JP2005178953A - Image recording material supply device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To carry image recording material in various carrying patterns of a plurality of lines or one line in simple structure. <P>SOLUTION: Printing paper 23 from a second magazine 12 is carried by a pair of carrying rollers 16 onto a movable frame 28 of a slide mechanism 18. As the printing paper 23 is detected by a printing paper detecting sensor 33, air is supplied from an air supply part 32 to an air cylinder 31, and the movable frame 28 slides in a printing paper width direction. As the movable frame 28 slides to a stop position, the printing paper 23 is fed to a carrying passage 25 by a pair of feed rollers, and the printing paper 23 from a first magazine 11 is carried onto the movable frame 28. The printing paper 23 from the first magazine 11 is fed to the carrying passage 25 without causing the movable frame 28 to slide. On the carrying passage 25, therefore, the printing paper 23 from the first and the second magazines 11 and 12 are carried in two lines in the printing paper width direction. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a supply device that conveys a plurality of rows of image recording materials to an image recording apparatus.

  In a photosensitive material exposure apparatus such as a printer processor used in a photographic development shop, a magazine containing a roll-shaped photosensitive material is set as an image recording material. The photosensitive material sent out from the magazine is cut into a predetermined length, and an exposure unit that prints an image based on image data obtained by reading an image recorded on a photographic film or the like, and a development processing unit that develops the exposed photosensitive material And a drying unit and a stacking unit incorporated as necessary. In such a photosensitive material processing apparatus, in order to increase the printing capacity per time, the photosensitive material sent out in one row from the magazine is distributed and conveyed in a plurality of rows in front of the exposure unit and the development processing unit. Yes. In addition, a plurality of magazines are arranged in advance in the photosensitive material processing apparatus, and a plurality of rows are conveyed by simultaneously feeding the photosensitive material from each magazine.

  In such a photosensitive material processing apparatus provided with a plurality of magazines, for example, as described in Patent Document 1, two magazines are provided in parallel in a direction orthogonal to the photosensitive material conveyance direction. In some cases, the photosensitive material is conveyed in a plurality of rows. In this photosensitive material exposure apparatus, a mechanism for narrowing the photosensitive material is provided corresponding to each magazine in order to make the exposure unit inexpensive and small. As a result, the photosensitive materials from the respective magazines are conveyed in a plurality of rows to the exposure area of the exposure unit with a small interval in the width direction.

JP-A-11-95330

  However, in the photosensitive material exposure apparatus provided with two magazines, multi-row conveyance using two magazines at the same time, one-row conveyance using only one magazine, or the width direction of the conveyance path during this one-row conveyance It is necessary to cope with various transport patterns such as center-aligned transport that is transported near the center. For this reason, if a photosensitive material width-adjusting mechanism is provided for each magazine as described above to achieve the conveyance of various conveyance patterns, the apparatus itself becomes large and costly due to the extremely complicated structure. End up.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and provides an image recording material capable of transporting an image recording material with various structures such as a plurality of rows or one row with a simple structure. An object is to provide an apparatus.

  In order to achieve the above object, an image recording material supply device provided in the image recording apparatus of the present invention comprises a first and second transport path, and a transport path capable of transporting the image recording material in a plurality of rows. The first and second magazines that store the image recording material and are spaced apart from each other in the width direction, and a width that moves the image recording material sent from the first or second magazine in the width direction. Direction moving means, and the first magazine is arranged such that the center in the width direction of the first transport path coincides with the center in the width direction of the image recording material accommodated in the first magazine. The image recording material sent from the second magazine is moved by the width direction moving means, and the image recording material sent from the first magazine and the image recording material sent from the second magazine on the transport path, Image of It is characterized in that a plurality of line transport stuffed interval of the recording material width direction. It is preferable that the image recording material is sent from the first magazine after the movement of the image recording material sent from the second magazine by the width direction moving means is completed.

  Further, the image recording material is sent out from either one of the first magazine and the second magazine, the image recording material is moved by the width direction moving means, and the image recording material is moved to 1 near the center of the transport path. Row conveyance may be performed. Further, the image recording material is sent out from either one of the first and second magazines, and at least a part of the sent image recording material is moved by the width direction moving means, The image recording material may be conveyed in a plurality of rows on the conveyance path.

