JPH11194428A - Photograph printing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize high-efficiency photograph printing by concurrently processing films housed in plural cartridge or a take-up unit. SOLUTION: This device is provided with a rotary table 2 freely rotated with repect to a substrate 1. Then, three cartridge holders 3 and the take-up unit 7 are arranged at positions different 90 deg. by 90 deg. on the table 2. Besides, the positions of the substrate 1 corresponding to two holders 3 out of three and the unit 7 are provided with a cartridge sending part 6, a scanner part 10 and a printing and exposure means. The scanner part 10 and the printing and exposure means are independently arranged so that the processing work of respective stages can be concurrently executed even when either of the film housed in the cartridge or the strip-like film taken out from the cartridge is used.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a new type of negative film, which is stored and handled in a cartridge during photographic printing, is fed out from a cartridge and printed and exposed, and the entire amount is taken out of the cartridge and printed as a strip film. The present invention relates to a photographic printing apparatus capable of performing both printing and exposure.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, after a film taken out of a cartridge is developed, the film is rewound into an original cartridge, a negative film is fed out from the cartridge, photographic printing is performed, and then rewound back into the original cartridge and stored. New style films are available. Compared with the conventional film, this new style film is small and easy to handle, suitable for automating the development and printing processes, and has excellent characteristics in various respects, such as rewinding and storing it in the original cartridge. Having.

When a photographic printing process is performed from such a new type of negative film, the printing process is performed by utilizing the original property that the negative film is configured to be accommodated in a cartridge and handled. After removing the negative film from the cartridge at the time of development as in (3), instead of handling it as a strip, the cartridge containing the negative film is placed on a turntable and sent to the scanner unit or printing exposure unit. However, for example, JP-A-7-36120, JP-A-7-281315, or JP-A-8-220
No. 85 discloses this.

In the photographic printing apparatus according to the first publication, a negative film of a new style is stored in a cartridge, the cartridge is loaded into a cartridge holder on a turntable, and the turntable is rotated. When it comes to the positions of the scanner unit and the printing exposure unit provided on both sides on the orthogonal line, the reading of the image information of the negative film and the printing exposure are performed respectively.

At the position of the scanner unit, a negative film is fed from a cartridge held in a cartridge holder, and image information for each frame is provided by a perforation detector, a magnetic head, a bar code detector, a scanner, and the like provided on the transport path. , A frame number, a frame position, a printing condition, and the like are read, and the film is wound by a film winder on the payout side.

Thereafter, when the negative film is rewound from the film winder to the original cartridge, the turntable is further rotated, and printing exposure conditions for each frame when printing exposure are performed during the rotation are calculated. When it reaches the position of the unit, it stops again, the negative film is fed out, and printing exposure is performed for each frame.

The apparatus according to the second publication is based on the apparatus according to the first publication, and enables the apparatus to perform a photographic printing process not only on a film in a cartridge but also on a conventional strip film. In this device,
In order to be able to mix negative films of different sizes as described above, two cartridge holders are provided on the turntable at opposing positions, and a short conveyance path for the negative film is set up between them. And the printing exposure unit can be connected in a straight line to the transport path.

The end of the scanner unit where the take-up unit is provided is provided with a take-up unit so that a strip film can be inserted during strip film processing. The take-up device is also movable so that the negative film can be discharged.

[0009]

In any of the turntable apparatuses according to the above publications, when printing a photograph using a film in a cartridge, the entire amount is taken out of the cartridge and the film is developed. In principle, the negative film is rewound to an original cartridge (hereinafter, referred to as an original cartridge), and printing processing is performed using the cartridge. Therefore, it is impossible to process the negative film as a strip-shaped negative film without rewinding the negative film to the original cartridge after the development of the film.

