JPH0243170B2 - - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a conveying device for photosensitive material, and in particular, a device for transporting a photosensitive material, which transports the photosensitive material discharged from an exposure device that exposes the photosensitive material while traveling at a constant speed. The present invention relates to a conveying device for photosensitive material that conveys it to the entrance of a developing device and automatically inserts it into the developing device.

[Conventional technology]

While running a long photosensitive material wound in a roll at a constant speed, slit exposure is performed using an imaging optical system, or scanning exposure is performed using a recording light beam modulated with a required image signal. 2. Description of the Related Art Exposure apparatuses (hereinafter referred to as flat scanners) that record a plurality of images, cut the photosensitive material into sheets, and discharge the sheets are well known. If you connect a developing device to the rear of this flat scanner that runs the photosensitive material through a processing tank and automatically develops it, you can obtain exposed and developed photosensitive material just by setting the original on the flat scanner. can.

However, the traveling speed of the photosensitive material for exposure in the flat scanner and the traveling speed of the exposed material for development in the developing device are usually not the same speed. In addition, the developing device needs to transport the photosensitive material at a constant speed while it is being processed, while the exposure device slows the movement of the photosensitive material because it sets the exposure conditions based on the placement of the original and the original. It takes time to stop. Therefore, it is impossible to simply connect the exposure device and the developing device.

Therefore, when making the above-mentioned connection conventionally, a conveying device having a conveying section longer than the longest photosensitive material among the photosensitive materials to be processed is disposed between the outlet of the flat scanner and the inlet of the developing device. The conveying speed of the conveying unit is set to be the same as the traveling speed of the flat scanner while the photosensitive material is being discharged from the flat scanner, and after the end of the photosensitive material is completely discharged from the exposure device, it is set to the same traveling speed of the developing device. By maintaining the same speed, the photosensitive material is transported from the flat scanner to the developing device.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

The running speed of the photosensitive material in the developing device is generally as low as 50 cm/min, although it is faster than that of a flat scanner.
It takes a considerable amount of time for the photosensitive material sent to the conveying device to be completely inserted into the developing device from the conveying device. While the photosensitive material is being inserted into the developing device from the conveying device, the conveying speed of the photosensitive material in the conveying device must be the same as the traveling speed of the photosensitive material in the developing device. There is a problem in that the flat scanner cannot be discharged to the conveying section, and the flat scanner cannot be used effectively.

[Means for solving problems]

As a means for solving the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an exposure device that exposes a roll-shaped photosensitive material while traveling at a first speed, cuts it, and discharges it; By running the treatment tank at a second speed different from the speed,
In a photosensitive material conveying device that conveys the photosensitive material to and from a developing device that performs development processing, the photosensitive material discharged from the exposure device is transported at the first speed and a third speed faster than the first and second speeds. 2 of the speed of
a first conveying section capable of conveying at different speeds; and a first conveying section capable of conveying the photosensitive material conveyed by the first conveying section at three different speeds: the first speed, the second speed, and the third speed. and a means for detecting the presence or absence of the photosensitive material in the first conveyance section, so that while the photosensitive material is present in the first conveyance section, the photosensitive material is transferred from the exposure device to the first conveyance section. A conveying device for a photosensitive material, and a roll-shaped photosensitive material, characterized in that a prohibition signal for prohibiting exposure of the next photosensitive material is sent to an exposure device in order to prevent new entry of the photosensitive material, and a roll-shaped photosensitive material. an exposure device that exposes, cuts, and discharges the exposed photosensitive material while running at a first speed; and a developing device that runs the exposed photosensitive material through a processing tank at a second speed different from the first speed. In a photosensitive material conveying device that conveys a photosensitive material to and from a developing device that performs a first conveying section capable of conveying at three different speeds, a third speed;
a second conveyance section capable of conveying at three different speeds: a second speed, a second speed, and a third speed; While the photosensitive material is present in the first conveyance section, in order to prevent new photosensitive material from entering the first conveyance section from the exposure device, a prohibition signal is sent to the exposure device to prohibit exposure of the next photosensitive material. The present invention provides a photosensitive material conveying device characterized by the following features.

[Effect]

Since the transport section of the transport device is divided into two parts, after the photosensitive material is discharged from the first transport section, the next photosensitive material can be discharged from the flat scanner.