  According to the present invention, the conveyance path that includes the first and second conveyance paths and is capable of conveying a plurality of rows of image recording materials, and the first and the second that are separated from each other in the width direction are accommodated. A second magazine; and a width direction moving means for moving the image recording material delivered from the first or second magazine in the width direction. The image recording material accommodated in one magazine is arranged so as to coincide with the center in the width direction. The image recording material sent from the second magazine is moved by the width direction moving means, and is moved along the conveying path to the first magazine. Since the image recording material sent from the second magazine and the image recording material sent from the second magazine are transported in a plurality of rows by narrowing the interval in the width direction of the image recording material, the image recording material can be obtained with a simple structure without cost. Each of multiple rows, one row, etc. It can be transported by the transport pattern.

  Further, the image recording material is sent out from the first magazine, and at least a part of the sent image recording material is moved by the width direction moving means, and the image recording material is conveyed in a plurality of rows to the conveying path. As a result, the time required to move the image recording material in the width direction of the image recording material is shortened, so that the printing ability is improved.

  FIG. 1 shows an outline of the printer processor. The printer processor 2 includes a supply unit 5, an exposure unit 6, a development processing unit 7, a drying unit 8, a stacking unit 9, and a system controller 10. The units 5 to 9 of the printer processor 2 are controlled by the system controller 10.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the supply unit 5 includes first and second magazines 11 and 12, a cutter 15, conveyance roller pairs 16 and 17, and a slide mechanism 18 that is a width direction moving unit. The first and second magazines 11 and 12 contain photographic paper rolls 20 that are image recording materials. These photographic paper rolls 20 are drawn out by a length corresponding to the print size by a pair of feed rollers 21 provided in the first and second magazines 11 and 12, and then are adjusted to a predetermined length by a cutter 15 corresponding to each magazine. It is cut into sheet-like photographic paper 23 (hereinafter referred to as photographic paper). The photographic paper 23 is arranged in two rows in the photographic paper width direction by the slide mechanism 18 and is sent to a conveyance path 25 indicated by a two-dot chain line in the figure (see FIG. 1). Thus, the photographic paper 23 is conveyed in the order of the exposure unit 6, the development processing unit 7, the drying unit 8, and the stacking unit 9 in two rows.

  The exposure unit 6 performs scanning exposure on the photographic paper 23 conveyed in the two rows based on the image data, and records the image as a latent image. The exposed photographic paper 23 is subjected to color development, development, bleach-fixing, and water washing processing in the development processing unit 7 and dried in the drying unit 8. The dried photographic paper 23 is conveyed to the stacking unit 9 while maintaining two rows, sorted for each print order, and discharged.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the transport path 25 includes a center line CL <b> 1 (hereinafter referred to as a center line of the transport path) between one side end 25 a and the other side end 25 b in the width direction of the transport path 25, and the transport path 25. A first transport path 26 formed by one side end 25a of the first transport path 25, a center line CL1 of the transport path 25, and a second transport path 27 formed by the other side end 25b of the transport path 25. The photographic paper having various widths that can be accommodated in the second magazines 11 and 12 has a width capable of being conveyed, and includes a conveying roller pair 17 and a guide plate (not shown).

  The first magazine 11 provided in the supply unit 5 is arranged on the extension line of the center line CL1 of the transport path 25 and the center line CL2 of the first transport path 26 formed by one side end 25a of the transport path 25. The photographic paper rolls 20 accommodated in one magazine 11 are arranged so that the centers in the width direction coincide with each other. The second magazine 12 is arranged side by side with the first magazine 11 at a predetermined interval in the photographic paper width direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the photographic paper 23 on the other side end 25 b side of the conveyance path 25. Is provided. Therefore, the center in the width direction of the photographic paper roll 20 accommodated in the second magazine 12 is out of the conveyance path 25.

  The slide mechanism 18 includes a moving frame 28, a feed roller pair 29, a drive motor 30, an air cylinder 31, an air supply unit 32, a photographic paper detection sensor 33, and the like. The moving frame 28 is formed with substantially the same width as the transport path 25 and is arranged so that its longitudinal direction is parallel to the photographic paper width direction. The moving frame 28 is provided with a feed roller pair 29 and a drive motor 30. The feed roller pair 29 includes a rotation shaft and short roller pairs 29a to 29d, and the roller pairs 29a to 29d are provided on the rotation shaft at regular intervals. The feed roller pair 29 feeds the photographic printing paper 23 from the first and second magazines 11 and 12 conveyed from the conveyance roller pair 16 to the conveyance path 25 by rotational driving from the drive motor 30. An air cylinder 31 is connected to one side surface of the moving frame 28. The air cylinder 31 extends and contracts the rod by the amount of air supplied from the air supply unit 32. By the expansion and contraction of the rod, the moving frame 28 slides on the rail provided under the moving frame 28 (not shown) in the photographic paper width direction (left and right direction in the figure). The photographic paper detection sensor 33 is provided on the moving frame 28 and detects the photographic paper 23 from the first and second magazines 11 and 12 sent onto the moving frame 28 via the conveying roller pair 16. It is.