[0010] For this reason, if the baking process is to be performed with the developed negative film as a strip film as it is, the strip film must be inserted into a conventional strip film baking device and baking process must be performed. At least the negative mask must be replaced with a new type of negative film, since the printing device for a strip film is of course wider and different in size than the new type of negative film. The operation of replacing the negative mask is extremely troublesome.

On the other hand, when a high-efficiency photographic printing apparatus having four cartridge holders on a turntable and a film developing apparatus are used to develop a new style film and perform photographic printing processing from the negative film, If you want to process a batch of orders in one or half day,
The operations of film development, rewinding to the original cartridge, and printing using the cartridge can be performed collectively for each operation.

However, in the case where the processing is performed sequentially upon receipt of an order, such as processing for one hour, the developed negative film must be rewound to the original cartridge.
Although the negative film is ready for printing, the rewinding operation to the original cartridge must be performed prior to the printing process, so that the processing efficiency is reduced.

Therefore, if the printing process is to be carried out immediately after the film development, the film is loaded on a turntable in the form of a strip film without being rewound to the original cartridge after the film development, and the film is scanned by the negative film.
If the print exposure process can be performed, and these processes are completed, and the used negative film is rewound back to the original cartridge while the print-exposed paper is being developed, it can be rewound to the original cartridge. Although it is possible to eliminate the loss time for work, the conventional turntable type printing apparatus is not designed to be able to process the strip film as described above. Efficiency decreases.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described conventional turntable type photoprinting apparatus, and is not limited to the process of printing from a film in a cartridge which is originally planned in the case of the turntable type. Even when the film containing the film is taken out of the cartridge and handled as a strip-shaped film, the film can be handled in the same manner as the cartridge inserted into the cartridge holder on the turntable, so that any of the printing processes can be selectively performed. It is an object to provide a photo printing apparatus.

[0015]

According to the present invention, there is provided a scanner unit for reading image information of a negative film on a substrate provided with a rotary table having a plurality of cartridge holding units on the periphery. And a printing exposure unit that sets printing conditions based on image information read by the scanner unit and performs printing exposure, and winds a film instead of the holding unit at at least one position of the cartridge holding unit.
A take-up device is provided for feeding out, and the strip film taken out of the cartridge is taken up and taken out of the take-up device, and both the strip film from the take-up device and the film in the cartridge are subjected to scanner processing or printing exposure. Thus, a photographic printing apparatus capable of performing the processing was obtained.

According to the photographic printing apparatus of the present invention having the above structure, printing from a negative film can be performed in the following two ways. The first method is to send the cartridge into one of a plurality of cartridge holders while setting the negative film in the cartridge, set the negative film out of the cartridge, read image information in the scanner section, and print in the printing exposure section. This is a basic printing method using a turntable type photo printing apparatus that performs exposure processing.

The second method is a method of taking out a negative film from a cartridge, treating it as a strip-like film, winding it into a winder on a turntable, and printing it. After the strip-shaped film is wound into the take-up device, the basic operation of rotating and moving the film to the scanner unit or the printing exposure unit with the turntable is the same as in the first method.

In the second method, since the negative film is wound into a winder as a strip film, the photographic film is developed and then directly wound into the winder without rewinding the negative film into the cartridge. Thus, the negative film may be returned to the cartridge after the printing exposure of the photograph is completed.

Therefore, when performing a photoprinting process from a film in a cartridge using a turntable type photoprinting apparatus, when the staffing is insufficient, the negative film is not returned to the original cartridge but directly in the form of a strip film. The printing process can be flexibly performed by two types of processing methods in response to a change in the processing operation status.

[0020]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view of the photographic printing apparatus according to the embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II.

As shown in FIG. 1, the photographic printing apparatus has a rotatable table 2 at the center of a substrate 1 for mounting various components. On the periphery of the turntable 2, three cartridge holders 3 and one film winder 7 are provided on a center line orthogonal to the turntable 2.
The cartridge holder 3 is driven by the drive unit 4 and the take-up device 7.
Is driven by the drive unit 8, the details of which will be described later. Reference numeral 5 denotes a driving unit of the rotary table 2. The motor power of the driving unit 5 is transmitted to the pulley by the belt 5a,
The rotation shaft 9x of the pulley is supported by the support plate 9, and the rotation force from the motor is transmitted to the turntable 2.