Additionally, once the photosensitive material is discharged from the flat scanner, the photosensitive material can be rapidly fed to the entrance of the developing device at a third speed. Furthermore, when both the first and second transport sections are capable of transporting at three different speeds: first, second, and third, the exposure device and the developing device can be connected by the shortest transport device.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the photosensitive material conveying apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In this figure, 2 is a plane scanner, 4 is a conveyance device, 6 is a developing device, and 8 is a conveyance path for the photosensitive material. A roll-shaped photosensitive material 14 in a film magazine 12 in the flat scanner 2 is delivered to an exposure section 18 through a pair of light shielding rollers 16. The exposure section 18 is provided with a drive roller 20 that is perpendicular to the traveling direction of the photosensitive material 14 and a pair of presser rollers 22 that come into contact with and follow the drive roller 20. is wound along and driven. Drive roller 20
is rotated at a constant circumferential speed by an appropriate means such as a pulse motor, and the photosensitive material is brought into close contact with the circumferential surface of the drive roller 20 by the presser roller 22 and conveyed at a constant speed. On the other hand, a light beam 24 emitted from a recording scanning light source (not shown) is applied to a pair of presser rollers 22.
The photosensitive material 14 is exposed to light by traveling through the gap in the axial direction of the roller at a predetermined period. The light beam 24 is modulated by an image signal by appropriate modulation and deflection means, and is scanned in the width direction of the photosensitive material 14 at a required period to record a desired duplicate image by exposure. The exposed photosensitive material 14 changes direction along the outer periphery of the drive roller 20 and is fed into the conveyance device 4 by a pair of feed rollers 26 . In the front stage of the feed roller 26,
A cutter 28 is provided for cutting the exposed portion of the photosensitive material 14. Furthermore, a detection means 29 such as a photo sensor is disposed between the feed roller 26 and the cutter 28 to detect the leading and trailing ends of the cut photosensitive material 14.

The photosensitive material sent to the conveying device 4 is transferred to a first conveying section 32 consisting of a plurality of rollers 31 and an endless belt 30, and a second conveying section 32 consisting of a plurality of rollers 33 and endless belts 34, 3. The sheet is conveyed by the section 38 using a conveying method described later, and sent to the developing device 6. Here, the total length of the first and second conveyance sections 32 and 38 is set to be longer than the longest photosensitive material 14 to be printed. Further, the positions of the leading and trailing ends of the photosensitive material 14 in the conveying device 4 may be determined by, for example,
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 57-107351, the signal from the detection means 29 in the flat scanner 2 is used to drive the first and second conveyance sections 32, 38 and the rollers 16, 20, 22, 26 in the flat scanner 2. It is configured so that it can be detected by counting up by a pulse generated in synchronization with the . This will be explained with reference to the case where the position of the tip of the photosensitive material 14 is detected. When the detection means 29 detects the leading edge of the photosensitive material 14, a counter etc. is counted up using pulses generated in synchronization with the driving source of the rollers 16, 20, 22, 26 in the flat scanner 2, and then the photosensitive material 14 is detected. 14 enters the first conveyance section 32, the first conveyance section 32
The count is further increased by a pulse generated in synchronization with the drive source of
By further counting up the pulses generated in synchronization with the drive source 8, the photosensitive material 1 is constantly
The position of the tip of 4 is detected. This also applies to the case where the position of the rear end of the photosensitive material 14 is detected.

Furthermore, in detecting the positions of the leading and trailing ends of the photosensitive material 14, instead of using a counter, a shift register is used as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 56-65472, and the detection means 29 is It is also possible to shift the signal by pulses synchronized with the drive.

The photosensitive material 14 fed into the developing device 6 is developed by traveling through a developing tank 40, a fixing tank 42, and a washing tank 44, then dried in a drying section 46, and discharged onto a discharge tray 48.

Next, a method for transporting the photosensitive material 14 in the transport device 4 will be described. Since the operation of the transport device 4 differs depending on the length of the photosensitive material 14 to be exposed, each case will be described separately.