  A position detection sensor (not shown) is provided below the moving frame 28. The position at which the slide of the moving frame 28 is stopped is stopped based on a detection signal from the position detection sensor. This stop position is set in advance by a combination of the width of the photographic paper stored in the second magazine 12 and the conveyance pattern when the photographic paper is conveyed in a plurality of rows or one row, and is stored in the memory of the system controller 10. ing. As a result, when the photographic paper width or the conveyance pattern is input from the input unit 10 a provided in the system controller 10, the slide stop position of the moving frame 28 is determined accordingly.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a case will be described in which the photographic printing paper 23 is transported in two rows on the transport path 25 using the first and second magazines 11 and 12. In this case, the stop position of the moving frame 28 when the photographic printing paper 23 is conveyed in two rows is, for example, the center of the gap provided between the roller pair 29c and the roller pair 29d constituting the feed roller pair 29. The first stop position substantially coincident with the center in the width direction of the photographic paper roll 20 accommodated in the first magazine 11 and the center of the gap provided between the roller pair 29a and 29b are the second magazine. A second stop position that substantially coincides with the center of the photographic paper roll 20 accommodated in the width direction is set.

  First, the photographic paper roll 20 is sent out from the second magazine 12, and the photographic paper 23 cut into a predetermined length is conveyed by the conveying roller pair 16. At this time, the moving frame 28 is disposed at the second stop position so that the photographic paper 23 is conveyed to the left side of the pair of feed rollers 29 (FIG. 3A). When the photographic paper 23 is conveyed from the conveying roller pair 16 onto the moving frame 28 and the photographic paper 23 is detected by the photographic paper detection sensor 33 (FIG. 3B), the system controller 10 detects the photographic paper detection sensor 33 from the photographic paper detection sensor 33. In response to this detection signal, the moving frame 28 is slid to the first stop position. When the moving frame 28 stops at the first stop position, the feed roller pair 29 rotates to convey the photographic paper 23 from the second magazine 12 to the second conveyance path 27 of the conveyance path 25 and to print from the first magazine 11. The paper roll 20 is pulled out, and the photographic paper 23 cut to a predetermined length is conveyed onto the moving frame 28 via the conveying roller 16 (FIG. 3C). The printing paper 23 from the first magazine 11 that has been transported onto the moving frame 28 is transported to the first transport path 26 of the transport path 25 via the feed roller pair 29 and the transport roller pair 17. When the photographic paper 23 from the first magazine 11 has been sent to the first conveyance path 26, the moving frame 28 slides again to the second stop position, and the photographic paper 23 from the second magazine is conveyed again (FIG. 3 ( D)). Therefore, as shown in the figure, the transport path 25 has a staggered arrangement in which the heads of the photographic papers 23 in the respective rows are shifted, and the photographic papers 23 are transported in two rows with a narrow interval in the width direction. Note that the sending timing of the printing paper 23 from the first and second magazines 11 and 12 is controlled by the system controller 10. After the photographic paper 23 from the second magazine 12 is sent out, the photographic paper 23 from the second magazine 12 is transported to the moving frame 28 until the photographic paper 23 from the first magazine 11 is sent out. The time until the moving frame slides from the second stop position and stops at the first stop position coincides.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. When the photographic paper rolls 20 having the same width accommodated in the first and second magazines 11 and 12 are cut at a predetermined length and conveyed in two rows on the conveyance path 25, the printing from the second magazine 12 is first performed. The paper roll 20 is pulled out and cut at a predetermined length. The cut photographic paper 23 is conveyed to the moving frame 28 arranged at the second stop position. As a result, the photographic paper 23 is conveyed to the left side of the feed roller pair 29, and when the photographic paper detection sensor 33 detects the photographic paper 23, the moving frame 28 slides to the first stop position.

  When the moving frame 28 stops at the first stop position, the photographic paper 23 from the second magazine 12 is conveyed to the second conveyance path 27 via the conveyance roller pair 17 and is also photographic paper accommodated in the first magazine 11. Feeding of the roll 20 is started, and the roll 20 is cut at a predetermined length. The cut printing paper 23 from the first magazine 11 is sent straight to the first transport path 26 via the right side of the feed roller pair 29 of the moving frame 28. As a result, the photographic paper 23 from the first magazine 11 is conveyed with the center line CL2 of the first conveyance path 26 and the center of the photographic paper 23 in the width direction being substantially aligned. Thus, the photographic papers 23 from the first and second magazines 11 and 12 are conveyed in a staggered arrangement in two rows at predetermined intervals in the photographic paper width direction. The photographic paper 23 from the first and second magazines 11 and 12 is scanned and exposed by the exposure unit 6 in two rows, subjected to development processing, drying processing, and finishing processing, and then collected in the stacking unit 9 for each order. The As a result, when transporting the photographic papers 23 arranged in two rows in the transport path 25 at a close interval, only the photographic paper 23 from the first magazine 11 needs to be moved in the width direction of the photographic paper. It is possible to easily transport the two rows of the photographic paper 23 from the first and second magazines 11 and 12 with a narrow interval in the width direction.

