JP2594466B2 - Finished print distribution device - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a finished print distributing apparatus, and more particularly to a finished print which is cut and discharged for each image frame in a photographic processing apparatus such as a printer processor for performing printing development processing. The present invention relates to a finished print distribution device for distributing prints for each order.

[Conventional technology]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a printer processor that prints an image recorded on a negative film on photographic paper, cuts the image into image frames, develops, fixes, rinses, dries, and discharges the processed image.
A finished print distributing device for distributing the finished print for each order is arranged on the finished print discharge side of the printer processor. With the conventional finished print distribution device,
As shown in JP-156556, a plurality of L-shaped brackets are attached to the endless belt at predetermined intervals, and the endless belt is inserted so that a finished print of one order is inserted into a space formed between the L-shaped brackets. The finished print is distributed by driving.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, the conventional finished print distribution apparatus has a problem in that a large number of parts are required for mounting a plurality of L-shaped brackets, and a large arrangement space is required because the L-shaped brackets protrude perpendicular to the endless belt surface. Was.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and has as its object to provide a finished print distributing apparatus which can reduce the number of parts and can be arranged in a narrow space.

[Means for solving the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a transport belt having a transport surface that is substantially horizontal and a length capable of placing a plurality of finished prints in parallel along the transport direction, and a first drive belt that drives the transport belt. The drive device and the conveying belt are arranged on both sides in the width direction, and the height position of the placement surface on the downstream side in the movement direction of the finished print when the finished print moves on the finished print placement surface is the upstream side in the movement direction. The receiving position where the mounting surface is inclined so as to be higher than the height position of the mounting surface, and the mounting surface is substantially horizontal and the height position of the mounting surface is from the upstream side in the movement direction. A flapper swingable between a transfer position that is lower than the conveying surface of the conveyor belt over the downstream side, and a flapper that is swingable between the transfer position and the flapper placed on the receiving surface in the receiving position. End of the placed print on the upstream side in the moving direction A stopper provided so that the finished print is ejected from the processing device, and the flapper is swung to the receiving position when the finished print is discharged from the processing device. When the finished print is accumulated on the flapper in a predetermined manner, the flapper is moved to the delivery position. And a second driving device that swings the

Further, the second driving device may include a cam for swinging the flapper.

[Action]

The transport belt according to the present invention has a length in which a plurality of finished prints can be arranged in parallel along the transport direction, and is driven by a first driving device. Further, flappers are arranged on both sides in the width direction of the conveyor belt, and the flapper is
When the finished print is discharged from the processing apparatus, the height position of the placement surface on the downstream side in the moving direction of the finished print when the finished print moves on the finished print placement surface by the second drive device is the above-mentioned. The mounting surface is swung to a receiving position where the mounting surface is inclined so as to be higher than the height position of the mounting surface on the upstream side in the moving direction.

Since the finished print has flexibility, the finished print discharged from the processing apparatus and moved onto the flapper mounting surface is:
The leading end (the end on the downstream side in the moving direction of the finished print) is discharged while hanging down by its own weight, and the leading end abuts on the mounting surface of the flapper or the finished print already mounted on the mounting surface of the flapper. At this time, since the flapper is inclined such that the height position of the mounting surface on the downstream side in the moving direction of the finished print is higher than the height position of the mounting surface on the upstream side in the moving direction, The finished print moves on the mounting surface to the downstream side in the moving direction while the height position is guided so as to gradually rise against its own weight as the flapper moves on the mounting surface. .

When the rear end of the finished print (the end on the upstream side in the moving direction of the finished print) is discharged from the processing apparatus and moves onto the flapper mounting surface, most of the finished print is already on the apparatus surface of the flapper. Since it is placed and supported on the upper side, the finished print whose rear end is discharged from the processing apparatus is placed at a substantially constant position on the placement surface of the flapper. Further, according to the present invention, in a state in which the flapper is located at the receiving position, the stopper is arranged such that the end (rear end) on the upstream side in the moving direction of the finished print placed on the placement surface of the flapper abuts. Is provided. Therefore, the finished prints sequentially discharged from the processing apparatus are accumulated on the mounting surface of the state flapper in which the positions of the end portions are substantially aligned.

In the above case, when the finished print is placed on the flapper mounting surface with the image forming surface facing up, the leading end of the finished print moving on the flapper mounting surface is already on the flapper. The finished print that has been placed will come into contact with the image forming surface of the finished print. It is extremely small and does not damage the image formation of the finished print already placed on the flapper.

Further, when the predetermined prints are accumulated on the flapper, the second drive device is configured such that the finished print placement surface is substantially horizontal and the height position of the placement surface is from the upstream side to the downstream side in the movement direction of the finish prints. Swinging the flapper at the delivery position, which is lower than the conveying surface of the conveying belt over the range. As described above, since the mounting surface of the flapper is substantially horizontal at the delivery position, a force that attempts to slide on the mounting surface is applied to the finished prints accumulated on the mounting surface of the flapper. In addition, since the transport surface of the transport belt is also substantially horizontal, the finished print is substantially parallel to the transport surface of the transport belt at the time of delivery.

Therefore, when the flapper is swung to the delivery position, the finished prints accumulated on the mounting surface of the flapper are supported by the transport belt at the lower portion of the central portion along the width direction of the transport belt. Without being disturbed in the stacking state due to sliding movement on the top, etc., the sheet is transferred to the conveyor belt while the positions of the end portions are kept substantially aligned.
In addition, since the stacking state is transferred to the conveyor belt without disturbing, the plurality of finished prints in the stacking state relatively move at the time of transfer to the conveyor belt. There is no fear that the image forming surface of the positioned finished print is damaged.

By repeating the above operation, the finished prints can be transferred to the transport belt so that the finished prints are arranged in parallel on the transport belt, and the finished prints can be distributed on the transport belt.

Therefore, since it is not necessary to attach a plurality of L-shaped brackets to the transport belt, the number of components can be reduced, and the belt can be arranged in a narrow space.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, the finished prints are transferred from the processing apparatus to the transport belt by the flapper and are arranged in a distributed manner on the transport belt, so that the number of partial points is reduced and the arrangement space is narrowed. Can be obtained.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, the present invention is applied to a printer processor. As shown in FIG. 1, the printer processor includes an exposure unit 10 for printing an image recorded on a negative film onto photographic paper, and developing, fixing and printing of the baked photographic paper.
A developing / fixing / washing unit 12 for washing with water and a drying unit 14 for drying the washed photographic paper are provided. The exposure unit 10 includes a light source 16, a light control filter 18 composed of three complementary color filters of Y, M, and C, a light diffusion tube 20 for diffusing light, a lens 24 for printing,
The black shutter 26 and the photographic paper 27 wound in a roll shape are arranged in order, and the negative film 22 is arranged between the light diffusion tube 20 and the lens 24. The printed photographic paper 27 is cut into image frames by a cutter 28 and discharged to the outside via the developing / fixing / washing unit 12 and the drying unit 14. A first paper sensor including a light emitting element and a light receiving element for detecting the presence of photographic paper on the exit side of the cutter 28.
S1 is disposed, and a second paper sensor S2 having the same configuration as the first paper sensor S1 is disposed on the exit side of the drying unit 14. A stop 36 for preventing the finished print from dropping is fixed on the finished print discharge side of the printer processor, and a finished print distribution device is arranged close to the stop 36.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the finished print distributing apparatus includes a driven roller 52, a driving roller 54, and an endless belt 48 stretched between the driven roller 52 and the driving roller 54. It has. The shaft of the drive roller 54 is a gear train 56
Is connected to a driving motor 58 via a. The base of one flapper 38 is loosely fitted on the shaft of the driven roller 52. Axle 50 is attached to body 66 so that it is parallel to the axis of driven roller 52.
A pair of cams 40 are fixed at positions on both ends of the shaft 50 facing the flapper 38. Also, axis 50
Is fixed to one end of the first link 43. At the other end of the first link 43, one end of a second link 42 is rotatably attached. The other end of the second link 42 is rotatably mounted near the circumference of the disk 46. The disk 46 is connected to a motor 62 via a gear box 60.
It is connected to. Also, at one end of the first link 43,
In the state where the detecting piece 44 is formed and the flapper 38 is lowered, the link sensor S3 including the light emitting element and the light receiving element is formed.
Thereby, the detection piece 44 is detected. As a result of the above-described configuration, when the disk 46 is rotated by the motor 62, the cam 40 is swung about the shaft 50, whereby the flapper 38 is positioned at a position indicated by a solid line in FIG. The flapper 38 is swung between the endless belt 48 and a position slightly below the photographic paper mounting surface. An intermediate roller 64 is disposed between the driven roller 52 and the driving roller 54, and a tension roller 68 for keeping the tension constant is disposed. Reference numeral 70 is a box for receiving a finished print that falls.