First, a case will be described in which the length of the photosensitive material 14 to be exposed is longer than the entire length of the second transport section 38. First, the driving roller 20 and the pair of presser rollers 22 rotate, causing the photosensitive material 14 to travel, and exposing the photosensitive material 14 to the light beam 24 in the exposure section 18 (hereinafter, the traveling speed of the photosensitive material at this time will be referred to as " (referred to as "first speed").
When the leading edge of the photosensitive material 14 enters the conveying device 4 through the pair of feed rollers 26, the leading end of the photosensitive material 14 enters the first conveying section 32.
is driven at a first speed to convey the photosensitive material 14. When the leading end of the photosensitive material 14 enters the second transport section 38, the second transport section 38 is also driven at the first speed to transport the photosensitive material 14.

Strictly speaking, the first speed mentioned above is
The conveyance speed of the photosensitive material 14 within the flat scanner 2 is 1 higher than the conveyance speed within the conveyance device 4.
It is set about % faster. This is caused by errors in the diameter of the rollers, etc., which causes the photosensitive material 14 in the exposure section 18 to
This is to prevent the printing accuracy from being deteriorated due to tension, and due to this speed difference, as the photosensitive material 14 is transported, a slight slack 9 is created between the flat scanner 2 and the transport device 4. Occur. However, since this speed difference is slight, these will be described as the same first speed.

When the exposure of the photosensitive material 14 is completed, the rollers in the first and second transport sections 32, 38 and the flat scanner 2 are driven at high speed, and the photosensitive material 14 is moved until the end of the printed image reaches the cutter 28. It is fast-forwarded until it reaches a position slightly beyond it (hereinafter,
The traveling speed of the photosensitive material at this time is called the "third speed".
). At this position, the photosensitive material 14 is stopped and cut by the cutter 28.

Next, the first and second conveying sections 32 and 38 and the pair of rollers 26 are driven to rapidly feed the photosensitive material 14 at a third speed until the leading edge of the photosensitive material 14 reaches the developing device 6. At this time, the photosensitive material in the flat scanner 2 is rewound until the cutting position reaches the vicinity of the exposure section 18, and the next exposure is possible. However, in this state, a prohibition signal for prohibiting the next exposure of the photosensitive material is being sent from the transport device 4 to the flat scanner 2.

Next, by driving the first and second conveying sections 32 and 38, the photosensitive material 14 is conveyed at the same speed as the traveling speed for processing in the developing device 6, and is inserted into the developing device 6 (hereinafter referred to as , the traveling speed of the photosensitive material at this time is referred to as the "second speed"). At this time, when the terminal end of the photosensitive material 14 comes off the first conveyance section 32, the driving of the first conveyance section 32 is stopped. Further, the terminal end of the photosensitive material 14 is transferred to the second conveying section 3
8, the above-mentioned prohibition signal will be canceled if the vehicle enters a certain distance T from the tip of the vehicle. This distance T is such that the previous photosensitive material 14 is transferred to the developing device 6 by the second conveying section 38.
This is the distance to prevent the leading edge of the next photosensitive material being exposed from entering the conveying section 38, which is driven at the second speed, when the material is inserted into the transport section 38, which is being driven at the second speed. Since the value of this distance T varies depending on the first, second, and third conveyance speeds and the lengths of the first and second conveyance sections 32 and 38, it is set in advance based on these values. The value of the distance T mentioned above is the first
By setting the total length of the conveying section 32 long,
It is also possible to do this.

Next, a case will be described in which the length of the photosensitive material 14 to be exposed is longer than the total length of the first conveyance section 32 but shorter than the total length of the second conveyance section 38. However, the description of the same operation as described above when the length of the photosensitive material 14 to be exposed is longer than the entire length of the second conveying section 38 will be omitted.

First, the photosensitive material 14 is exposed while traveling at a first speed. When the photosensitive material 14 enters the conveying device 4, the first conveying section 32 is driven at a first speed,
Furthermore, when the photosensitive material 14 enters the second transport section 38, the second transport section 38 is also driven at the first speed. When the exposure is completed, the first and second transport sections 32 and 38 are driven at the third speed to rapidly transport the photosensitive material 14. Next, the first and second conveyance sections 32 and 38 are stopped, and the photosensitive material 14 is cut by the cutter 28. Subsequently, the first and second conveying sections 32 and 38 are driven at a third speed to rapidly feed the photosensitive material 14 to a position where its leading edge reaches the developing device 6. Next, the second conveying section 38 is driven at a second speed to insert the photosensitive material 14 into the developing device 6.

