Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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TITLE OF THE INVENTION
PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTING AND DEVELOPING APPARATUS
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to a photographic
printing and developing apparatus for printing and
developing a photosensitive material, and more particularly
to a photographic printing and developing apparatus with
which the condition of a processing solution is monitored
for controlling the processing solution.
Discussion of Related Art:
Conventional photographic printing and developing
apparatuses for printing and developing photosensitive
materials include an exposure section, a developing section,
a drying section, etc. Currently, automatic photographic
printing and developing apparatuses which include a CPU for
controlling various factors which affect the printing and
developing processes are widely used. In the use of such
automatic printing and developing apparatuses, a processing
solution used in the developing process must be controlled ~
with the greatest care. -
Controlling of a processing solution in the developing
section is generally carried out by the use of a
photosensitive mater~al, called control strip. The control
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strip is an undeveloped printing paper which has
predetermined reproductive characteristics and has been
exposed to light under standard exposure conditions in which
the intensity of light, exposure time and the
characteristics of light are previously determined. After
the control strip is developed, the density of the control
strip is measured to determine the exhaustion degree of the
processing solution.
Since the control strip must be processed in dark, it
is put in a dark box, called "control strip holder", in a
darkroom. The control strip is then set in a receiving
inlet of the developing section of a photographic printing -
and developing apparatus together with a holder therefor.
As described above, in conventional photographic
printing and developing apparatuses, controlling of
processing solution is carried out based on the results
obtained by developing the control strip housed in the
control strip holder. However, the control strip holder
involves drawbacks in that the mechanism for receiving the -
control strip is not simple due to the necessity of light-
shielding, causing a troublesome operation for loading the
control strip into the control strip holder.
Moreover, at the time of setting a control strip holder
in a photographic printing and developing apparatus,
complicated operation is required because of the requirement
of complete shielding of light. For checking the condition
of the processing solution, it is required to stop the
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general printing processes, and then to set a control strip
holder containing a control strip in the photographic
printing and developing apparatus.
Since a control strip must be prepared by exposing a
printing paper under special standard exposure conditions,
it is separately prepared in a step independent from the
ordinary printing step using a photographic printing and
developing apparatus.
In many cases, however, processing solutions are
controlled without the use of a control strip, because the
loading of the control strip into the control strip holder
and the setting of the control strip holder into the
photographic printing and developing apparatus are
cumbersome, and the control strip must be specially prepared
as a material for controlling the processing solution. In
such cases, controlling of the processing solutions is
carried out by a well-trained operator who intuitively ;
determines the condition of the processing solution based on
the frequency of processing, operation cycle time of the
photographic printing and developing apparatus, and the
quality of the obtained photographs.
In such, there arise fears that a misjudgment of the
operator may happen in controlling the processing solution,
which will allow deteriorated developing. Further, hiring ~ -
of well-trained operators is against the automation and
simplification of processing.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide an
improved photographic printing and developing apparatus in
which the processing solution can be controlled easily.
Another object of the present invention is to provide
an improved photographic printing and developing apparatus
with which the printing and developing processes are
simplified, and the qualit~ of photographs is improved.
Briefly, a photographic printing and developing
apparatus according to the present invention is
characterized by including an exposure section for effecting
a standard exposure on a photosensitive material under
predetermined conditions, means for measuring a density of
the photosensitive material after development, and means for
indicating the condition of the processing solution based on
the data of measured density.
Here, explanation is given to the "standard exposure".
Conventionally, an undeveloped photosensitive material which
has been exposed under predetermined conditions (intensity
of light, exposure time and characteristics of light) is
used as a control strip. The control strip is passed
through a processing solution for determining the condition
ofithe processing solution based on the color developed.
The exposure effected under such predetermined conditions to
provide a control strip is called "standard exposure". In
the present invention, a standard exposure is effected in
the exposure section provided in the photographic printing
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and developing apparatus.
According to the present invention, since the standard
exposure can be effected in the exposure section of the
photographic printing and developing apparatus to prepare a
"substitute" control strip for conventional control strips,
troublesome works involved in loading of a control strip
into a control strip holder and setting of the control strip
holder to the photographic printing and developing apparatus
can be eliminated, by which checking and indicating of the
condition of the processing solution is achieved as easy as
ordinary printing and developing works. Moreover, since the
processing solution is automatically controlled, a stable
quality of developing can be secured. Furthermore, since it
is not necessary to keep special materials for controlling -
processing solutions, printing processes of photographs can
be simplified.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS :~
Various other objects, features and many of the
attendant advantages of the present invention will be
readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by
reference to the following detailed description of the
preferred embodiment when considered in connection with the
accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing a : ::
photographic printing and developing apparatus according to ~:
an embodiment of the present invention; ~.
