JPH10333253A - Image recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform print forming work by an operator even before the rise of a developing device and to automatically start forming a print in accordance with the rise of the developing device by detecting the rise of a developing processing means at the time of starting and starting recording image data stored in a memory by a recorder in accordance with the detection of the rise. SOLUTION: The image exposed on film is read by a scanner 18 and transmitted to a printer 22 after it is image-processed in a specified manner by an image processing device 20. A detection means 122 detecting the rise is arranged in a processor 24. Thus, even in a state where the processor 24 does not rise, the image exposed on the film is read by the scanner 18, many image data are stored, so that forming the print is started by the printer 22 simultaneously with the completion of the rise of the processor 24. Therefore, forming the print is performed extremely efficiently without wasting time.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention belongs to the technical field of an image recording apparatus in which an image is recorded on a photosensitive material by digital exposure and subjected to predetermined processing such as development and drying to print.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, an image photographed on a photographic film (hereinafter, referred to as a film) such as a negative film or a reversal film is printed on a photosensitive material such as photographic paper by projecting light of the film onto the photosensitive material. The exposure is performed by so-called direct (analog) exposure in which the photosensitive material is surface-exposed with the projection light.

On the other hand, in recent years, a printing apparatus using digital exposure, that is, an image recorded on a film is photoelectrically read, and the read image is converted into a digital signal, and then subjected to various image processing. Image (latent image) is recorded by scanning and exposing a photosensitive material with recording light modulated in accordance with the image data, and subjected to predetermined processing such as development processing and output as a print (photograph). Digital photo printers have been put to practical use. According to this digital photo printer, it is possible to perform various image processing, such as sharpness (sharpening) processing and partial image correction, which cannot be performed by a normal direct exposure printer, on an image reproduced for printing. It is possible to stably output a print in which a higher-quality image is reproduced, and it is also possible to easily combine a plurality of images, combine characters, and the like. Further, an image (image data) to be reproduced for printing can be supplied as an image file to a computer or various image devices, or the image can be reproduced by receiving an image file therefrom.

[0004] Regardless of digital exposure or analog exposure, ordinary photo printers use a silver halide photographic material as a photosensitive material for printing. As is well known, a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material is subjected to a wet developing process such as a color developing solution, a bleach-fixing solution, and washing with water, so that a latent image recorded by exposure is visualized and then dried. It is printed. Such wet processing is performed by sequentially immersing the photosensitive material in a processing tank filled with the processing liquid. The color density of an image formed by development is affected by the temperature of each processing liquid. Therefore, in the developing device of the photo printer, in order to stably produce an appropriate print, the temperature of each processing solution is set within a predetermined range (normally 38
℃). Therefore, when the photo printer is started, the printing operation cannot be performed until each processing tank reaches a predetermined temperature and the developing device starts up.

[0005] However, the treatment liquid is usually an aqueous solution, and the immersion (treatment) time required for proper color development is secured.
In addition, considering that a large amount of processing is continuously performed, each processing tank becomes relatively large, so that it takes time to start up the developing device, resulting in a loss of time and work efficiency. In addition, by arranging a reservoir or stocker for temporarily storing the exposed photosensitive material, it becomes possible to perform work such as printing while the developing device is standing by, but if these devices are arranged, the size of the device increases. In addition, the transportation and control of the photosensitive material become complicated, and if the exposed photosensitive material is kept undeveloped for a long period of time, there is a problem of deterioration in image quality due to regression of the latent image, which is not preferable.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and is a digital image recording apparatus suitably used for the above-mentioned digital photo printer. Even if the developing device is not provided, the operator can perform a print preparation operation before the startup of the developing device, and can automatically start the print production in response to the startup of the developing device. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image recording apparatus with extremely high operation efficiency, which can receive an image file when the apparatus is not operating such as a holiday or a holiday.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a memory for storing image data of a plurality of frames, and a method for scanning and exposing a photosensitive material with recording light modulated according to the image data. Recording means for recording an image, a developing means for performing a predetermined developing process on the photosensitive material on which an image is recorded by the recording means, a detecting means for detecting a rise of the developing processing means at the time of starting, and a detecting means An image recording apparatus comprising: a start control unit configured to start image recording of image data stored in the memory by the recording device in response to detection of a rise of a development processing unit.