Numeral 6 denotes a cartridge feeding section provided on the substrate 1, and accommodates one of the cartridge holders 3 on the rotary table 2 or a film when the winder 7 is stopped at an opposing position. The cartridge is fed into the cartridge holder 3 or the processed cartridge is discharged, and the film of the winder 7 is wound or fed out and discharged.

On the center line passing through the center of the rotary table 2 and the position of the winder 7 where the phase of the cartridge holder 3 corresponding to the cartridge feeding section 6 is advanced by 90 ° in the direction of the arrow in FIG. The scanner unit 10 is provided at a position outside the area 2.

The scanner unit 10 comprises a scanner unit 10 'and a film feeding unit 10 "provided on the substrate 1 as shown in FIG. Filter light 1
2, the film F is irradiated to the film F through the shutter 13, the mirror tunnel 14, and the scanner opening 15 provided in the substrate 1, and the image light is received by the scanner 18 through the reflection mirror 16 and the lens 17. .

The film feeding unit 10 ″ is provided with a winding device 7.
The film F wound inside is fed by a feed roller 19 composed of a number of roller pairs provided on the substrate 1, and the film F is temporarily wound on a winder 20, and a scanner unit 10 for each frame image of the film F is provided. When the reading by the 'is completed, it is provided so as to be rewound to the winder 7 again. 2
1 is a bar code detector, 22 is a magnetic head, and 23 is a perforation detector.

A printing exposure unit 30 is provided at a position outside the rotary table 2 opposite to the scanner unit 10. The printing exposure unit 30 includes a printing exposure unit 30 'and a film feeding unit 30 ".
Is a mechanism similar to the conventional one, and irradiates the light from the light source 31 to the filter F through the heat ray absorption filter 32, the light control filter 33, the mirror tunnel 34, and the printing opening 35 provided in the substrate 1, Light is printed and exposed for each frame of the photosensitive material PC held by the paper mask 37 through the lens 36.

The film feeding unit 30 "is basically the same as the film feeding unit 10" of the scanner unit 10, and includes a feed roller 39 and a winder 40. 41 is a perforation detector and 42 is a magnetic head. The above-described scanner unit 10 and printing exposure unit 30 are provided independently of each other and driven independently.

The distance between the center of the scanner unit 10 and the printing / exposure means 30 is not limited to a dedicated machine for printing a film housed in a cartridge as in this embodiment, but the film is moved in the longitudinal direction as in the prior art. If the distance between the scanner unit of the photographic printing apparatus of the type to be sent by the transporting apparatus and the installation distance of the printing exposure means is made to match, the substrate 1 including the rotary table 2 is removed and the printing of the conventional type or vice versa. It can also be used as a device.

FIGS. 3 to 5 show details of the winder 7 which is a characteristic part of the photographic printing apparatus of this embodiment. The winder 7
Is basically the same as the winders 20 and 40 described above in the basic configuration. As shown, the winder 7 is a turntable 2
A film take-up roll 73 is provided in a case 72 which is mounted on a substrate 71 which is removably mounted at a predetermined upper position with bolts 72a.

The outer circumference of the take-up roll 73 is provided at predetermined intervals at two positions.
A plurality of friction rings 73a are wound around the film F, and winding and feeding of the film F are ensured by the rings. A film guide plate 74, a film holding roller 75, and a film feed roller 76 are provided around the take-up roll 73.
Are provided. The guide plate 74 is formed as a semicircular guide plate, is mounted in the case 72,
The inner diameter is set so that even when the maximum amount of the film F is wound on the winding roll 73, a little gap remains.