  In the above embodiment, the slide mechanism 18 is used to convey the two rows of the photographic paper 23 from the first and second magazines 11 and 12 with the interval in the width direction of the photographic paper being narrowed. One row may be transported using either one of the magazines 12. A case where the first magazine 11 is used to carry one row will be described. The stop position of the moving frame 28 is the first stop position set in the above-described embodiment, and the center of the gap provided between the roller pair 29c and the roller pair 29d of the feed roller pair 29 is the center line CL1 of the transport path 25. Is set to the third stop position.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the moving frame 28 is arranged at the first stop position (FIG. 4A). The photographic paper roll 20 drawn out from the first magazine 11 is cut into a predetermined length. The cut photographic paper 23 is transported to the right side of the feed roller pair 29 of the moving frame 28 by the transport roller pair 16 (FIG. 4B). When the photographic paper 23 is detected by the photographic paper detection sensor 33, the moving frame 28 is slid to the third stop position (FIG. 4C). When the slide of the moving frame 28 stops at the third stop position, the feed roller pair 29 rotates and feeds the photographic printing paper 23 to the transport path 25 via the transport roller pair 17 (FIG. 4D). As a result, the photographic paper 23 is conveyed in the vicinity of the center of the conveyance path 25 in one row, and is scanned and exposed by the exposure unit 5. Note that the photographic paper 23 transported in one row after this exposure may be distributed into a plurality of rows using a well-known sorting device and subjected to development processing, drying processing, or the like. Further, the photographic paper 23 from the first magazine 11 is slid using the slide mechanism 18 and conveyed near the center in the width direction of the conveyance path 25, but the moving frame 28 of the slide mechanism 18 is stopped at the first stop position. The photographic paper 23 from the first magazine 11 may be conveyed straight, and conveyed in one row with the center line CL2 of the first conveyance path 26 and the center of the photographic paper 23 in the width direction being substantially coincident. Good. In this case, since the photographic paper 23 is not slid by the slide mechanism 18, there is no time to slide the photographic paper 23, so that the printing ability is improved.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the photographic printing paper 23 from the first magazine 11 may be divided into two rows by the slide mechanism 18 and conveyed in a plurality of rows. In this case, the stop position of the moving frame 28 is the same as the first stop position used in the above-described embodiment and the center of the gap provided between the roll pair 29c and the roll pair 29d in the width direction of the second transport path 27. A fourth stop position that coincides with the center line CL3 is set.

  The moving frame 28 is arranged at the first stop position, and the photographic printing paper 23 from the first magazine 11 is conveyed to the right side of the feeding roller pair 29 by the conveying roller pair 16 (FIG. 5A). When the photographic paper 23 is detected by the photographic paper detection sensor 33, the moving frame 28 is slid to the fourth stop position (FIG. 5B). When the slide of the moving frame 28 stops at the fourth stop position, the feed roller pair 29 rotates and transports the photographic paper 23 to the second transport path 27. In the second transport path 27, the center line CL3 in the width direction and the center in the width direction of the photographic paper 23 are transported substantially coincident with each other. When the photographic paper 23 disappears from the moving frame 28, the moving frame 28 slides to the first stop position. When the photographic paper 23 from the first magazine 11 is again fed onto the moving frame 28, the feeding roller pair 29 is rotated at the first stop position without sliding the moving frame 28 (FIG. 5C). ). As a result, the photographic paper 23 is conveyed with its center in the width direction substantially coincident with the center line CL2 of the first conveyance path 26. When the photographic paper 23 from the first magazine 11 is conveyed to the conveyance path 25, the moving frame 28 slides again to the fourth stop position and waits for conveyance of the photographic paper 23 from the second magazine 12 (D in FIG. 5). )). Therefore, by distributing the photographic paper 23 from the first magazine 11 to the first and second transport paths 26 and 27 by the slide mechanism 18, the transport path 25 is transported in two rows with a narrow interval in the width direction of the photographic paper 23. be able to. When the first magazine 11 is used for sorting, the moving distance when the photographic paper 23 is slid is shorter than when the second magazine 12 is used for sorting and conveyance, and the photographic paper 23 is moved. Since every other sheet is slid, the time for sliding the photographic paper 23 can be shortened, so that the printing ability is improved.

