JPS63125939A - Photographic print cutter - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to photographic phenomena and handling devices, such as print cutters for separating individual prints from a continuous reel and for organizing and classifying prints. .

(The problem that the prior art and the invention are trying to solve) In the current situation of general photofinishers, photo prints printed from developing film are processed in batches and the same prints are produced on continuous reels. do.

Prior to shipping the prints to the customer, it is necessary to cut the prints from the reel into individual photographs. With the aim of developing prints in an efficient manner,
The steps of the print cutting process are generally performed on automated equipment.

It would be desirable to create a print cutter that is easily mounted so that prints from a reel can be delivered to the cutter's knife.

Because the prints are made in reel form, they are prone to curling even after being cut from a continuous reel because the prints conform to the circular shape of the reel for a period of time.

The curl of the prints makes it more difficult to stack the prints into a compact stack and into a return envelope to the customer (which is insertable).Customers can also place them in a photo album or easily view them. I want a flat print rather than a curled one because I can do it.

Current print cutters do not really address the problem of straightening or uncurling photographic prints after they are removed from the continuous reel and before they are handed to the customer.

When printing photographs, it is often the case that some of the photographs are found to be damaged or invalid and must be redone. Such prints are marked by the examiner and designated as rework prints, which require that the prints be made again using the customer's film. After the prints are separated from the reel, it is desirable to separate the remade prints from good prints that do not require remaking and to store the reworked prints so that they can be easily identified.

Most preferably, all prints made of any one type are of uniform length.

In order for the print cutter to accurately cut the print to a predetermined length, it is necessary that the feed rollers that advance the print through the cutter be accurately monitored to determine the length of the print at the time of cutting.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a print cutter for separating each photographic print from a continuous reel.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a print cutter that automatically loads continuous reels of prints onto the cutter and continuously monitors the advance of the prints from the reel through the cutter.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a print cutter that accurately monitors the passage of prints through the cutter so that print length can be controlled with desired accuracy.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a print cutter that removes curl from separated prints so that the prints are substantially flat upon delivery to the customer.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a print cutter that sorts prints separated from a reel into groups that will pass and groups that need to be remade.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the above objects, a photographic print cutter is provided which operates to separate each photographic print from a continuous reel of prints. The print cutter has reel attachment means for rotatably attaching a continuous reel of prints to the print cutter. The print cutter also has mounting means for receiving the end of the continuous reel of prints and for mounting the end in a position where it can be fed to the cutting knife. A print sensor is provided to monitor the position of a continuous reel of prints as they approach the cutter knife to advance the prints as necessary to maintain a steady flow of prints through the cutter.

Preferably, the print cutter includes a non-deformable roller below the non-image side of the print and a non-deformable roller above the image side of the print, cooperating with the non-deformable roller and engaging the successive prints. A print drive means is provided including a soft deformable roller creating a roller nip that feeds the print to the knife. The non-deformable roller is associated with monitoring means for monitoring the rotation of the non-deformable roller so as to follow the length of the print as it passes through the roller nip. The print cutter has a knife that operates to cut the print to a predetermined length. This knife is positioned downstream of the roller nip and in front of a decurling means that bends the print in the opposite direction to remove any curl present due to storage of the print in circular reel form. The decurling means is preferably adjustable to provide more or less bending depending on the initial bending of the photograph caused by its position on the inner and outer circumferences of the reel.

The print cutter includes a print tray downstream of the decurling means for receiving the prints after they have been cut and decurled.

The print cutter of the present invention has rework sorting means operable to separate rework prints from good prints and to place the prints on the print tray such that the rework prints are always on top of the Kff stack prints. ing.

The objects and advantages of the present invention will be better understood by those skilled in the art by reading the following specification in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

(Embodiment) FIG. 1 shows an order finishing stage, which is a collection center for various parts of a photo order before it is returned to a customer. A continuous reel of photographic prints 10 is mounted on a print cutter 12 located at a custom finishing station.