The dimming filter 18 and the black shutter 26 are control circuits.
30 and is controlled based on the exposure information.
The cutter 28, the motor 62, the first paper sensor S1, the second paper sensor S2, and the link sensor S3 are connected to the control circuit 30. The control circuit 30 is connected to a key including a print key and a sort key 32 which are pressed at the time of printing and distribution, and a print size setting unit 34 for inputting size information of the printing paper. By pressing this print key at the time of printing, a signal indicating the print timing is input to the control circuit 30 as shown in FIG. 4, and printing is performed. By pressing the sort key at the time of distribution, the signal shown in FIG. The sort signal is input to the control circuit 30. When the printed photographic paper passes through the first paper sensor S1 and the second paper sensor S2, the signals shown in FIG. 4 are output from the first paper sensor S1 and the second paper sensor S2, respectively.

Next, with reference to FIG.
The drive control of the endless belt 48 will be described. First, in step 100, initialization processing of variables n, m, etc. is performed. At this time, the variable n is initialized to 0,
The variable m is initialized to 1. Next Step 102
Then, it is determined whether or not the output of the first paper sensor S1 has risen, and when it is determined that the output has risen, the count value C1 is incremented in step 104. Next step
It determines whether sorting signal input has ramps up from 106 in the sort key, when it is determined that ramps up the variable n is incremented in step 108, stores the count value C1 in the register R _n at step 110. As a result, the number of rises of the output of the first paper sensor S1 until the sort signal rises, that is, the number of photographic papers that have been printed and cut by the cutter 28 are stored in the register R _n.
Will be stored. It should be noted that the photographic paper cut by baking is discharged from the printer processor approximately 5 minutes after being subjected to development, fixing, washing and drying.

In the next step 112, it is determined whether or not the output of the second paper sensor S2 has risen. If it is determined that the output has risen, the count value C2 is incremented in step 114, and then the m-th step 116 (the initial value of the variable m is 1). , Which is the first register). When the output of the second paper sensor S2 has not risen, the process proceeds to step 116 as it is. In the next step 118, it is determined whether or not the value Mm stored in the m-th register is equal to the count value C2. When the value is determined to be equal, that is, until the sort signal rises, the first paper sensor S1 is determined. the tip of the final paper which has passed through the can when it is determined to have been detected by the second sheet sensor S2, it is determined whether the time t ₃ has elapsed at step 120. The time t ₃ can adopt the time until the leading end of the photographic printing paper is placed on Furatsupa 38 The paper after reaching is completely ejected from the printer pro-broken on the second paper sensor S2 . The process proceeds to step 102 when it is determined that no over time t _3, to link the sensor S3 is turned on at step 122 when it is determined that the elapsed time t _3, i.e. Furatsupa 38 is slightly above the endless belt 48 The flapper 38 is lowered by driving the motor 62 until it lowers. Then step 12
In step 4, the variable m is incremented and the count values C1 and C2 are cleared in order to perform the next finished print distribution process. As a result of changing the variables n and m as described above, the count value when the sort signal rises is stored in the register, and the register value is sequentially read out and compared with the count value C2.