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FIG. 2 is an explanatory illustration showing an
example of a standard negative film used in the photographic
printing and developing apparatus according to the
embodiment;
FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing an :
example of an exposure section of the photographic printing
and developing apparatus according to the embodiment;
FIG. 4 is an explanatory illustration showing the
operation of the exposure section shown in FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is an explanatory illustration showing the
operation of the exposure section shown in FIG. 3;
FIG. 6 is an example of a light source used in the
photographic printing and developing apparatus according to
the embodiment;
FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view showing another
example of the light source used in the photographic
printing and developing apparatus according to the
embodiment;
FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an example of the
control section used in the photographic printing and
developing apparatus according to the embodiment;
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing operation of a control
section used in the photographic printing and developing
apparatus according to the embodiment; and
FIG. 10 is an explanatory illustration showing a
display on a monitor used in the photographic printing and
developing apparatus according to the embodiment.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
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The present invention will now be described with
reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a
schematic sectional view showing a photographic printing and
developing apparatus according to an embodiment of the
present invention. The photographic printing and developing
apparatus is mainly composed of an exposure section 1, a
developing section 2, a density measurement section 3, a
control section 6 and a monitor 7. Numeral 4 denotes a
negative film, and numeral 5 denotes a photosensitive
material such as a printing paper. A lamp 11, a lens 12 and
a shutter 13 are disposed in the exposure section 1 for
exposing the photosensitive material 5. In the density
measuring section 3, a cutter 14 is disposed for cutting the
photosensitive material 5 into a predetermined length. A
densitometer 15 is also disposed in the density measuring
section 3 for measuring the density of the photosensitive
material 5.
When it is required to check the condition of the
processing solution, the photosensitive material 5 is
exposed in the exposure section 1 using a standard negative
film which will be described later as the film 4. In this
case, the lamp 11, lens 12 and shutter 13 are set in
accordance with predetermined standard conditions. The
photosensitive material 5 exposed under the standard
conditions is transferred to the developing section 2 for
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developing, and then transferred to the density measurement
section 3 in which the density of the photosensitive
material 5 is measured by the densitometer 15. The measured
values are displayed on the monitor 7 as data indicating
whether or not the status of the processing solution is in a
predetermined usable range.
To obtain the standard exposure, the lamp 11, lens 12
and shutter 13 are adjusted in accordance with predetermined
standard conditions. FIG. 2 is an explanatory illustration
showing an example of the standard negative film used in the
photographic printing and developing apparatus according to
this embodiment. The standard negative film is a special
negative film which is used only for the standard exposure,
and which is formed with a white area W, a gray area G and a
black area B each having a predetermined density, as shown
in FIG. 2.
FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing an
example of the exposure section 1, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are
explanatory illustrations showing the operation of the
exposure section 1. In the drawings, numeral 8 indicates a
standard negative film, numeral 9 denotes an ordinary
negative film used for printing, numeral 10 denotes a
rectangular opening, numeral 16 denotes a motor 16, numeral
17 denotes pulleys, numeral 18 denotes belts, numeral 19
denotes rollers for transferring the negative film 9,
numeral 20 denotes a negative film mask, and M denotes a
mount. Among them, the standard negative film 8, the
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ordinary negative film 9, the rectangular opening 10 and the
mask 20 are illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 for illustrating
the operation of the exposure section 1. As shown in FIG 3,
the ordinary negative film 9 is continuously transferred by
the transferring rollers 19. The motor 16 is driven for
transferring the standard negative film 8 when the ordinary
film is not transferred. When the motor 16 is driven, the
belts 18 supporting the mount M is moved via the pulleys 17.
Thus, the standard negative film 8 attached to the mount M
travels between an exposure position corresponding to the
opening 10 and a retreat position as shown in FIG.3.