Preferably, the memory is at least one selected from a built-in memory, a memory of an image data supply source for supplying image data to the recording means, and an external memory connected to the recording means.

Further, it is preferable that the memory is connected to external communication means.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an image recording apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail based on preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a conceptual diagram of an example of a digital photo printer using the image recording apparatus of the present invention. The illustrated digital photo printer 10 (hereinafter referred to as the photo printer 10) includes an input device 12 and an output device (printing and developing machine = printer processor) 14 which is an image recording apparatus of the present invention.
And an image server 16. The input device 12 is composed of a scanner 18 and an image processing device 20, and the output device 14 is composed of a printer 22 and a processor 24 as a developing means. In such a photo printer 10, an image photographed on the film F by the scanner 18 is read, subjected to predetermined image processing by the image processing device 20, and sent to the printer 22 as (digital) image data for recording. Upon receiving the image data, the printer 22 scans and exposes the photosensitive material A with the recording light modulated in accordance with the image data to record a latent image, performs development and drying processing with the processor 24, and performs (finished) printing. I do.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of the input device 12.
The scanner 18 photoelectrically reads an image photographed on the film F, and includes a light source 26 and a variable aperture 28.
And R (red) and G (green) the images captured on film F
A color filter plate 30 having three color filters of R, G and B for separating into three primary colors of B and B (blue), and capable of rotating to apply an arbitrary color filter to the optical path of the reading light; Box 32 for making the reading light incident on the film F uniform in the surface direction of the film F, an imaging lens unit 34, and one image (one frame) photographed on the film F.
A CCD sensor 36 as an area sensor for reading and an amplifier (amplifier) 38 are provided.

In the scanner 18, the reading light emitted from the light source 26, the light amount is adjusted by the variable diaphragm 28, the color is adjusted by passing through the color filter plate 30, and the reading light diffused by the diffusion box 32 is incident on the film F. , The projection light carrying the image captured on the film F is obtained.

The projection light of the film F is imaged on a light receiving surface of a CCD sensor 36 by an imaging lens unit 34,
It is read photoelectrically by the CCD sensor 36. The imaging lens unit 34 is, for example, a combination of a known zoom lens and a focus adjustment lens, and performs magnification and focus adjustment according to the size and form of the film F (such as film or slide). Also, the CCD sensor 36 is
For example, with an area CCD sensor of 1380 × 920 pixels, the CCD sensor 36 is configured to be two-dimensionally movable in the pixel array direction by an amount corresponding to a half pixel, whereby the apparent number of read pixels is 4 pixels. Can be increased up to twice. An output signal from the CCD sensor 36 is supplied to an amplifier 38.
And is sent to the image processing apparatus 20.

The scanner 18 performs such image reading three times by sequentially inserting the R, G, and B color filters of the color filter plate 30 so that the image photographed on the film F can be read by R, G, and The image is read after being separated into three primary colors B. Note that, in the scanner 18, preferably, prior to this image reading, an image photographed on the film F is roughened in order to determine image reading conditions such as the aperture value of the variable aperture 28 and the accumulation time of the CCD sensor 36. The read ahead is performed. Alternatively, pre-scanning may be performed before image reading to determine image reading conditions and image processing conditions in the image processing device 20.

As described above, the image processing apparatus 20 is a part that performs predetermined image processing on image information read by the scanner 18 and outputs the image information to the printer 22 of the output device 14 as image data for recording. Also, the image processing device 20
Performs the above-described determination of the image reading conditions, and controls and manages the entire photo printer 10, and is usually constituted by a workstation, a computer, or the like. Further, the image processing apparatus 20 can store a floppy disk or a CD-
A drive or the like for recording and reading data (various data including image data) on a storage medium such as a ROM may be provided.

The image processing device 20 has an A / D (analog / analog)
Digital) converter 40 and LUT for log-converting the signal
(Lookup table) 42 and data correction unit 44
, An image memory 46, an image processing unit 48, and an image buffer 50. The image processing apparatus 20 includes a keyboard 52 and a mouse 54 for inputting various conditions and processing instructions (settings), various instructions such as frames to be printed, the number of prints, and color / density correction, and a scanner. 1
A display 5 for displaying a setting / registration screen of various conditions and specifications such as images read in 8 and various operation instructions;
6 is connected.