In the next step 126, the size l of the photographic paper for the next sort, which is input in advance from the print size setting device 34 such as a key-in driving device, is fetched, and this size and a predetermined first predetermined value (for example, , 110mm). If this size is less than the first predetermined value,
At 128, the endless belt 48 has a certain amount (for example,
The motor 58 is driven so as to be conveyed (a value obtained by adding a predetermined value to the length of 8). When it is determined in step 126 that the size 1 is equal to or greater than the first predetermined value, it is determined in step 130 whether the size 1 exceeds a second predetermined value (for example, 150 mm) larger than the first predetermined value. . If the size 1 of the photographic paper is equal to or smaller than the second predetermined value, the motor 58 is controlled so that the photographic paper having the added value of the size 1 of the photographic paper (for example, 20 mm) is conveyed in step 134. If it is determined that the size 1 of the photographic paper exceeds the second predetermined value, the distance photographic paper obtained by subtracting a predetermined value (for example, 40 mm) from the size 1 of the photographic paper in step 132 is conveyed. The motor 58 is controlled. As described above, when the size of the photographic paper is smaller than the first predetermined value, the photographic paper is conveyed a distance longer than the length of the flapper 38, so that interference between the photographic paper and the flapper 38 can be prevented. When the size of the photographic paper is between the first predetermined value and the second predetermined value, that is, when the size of the photographic paper is larger than the length of the flapper 38, the interval between the stacked photographic papers is a predetermined value. (20 mm in the above example) on the endless belt 48. When the size of the printing paper is larger than the second predetermined value, the stacked printing papers can be placed on the endless belt 48 so as to overlap by a predetermined value (20 mm in the above example). As described above, since the distance for transporting the printing paper is changed according to the size of the printing paper, the finished printing mounting surface of the endless belt 48 can be used efficiently.

On the other hand, if a negative determination is made in step 118, it is determined in step 121 whether or not the count value C2 is equal to or greater than the maximum number of prints (for example, 50) that can be placed on one location of the endless belt, and an affirmative determination is made. Then, control of the flapper with the endless belt is performed in the same manner as described above. As described above, the finished prints are conveyed even when the maximum number of stacked prints is reached, so that it is possible to prevent the stacked finished prints from being destroyed due to the excess of the number of stacked prints.

In the above description, an example is described in which the finished print distributing apparatus is arranged on the finished print discharge side of the printer processor. However, this finished print distributing apparatus may be arranged on a processor or the like that is cut and discharged for each image frame. it can.

If the print size exceeds twice the length of the flapper, if the flapper has occurred, the print will swing like a seesaw on the flapper and can be properly laminated on the flapper. Disappears. In such a case, raise the flapper only for the first print, and for the second and subsequent prints,
What is necessary is just to lower the flapper and directly laminate on the first print.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an example in which a finished print distribution apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is arranged on the discharge side of a printer processor.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the above embodiment, FIG. 3 is a plan view of the above embodiment, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing signal waveforms at various parts in FIG.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a routine for controlling the conveyance of the flapper and the endless belt by the control circuit. 28 ... Cutter, 30 ... Control circuit, 36 ... Stopper, 38 ... Flapper, 40 ... Cam, 48 ... Endless belt, 58 ... Motor.

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A transport belt having a transport surface that is substantially horizontal and capable of placing a plurality of finished prints in parallel along the transport direction, a first driving device for driving the transport belt, and a transport belt. The height position of the placement surface on the downstream side in the moving direction of the finished print when the finished print moves on the finished print placement surface is located on both sides in the width direction of the finish printing surface. The receiving position where the mounting surface is inclined so as to be higher than the height position, and the mounting surface is substantially horizontal and the height position of the mounting surface is transported from the upstream side to the downstream side in the moving direction. A transfer position that is lower than the transfer surface of the belt, a flapper that can swing between the transfer position, and a finished print placed on the placement surface of the flapper in a state where the flapper is located at the receiving position. The end on the upstream side in the movement direction is A second stopper for swinging the flapper to the receiving position when the finished print is discharged from the processing device, and for swinging the flapper to the delivery position when the finished print is accumulated on the flapper in a predetermined manner. And a finished print distribution device comprising: 2. A finished print distributing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said second driving device includes a cam for swinging said flapper.