When the standard negative film 8 is located at the
retreat position, the ordinary negative film 9 is passed
across the negative film mask 20. As shown in FIG. 4, the
negative film 9 passes behind the opening 10 as viewed from
the lower side of the negative film mask 20. When a button
on an operational panel (not illustrated) is operated for
commanding a standard exposure, the standard negative film 8
supported by the mount M is advanced from the retreat
position to the exposure position corresponding to the
opening 10 so that the opening 10 is covered by the standard
film 8, as shown in FIG. 5.
i For obtaining a light source for the standard exposure,
a special light source may be provided other than the light
source for ordinary printing. In such a case, the light
sources are selectively used. Alternatively, a common llght
source may be used for both the ordinary printing and the
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standard exposure. For performing a standard exposure, the
voltage supplied to the light source is automatically
adjusted to the predetermined level for the standard
exposure.
FIG. 6 is an example of a light source in which an
additional light source for the standard exposure is
provided. In the drawing, numeral lla denotes a lamp for
the standard exposure, numeral llb denotes a lamp for the
ordinary printing, numeral 27 denotes a motor and numeral 28
denotes a belt. The lamps lla and llb are mounted on the
belt 28 which is moved by the motor 27. The motor 27 is
energized in response to a command input from the operation
panel so that one of the lamps lla and llb is positioned at
an exposure position.
FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view showing the light
source in which a common light source is used for the
ordinary printing and for the standard exposure. In this
case, the light source must be controlled 90 that the
conditions for standard exposure be met. In the drawing,
numeral 11 denotes the lamp, numeral 23 denotes a mechanical
shutter, numeral 24 denotes a shutter actuation section,
numeral 25 denotes light controlling filters, numeral 26
denotes a filter drive section, and numeral-2~ denotes a
control section. The quantity of light and the color
temperature are detected by a sensor (not illustrated), upon
which the control section 29 automatically controls the
voltage applied to the lamp 11, and the light controlling
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filters 25. The light controlling filters 25 are YMC color
filters, and they are advanced or retracted to control the
color of the exposure light.
FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an example of the
control section 6 used in the photographic printing and
developing apparatus according to the embodiment. The
control section 6 includes functional blocks which responds
to input signals from a keyboard for selecting one of the
light sources and for controlling the exposure conditions
for effecting a standard exposure. The control section 6
also includes functional blocks for calculating the
condition of the processing solution based on data output
from the densitometer 15 and for displaying the condition. -
Functional blocks illustrated by thin lines form a control
portion for setting exposure conditions for ordinary
printing based on data obtained by detecting the kind of a
negative film and input signals from the keyboard.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the
photographic printing and developing apparatus according to
the embodiment.
In cases where standard exposure is not commanded, the
processes in steps 101, 102 and 103 are repeated for
carrying out ordinary printing.
When it is detected in step 100 that standard exposure
is commanded, the process moves from step 100 to step 104,
in which the motor 27 for exchanging the light sources is
activated so that the light source lla for standard exposure
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is located at the exposure position. In steps 105, 106 and
107, the condition of the light source for standard exposure
is checked and adjusted in accordance with the standard
exposure conditions. In step 108, the exposure time
(shutter time) for standard exposure is determined.
Subsequently, a standard exposure is effected on the
printing paper 5 in step 109.
After the printing paper 5 is developed, the density of
the paper 5 is measured in step 110, and the condition of
the processing solution is calculated based on the density.
Information indicating the condition of the solution is then
displayed on the monitor 7 as shown in FIG. 10. After that,
it is determined in step 111 whether or not the condition of
the processing solution is within a predetermined usable
range. When it is judged that the condition is within the
predetermined usable range, "OK" is displayed on the monitor
7 in step 112. On the contrary, when it is judged that the
condition is outside the predetermined usable range, "NG" is
displayed on the monitor 7 in step 113.
FIG. 10 is an explanatory illustration of a display for
monitoring the condition of the processing solution used in
the photographic printing and developing apparatus according
to the embodiment. As FIG. 10 shows, the display presents
information concerning the upper limits and lower limits of
densities for the primary three colors, measured density
values for each color and information indicating whether or
not the processing solution currently used is still usable.
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The above-described standard exposure and determination
of the condition of the processing solution may be carried
out at predetermined intervals in response to, for example,
a signal from a timer. Also, ~hey may be carried out every
time when a predetermined number of photographs are printed.
Further, the photographic printing and developing apparatus
may be controlled such that it is stopped if the standard
exposure and the determination of the condition of the
processing solution has not been carried out for a
predetermined period of time. The operation of the control
section 6 may be modified in such a way that the printing
and developing procedure are automatically stopped after
elapse of predetermined period of time, without checking the
condition of the processing solution.
Obviously, numerous modifications and variations of the
present invention are possible in light of the above
teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the
scope of the appended claims, the present invention may be
practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.
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