The station also includes a negative cutter 14 which receives the developer film reel 16 and separates the film into strips. Each strip of film
The prints are stacked in the stacker 20 and are
After being cut by a cutter, it is combined with a print,
It is dispensed by a Waresoto dispenser 22. This wallet dispenser is also part of the custom finishing station. Prints and negatives are placed in customer envelopes;
The envelopes are provided to the operator from the envelope stack 23 by an envelope feeder 24 located within the custom finishing station. The information from the envelope, along with the number of prints, is used to price the order and prepare it for return to the customer.

FIG. 2 shows a print made according to the principles of the invention.
A cutter is shown that can be used with the custom finishing station of FIG. The reel 50 is rotatably mounted on the hub 32, while the knife is held above the print cutter by the arm 34. Reel 30 contains a continuous web 56 of photographic prints received from the development process. One end of print web 36 faces toward row 240 held on spring arm 42. Further, this spring or arm 42 is supported on the hub 32 so as to be able to vibrate. After the print web 56 passes over the rollers 40, it passes below the feed row 244. The feed roller is driven by a motor and has a gripping surface formed thereon to feed the print into a loop-forming chamber defined by a curved plate 46 attached to the print cutter base 48. Submit the web. As feed rollers 44 move the print into the loop chamber following the contour of plate 46, the ends of the print web engage a first pair of web guide rollers 52, as indicated by arrows 50. The web guide roller is vertically oriented and slotted to provide a channel for the printed web. A second bare web kite roller 54, identical to the first pair, engages the print web and directs the print web toward a cutting knife 56. Knife 56 is a guillotine-type knife that moves up and down on a reciprocating arm 58 driven by a pin 60 extending from a knife control pulley 62. Further, the knife control boo 962 is belt-driven by the momelo 3. As a continuous length of print web 36 is fed beneath guillotine knife 56, knife control pulley 62 rotates to drive the knife up and down to cut a predetermined length of the web for each photographic print. After separation from the rest of the web, print drive rollers S6a engage the nip of a pair of print drive rollers 64 and 66, respectively, which transfer the prints to print receiving tray 6.
Carry it towards 8. In this print receiving tray, prints are stacked to the end of the order, after which the prints are removed from tray 68 by the operator, placed in an envelope, and returned to the customer.

In order to fully automate the process and thereby increase the efficiency of performing the process, the print cutter includes an automatic feeding mechanism for the print web 56 through the loop chamber to form a loop. , feeding the ends of web 36 to a first pair of web guide rollers 52. When the operator engages the web with feed roller 44, the feed roller automatically continues to feed web 36 around loop plate 46.

To stop the feed, a print sensor is provided which includes a photoself 0 and a light source 72 which act to stop the drive motor. The best position for photoself 0 and light source 72 is shown in FIG. The photoself Oii is positioned below the path through the loop chamfer of the web 36 and is oriented at an upward angle less than vertical. A hole in the bottom of the plate 46 allows the photoself 0 to be attached to the printed web 5
Light can be detected from a light source 72 placed above the path 6 and in the direction of the plate 46. When the end of the web 36 passes between the light source 72 and the photocell 70, a signal is sent to the photoself 0Vi motor controller to stop the drive. A time delay is provided in the photosensor 70 and the motor controller so that when the leading edge of the print web is detected, the motor continues to drive for a predetermined period of time to bring the leading edge into the vertical direction of the first pair. The web is conveyed to the web guide roller 52. Typical time delays have been found to be 10 to 200 milliseconds to provide sufficient range. The exact time delay depends on the paper type and the size of the print being sent to the print cutter.
Prior to use of the print cutter, the delay must be adjusted to be sufficient. In some cases, the operator may be required to watch as the leading end of print web 56 contacts vertical web guide drive roller 52.

First and second vertical web guide rollers 52.54
The web 36 is moved by a pair of web drive rollers 74 and 76.
lead to. This web drive roller is driven separately from feed roller 44 to continue feeding the print web to the cutter even after feed row 244 has stopped. As web drive rollers 74 and 76 pull the print web the required amount, the loop in the loop guide becomes smaller until photoself 0 is again unobstructed, as shown in phantom in FIG. Once photoself 0 is no longer obstructed, a signal is sent to the MoJ controller which activates the feed rollers to drive a large portion of print web 56 from reel 30 into the loop chamber and again. It roughly follows the shape of the solid line in Figure 2. The time delay also causes binging, but the operator must set the correct time before using the print cutter.