The scanner 18 sent to the image processing device 20
The output signal from the (amplifier 38) is sent to an A / D converter 40, where it is converted into a digital signal, log-converted by an LUT 42, and a data correction unit 44 performs predetermined processing such as DC offset correction, dark time correction, shading correction and the like. The image data is processed and sent to the image memory 46. The image memory 46 includes the scanner 1
8 is a frame memory for storing one frame of image data read by the scanner 8. The R, G and B image data of the film F read by the scanner 18 are sequentially sent to and stored in the image memory 46. . When performing pre-scanning, a memory for pre-scanned image data may be separately provided.

The image processing section 48 is constructed by combining a CPU, a memory, various image processing circuits and the like. When image data is stored in the image memory 46, the image data is first thinned out and read out. The image processing conditions are determined from the thinned image data, and then the image data is read out from the image memory 46, and the color / density correction and the dynamic range of the intermediate gradation are stored according to the determined image processing conditions. The printer 22 performs predetermined image processing such as compression / expansion (providing a dodging effect by image processing), electronic scaling (image enlargement / reduction), and sharpening (sharpness) to obtain image data for recording. Alternatively, the image data is output to the image buffer 50.

The image buffer 50 functions as a memory of the image recording apparatus of the present invention, and is a memory capable of storing a large number of frames of image data. Store the data. As such an image buffer 50, a hard disk (H
Any known memory such as D) and RAM (random access memory) can be used as long as it has a necessary storage capacity.

The output unit 14, which receives the image data from the input unit 12 and records the image in accordance with the image data to create a print, comprises the printer 22 and the processor 24 as described above. .

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the printer 22. The printer 22 cuts the photosensitive material A into a predetermined length corresponding to the print to be made into a cut sheet, and then performs back print recording and latent image recording by digital exposure,
This is a device for supplying the exposed photosensitive material A to the processor 24 (developing unit 108). Such a printer 22 basically includes a photosensitive material supply unit 52 (hereinafter, referred to as a supply unit 52).
A printing device 54 for recording a back print, an exposure unit 56 for exposing (printing) the photosensitive material A at the exposure position X to record a latent image, and a distribution unit 58.

Although not shown in order to simplify the drawing and clarify the device configuration, the recording device 10
A transport unit that transports the photosensitive material A from the supply unit 52 to the exposure unit 56 (scanning transport unit 76) and supplies the photosensitive material A that has been exposed to the developing unit 108 of the processor 24 is provided.
Further, a conveyance guide for the photosensitive material A, various sensors, and the like are arranged as necessary. The conveying means of the photosensitive material A is not particularly limited, and any known conveying method of the sheet material such as a conveying roller pair, a conveying roller, a belt conveyor, a nip belt, lift conveyance using suction, or the like can be used. .

In the recording apparatus 10, the supply section 52 includes loading sections 60 and 62, and pull-out roller pairs 64 and 6.
6 and cutters 68 and 70. The loading sections 60 and 62 are sections for loading a magazine 72 in which a long photosensitive material A wound in a roll shape with the recording surface (emulsion surface) outside is housed in a light-shielding housing. A magazine 72 for storing photosensitive materials A of different types such as size (width), surface type (silk or mat), specifications (thickness, type of base, etc.) is usually loaded in both loading portions. Although the recording apparatus 10 in the illustrated example is an apparatus capable of loading two magazines, the present invention is not limited to this, and the number of magazines that can be loaded may be one, or three. The above magazines may be loadable.

The supply section 52 draws out the corresponding photosensitive material A from the magazine 72 by the pair of draw-out rollers 64 and 66, and transports the photosensitive material A to the printing device 54 downstream (hereinafter referred to as downstream) in the transport direction of the photosensitive material A. Pull-out roller pair 64
And 66 stop when the photosensitive material A conveyed downstream from the cutters 68 and 70 has a length corresponding to the print to be made, and then the cutters 68 and 70 are activated, and the photosensitive material A Is cut into a cut sheet of a predetermined length. In the illustrated example, cutters 68 and 70 are arranged corresponding to the loading units 60 and 62, respectively, but the photosensitive material A supplied from the loading units 60 and 62 is cut by one cutter. There may be.

