PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTING SYSTEM
United States Patent 3694074
Photographic printer apparatus is a building block arrangement of printer components. An exposure determining device, which produces printer control signals derived from photographic negatives, applies such signals to a computer; and a photographic printer draws such printer control signals from the computer independently of the operation of the exposure determining device. Such an arrangement permits a plurality of printers to cooperate with a common exposure determining device; and further permits photofinishers to avoid equipment redundancies.
US Patent References:
APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PRINTING FROM PRE-PRINT FILM
Limnios - January 1970 - 3492071
Machine for making photographic color prints
Simmon - August 1951 - 2565399
Exposure control system for color printers
Goddard - February 1964 - 3120782
Apparatus for the selection and reproduction of documents
Baillod - August 1966 - 3267800
AUTOMATIC PRINTER SYSTEMS
Bowker - July 1970 - 3519347
APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PRINTING FROM PRE-PRINT FILM
Limnios - January 1970 - 3492071
Machine for making photographic color prints
Simmon - August 1951 - 2565399
Exposure control system for color printers
Goddard - February 1964 - 3120782
Apparatus for the selection and reproduction of documents
Baillod - August 1966 - 3267800
AUTOMATIC PRINTER SYSTEMS
Bowker - July 1970 - 3519347
Inventors:
Huboi, Robert W. (Webster, NY)
Riley, Terry E. (Rochester, NY)
Rising, Bradley D. (Rochester, NY)
Riley, Terry E. (Rochester, NY)
Rising, Bradley D. (Rochester, NY)
Application Number:
05/016775
Publication Date:
09/26/1972
Filing Date:
03/05/1970
View Patent Images:
Export Citation:
Primary Class:
Other Classes:
355/68, 355/41, 355/69
International Classes:
G03B27/46; G03B27/73; G03B27/78
Field of Search:
355/18,40,41,64,68,69,38,88
US Patent References:
| 3449724 | CONTROL SYSTEM FOR INTERLEAVE MEMORY | June 1969 | Boland | |
| 3476477 | PROGRAM TAPE DISCRIMINATOR | November 1969 | Balint | |
| 3507574 | COLOR ENLARGER AND PRINTER | April 1970 | Crete | |
| 3516741 | APPARATUS FOR MAKING PRINTS FROM COLOR NEGATIVES | June 1970 | Thaddey | |
| 3597071 | DIVERSE-INPUT SYSTEM FOR ELECTROSTATICALLY REPRODUCING AND RECORDING INFORMATION | August 1971 | Jones |
Other References:
Coote, J. H. and A. P. Jenkins, "A Machine for High Speed Printing from 35mm. Color Transpariencies," J. Photographic Science, Vol. 8, No. 3, p. 102 (1960).
Primary Examiner:
Matthews, Samuel S.
Assistant Examiner:
Harris, Michael D.
Claims:
What is claimed is
1. Photographic printing apparatus comprising:
2. means for receiving signals stored by said computer, and
3. means responsive to said stored signals for making print exposures in accordance therewith,
1. Photographic printing apparatus comprising:
2. means for receiving signals stored by said computer, and
3. means responsive to said stored signals for making print exposures in accordance therewith,
Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved arrangement for photographic printing apparatus for greater versatility and efficiency thereof.
2. Description Relative to the Prior Art
Typical of the arrangement of known photographic printers is that of the apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,120,782, filed in the name of Goddard and Huboi, and assigned to the instant assignee. The apparatus of U.S. Pat. No. 3,120,782 provides -- by means of an integrated assemblage of components -- for the superposition of photographic print paper and a photographic negative within an exposure gate; the computation/determination of the degree of exposure for the paper which is to be exposed via the negative; the exposure of such paper; and the advancing of the negative and paper to ready the printer for a new printing operation. Batches of photographic negatives (i.e. rolls thereof) are processed through the printer on a batch-by-batch basis; and attendantly, the speed at which a number of negative batches may be printed is limited by the throughput-speed of the printer.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Rather than provide for an integrated assemblage of components as in the prior art, the invention proposes a radically new approach to the design of photographic printing apparatus. In essence, the invention applies building block principles to photographic printing; various building blocks being interrelated and selectively cooperative with each other via a computer. Apparatus in accordance with the invention can effectively separate fast printing operations from slower ones, the slower operations being handled by a greater number of building blocks therefor than the building blocks which are required for the faster operations; and attendantly, printing speeds can, within practical limits, be as fast as desired. Exposure determinations which can be made, comparatively, at a clip, can be made by one device adapted to receive serially successive batches of negatives; and time-consuming printing exposures may be made by a fanned parallel array of devices therefor, each of which is disposed to receive and print from a respective negative batch.
The building block design of photographic printing apparatus as taught by the invention permits, investmentwise, minimal initial outlay of capital for printing equipment for one entering the photofinishing business, with built-in assurance against future equipment redundancies. As the business in question grows, only those equipments which are actually necessary to handle increased growth need be purchased, and "plugged-in." Typically, a small photofinisher may employ one exposure determining device; one computing device; one printing device. As the volume of his business grows, he will increase, say, the number of his printing devices; then, perhaps, he will increase the number of his exposure determining devices; then the number of his computing devices, etc.