No. 5--A code reader 78 is provided below the path of the print web 56 and scans the print web as it intersects with the bar code reader to read the bar coded identification code attached to the back of the print. It is preferable to have it read. Using this identification code, the custom finisher simultaneously verifies the match of prints, photographic negatives, and envelopes passing through the station.

Since this cutter handles 4-line prints, it is necessary to pay attention to the image side of the print so that the image is not damaged due to scratches. Therefore, when feeding the film to the print cutter using soft rollers,
It has been found that contacting the image side of the film is best. Roller 74 is a soft roller positioned above the path of the print and biased against a non-deforming roller 76 positioned below the print web to form a nip that grips the print web and transports it to the cutter. do. The non-deformable roller 76 is stepped by a precise number of steps by a stepper motor 78.
b to control the length of each print as it passes through the knife cutter. By using this non-deformed row 276, the accuracy of length control is improved compared to when using the deformed row 2, but by using the deformed row 274 on the image surface of the print, the quality of the print is maintained.

As mentioned above, the prints were stored in a looped state on a continuous reel after being separated from the continuous web 36 and were therefore susceptible to curling. To remove this curl from the print and provide a straight, flat print to the customer, the print cutter of the present invention includes a decurling means. The present curl removing means includes a curl removing roller 80 which is disposed above the print, and a roller 82 which is positioned below the print in contact with the print.
At the same time, make the opposite bend. That is, the position of the print within the reel 30, whether on the outer circumference of the reel or near the core, will determine the amount of curl inherent in the print. The greater the amount of curl present in the print, the greater the amount of reverse bending that must be applied to remove this curl. Therefore, the curl removal roller 80 can be adjusted linearly in a direction diagonal to the printing surface, and the amount of bending of the print can be adjusted. Two possible positions for this decurling roller are shown in solid and dotted lines in FIG. The roller 80 can be adjusted by moving the roller in the direction of the dotted line position if the print is not sufficiently decurled.
Also, if the print is curled in the opposite direction, this can be done manually by the operator by moving the roller in the direction of the solid line position.

FIG. 4 shows the path of the print at the exit end of the print cutter. After passing under decurler roll 80, print 36a travels over a second pair of feed rollers 84 and 86 and is deposited on print tray 68. Each print is sent to feed rollers 84 and 86
, it is placed on top of the print in front of print-tray 68. Certain prints must be remade due to problems with the print quality. This print will be easily marked. Rotating solenoid 9
A conversion bar 88 is attached to the arm 90 arranged at 2 in a vibrating manner. This rotary solenoid is activated when a rework mark on the print is detected and rotates the solenoid 92 and arm 9o to bring the par 88 into its lower position as shown in FIG. The print that passes through 86 passes above par 88.

The print rests on one end of print tray 68 and the other end of the print rests on top of diversion bar 88. Fourth
As shown, as the diversion bar 88 rises rearward into its upper position, the prints rise with the diversion bar so that subsequent prints pass beneath the previous print. In this way, each time a rework print is sensed, the conversion bar 88 is lowered and the rework print is sent to the top of the conversion bar 88, so that at the end of the order, all rework prints for that order are good prints. It can be easily separated by the operator. Rework marks can be sensed by conventional means and the type of sensing used does not form part of this invention.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION In short, the provided print cutter separates individual prints from a continuous web of prints formed on a reel. The autoloader and feeder system also includes a monitor to sense the leading edge of the print web and control autoloading. The same sensor that senses the leading edge of the print web also senses loop size and maintains loop control of the print web as it is fed to the print cutter. The printer utilizes a non-deforming feed roller driven by a stepper motor to provide precise length control. To provide a positive feed but without detrimentally affecting the quality of the photographic image, a non-deformable feed roller is used on the underside of the print, and a deformable pressure roller is used on the surface of the print. to form a roller nip with the non-deformable roller and feed the print to the print cutter knife. The print cutter is
After cutting the prints, each print is given a bend in the opposite direction,
It has a curl removal means for removing curls inherent in the prints caused by being stored on a circular reel. Remake prints are separated from good prints by a diversion bar.