The photosensitive material A cut by the cutters 68 and 70 is sequentially conveyed to the printing device 54. The printing device 54 includes, on the back surface (non-emulsion surface) of the photosensitive material A, the photographing date, print printing date, frame number, film ID number (sign), camera ID number used for photographing, and photo printer ID number. A non-contact type recording method such as an ink jet printer can be suitably used in a portion for recording various information such as a back print (back print), for example, a dot impact printer, a thermal transfer printer, an ink jet printer, and the like. In particular, an ink jet printer using a water-insoluble, heat-meltable ink that is solid at room temperature is preferably exemplified. In the illustrated example, the photosensitive material A is guided by a guide 54 a also serving as a platen and is transported, while a back print is recorded by the printing device 54 and then transported to the exposure unit 56.

It is preferable that the printing device 54 be configured to be able to print two or more lines in accordance with a new standard of a new photo system (Advanced Photo System). In the illustrated apparatus, the back print is recorded prior to the exposure. However, in the present invention, in addition, the printing apparatus 54 is disposed downstream of the exposure position X, and the back print is performed after the exposure. A configuration for recording may be used.

The exposing section 56 exposes the photosensitive material A by so-called digital raster scanning exposure using recording light (light beam L) modulated according to digital image data while scanning and transporting the photosensitive material A. This is where the latent image is recorded. The exposing unit 56 includes an exposing unit 74 which is a light beam scanning device, and a scanning and conveying unit 76. The scanning and conveying unit 76 holds the photosensitive material A at the exposure position X while maintaining the photosensitive material A in the sub-scanning direction (see FIG. While being conveyed in the middle arrow b direction, the light beam L modulated according to the image to be recorded is deflected in the main scanning direction (the direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. When the light is incident on the position X, the photosensitive material A is two-dimensionally scanned and exposed by the light beam L to record a latent image.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of the exposure unit 74. The exposure unit 74 scans and exposes the photosensitive material A using light beams of three primary colors.
A recording control unit 78, a laser light source 80 (80R, 80G, 80B), a collimator lens 82R along the traveling direction of the light beam L emitted from the laser light source 80, The optical lens 84 (84R, 84G,
84B) and AOM86 (86R, 86G, 86B)
, A reflection mirror 88 (88R, 88G, 88B), and a cylindrical lens 90 (90R, 90G, 90B).
, A polygon mirror 92, an fθ lens 94, a cylindrical mirror 96, and reflection mirrors 98 and 100.

The three-light-source non-multiplexing optical system shown in the drawing emits light beams having predetermined wavelengths corresponding to red (R) exposure, green (G) exposure, and blue (B) exposure of the photosensitive material A, respectively. 3
Using two laser light sources, the light beams L emitted from the respective laser light sources are incident on one point of the reflection surface 92a of the polygon mirror 92 at slightly different angles (for example, about 4 °), and are deflected in the main scanning direction to be exposed. The optical system forms an image on the same main scanning line on the material A at a different angle, and scans the same main scanning line at a time interval. In addition, in the present invention, a multiplexing optical system that converts the modulated light beam into one light beam using a dichroic mirror or the like can also be used. For example, the laser light source 80R is a semiconductor laser (LD) that emits a light beam Lr having a wavelength of 662 nm for R exposure, and the laser light source 80G has a wavelength of 5 for G exposure.
The laser light source 80B is a wavelength conversion laser using an SHG element that emits a light beam having a wavelength of 473 nm for B exposure, and a laser light source 80B is a wavelength conversion laser using an SHG element that emits a light beam Lg of 32 nm.

The collimator lens 82R includes the laser light source 8
Each of the light beams Lr emitted from 0R is shaped into parallel light, and the condensing lens 84 condenses the corresponding light beam L on the AOM 86. The AOM (acoustic optical modulator) 86 modulates each light beam L according to image data (that is, a recorded image). The modulation method is not particularly limited, and may be intensity modulation or pulse (width or number) modulation. In addition to the AOM, various modulators such as an EOM (Electrical Engineering Modulator) may be used. Is available. Further, when the light source of the light beam is capable of recording by direct modulation, the light source may be modulated.

The AOM 86 is driven by the recording control unit 78. Further, the recording control unit 78 is provided with a memory 102 for storing image data. Memory 10
Reference numeral 2 also functions as a memory of the image recording apparatus of the present invention, and stores image data of a plurality of frames, for example, image data of the most commonly used L size (89 mm × 127 mm) print for 40 frames. It is a frame memory that can be used. The memory includes a hard disk and a RAM.
Various known writable storage media can be used as long as they have a necessary storage capacity such as (random access memory).

At the time of normal print creation, image data from the image processing section 48 of the image processing apparatus 20 is sent to the recording control section 78. In addition, the recording control unit 78 is connected to a rising detection unit 122 which will be described later. When the photo printer 10 is started, the recording control unit 78 responds to a detection signal from the rising detection unit 122 as necessary. , The image recording by the printer 22 is started. The recording control unit 78 sequentially stores the supplied image data in the memory 102, and when the photosensitive material A is transported to a predetermined position, reads out the corresponding image data from the memory 102 at the same time and performs calibration. The AOM 86 is driven in accordance with the obtained image data by performing a predetermined process such as a process using a correction table based on the light beam L.
Is modulated.

The light beam L modulated by the AOM 86 then enters the reflection mirror 88. The reflecting mirror 88 is for turning the optical path of each light beam L back and making each of them be incident on the same position or the same point on the same line of the reflecting surface 66a of the polygon mirror 92 which is an optical deflector. is there. The cylindrical lens 90, the fθ lens 94, and the cylindrical mirror 96 constitute a surface tilt correction optical system, and correct the surface tilt of the polygon mirror 92. The fθ lens 94 is provided for correctly forming an image of each light beam L at any position on the main scanning line. The cylindrical mirror 96 constitutes a surface tilt correction optical system and also bends each light beam L to form a reflection mirror 9.
8, the reflecting mirror 98 bends each light beam again and enters the reflecting mirror 74. The light beam L reflected by the reflecting mirror 74 is on the photosensitive material A that is sub-scanned and conveyed by the scanning and conveying means 76. The light enters the exposure position X (scanning line).

As the exposure unit 74, in addition to such a light beam scanning device, a PDP (plasma display) array, an ELD (electroluminescent display) array, an LED (light emitting diode) array, an LCD (liquid crystal display) Various types of digital raster exposure means using an array, a DMD (digital micromirror device) array, a laser array, and other various light emitting arrays or spatial modulation element arrays extending in a direction orthogonal to the scanning and conveying direction can be used.

On the other hand, the scanning and transporting means 76
A pair of conveying rollers 76 arranged with the (scanning line) interposed therebetween
a and 76b and the photosensitive material A in the exposure position X
And an exposure guide 76c for holding the photosensitive material A at the exposure position X by the exposure guide 76c, and a sub-scanning direction (arrow b in FIG. 3) orthogonal to the main scanning direction by the pair of conveying rollers 76a and 76b. The photosensitive material A is conveyed in the direction (1). As described above, since the light beam L is deflected in the main scanning direction, the photosensitive material A is two-dimensionally scanned and exposed by the light beam L modulated according to an image to be recorded, and a latent image is recorded. Is done. In addition, as the scanning and transporting means, other than the above, scanning and transporting using an exposure drum that transports the photosensitive material Z while holding it at the exposure position X, and two nip rollers that contact the exposure drum with the exposure position X interposed therebetween. Means and the like are also preferably exemplified.

The photosensitive material A that has been exposed is sequentially conveyed to the sorting unit 58. The distribution unit 58 distributes the photosensitive material A in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction (hereinafter, referred to as a lateral direction for convenience) as necessary. Current,
In general silver halide photographic materials used for photography, development processing and exposure require more time for development processing.
When exposure is performed continuously, development processing cannot be performed in time, and it is necessary to temporarily store the exposed photosensitive material in a stocker or the like.
The sorting unit 58 is arranged to solve this inconvenience, and sorts the photosensitive material A conveyed in a single line in a horizontal direction orthogonal to the conveying direction to form a plurality of lines overlapping in the conveying direction. This makes it possible to improve the processing capability of the processor 24, for example, to perform processing of less than twice the single row for two rows and less than three times for the three rows, and the processing time difference between the development processing and the exposure. Is to offset.

It should be noted that the recording apparatus 10 does not sort all of the photosensitive materials A, but does not sort in the case of a large size that cannot be processed in a plurality of rows or in the case of performing one-shot processing. , Single row processor 2
4 is supplied. Also, when performing the sorting, the entire size is not sorted into the same number of rows, but according to the size of the photosensitive material A, for example, the L size is sorted into a different number of rows, such as 3 rows of 3 rows and 6 rows of 2 rows. May be performed. Further, the image recording apparatus of the present invention does not need to include the sorting unit 58 as a low-cost apparatus although the processing capability is reduced.

There is no particular limitation on the sorting device in the sorting unit 58, and various methods for sorting sheet materials into a plurality of rows can be used. For example, a device for sorting using a circular turret that rotates about the center; the conveying means of the photosensitive material A is divided into a plurality of blocks, for example, three blocks in the conveying direction, and the central block is moved in the horizontal direction. A belt conveyor as a transport means in the downstream direction for placing and transporting the photosensitive material A, and a lift transport means for lifting the photosensitive material A using a suction cup or the like and transporting the photosensitive material A in the lateral direction; A device that transports and sorts the photosensitive material A, which is carried into the belt conveyor from an upstream side and is transported to a predetermined position, in a horizontal or diagonal side (downstream side) direction by a lift transport means; The photosensitive material A is placed and transported downstream. A plurality of belt conveyors arranged at intervals from each other, and the photosensitive material A arranged between the belt conveyors is sorted by being conveyed in a lateral direction. And a moon roller (D roller) pair, the photosensitive material A conveyed to the predetermined is carried from the upstream to the belt conveyor position, distributed and transported laterally device by half-moon roller pair; and the like.

In the sorting section 58, the photosensitive material A, which is sorted in a plurality of rows in the horizontal direction as necessary, is further conveyed, and is discharged by the conveying roller pair 104 to the discharge port 1.
06 to the processor 24.

As shown in FIG. 1, the processor 24 includes:
It has a developing unit 108, a drying unit 110, a discharge unit 112, and a sorter 114. The developing unit 108 includes a color developing tank 116, a fixing bleach tank 118, a washing tank 120a,
120b, 120c and 120d, and a photosensitive material A on which a latent image is recorded by the printer 22.
While being transported at a predetermined speed, the is sequentially immersed in each tank, subjected to a wet development process, and the latent image is visualized.

The developing section 108 is provided with rising detecting means 122 (hereinafter referred to as detecting means 122). The detection unit 122 includes a color developing tank 116, a fixing bleach tank 118, and a washing tank 1 when the photo printer 10 is started.
When the temperatures of the tanks 20a, 120b, 120c and 120d are detected and all the tanks reach the predetermined temperature, the rise signal of the processor 24 is sent to the recording control unit 78 of the printer 22 as described above. The rise of the processor 24 may be detected by taking into consideration the temperature of the drying unit 110 and the like. However, when the photo printer 10 is started, the temperature rise of each tank of the developing unit 108 generally takes the longest time. Therefore, the rise of the processor 24 can be detected by detecting the temperature of each tank of the developing unit 108.

The photosensitive material A after the development processing is carried into the drying unit 110 as it is, and is conveyed through the drying unit 110, dried by a known means such as hot air drying, printed, and further discharged. And discharged to the sorter 114. The sorter 114 is a known sorter. For example, by sliding a number of linearly arranged shelves or rotating a number of circularly arranged shelves, the individual shelves are switched and the print outlet of the discharge unit 112 is switched. , Which sorts and stores prints.

In the photo printer 10, the image server 16 is connected to the input device 12 (image processing device 20) and the output device 14 (printer 22). The image server 16 is, for example, an image memory composed of a personal computer and a memory such as a hard disk, and capable of storing a large number of frames of image data.
And transfers the stored image data to the image processing apparatus 20 or the printer 22.
That is, the image server 16 also functions as a memory of the image recording apparatus of the present invention.

Preferably, the image server 16 is, for example, a wide area network (WAN).
) And various networks (communication means) such as a local area network (LAN) such as Ethernet, and an Ethernet card for connecting to a LAN and a WAN for connecting to a WAN via a communication line. A modem, software for connection to a network, and the like are provided as necessary. In the illustrated example, the image server 16 is connected to a WAN via a modem 124 and to a user terminal 128 connected to the same WAN via a modem 126. Image server 16
Receives image data from the user terminal 128 via the WAN, stores the image data, and transfers the stored image data to the image processing apparatus 20 or the printer 22.

Various other storage means having a desired storage capacity, such as a combination of a storage device such as a magneto-optical storage medium and a drive, can be suitably used as the image server.

Hereinafter, the image recording apparatus of the present invention will be described in more detail by describing the operation of the photo printer 10. As described above, at the time of normal printing, the projection light emitted from the light source 26 and transmitted through the film F in the scanner 12 is imaged on the CCD sensor 36 by the imaging lens unit 34 so that the image is captured on the film F. The read image is separated into R, G, and B by the action of the color filter plate 30 and sequentially read.

The images (data) of the film F read by the scanner 12 are sequentially sent to the image processing device 20, converted into digital signals by the A / D converter 40, and LU
Log conversion is performed in T42, predetermined correction is performed in the data correction unit 44, and the result is stored in the image memory 46. When the image data is stored in the image memory 46, the image processing unit 48 reads out the image data by thinning it out to determine the image processing conditions, and then reads out the image data from the image memory 46 and according to the determined image processing conditions. The image is subjected to image processing and sent as image data for recording to the recording control unit 78 of the exposure unit 74 arranged in the printer 22.

On the other hand, in the printer 22, the recording control unit 78
Stores this image data in the memory 102,
The information of the image data (print to be created) is sent to the supply section 52, and the supply section 52 sends the photosensitive material A
Are sequentially supplied. Photosensitive material A supplied from supply section 52
The back print is recorded by the printing device 54,
Next, it is sent to the exposure unit 56 (scanning and conveying means 76).
When the photosensitive material A is transported to a predetermined position, the recording controller 7
8 reads the corresponding image data from the memory 102,
When the leading end of the photosensitive material A is transported to the exposure position X, the AOM 86 is driven in accordance with the image data to modulate the light beam L, and the photosensitive material A scanned and transported by the scanning transport unit 76 is two-dimensionally moved. And record a latent image. The photosensitive material A on which the latent image has been recorded in the exposure unit 56 is then divided into a plurality of columns by the distribution unit 58 as needed, and supplied to the developing unit 108 of the processor 24.

The photosensitive material A supplied to the developing unit 108 is
While being transported, the color developing tank 116, the fixing bleach tank 118,
The developer is sequentially immersed in the washing tank 120 and developed, then dried in the drying unit 110, and is discharged from the discharge unit 112 to the sorter 114.
And is sorted for each case such as one film F.

Here, the photo printer 1 according to the present invention
0 indicates that the image buffer 50 is arranged in the image processing apparatus 20, the memory 102 is arranged in the recording control unit 78 of the printer 22, and the image server 16 is connected. Detecting means 122 is disposed. Since the image recording apparatus of the present invention has these, it is possible to effectively utilize the time for waiting for the processor 24 to start up, etc., and perform extremely efficient print creation without wasting time.

For example, when the photo printer 10 is started at the start of work or the like, even when the processor 24 is not started, the scanner 18 reads an image photographed on the film F and accumulates a large amount of image data. Every time the processor 24 starts up and the printer 22
Can start creating a print. Specifically, when the photo printer 10 is activated and the light source 26 and the like of the scanner 18 are stabilized, the operator starts reading an image on the film F. The image reading is performed in the same manner as the normal image reading described above, and the image data of the film F read by the scanner 18 is sequentially sent to the image processing device 20, and the A / D converter 40 to the image processing unit 48. Is subjected to a predetermined process to obtain image data for recording. The obtained image data for recording is sent to any one of the image buffer 50 of the image processing apparatus 20, the memory 102 of the printer 74, and the image server 16, for example, the image buffer 50 and stored therein. In the present invention, the processor 24
The memory for storing the image data at the time of non-startup may be arbitrarily selected by the operator, or may be automatically selected by the photo printer 10.

While the image data is stored in the image buffer 50 in this manner, the detecting means 122 of the processor 24 measures the temperature of each tank of the developing unit 128. When all the baths of the developing unit 108 reach a predetermined temperature, the detecting unit 1
22 sends a signal to the effect that the rise of the processor 24 has been completed to the recording control unit 78 of the printer 22 (exposure unit 74). The recording control unit 78 that has received the signal indicating the completion of the rise of the processor 24 starts image recording by the printer 22. That is, the recording control unit 78 sequentially reads out the image data stored in the image buffer 50, stores the image data in the memory 102, and sends information of the image data to the supply unit 52. The photosensitive material A is sequentially supplied.

