JPH0990513A - Video printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a video printer which is small-sized and is easy to carry. SOLUTION: This video printer is constituted of a film 4 for instant camera and a lens 3 image-forming the video of a video surface 6 for displaying video, on a surface where the film 4 is arranged. The lens 3 arranged between the video surface 6 and the film 4 facing the video surface 6 is formed as a lens array 31 where a microlens image-forming an erect normal image on the film 4 is arrayed. Distances between the video surface 6 and the lens 3 and between the lens 3 and the film 4 are made small.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a video printer for outputting an image on recording paper, and more particularly to a color video printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A sublimation type thermal transfer printer is known as a color video printer. This is a thermal head 80 in which a large number of heating elements 81 are arranged as shown in FIG.
And the ink ribbon 83 coated with the sublimation dye 84, the sublimation dye 84 vaporized by the heat generation of the heating element 81 is transferred to the sublimation diffusion layer 86 of the recording paper 85 sent by the platen roller 82. The image is recorded on the recording paper 8
5, the sublimation dye 84 corresponding to the color of the image is transferred to form a color image.

In this case, a complicated control mechanism is required for driving the thermal head 80 and several kinds of ink ribbons are required for color development, and the apparatus is inevitably large in size, so that it can be carried outdoors. The sex is extremely poor. Although color inkjet printers and the like are also provided, they have the same problems as the sublimation thermal transfer printers. on the other hand,
Instant photos are also used for recording videos. FIG. 13 and FIG. 14 show a foldable instant photographic camera 9 for general photography, but an image displayed on the image surface is imaged on a film by a lens 3 so that the image is a recording paper. It is recorded on the film 4, and according to this application, the instant photographic camera 9 (and the film thereof) can be used as a color video printer and is actually used.

[0004]

However, the above-mentioned instant photographic camera has the following problems due to the lens 3 used. That is, as shown in FIG. 15, in order to form an image with less distortion and less decrease in peripheral light amount on the entire surface of the film 4, the lens 3 having a focal length f of a certain length must be used. However, when the image 91 is located not at infinity but at a short distance from the lens 3 as in the case of recording an image on the image plane, the focal length between the lens 3 and the film 4 is the above. f
The length must be set to the above, and the distance between the lens 3 and the film 4 becomes considerably long when the image plane is small and close to 1x close-up photography, which is inevitably large. In addition, since a required distance is required between the image surface and the lens 3, other objects may be reflected on the image surface. To prevent this, the lens 3 and the image surface are separated from each other. I had to put a space between them and I couldn't say that I could easily record images. Reference numeral 90 in FIG. 15 is a shutter.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a video printer which is compact and highly portable.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is, however, a video printer comprising an instant photographic film and a lens for forming an image of an image surface on which an image is displayed on the surface on which the film is arranged. The lens arranged between the image plane and the film facing the image plane is characterized in that it is formed as a lens array in which minute lenses for forming an erect image are arranged on the film. ing. The distance between the image plane and the lens and the distance between the lens and the film can be reduced.

Each of the microlenses in the lens array is preferably a rod lens having a parabolic refractive index distribution, and the lens array is a scanning type which runs in a direction along one side of the image plane. It is preferable.
In this case, it is preferable that the image plane displays a still image, and the exposure amount on the film is adjusted by the scanning speed of the lens array and the luminance of the image plane.

The image plane is preferably a liquid crystal display. Further, it is also preferable that the image section having the image plane is detachable or rotatably connected to the image pickup section including the lens and the film.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described. This video printer records an image on the image plane by forming an image on the instant photographic film 4 by the lens 3 as described above. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the image pickup unit 1 and the image unit 2 are individually formed and can be connected to each other.

The image section 2 is a portable one using the liquid crystal display 6 as an image surface for displaying an image, and the liquid crystal display 6 arranged on the front surface of the thin casing 20 has a light behind it. It is a transmissive type having a backlight composed of a diffusion plate 60, a cold cathode tube 61, and a reflection plate 62, and is a video signal or RG input from a video input terminal 63.
Project the B signal. In the figure, 69 is a battery as a power source, 24
Is a battery compartment cover, and 65 in FIG. 3 is a power switch,
Reference numeral 64 is a video control volume.

The image pickup unit 1 has a lens 3 and a film 4 housed in a flat box type housing 10 having an opening in which a protective glass 11 is arranged on the front surface thereof.
Is provided in the middle of the light shielding curtain 32 stretched between the pair of drums 35 and 36. The lens 3 here is not an ordinary lens as described in the conventional example, but a large number of minute lenses 30 which are so-called rod lenses having a parabolic refractive index distribution in a holder 31a as shown in FIG. The lenses are arranged as a lens array 31 in which gaps between the minute lenses 30 are filled with a black silicon resin 31b for removing flare light.

Each microlens 30 is in the form of an optical fiber, but a normal optical fiber is a step index type in which the core 3a and the cladding 3b surrounding the core 3b have different refractive indices as shown in FIG. Then, by utilizing this difference in refractive index, the light incident from one end of the core 3a is sent to the other end of the core 3a by total reflection, whereas the microlens 30 is a graded index type rod lens, That is, it is a lens having a parabolic refractive index distribution from the center to the periphery, and light incident on one end of the microlens 30 travels in the microlens 30 while meandering at a constant cycle. For this reason, the microlens 30 exerts a function as a condensing lens although it does not have a curved surface on the end face in the axial direction.
Here, a microlens 30 having an axial length Z determined so that an erect image, in particular, an erect image of equal magnification is formed is used. Further, the minute lenses 30 are arranged so that the images formed by the adjacent minute lenses 30 overlap each other as shown in FIG.

The lens 3 configured as a lens array 31 in which such minute lenses 30 are arranged is provided in the middle of a light shielding curtain 32 located behind the protective glass 11. One end of the light shielding curtain 32 is wound around the drum 35, and the other end of the light shielding curtain 32 is wound around the drum 36. Here, the drum 35 is connected to the motor 5 via the gear 52 and the gears 51, 50 provided via the one-way clutch, and the drum 36 is connected to the fixed shaft 37 passing therethrough as shown in FIG. In between, one end on the fixed shaft 37,
Torsion coil spring 3 with the other end locked to the inner surface of the drum 36
8 is built in.

When the drum 35 is rotated by the motor 5, the light-shielding curtain 32 is wound around the drum 35, the lens 3 runs, and the drum 36 is rotated by the rotation of the light-shielding curtain 32 from the drum 36. Coil spring 38
When the drum 36 is rotated by releasing the force of the torsion coil spring 38, the light-shielding curtain 32 is drawn out from the drum 35 and wound on the drum 36, so that the lens 3 is moved forward. Is to run in the opposite direction. Reference numeral 39 in FIG. 5 denotes a guide shaft that guides the traveling of the lens 3.

In the illustrated example, since the film 4 is exposed when the lens 3 travels by the spring force of the torsion coil spring 38, the motor 5 applies the light shielding curtain 32 to the drum 35. When the winding is completed, the locking lever 55 is locked to the lens array 31 as shown in FIG.
When the locking lever 55 is unlocked from the lens array 31 by the rotation of the locking lever 55 about the shaft 56 by the pressing of the release button 53, the above-mentioned traveling is performed by the spring force of the torsion coil spring 38. I am trying to do it. In addition, it is preferable that a governor for making the traveling speed of the lens array 31 constant is incorporated on the drum 36 side.

On the other hand, the film 4 is arranged in the housing 10 in the form of a film pack 40 in which a plurality of films 4 are accommodated in a case, and the exposed film 4 is
Extrusion by the feed lever 7 and a pair of rollers 45,
By the delivery by 46, it is discharged to the outside from the slot 12 of the housing 10. The feed lever 7 includes a guide groove 71 and an interlocking lever 74, and is biased upward in FIG. 1 by a return spring 70.
1 has two guide pins 7 provided on the housing 10.
2, 73 are slidably engaged. A stopper 75 is provided rotatably on the feed lever 7 and
The interlocking lever 74 whose rotation is regulated by
The light-shielding curtain 32 is engaged with the lens array 31 when the lens array 31 is running when the drum 35 is wound, and the feed lever 7 is run in conjunction with the running of the lens array 31. 4 is extruded.

When the leading end of the film 4 reaches between the roller 45 provided integrally with the gear 51 and the roller 46 rollingly contacting the roller 45, the film 4 is sent out to the slot 12 by the rollers 45 and 46. Be done. At the time when the film 4 is fed out by the rollers 45 and 46, the feed lever 7 has the guide groove 71.
Since one guide pin 72 is inserted in the bent upper end of the drawing, the lower end of the drawing provided with the interlocking lever 74 moves to the left in the drawing. This movement causes the interlocking lever 7 to move.
4 is released from the engagement with the lens array 31, and the feed lever 7 is returned to its original position by the spring force of the return spring 70.

From the front surface of the housing 10 of the image pickup section 1, a bearing section 18 is detachably engaged with a rotary shaft 28 provided on the side surface of the housing 20 of the image section 2 and is detachably provided. , The engaging recess 2 formed on the other side surface of the housing 20
A hook 19 that is detachably engaged with 9 is provided in a protruding manner.
The rotating shaft 28 and the bearing portion 18 allow the image portion 2 to freely rotate with respect to the image pickup portion 1.
When the closed state is maintained by the engagement between the engagement recess 9 and the engagement recess 29, the liquid crystal display 6 which is the image plane of the image section 2 faces the opening of the image pickup section 1 where the protective glass 11 is arranged. Further, when closed in this way, the convex portion 57 provided on the surface of the image pickup unit 1 turns on the mounting detection switch 26 of the image pickup unit 2 and a signal for transmitting and receiving a signal between the image pickup unit 1 and the image pickup unit 2. The terminals 58 and 27 are brought into contact with each other to conduct electricity.

In FIG. 1, 59 is a battery as a power source for the image pickup unit 1, 14 is a battery cover, 13 is a film storage unit cover, 15 is a printed circuit board on which a control circuit on the image pickup unit 1 side is mounted, and 16 is a shutter charge. Completion detection switch,
Reference numeral 17 is a release completion detecting switch, and 25 is a printed circuit board on which a circuit on the image section 2 side is mounted. The arrow attached to the drum 35 indicates the direction in which the drum 5 is rotationally driven, and the arrow attached to the drum 36 indicates the direction in which the drum 36 rotates due to the spring force of the torsion coil spring 38 incorporated therein. There is.

Next, the operation will be described. The power switch 65 of the video section 2 is turned on, a video signal of a still image is sent from the video input terminal 63, the video is displayed on the liquid crystal display 6, and the video is confirmed. Next, the image pickup unit 1 connected to the image unit 2 is closed, and the opening portion of the image pickup unit 1 on which the protective glass 11 is arranged is opposed to the liquid crystal display 6.
At this time, as the mounting detection switch 26 of the image section 2 is turned on, the backlight of the image section 2 is once turned off as shown in FIG. 7, and the shutter charge is completed on the image pickup section 1 side. If not present, the motor 5 is turned on, the light shielding curtain 32 is wound around the drum 35, and the spring force is accumulated in the torsion coil spring 38 in the drum 36.

The lens array 31 is attached to the locking lever 55.
Is locked and the shutter charge completion detection switch 16 is turned on, the motor 5 is turned off and the image section 2
The backlight of turns on and the preparation for shooting is completed. In addition,
The lighting of the backlight and the display of the liquid crystal display 6 when the mounting detection switch 26 is turned on are automatically set to a value suitable for shooting regardless of the adjustment position of the image adjustment volume 64.

Photographing is performed by pressing the release button 53 on the image pickup section 1 side. When the release button 53 is pressed against the return spring 54, the locking lever 55 and the lens array 31 are disengaged as described above, and the light shielding curtain 32 is wound around the drum 36, so that the lens array 31 moves. It runs in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction and the optical axis direction and along one side of the liquid crystal display 6, and the image displayed on the liquid crystal display 6 is imaged on the film 4 by scanning by this running. .

The lens array 31 that has run the above is
The interlocking lever 74 of the feed lever 7 is rotated to reach between the interlocking lever 74 and the release completion detecting switch 17, and the release completion detecting switch 17 is turned on by being pushed by the lens array 31. Then, the backlight of the image section 2 is turned off again and the motor 5 is operated to shift to the shutter charge operation.
In addition, the release switch 49 is a release button 53 during scanning.
This is provided to prevent the motor 5 from rotating during scanning even if is pressed.

The exposed film 4 is sent out as described above by the operation of the feed lever 7 in the initial stage of the shutter charge operation and the rotation of the rollers 45 and 46 by the motor 5, and is discharged from the slot 12. The film 4 for instant photography is provided with a developer pool 41. When passing through the rollers 45, 46, the developer in the developer pool 41 is spread and spread on the emulsion surface of the film 4. An image appears on the film 4 discharged from the slot 12. In addition, the next film 4 in the film pack 40
Is urged by a spring (not shown) in the film pack 40 to be positioned at a fixed position behind the light shielding curtain 32.

Since the lens 3 forms an erecting equal-magnification image, the distance between one end of the lens 3 and the film 4 is equal to the distance between the other end of the lens 3 and the liquid crystal display 6 ( In reality, the latter is made a little shorter because of the existence of the protective lens 11 having the required refractive index). By the way, depending on the type of the microlens 30 used, when the rod lens is used as the microlens 30, the depth of the lens 3 can be set to about 10 mm and both distances can be set to about 5 mm, respectively. The distance from 6 to the film 4 can be about 20 mm. Further, since the image projected on the film 4 is reversed in left and right as compared with the image projected by the normal lens, the type suitable for the instant photographic film 4 is used.