The conversion bar places the rework print on top of the good print when it is sensed by the cutter, so at the end of the order all rework prints are placed at the top of the print stack and the good print is placed on top of the print stack. will all be placed under Reworked Prints.

While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described above, it is to be understood that changes may be made to the illustrative embodiment without departing from the scope of the invention. The invention, therefore, should be defined only in accordance with the scope of the appended claims.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 is a perspective view of a custom finishing station having a print cutter made in accordance with the principles of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a side view, somewhat schematically shown, of one embodiment of a print cutter made in accordance with the principles of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3--5 of FIG. 2 showing the print sensor means; FIG. 4 is a side view of a portion of the print sensor of FIG. 2; FIG. 5 is a side view of a portion of the print cutter of FIG. 4 with the print classifier in the "remake print"position; 6 is a perspective view of the print cutter shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, and FIG. 7 is a plan view of a portion of the print cutter shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. In the figure, 50-...Reel 36...-Print web 40-,,
, . . . Roller 42 - . . . Spring arm 44
・・・－・・・・・・74- )”・Roller 46・・
...... Curved plate 48 , , , , , ,
,,,Base 52,54...,Web guide roller 56...Cutting knife 58...
・・・・・・−・Reciprocating arm 62・・・−・−・・−
・Knife control pulleys 64 , 66 , . . . Print drive roller 68 . . . Print receiving tray 70 . . . Photo selfie 2 ・
・・・・・・・・Light source 74 ・・・・・・・Deformable roller 76 ...
−・・・・・・Non-deformable roller 78・・・・・・・
・・・・・・Step motor 80・・・・・・−・・・・
Curling removal roller 84, 86...Feed roller 88,,,...... Nok -90-...
・・・・Arm 36 a ・・・・・・・Print patent applicant Breturf Akchengesellschaft wo Oka or 2 people

Claims (6)

[Claims] (1) A print cutter for receiving a continuous web of photographic prints and cutting the photographic prints into individual lengths, comprising: a base; and loop-forming means mounted on the base for forming the continuous web into loops; in combination with the loop forming means and engaged with the web;
a first drive means for propelling the web in a first direction through the loop forming means; and sensing means attached to the loop forming means for sensing the position of the web within the loop forming means and detecting the size of the loop. a control means for controlling the first drive means in response to the sensing means; and a second drive means for propelling the web separately from the first drive means after the web has passed through the loop. A photo print cutter that is characterized by: (2) The second driving means includes: a non-deformable roller rotatably mounted on the base; a step motor coupled to transmit power to the non-deformable roller; and the deformable roller. a deformable roller mounted adjacent to the non-deformable roller; 2. A print cutter according to claim 1, further comprising biasing means for biasing the print to form a roller nip into engagement with the web. (3) a print cutter that receives the continuous web of prints wound on a circular reel and separates the prints into individual lengths, the print cutter being associated with said print web and propelling the print web in a first direction; a drive means for cutting the print web to a predetermined length; a knife means associated with the drive means to cut the printed web to a predetermined length in operative timing therewith; A photographic print cutter comprising: a curl removal means for bending the print in the opposite direction after the print has been cut to a predetermined length by the means. (4) a print cutter that receives a continuous web of photographic prints and cuts the photographic prints into individual lengths, the print cutter being associated with said print web and operable to cut the print web to predetermined lengths; knife means; drive means for extruding cut length prints from the knife means; a print tray for receiving the cut prints from the drive means; and changing the path of the prints as the prints exit the drive means. A photographic print comprising: converter means operable to: and control means associated with the converter means for controlling operation of the converter means to separate the prints into predetermined groups.・Cutter. (5) the driving means propels the print in a first direction;
and said converter means is spaced apart from said drive means in a first direction and is movable between a first position in which said prints pass under a bar and a second position in which said prints pass above a bar. a bar, wherein at least a portion of the prints passing over the bar with respect to the print tray rest on the bar as the bar moves between first and second positions. 5. The print cutter according to claim 4, wherein the print cutter is positioned as follows. (6) The curl removal means includes a roller that contacts one surface of the print after the print is cut with the knife, and a roller adjustment means that moves the roller linearly in a direction transverse to the rotation axis. 4. A print cutter according to claim 3, characterized in that: