JP2814878B2 - Photo printing equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a photographic printing apparatus provided with a dimming filter for determining standard exposure conditions which can move back and forth in an exposure light path from a light source to a photosensitive material.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Such a photographic printing apparatus irradiates light emitted from a light source onto a film and exposes the image information of the film to a photosensitive material, thereby printing the image information of the film onto the photosensitive material. . In order to properly print the image information of the film on the photosensitive material, it is necessary to appropriately determine the amount of exposure to be applied to the film. This exposure amount is determined based on the average transmission density of the film or the transmission density obtained by dividing the film into a number of areas, and is determined based on the photometric information. It is necessary to properly perform the initial setting of the relationship between the photometric information and the exposure and the correction of the change in the relationship between the photometric information and the exposure due to the aging of various characteristics of the photographic printing apparatus such as a change in the irradiation light intensity of the light source. There is.

For this reason, conventionally, a film obtained by photographing a neutral gray object is used as a reference film, and an exposure amount for properly printing image information of the reference film on a photosensitive material is determined as a standard exposure condition. By the exposure conditions, or by the change of the standard exposure conditions obtained by repeating the determination of the standard exposure conditions at a fixed cycle,
The initial setting of the relationship between the photometric information and the exposure amount or the correction of the change in the relationship between the photometric information and the exposure amount has been performed. However, since the reference film is made of the same material as a commonly used film, if it is used for a long period of time, discoloration and the like occur as with a general film, and the image information of the reference film changes. This makes it difficult to properly determine the standard exposure conditions.

[0004] For this reason, the standard exposure conditions can be stably determined over a long period of time.
Instead of the above-mentioned reference film, a dimming filter combining a vapor deposition filter on which a multilayer film is vapor-deposited and a slit filter formed with a slit is configured to be freely retractable in the exposure optical path and used for determining standard exposure conditions. It has been proposed (see JP-A-3-287151). The above dimming filter has the same characteristics as the reference film by combining the evaporation filter with the color dimming that gives the transmitted light a spectral distribution and the slit filter with the density dimming. In addition, a change in light transmission characteristics can be reduced even for long-term use.

[0005] Among the above-mentioned conventional dimming filters, a filter for color dimming is generally composed of a so-called interference filter made of a vapor-deposited film made of a metallic compound. The spectral characteristics of the transmitted light are set by a multilayer film formed by laminating the films, and the filter for density control has a configuration in which slits whose longitudinal directions are oriented in one direction are arranged.

In general, when a filter for color light control is composed of an interference filter, it is difficult to arbitrarily set the light transmission characteristics of the material of the vapor deposition film and the multilayer film. When the material is determined, the transmission characteristics that can be easily obtained with the deposited film are determined to some extent, and it is not easy to set the transmission characteristics with high accuracy by controlling the coating method of the multilayer film. Therefore, even if an attempt is made to produce a color dimming filter having desired transmission characteristics by controlling the method of coating the multilayer film, the transmission characteristics will vary. And the cost required to determine the standard exposure conditions increases.

Further, the above-mentioned filter for density light control is deformed by repeating thermal expansion and contraction due to radiant heat from a light source, and the light transmittance is changed, though not as much as the reference film, or The filter itself may be damaged. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a color dimming filter having desired transmission characteristics at low cost and to sufficiently reduce deformation due to thermal expansion. An object of the present invention is to provide a filter for density control.

[0007]

A photographic printing apparatus according to the present invention is provided with a dimming filter for determining standard exposure conditions that can move back and forth in an exposure light path from a light source to a photosensitive material. A first characteristic configuration is that the dimming filter is configured for color dimming by coating a metal compound in a stripe shape on the surface of the heat-resistant glass for each dimming color. A second characteristic configuration is that the light modulating filter is provided with a plurality of types of slits having different longitudinal directions in a plate-like body in a state of being distributed and arranged over the entire plate-like body, and has In that it is configured as
A third characteristic configuration is that the dimming filter is configured for density dimming by providing a slit in a plate-like body in a cross shape and providing the center of the slit at the center of the plate-like body. It is in.

[0008]

According to the first feature of the present invention, when exposing the image information of the film to the photosensitive material, the light from the light source is irradiated to the photosensitive material with the light control filter retracted from the exposure optical path. In order to determine the standard exposure conditions for calibrating a photographic printing apparatus or the like, a light control filter for determining the standard exposure conditions is inserted into the exposure optical path to expose the photosensitive material. The standard exposure condition is determined based on the exposure result of the photosensitive material. This dimming filter is configured for color dimming by coating a metal compound in a stripe shape for each color that dims the heat resistant glass, and is configured for color dimming. It is determined by the ratio between the area of the coated part and the area of the uncoated part. In other words, in a state where the coating film is provided for each color to be adjusted, the transmission characteristics can be set not only by the material of the coating film and the multilayer film, but also by the area ratio of the coated portion. By setting the multilayer film in a region having good controllability of the transmission characteristics and appropriately setting the area ratio of the coated portion, a light control filter having a desired transmission characteristic can be easily obtained. .