  FIG. 6 shows a case where the second magazine 12 is used to carry the photographic paper 23 in one row. In this case, the stop position of the moving frame 28 is accommodated in the second magazine 12 in the first stop position used in the above-described embodiment and the center of the gap provided between the roll pair 29b and the roll pair 29c. A fifth stop position that coincides with the center of the photographic paper roll 20 in the width direction is set.

  The moving frame 28 is disposed at the fifth stop position (FIG. 6A). The photographic paper 23 obtained by cutting the photographic paper roll 20 drawn out from the second magazine 12 by a predetermined length is conveyed by the conveying roller pair 16 to the middle in the width direction of the feeding roller pair 29 (FIG. 6B). When the photographic paper 23 is detected by the photographic paper detection sensor 33, the moving frame 28 slides to the first stop position (FIG. 6C). When the slide of the moving frame 28 stops, the feed roller pair 29 rotates and feeds the photographic paper 23 to the transport path 25 (FIG. 6D). As a result, the photographic paper 23 is conveyed in one row near the center of the conveyance path 25 with the center in the width direction and the center line CL1 of the conveyance path 25 substantially matched. The moving frame 28 that has sent out the photographic paper 23 at the first stop position slides again to the fifth stop position in FIG. 4A and waits for the photographic paper 23 from the second magazine 12 to be conveyed. .

  In this embodiment, the first to fifth stop positions are set as the slide stop positions of the moving frame 28. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the photographic paper rolls 20 accommodated in the first and second magazines 11 and 12 are not limited thereto. The stop position can be appropriately changed and set according to the width and the interval in the width direction of the photographic papers. Therefore, the photographic paper 23 from the first and second magazines 11 and 12 can be conveyed at a suitable interval.

  The slide of the moving frame 28 according to the above embodiment is performed using the air cylinder 31, but may be performed by, for example, belt driving, ball screw driving, rack and pinion driving, or the like. Further, the stop position of the moving frame 28 is detected by the position detection sensor, and the slide of the moving frame 28 is stopped at the stop position set based on the detection signal. The motor drive amount and the slide amount are obtained in advance. The motor may be driven so that the stop position is set based on this relationship.

It is the schematic which shows an example of the printer processor using this invention. It is the schematic which shows the supply part provided in the printer processor. It is explanatory drawing explaining 2 row conveyance using a 1st and 2nd magazine. It is explanatory drawing which shows the method of conveying 1 row of photographic paper from a 1st magazine. It is explanatory drawing which shows the method to distribute and convey the photographic paper from a 1st magazine. It is explanatory drawing which shows the method of conveying the printing paper from a 2nd magazine 1 row.

Explanation of symbols

2 printer processor 10 system controller 11 first magazine 12 second magazine 18 slide mechanism 23 photographic paper 25 transport path 26 first transport path 27 second transport path 28 moving frame 29 pair of feed rollers 31 air cylinder 32 air supply unit 33 photographic paper Detection sensor

Claims (4)

In an image recording material supply apparatus provided in an image recording apparatus for recording an image on an image recording material,
A conveyance path that includes a first conveyance path and a second conveyance path, and is capable of conveying the image recording material in a plurality of rows; a first and second magazine that accommodates the image recording material and is spaced apart in the width direction; And a width direction moving means for moving the image recording material delivered from the first or second magazine in the width direction thereof, the first magazine having a center in the width direction of the first transport path and the first direction. The image recording material accommodated in one magazine is arranged so as to coincide with the center in the width direction. The image recording material sent from the second magazine is moved by the width direction moving means, and is moved along the conveying path. An image recording material supply apparatus, wherein the image recording material sent from the first magazine and the image recording material sent from the second magazine are transported in a plurality of rows with a narrow interval in the width direction of the image recording material. .   2. The image recording material according to claim 1, wherein the image recording material is sent from the first magazine after the movement of the image recording material sent from the second magazine is completed by the width direction moving means. Feeding device.   The image recording material is sent out from either one of the first and second magazines, and the image recording material is moved by the width direction moving means, and the image recording material is moved in one row near the center of the conveyance path. The apparatus for feeding an image recording material according to claim 1, wherein the image recording material is conveyed. An image recording material is sent out from one of the first and second magazines, and at least a part of the sent image recording material is moved by the width direction moving means, and the conveying path 2. The image recording material supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image recording material is conveyed in a plurality of rows.

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