Next, a case will be described in which the length of the photosensitive material 14 to be exposed is shorter than the total length of the first transport section 32. However, the description of operations that are the same as those described above will be omitted.

First, the photosensitive material 14 is exposed while traveling at a first speed. When the photosensitive material 14 enters the transport device 4, the first transport section 32 is driven at a first speed.
When the exposure is completed, the first conveying section 32 is driven at the third speed and then stopped, and the photosensitive material 14 is cut. Next, the first conveying section 32 is driven at a third speed, and furthermore, the leading end of the photosensitive material 14 is transferred to the second conveying section 3.
8, the second conveyance section 38 is also driven at the third speed, and the photosensitive material 14 is rapidly fed to a position where its leading edge reaches the developing device 6. Subsequently, the second conveying section 38 is driven at the second speed, and the photosensitive material 14 is inserted into the developing device 6.

In the above explanation, when the photosensitive material 14 is fast-forwarded, it is conveyed at the same third speed before and after cutting, but it may be fast-forwarded at different speeds before and after cutting.

In addition, in the above description, the case where the first conveyance section 32 is driven at three types of speeds, first, second, and third, has been described, but the entire length of the second conveyance section 38 is to be exposed to light. By configuring the material 14 to be longer than the longest one, the overall length of the conveying device becomes somewhat longer, but it is also possible to eliminate the need for the first conveying section 32 to be driven at the second speed.

Furthermore, in the above description, the case where the flat scanner 2 is used as an exposure device has been described, but it goes without saying that the conveying device of the present invention can be used in various exposure devices that perform printing while moving a photosensitive material. .

〔effect〕

Since the photosensitive material conveying device according to the present invention is configured as described above, when connecting an exposure device and a developing device that have different running speeds,
Connection can be made with a short transport path length, and the waiting time of the exposure device can be minimized. In addition, if both the first and second conveyance sections are capable of conveying at three different speeds: first, second, and third, the shortest conveyance path length between the exposure device and the developing device can be used. Can be connected.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawing is a schematic diagram showing a photosensitive material conveying device, which is an embodiment of the present invention, together with an exposure device and a developing device. 2... Exposure device (plane scanner), 4... Conveyance device,
6... Developing device, 14... Photosensitive material, 32... First transport section, 38... Second transport section.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An exposure device that exposes a roll of photosensitive material while traveling at a first speed, cuts it, and discharges it; and a second speed that is different from the first speed to expose the exposed photosensitive material. In the photosensitive material conveyance device that conveys the photosensitive material between the developing device and the developing device that performs development processing by running the photosensitive material in the processing tank, the photosensitive material discharged from the exposure device is transported at the first speed and the first speed. , a first conveyance section capable of conveying at two different speeds, a third speed faster than the second speed; and a photosensitive material conveyed by the first conveyance section at the first speed and the second
and a second conveying section capable of conveying at three different speeds: a speed of In order to prevent new photosensitive material from entering the first conveying section from the exposure device while the photosensitive material is present, a prohibition signal for prohibiting exposure of the next photosensitive material is sent to the exposure device. Characteristic photosensitive material conveyance device. 2. An exposure device that exposes a roll of photosensitive material while running at a first speed, cuts it, and discharges it; and an exposure device that runs the exposed photosensitive material through a processing tank at a second speed different from the first speed. In a photosensitive material conveying device that conveys a photosensitive material to and from a developing device that performs development processing by moving the photosensitive material, the photosensitive material discharged from the exposure device is transported at the first speed, the second speed, and the first speed. a first conveying section capable of conveying at three different speeds, a third speed faster than the second speed;
a second conveyance section capable of conveying the photosensitive material conveyed by the conveyance section at three different speeds: the first speed, the second speed, and the third speed;
A means for detecting the presence or absence of the photosensitive material in the first transport section is provided to prevent new photosensitive material from entering the first transport section from the exposure device while the photosensitive material is present in the first transport section. 1. A photosensitive material conveying device, characterized in that a prohibition signal for prohibiting the next exposure of the photosensitive material is sent to an exposure device.