Since the lens array 31 is moved and scanned, the image displayed on the liquid crystal display 6 is preferably a still image. The video signal sent to the video section 2 through the video input terminal 63 may be a moving picture if a still picture can be displayed on the second side. Liquid crystal display 6 that operates on battery power because of its portability
Although the one in which the image surface is formed is shown, it is needless to say that it may be a CRT or a color plasma display. However, the minute lens 3 in the lens array 31
A flat display is desirable in view of the shallow depth of 0.

In the scanning, the lens 3 is moved and scanned. However, the film 4 and the image may be moved by moving the lens 3, and the image may be moved in this case. Although the liquid crystal display 6 which is the image plane may be moved, one image of an image may be sequentially displayed at the position where the lens 3 faces the liquid crystal display 6 in synchronization with the traveling speed of the film 4. Further, the traveling of the film 4 may be performed by using the rollers 45 and 46 for the development.

In order to allow the winding of the light-shielding curtain 32 for shutter charging to be performed at an arbitrary time point and to prevent the film 4 from being exposed at this time, a space between the lens 3 and the film 4 or a lens 3 and the protective glass 11 open a second light-shielding curtain, that is, the lens 3 and the light-shielding curtain 32 immediately before the start of traveling for projecting on the film 4, to allow the lens 3 and the light-shielding curtain 32 to travel for shutter charging. It does not prevent the disposition of the second light-shielding curtain which is closed to prevent the light from reaching the film 4 in advance.

[0029]

As described above, according to the present invention, since an image is recorded on an instant photographic film with a lens, it can be made simple without requiring complicated control, and the image plane Since the lens disposed between the image plane and the film facing the image plane is formed as a lens array in which minute lenses for forming an erect image are arranged on the film, the distance between the image plane and the lens and the lens Since the distance between the films can be made small, the film can be made small, especially thin, and therefore highly portable.

If each microlens in the lens array is a rod lens having a parabolic refractive index distribution, it is easy to obtain a lens array in which microlenses are arranged. If a scanning type lens array that runs in the direction along one side of the image surface is used, the cost can be reduced compared to an array of minute lenses over the entire surface. In this case, the image surface is a still image. Is displayed, it is possible to obtain a clear image regardless of the scanning type, and the exposure amount to the film is adjusted by the scanning speed of the lens array and the brightness of the image plane. It is easy to give a proper exposure amount to the film.

If the image plane is a liquid crystal display,
It is possible to improve portability including the image part. Furthermore, if the image part with the image plane is detachable from the image part with the lens and the film built-in, the portability can be improved and the image part can be rotated with respect to the image part. If it is movably connected, it is easy to use because the image displayed on the image section can be easily confirmed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an example of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the above.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the above.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the same.

FIG. 5 is a transverse sectional view of the above.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a drum for driving the above-mentioned light-shielding curtain.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the same operation as above.

FIG. 8 is a cutaway enlarged perspective view of the above lens array.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a minute lens of the above.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a minute lens of the above.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a normal optical fiber.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of a sublimation thermal transfer printer.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a normal instant photography camera.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the above.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of the above.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Imaging part 2 Image part 3 Lens 4 Film 6 Liquid crystal display 31 Lens array

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A video printer comprising an instant photographic film and a lens for forming an image on an image surface on which an image is displayed on the surface on which the film is arranged, the image printer including the image surface and the image surface. A video printer, wherein the lens arranged between the film and the facing film is formed as a lens array in which minute lenses for forming an erect image are arranged on the film. 2. Each microlens in the lens array comprises:
The video printer according to claim 1, wherein the video printer is a rod lens having a parabolic refractive index distribution. 3. The video printer according to claim 1, wherein the lens array is a scanning type which runs in a direction along one side of the image plane. 4. The video printer according to claim 3, wherein the image plane displays a still image. 5. The video printer according to claim 3, wherein the exposure amount on the film is adjusted by the scanning speed of the lens array and the brightness of the image plane. 6. The video printer according to claim 1, wherein the image plane is a liquid crystal display. 7. The video printer according to claim 1, wherein a video unit having a video surface is detachable from an imaging unit having a lens and a film built therein. 8. The video printer according to claim 1, wherein a video unit having a video surface is rotatably connected to an imaging unit having a lens and a film built therein.