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when exposing the image information of the film to the photosensitive material, the light from the light source is applied to the photosensitive material with the light control filter retracted from the exposure optical path. In order to determine the standard exposure conditions for calibrating a photographic printing apparatus or the like, a light control filter for determining the standard exposure conditions is inserted into the exposure optical path to expose the photosensitive material. The standard exposure condition is determined based on the exposure result of the photosensitive material. This light control filter is provided for a plate-shaped body for density light control by providing a plurality of types of slits whose longitudinal directions are different from each other in a state of being distributed and arranged over the entire plate-shaped body. Since the thermal expansion of the plate due to the radiant heat of the light source can be uniformly absorbed by the entire plate, deformation can be suppressed even when used for a long time, and the standard exposure condition can be stably determined. .

According to the third characteristic configuration of the present invention, when exposing the image information of the film to the photosensitive material, the light from the light source is irradiated to the photosensitive material while the light control filter is retracted from the exposure optical path. To determine the standard exposure conditions for exposure and calibration of a photographic printing apparatus, a light-exposure filter for determining the standard exposure conditions is inserted into the exposure optical path to expose the photosensitive material. The standard exposure condition is determined based on the exposure result of the photosensitive material. This dimming filter is provided in a plate-like body, with a slit having a cross shape, with the center of the slit positioned at the center of the plate-like body, and configured for density dimming. Since the thermal expansion of the plate-like body can be evenly absorbed by the entire plate-like body, deformation can be suppressed even when used for a long period of time, and the standard exposure condition can be stably determined.

[0011]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a dimming filter for determining standard exposure conditions having desired transmission characteristics can be easily obtained, so that the standard exposure conditions for a photographic printing apparatus can be determined at low cost. In this way, the operation of stably determining the standard exposure conditions of the photographic printing apparatus can be repeated over a long period of time. According to the second or third characteristic configuration of the present invention, even when the filter is used for a long period of time, the deformation of the standard exposure condition determination filter is suppressed, and the standard exposure condition can be stably determined, and photographic printing can be performed. The device can be made more reliable and convenient.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a photographic printing apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, a photographic printing apparatus 1 includes a projection exposure section 5 for projecting and exposing the image information of a film 2 to a photographic paper 3 as a photosensitive material, and a photographic paper 3 exposed by the projection exposure section 5 for development processing. And a controller 7 for controlling the operation of each part of the photographic printing apparatus 1. The controller 7 is connected to a console O for inputting various instructions and a monitor M for displaying image information. Have been.

The photographic paper 3 pulled out from the photographic paper magazine 4 containing the photographic paper 3 in a roll shape is projected onto a projection exposure unit 5.
And then developed in the developing section D,
The sheet is cut into a size including the image information of the sheet and discharged.

Hereinafter, each component will be described. The projection exposure unit 5 includes a light source 10, a color balance filter 11 for adjusting the color balance of light applied to the film 2, a mirror tunnel 12 for uniformly mixing light passing through the color balance filter 11, and printing an image of the film 2. A printing lens 13 and a shutter 14 for forming an image on the paper 3 are provided on the same optical axis. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, between the color balance filter 11 and the mirror tunnel 12, a color dimming filter 20, which is a dimming filter for determining a standard exposure condition, configured for color dimming, and a density A density dimming filter 21 which is a dimming filter for determining standard exposure conditions, which is configured for dimming, is disposed so as to be able to move back and forth in an exposure optical path from the light source 10 to the photographic paper 3.

The color light control filter 20 and the density light control filter 21 are supported by support plates 22 and 23, respectively.
Each of the solenoids 24 and 25 is individually driven to swing.
As shown in FIG. 3, the color light control filter 20 is a plate-like heat-resistant glass 20a made of Pyrex, quartz glass, or the like.
On both sides of the substrate, the Y (yellow), M (magenta), and C (cyan) filter manufacturing techniques used for the color balance filter 11 are applied, and the metal compound vapor-deposited films 20b, 2
0c is formed in a stripe shape. Evaporated film 20b, 2
Any of the colors Y, M, and C is selected as the color of the transmitted light 0c. The deposited film 20b on the surface shown in FIG. 3A and the surface shown in FIG. Figure 3 on the other side
This is different from the vapor deposition film 20c on the surface shown in FIG. Also, the vapor deposition films 20b and 20c on both sides shown in FIG.
Stripes are alternately formed, but the deposited film 20
The stripes b and 20c may be located at the same position, and the present invention is not limited to this.

As shown in FIG. 4, the density dimming filter 21 has slits 21b and 21c oriented in directions different from each other by 90 ° in a metal plate 21a as a plate-like body in a state where the slits 21b and 21c are dispersed over the entire metal plate 21a. Arranged, slits 21b, 21
Small holes 21d are arranged in the gaps between the holes c, and the entire surface is coated with anti-reflection black paint. The color light control filter 20 and the density light control filter 2 configured as described above
1 is inserted into the exposure light path, and the material of the metal compound of the color dimming filter 20 is selected such that the transmission characteristics are substantially the same as those obtained by photographing a neutral gray subject on a generally used film 2. And the intensity of the transmitted light is adjusted by the ratio of the area of the portion subjected to the selection and the evaporation, and the intensity of the transmitted light is adjusted by the opening areas of the slits 21b and 21c and the small holes 21d of the density control filter 21. .

An image sensor 15 for reading image information of the film 2 by dividing the image information into a number of areas is provided upstream of the projection exposure section 5 on the film 2 transport path. The image sensor 15 irradiates the film 2 with white light, and adjusts the intensity of the reflected light or transmitted light to R (red), G (green),
The image data is separated into the three primary colors B (blue) and measured by, for example, a CCD line sensor. Image information read by the image sensor 15 is used for exposure by the projection exposure unit 5.

On the upstream side of the film sensor 2 in the image sensor 15 and the downstream side of the projection exposure unit 5 in the film 2 transport path,
A roller 16 and a roller 17, which are driven in conjunction with each other by the motor M2 and supply the film 2 to the projection exposure unit 5, are provided. In the projection exposure section 5, the controller 7 controls the color balance filter 11 based on the image information of the film 2 read by the image sensor 15 in accordance with the supply operation of the film 2 by the rollers 16, 17 and the motor M2. The irradiation light of No. 10 is adjusted to a color balance corresponding to the color density of the image of the film 2, the film 2 is irradiated with the adjusted light, and the image of the film 2 is printed on the printing paper 3.

A roller 18 for transporting the photographic paper 3 and a motor M1 for driving the roller 18 are provided downstream of the photographic paper 3 transport path of the projection exposure section 5. Development processing section D
Although not shown, a plurality of tanks filled with a processing liquid for developing the exposed photographic paper 3 are provided, and the photographic paper 3 is sequentially developed through the plurality of tanks. It is.

The controller 7 has a function of controlling arithmetic processing of image information relating to the projection exposure section 5 and overall operation of the photographic printing apparatus 1. These functions are incorporated in the controller 7 as an integrated program. It is stored in the storage unit 40. The storage unit 40 further stores the image sensor 15
The image information and the like read by are also stored.

The operation of each section under the control of the controller 7 when exposing the image information of the film 2 to the photographic paper 3 will be described below. First, the rollers 16, 17 and the motor M
2, the image information of the film 2 supplied to the projection exposure section 5 by the supply operation by the image sensor 15 is read by the image sensor 15 as density information for three primary colors of R (red), G (green), and B (blue). Exposure conditions are calculated based on the image information. The image information read by the image sensor 15 is converted in consideration of the calculated exposure condition, and a simulated image of the finished print is displayed on the monitor M. At the time of this conversion operation, if the film 2 is a negative film, an operation of converting the read density information of the three primary colors into density information of the respective complementary colors is also performed at the same time.

The operator can see the display on the monitor M, determine whether or not the exposure conditions need to be corrected, and input an instruction from the console O. When there is an exposure condition correction instruction from the console O, the controller 7 performs a correction operation of the exposure condition based on the correction instruction.

Next, the arrangement of the color balance filter 11 and the exposure time are calculated based on the obtained exposure conditions, the position of the color balance filter 11 is adjusted, and the exposure time obtained by operating the shutter 14 is calculated. Only the photographic paper 3 is exposed. During this exposure, the color light control filter 20 and the density light control filter 21 of the projection exposure unit 5 are in a state of being retracted from the exposure light path. The photographic paper 3 on which the exposure has been completed is processed by the developing section D
Is developed. Next, the operation of each unit under the control of the controller 7 when the standard exposure condition is determined by the color light control filter 20 and the density light control filter 21 will be schematically described. First, with the film 2 removed from the exposure position in the projection exposure section 5, the solenoids 24 and 25 are operated to move the color light control filter 20 and the density light control filter 21 between the color balance filter 11 and the mirror tunnel 12. Insert In this state, the photographic paper 3 is exposed by setting the color balance of the color balance filter 11, the opening time of the shutter 14, and the like according to the already set standard exposure conditions.

The photographic printing paper 3 is developed in the developing section D, and the density is measured by, for example, a densitometer. If the result of the density measurement is as desired, the standard exposure condition is maintained as it is, and if it is out of the desired density, a correction input is made from the console O, the standard exposure condition is corrected, and the corrected The photographic paper 3 is exposed again under the standard exposure conditions, and this operation is repeated until the density of the photographic paper 3 becomes a desired value. The standard exposure condition at the time when the density of the printing paper 3 reaches the desired density is determined as a new standard exposure condition. According to the standard exposure conditions determined in this way, the image sensor 15
Initially sets the relationship between the read image information and the exposure condition, or repeats the determination of the standard exposure condition at regular intervals, and changes in the relationship between the image information and the exposure condition due to the change in the standard exposure condition. Is corrected.

[Other Embodiments] Other embodiments will be listed below. In the above-described embodiment, the density dimming filter 21 in which the slits 21b and 21c oriented in directions different from each other by 90 ° are disposed on the metal plate 21a is used, but instead of the density dimming filter 21, a plate as shown in FIG. Metal plate 26 as a body
a, a cross-shaped slit 26b is formed in the center of the metal plate 2;
6a is arranged in a state of being located at the center of the metal plate 26b, and the small holes 26c dispersed throughout the metal plate 26b are arranged.
May be used. This density dimming filter 26 also has a slit 26b similar to the density dimming filter 21 of the above embodiment.
The intensity of the transmitted light is adjusted by the opening area of the small hole 26c.

In the above embodiment, the deposited films 20 b and 20 c of the color light control filter 20 have a transmitted light color of one of Y (yellow), M (magenta), and C (cyan). Other colors such as (red), G (green), and B (blue) may be set.

In the above embodiment, the density dimming filter 2
1, slits 21b and 21c facing the direction different by 90 ° are alternately arranged on the metal plate 21a in a state of being distributed over the entire metal plate 21a. May be arranged so as to be distributed over the entire metal plate 21a. Further, instead of the metal plate 21a, the slit may be formed in a plate-like body such as plastic.

In the above embodiment, when the standard exposure condition is determined, both the color light control filter 20 and the density light control filter 21 are inserted in the exposure light path. May be inserted into the exposure light path to determine the standard exposure conditions.

In the above embodiment, when determining the standard exposure condition, the dimming filters 20 and 21 for determining the standard exposure condition are used.
Is inserted into the exposure optical path to expose the printing paper 3, but the exposure to the printing paper 3 is not performed, the image information is read by the image sensor 15, and the simulated image of the finished print is displayed on the monitor M. The standard exposure condition may be determined based on the display.

In the claims, reference numerals are provided for convenience of comparison with the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the structure shown in the attached drawings.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram according to an embodiment of a photographic printing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an essential part of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a dimming filter for determining a standard exposure condition according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a light control filter for determining a standard exposure condition according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a light control filter for determining standard exposure conditions according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 3 photosensitive material 10 light source 20, 21, 26 dimming filter for determining standard exposure conditions 20a heat-resistant glass 21a, 26a plate-like body 21b, 21c, 26b slit

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A photographic printing apparatus provided with a dimming filter (20) for determining standard exposure conditions that can move back and forth in an exposure light path from a light source (10) to a photosensitive material (3), The optical filter (20) is a photographic printing device configured for color light control by coating the surface of a heat resistant glass (20a) with a metallic compound for each light control color in a stripe shape. 2. A photographic printing apparatus provided with a dimming filter (21) for determining standard exposure conditions that can move back and forth in an exposure light path from a light source (10) to a photosensitive material (3), The optical filter (21) includes a plurality of slits (2) whose longitudinal directions are different from each other in the plate-like body (21a).
1b, 21c) is provided in a state of being distributed over the entire plate-like body (21a), and is configured for density dimming. 3. A photographic printing apparatus provided with a dimming filter (26) for determining standard exposure conditions that can move back and forth in an exposure optical path from a light source (10) to a photosensitive material (3). The optical filter (26) is provided such that the slit (26b) is formed in a cross shape in the plate-like body (26a), and the center of the slit (26b) is located at the center of the plate-like body (26a).
Photographic printing equipment configured for density dimming.