In the example shown in the figure, the film holding rollers 75 are provided at two places in the case.
The film F is attached to the end of a so that the film F can be elastically pressed by a spring 77. The film pressing roller 75 includes a pair of rollers attached at a predetermined interval, and the predetermined interval substantially matches that of the friction ring 73a on the outer periphery of the winding roll 73. Therefore, the roller arm 75a also has a pair. Are provided and connected by a connecting plate 75b.

The feed roll 76 is provided on the film F of the substrate 71.
This is provided immediately adjacent to the opening 71x provided on the side for receiving the film F, so that winding and feeding of the film F can be reliably and easily performed.

It should be noted, P _H is the detection sensor of the film end, the winding of the film immediately after the film leader when winding the film F has passed through the sensor so that it is not wound completely inside the case 2 I try to stop it. or,
Reference numeral 72x denotes an opening for observing the state of film winding.

On the outer side of the case 72, a motor 7 is provided via a pulley and a belt on the extension of the rotation shaft 73x of the winding roll 73.
8 are connected. The power of the motor 78 is branched and transmitted to the rotation shaft 76x of the feed roll 76 via a pulley and a belt, so that the feed roll 76 is driven synchronously with the take-up roll 73. Has become. Reference numeral 79 denotes a base plate attached to the substrate 71, on which a motor 78 and a bracket for a bearing for supporting the rotating shaft 73x are mounted.

Next, FIGS. 6 to 9 show the details of the cartridge holder 3, the drive unit 4, and the cartridge feeding unit 6. FIG. The cartridge holder 3 has a holding arm 302 made of a horizontal spring plate attached to an end wall 301, and a holding 30
3 is provided. 304 is a bar code detector.

The drive unit 4 is provided so as to be able to freely contact and separate from the cartridge holder 3.
For example, the guide 402 is moved forward and backward by the air cylinder 401 to be moved. The rotational driving force of the motor 403 is transmitted to the rotating shaft 405 via the belt 404, and the driving force of the solenoid 406 is transmitted to the rotating shaft 408 via the link bar 407. The tips of the rotating shafts 405 and 408
When the drive unit 4 is joined to the cartridge holder 3, the drive unit 4 projects inside the holder and fits into an engagement hole of the cartridge X stored in the holder in advance.

A slide table 601 in the form of a pillow for receiving the cartridge X is movably provided in the cartridge feeding section 6 in a groove 602 provided in the radial direction of the rotary table 2. As shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG.
A rack 605 that engages with a pinion 604 that is driven to rotate by a motor 603 is provided below the one apron table 601a, so that the cartridge X can be sent into the cartridge holder 3 from the sending position.

Although the cartridge X is shown in the form of a cochlea, it is not limited to this, and various types can be employed. Cartridge X shown
Has a core b for winding the film F and a shaft b for opening and closing the light-shielding door c. Engagement holes a 'and b' are provided at the ends of the core a and the shaft b. A bar code d is printed on the outside of the cartridge X in advance. S is a stocker of the cartridge.

The printing process performed by the photographic printing apparatus of the embodiment having the above-described configuration is as follows. The printing process according to this embodiment is performed when the film F containing the cartridge is inserted into the cartridge X and inserted into the cartridge holder 3, or when the film F is drawn out of the cartridge X as a stripped film before being wound into the winder 7. Can be implemented. Hereinafter, the former case, which is a basic processing method of the photo printing apparatus, will be described first.

When any one of the cartridge holders 3 stops at the position (A) of the cartridge feeding section 6, the driving section 4 is disengaged from the cartridge holder 3, and the cartridge X is inserted into the cartridge holder 3 while being pressed by the presser 303. The stored slide table 601 is sent out toward the cartridge feeding section by driving the motor 603. The cartridge X comes off the retainer 303 by this sending force.

If there is a cartridge X for which printing has already been completed, the cartridge X is removed and the next cartridge X is set on the slide table 601. In addition,
Although not shown, a cylinder having a push rod used when a stocker for a cartridge described later is provided may be provided to automatically discharge the cartridge.

After setting the next cartridge X on the slide table 601 and waiting until all the processing at other positions is completed, the slide table 601 is sent to the cartridge holder 3 and the cartridge X is stored in the holder. . Next, the drive unit 4 is joined to the cartridge holder 3. In this state, the turntable 2 is rotated by 90 °, and the cartridge X is transferred to the position (B) of the scanner unit 10. In the meantime, the cartridge number represented by the barcode d of the cartridge X is read by the barcode detector 304.

At the position of the scanner unit 10, image density and magnetic data of the film F stored in the cartridge X are detected. For this reason, first, the film F is sent out from the cartridge X. Since the tip of the rotating shaft 408 of the drive unit 4 is engaged with the engaging hole b 'of the shaft b for opening and closing the light shielding door c of the cartridge X, when the solenoid 406 is driven to rotate the rotation shaft 408, the light shielding door is opened. c is opened.

Next, the motor 403 is driven, and its power is transmitted to the winding core a via the belt 404 and the rotating shaft 405 to feed out the film F. The fed film F is fed by a feed roller 19 and is temporarily wound by a winder 20.
In the meantime, the image position is detected by the perforation detector 23, the magnetic data of the film is detected by the magnetic head 22, and the latent image barcode is detected by the barcode detector 21.

The feeding of each frame image detected by the perforation detector 23 is temporarily stopped at the position of the scanner opening 15, and the image density is measured. The measurement of the image density by the scanner unit is a general one, and the description is omitted.

When the reading of the density of each frame image is completed,
The feed roller 19, the drive motor 403, and the winder 20 rotate in the reverse direction, and the film is rewound into the cartridge X. Thereafter, the turntable 2 is rotated by 90 °, and the cartridge X is transferred to the calculation / communication position (C).

At the operation / communication position, the printing condition for each image based on the measured image density data, magnetic data and bar code data is calculated and determined. This calculation may be performed after stopping at the calculation / communication position (C), or may be performed while passing through this position. Rotary table 2 is 90 °
The cartridge X is rotated to transfer the cartridge X to the magnetic data input position (D), and the printing condition is set to the printing exposure unit 30.
Send to

At the printing / magnetic data input position (D), the leading end of the film is discharged from the cartridge X by driving the rotating shaft a in the same manner as in the processing in the scanner section 10. The discharged film is conveyed into a film guide by a feed roller 39 and is subjected to a perforation detector 41.
, The image position is detected, and the magnetic head 42 inputs printing condition data.

The image detected by the perforation detector 41 is positioned in the printing opening 35 and printed on the photosensitive material PC, and the cartridge number (bar code) displayed on the surface of the cartridge is indicated by a bar on the cover plate 302. The number detected by the code detector 304 is printed on the back surface of the photosensitive material PC. The above process is repeated for each frame image on the film. The film discharged at this time is temporarily wound up by the winder 40.

When the processing for each frame image is completed, the feed roller 39, the motor 403, and the winder 40 are reversed, the film F is rewound into the cartridge X, and the light shielding door c is closed.

The rotary table 2 is rotated by 90 °, and the cartridge X is transferred to the cartridge insertion / ejection position (A).

The above processes can be performed in parallel by rotating the rotary table 2 with respect to the three cartridges X stored in the three cartridge holders 3 on the rotary table 2. In this case, since the scanner unit 10 and the printing exposure unit 30 are provided independently and driven independently, while the printing process of the film F stored in the preceding cartridge X is performed, the subsequent cartridge X Parallel processing can be performed, such as calculation and communication for the film F in the cartridge, and detection of image density and magnetic data for the film F in the cartridge X thereafter.

The detection of the image density and the magnetic data in the scanner unit 10 is, for example, only the image density.
The magnetic data may be read by providing a magnetic head 22 on the substrate 1 corresponding to the operation / communication position (C). In the above-described embodiment, the cartridges are loaded in the cartridge feeding section 6 manually by hand, but the cartridges may be fed automatically one by one using the stocker S.

On the other hand, the processing of the strip-shaped film F drawn from the cartridge X, which is a feature of this embodiment, is performed as follows. The strip-shaped film F stops the turntable 2 when the above-described winder 7 comes to an intermediate position between the positions (A) and (B) in FIG.
It is manually inserted into the winder 7 from the opening 71x of the winder 7. Leading end of the film F is wound the film activates the motor 78 by a signal when the sensor P _H is inserted into the winder 7. At this time, the motor 78 is controlled so that the other end of the film stops slightly before the entire amount.

At the position (A) or (B), the film F
For example, an insertion opening (not shown) is provided in the slide table 601 of the cartridge feeding unit 6 so as to allow the cartridge to be inserted, or an insertion opening is provided in the end of the film guide of the scanner unit 10 on the winder 7 side. Alternatively, the film F may be manually inserted through the insertion opening of the camera.

When the strip-shaped film F is wound on the winder 7, the turntable 2 is rotated to stop the winder 7 at the position of the scanner section 10, and the film F is unwound from the winder 7. The image information is read, but the operation method is basically the same as that of the cartridge holder 3, and the detailed description is omitted.

In the above-described embodiment, the cartridge holder 3 is moved along the circumferential path by the rotary table 2. In addition, for example, a circular track is provided on the substrate 1 and the cartridge holder is moved along the circular track. May be moved. Although the take-up device 7 in the above example is provided in place of any one of the four cartridge holders 3, it is preferable that the take-up device 7 be provided so as to be interchangeable with the cartridge holder 3.

Also, various modifications of the film feeding method and mechanism can be adopted within the scope of the concept of the present invention.

[0059]

As described in detail above, in the photographic printing method and apparatus according to the present invention, a new type of negative film stored in a cartridge or at least one winder is fed on a circumferential path and is scanned by a scanner unit on the way. Data such as image density is read, and the photosensitive material is printed in accordance with printing conditions based on the data by printing exposure means in the middle of a further advanced circumferential path, and the reading and printing of the data are performed independently to perform parallel processing. Therefore, either the negative film of a plurality of cartridges or the strip film wound on at least one winder is selectively inserted, and separate processes are performed in parallel to perform the printing operation with extremely high efficiency. The advantage is that the cartridge and the take-up device can be properly used depending on the use form of the device. That.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a photo printing apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the vicinity of a winder.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the above.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the above.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the vicinity of a cartridge holder and a cartridge feeding unit.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the above.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the same for explaining the operation;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate 2 Rotary table 3 Cartridge holder 4 Driving part 5 Driving part 6 Cartridge feeding part 7 Rewinder 10 Scanner part 10 'Scanner unit 10 "Film unwinding unit 11 Light source 18 Scanner 19 Feeding roller 20 Winder 21 Barcode detection Device 22 magnetic head 23 perforation detector 30 printing exposure means 30 ′ printing exposure unit 30 ″ film feeding unit 31 light source 37 paper mask 39 feed roller 40 winder 41 perforation detector 42 magnetic head X cartridge F film

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A scanner section for reading image information of a negative film on a substrate provided with a rotary table having a plurality of cartridge holding sections on the periphery, and printing conditions are set based on the image information read by the scanner section. And a print exposure unit for printing and exposing the film. At least one of the cartridge holding units is provided with a winding unit for winding and unwinding the film in place of the holding unit, and the winding unit is taken out of the cartridge. A photographic printing apparatus configured to wind and unwind a strip film, and to perform a scanning process and a printing exposure process on both the strip film from the winder and the film in the cartridge. 2. The photographic printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the winder is provided so as to be exchangeable with a cartridge holding portion.