The subsequent operation is the same as that in the normal printing described above. The back-printing of the photosensitive material A is performed, the latent image is recorded in the exposure unit 56, and the photosensitive material A is sorted as necessary. To a developing unit 108, subjected to predetermined processing such as a color developing tank, a fixing bleaching tank, and a washing tank, dried in a drying unit 110, and
It is discharged to 4.

Such accumulation of image data is performed not only when the photo printer 10 is started but also when the processor 2 is closed.
4 may be performed after the power is turned off. For example, just before the work end, only the input device 12 of the photo printer 10 is operated,
The image data is stored in the image buffer 50 of the image processing apparatus 20, the memory 102 of the printer 74, and the image server 16 in the same manner as in the previous image reading. The next day, when the photo printer 10 is activated, the detection unit 122
The recording control unit 78 of the printer 22 reads the image data stored in the memory in response to the detection of the rise of the processor 24, and outputs the information to the supply unit 52 so that the printer 22 automatically starts image recording. I do. In this case, by automatically activating the photo printer 10 using a timer or the like, more efficient print creation can be performed.

Further, the photo printer 10 shown in FIG.
The image server 16 is connected to the user terminal 128 by a WAN. Thus, even when the photo printer 10 is not operating after the lab store is closed at night or the like or on holidays, only the image server 16 is operated, and image data (image files) is received from the user by the WAN. As described above, after the photo printer 10 is activated, the printer 22 can automatically start image recording in response to the detection of the rise of the processor 24 by the detection unit 122, similarly to the above. it can. At this time,
Similarly, by automatically starting the photo printer 10 using a timer or the like, a more efficient print can be created. Since the communication fee is cheap at night, this method makes it possible to produce an economically advantageous print. It is needless to say that image data may be received from the user while the print is being made by the photo printer 10 and stored in the image server 16.

When performing image recording using the image data stored in the image server 16, the image data may be directly transferred to the printer 22. May be sent to the printer 22 after performing necessary image processing.

In the illustrated example of the photo printer 10,
The output device 14, which is an image recording device of the present invention, includes an image buffer 50 of the image processing device 20, a memory 10 of the printer 74, and the like.
2 and three memories of the image server 16, but the present invention is not limited to this, and may have any one or two memories. Also,
In the illustrated example, only the image server 16 is connected to the communication means, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the input device 12 and the output device 14 may be connected to the communication means.
A plurality of parts may be connected to the communication means.

Although the image recording apparatus of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various improvements and changes may be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. Of course. For example, the output unit 14 in the illustrated example performs various processes such as exposure after cutting the photosensitive material A into a print size to form a cut sheet. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Without cutting, the image is formed in a long length, the frame information is formed, exposed, backprint recorded, developed, etc., and finally cut into a predetermined length to make one (finished) print. The present invention can also be suitably used in image recording apparatuses described in each specification such as Japanese Patent Application Nos. 7-294165 and 7-332189.

[0060]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, a print creation operation is performed by an operator even before the developing device starts up, and the print creation is automatically started in response to the startup of the developing device. And an image recording apparatus with extremely high operating efficiency.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an example of a digital photo printer using an image recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram conceptually showing an input device of the digital photo printer shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a printer (printing device) of the digital photo printer shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of an exposure unit of the printer shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 (digital) photo printer 12 input device 14 output device 16 image server 18 scanner 20 image processing device 22 printer 24 processor 48 image processing unit 50 image buffer 52 (photosensitive material) supply unit 54 printing device 56 exposure unit 58 sorting unit 72 magazine 74 Exposure unit 76 Scanning / conveying means 78 Recording control unit 102 Memory 108 Developing unit 110 Drying unit 112 Ejecting unit 114 Sorter 112 (rise) detecting means 124, 126 Modem 128 User terminal F Film A photosensitive material

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A memory for storing image data of a plurality of frames, recording means for scanning and exposing a photosensitive material with a recording light modulated in accordance with the image data to record an image, and an image recorded by the recording means. Developing means for performing a predetermined developing process on the photosensitive material; detecting means for detecting the rise of the developing means at the time of starting; and detecting the rise of the developing means by the detecting means, An image recording apparatus comprising: a start control unit configured to start image recording of image data stored in a memory. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said memory is at least one selected from a built-in memory, a memory of an image data supply source for supplying image data to said recording means, and an external memory connected to said recording means. The image recording apparatus as described in the above. 3. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said memory is connected to external communication means.