images of the original film to the printing section; an image information detecting device comprising an image sensor for detecting the density information of the original image carrier section and the original image film in the section, as well as optically detecting the number of frames and edges of the frame image; a cutting means for cutting according to the number of frames of the original film; and a control means for controlling the transport mechanism according to the detection information of the image information detecting device and controlling the cutting means based on the detection of the number of frames of the original film. A photo printing device characterized by comprising: 2. The photographic printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image sensor is a two-dimensional sensor. 3. The photographic printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control means calculates an exposure amount for photographic printing of a frame image positioned in the printing section. 4. An original image carrier section for positioning frame images of the original film for printing in the printing section, a transport mechanism for transporting the frame images of the original film in the printing section, the original image carrier section in the printing section, and an image information detection device comprising an image sensor for detecting density information of the original film and optically detecting the number of frames and edges of the frame image; and a cutter for cutting the original film into predetermined frame units. a sheet inserting means for inserting a predetermined frame unit of original film cut by the cutting means into a negative sheet and ejecting the same; and a conveying mechanism, a cutting means, and a sheet inserting means according to the detection information of the image information detecting device. 1. A photographic printing apparatus, comprising: a control means for controlling. 5. The photographic printing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the control means calculates an exposure amount for photographic printing of a frame image positioned in the printing section.