Photocopying – Projection printing and copying cameras – With developing
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-22
2001-01-09
Mathews, Alan A. (Department: 2851)
Photocopying
Projection printing and copying cameras
With developing
C355S041000, C355S072000, C396S613000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06172736
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a photographic processing method and a printer processor in which an elongated photosensitive material is sequentially exposed to images, subjected to development, and thereafter cut into images according to main cut marks provided at the boundary between each exposure area during imagewise exposure to obtain photographic prints.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, in a printer processor, an elongated photosensitive material (printing paper) is wound into a roll and accommodated in a magazine, and the magazine is loaded in a predetermined position.
Here, when a printing paper is subjected to print exposure of an image which has been recorded on a photographed film in a full-image exposure method, the photographed film is set in a carrier; printing paper is taken out from the magazine and transported and guided to a print exposure position; in the print exposure position, a mask is applied to the printing paper according to the predetermined print size or the like; thereafter a shutter is opened; and transmitted light is irradiated through the photographed film onto the printing paper thereby exposing the printing paper imagewise.
Exposed printing paper is sequentially positioned in a print exposure position and sequentially developed while being transported in an unchanging direction.
At the boundaries between exposed image areas on the printing paper, cut marks are provided. The cut marks are detected and the printing paper is cut at each cut mark to produce a photographic print.
In a conventional printer processor, a photosensitive material taken out from a magazine is always transported along its longitudinal direction, and hence the path length from print exposure to development is very long. Therefore, the physical size of the processor has had to be large and there has been an unsatisfied demand for downsizing without any reduction in processing capacity.
This problem may be solved simply by shortening the path length of the development process, that is development, fixation, washing, drying and the like.
If the transporting speed of the printing paper is slowed down, the path length of the developing process can be shortened, however, the processing capacity is reduced and therefore this is not preferable.
Since even if a unit area (that is, the area processed at one time), is increased, the processing time does not change but the processing quality deteriorates, it is conceivable that parallel processing can compensate for the drawbacks due to the short path length, but the required mechanism for parallel processing is complex and therefore no contribution to downsizing can be expected in many cases.
The present invention has been made in light of the above facts and it is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a photographic processing method and a printer processor in which a reduced size is achieved without any reduction in processing capacity being suffered by shortening the path length of the development process.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a photographic processing method for obtaining photographic prints by sequentially exposing predetermined images onto an elongated photosensitive material, performing developing processing on the photosensitive material, and then cutting the photosensitive material between each image, wherein the photosensitive material is exposed while being transported in a longitudinal direction at the time of image exposure, the photosensitive material is cut into a plurality of image area units, and then the photosensitive material is transported in a transverse direction at the time of developing processing.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, each of the image area units is a single image unit.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, each of the image area units is a plurality of image units.
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, cutting of the photosensitive material into said image area units is conducted prior to exposure.
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, cutting of the photosensitive material into said image area units is conducted after exposure.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, the direction in which the printing paper is transported at the time of print exposure and the direction in which the printing paper is transported at the time of development intersect each other orthogonally and, at the time of developing, development processing is performed in a condition where a plurality of images remain on one sheet of printing paper. Accordingly, the same effect as parallel processing can be achieved in the development processing and, since one sheet of photosensitive material is used, the transport system can be uncomplicated.
As can be seen from the above, the degree of freedom in handling of photosensitive material is increased (since there is not only one transport direction available), and at the same time the size of the apparatus can be reduced without any reduction in processing capacity.
Here, according to the second and third aspects of the present invention, the image area unit may be either of a single image unit or a plurality of image units. For example, when various sizes of images are recorded on the photosensitive material and cutting is conducted based on the longest length of the sizes, it is advantageous in terms of easy handling of the photosensitive material to cut images of a smaller size as two or more images units. On the other hand, when only images of the same size are recorded, cutting may be conducted as a single image unit.
Further, according to the second and third aspects of the present invention, cutting in the image area unit may be conducted either prior to or after exposure.
According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a photographic processing method for obtaining photographic prints by sequentially exposing a predetermined image onto an elongated photosensitive material, performing developing processing on the photosensitive material, and then cutting the photosensitive material after each image on the basis of main cut marks provided at the boundaries of exposure areas during image exposures, wherein: a photosensitive material is exposed while being transported in an elongated state in the longitudinal direction thereof; preliminary cut marks are imparted to the boundaries of image areas in such a way that the image exposure area is kept inside a predetermined length in the longitudinal direction, with the length of the exposed image area in the direction in which the photosensitive material is transported taken as one unit, at the time of this exposure; the exposed photosensitive material is cut at each of the preliminary cut marks; the direction in which each cut photosensitive material is being transported is changed to the transverse direction of the cut photosensitive material, developing processing is performed on the cut photosensitive material while the cut photosensitive material is being transported in this state; and the processed photosensitive material is then cut at each main cut mark.
According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print processor for obtaining photographic prints by sequentially exposing a predetermined image onto an elongated photosensitive material, performing developing processing on the photosensitive material, and then cutting the photosensitive material after each image on the basis of main cut marks provided at the boundaries of exposure areas during image exposures comprising: preliminary cut mark imparting means for imparting preliminary cut marks to the boundaries of image areas in such a way that the image exposure area is kept inside a
Fuji Photo Film Co. , Ltd.
Mathews Alan A.
Sughrue Mion Zinn Macpeak & Seas, PLLC
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