The concepts of the invention are, thus,
1. the building block design for photographic printing apparatus,
2. the use of a common exposure determining device cooperative, via a computer, with a plurality of photographic printing devices.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
To improve the efficiency, versatility, and cost requirements incident to practicing the photographic printing art.
The invention will be described with reference to the figures. However, it should be borne in mind that the figures are intended to depict apparatus for implementing the above-described "two concepts;" and it is particularly not intended to suggest herein that the specifics disclosed in such figures are anything more than showings of apparatus for implementing the concepts of the invention in their broadest sense:
FIGS. 1A and 1B are block diagrams illustrating the building block nature of photographic printing apparatus according to the invention, and
FIGS. 2 and 3 are views illustrating component parts of apparatus according to the invention.
Referring to the figures, an exposure determining device 10 includes a stepping motor 12 for feeding film negatives 14 from a batch thereof past an optical gate 16 on a step-by-step basis. A lamp system 18 illuminates each negative 14 as it appears in the gate 16; and a photoreceptive device 20 produces a signal representative of the optical density characteristics of the negative 14 in the gate 16. The negatives 14, in this version of the invention, are each coded (See FIG. 2) for identification purposes; and an array of signal-producing sensors 22 are provided for reading such codes. The density representative signal appearing at the output of the photoreceptive device 20 is quantized by means of an analogue-to-digital converter 24; and applied to a connector 26 which is also adapted to receive the signal outputs from the code sensors 22. The digital representation of negative density information is (symbolically) represented by three data bits.
The stepping motor 12 is indexed by clock pulses from a source 28 thereof in a computer 30; and as each negative 14 has its density and code data read, and applied to the computer via a connector 31, storage is made of such data by means of, say, a motor (29)-driven storage disk 32: Gate circuits 34 receive the data representative signals appearing at the connector 31, and apply such signals to a register 36 in response to clock pulses. And the register 36 applies its signals through gate circuits 38 to the disk 32, via write heads 33, in response to clock pulses. See FIG. 3. To assure against writing over data already stored by the disk 32, an OR circuit 37, cooperative with the gate circuits 38, is adapted to write a data bit (head 40) into a peripheral track of the disk 32 whenever identification data for a negative is written on the disk 32. Therefore, a read head 42, disposed in advance of the write heads 33, 40, may anticipate the presence of data stored by the disk 32, and block (NOT circuit 44) the stepping of data from the device 10 into the computer 30 until disk storage space becomes available.
Read heads 46 adapted to read the negative identification and corresponding density data stored on the memory disk 32 apply their respective output signals to a connector 48, by means of which the computer 30 may be (immediately, or later) connected to a parallel arrangement of printers 50, 50', 50", etc, for the making of photographic prints. A destructive read head 47 effectively vacates discrete disk storage space whenever data is read out of such space, i.e. in response to the read-out command signal from a coincidence circuit 58, the main purpose of which will now be described.
Each printer 50 has a stepping motor 52 for indexing negatives 14 and a supply of photographically sensitized paper 54 past an exposure gate 55 in superposed relationship with respect to each other. Identification data on the negatives 14 is sensed by an array of signal-producing sensors 56, which apply their respective signals to the coincidence circuit 58. With the computer connector 48 mated with a connector 60 on the printer 50, signals from the read heads 46 in the computer are applied to the coincidence circuit 58; and when the two sets of signals applied to the coincidence circuit 58 are identical, a pulse output from the coincidence circuit 58 gates (62) exposure control density signals to a digital-to-analogue converter 64. In turn, the digital-to-analogue converter 64 causes an exposure control 66 to expose the print paper 54 via the negative 14 by the requisite amount. Exposure controls are well known in the art; and typical of such controls is the arrangement of shutters indicated in the above-indicated U.S. Pat. No. 3,120,782. An end-of-exposure detector 68, which may, for example, be a shutter-operated switch, produces a signal output for stepping the motor 52 to bring a new negative into the exposure gate 55, whereby the whole exposure operation may be repeated.
With the devices 10,30,50,50',50" all interconnected as shown, consider the following typical operation:
Batches of negatives are fed one by one through the exposure determining device 10, the computer 30 recording negative and density data as fast as it comes in. Anytime negative and density data is to be read into an occupied memory location, the read head 42 interrupts the feeding of data into the computer. As soon as a memory location has been found, however, the feeding of data into the computer resumes. As soon as one negative batch has been completely fed through the exposure determining device 10, that batch is placed in the first printer 50; and a second negative batch is fed through the exposure determining device. The negatives in the batch thereof in the printer 50 are initially indexed along by briefly actuating a switch 80 until the code read heads 56 in the printer 50 can read the code on the first of the negatives in the first batch thereof. Thereafter, the printer 50 (at its own pace) automatically prints from the first negative batch: As soon as a negative has been printed from, the printer motor 52 in response to a signal from the printer's own detector 58 operates to put a new negative in the exposure gate 58; and as soon as that new negative has been identified on the computer storage disk 32, by means of read heads 46, the exposure for the new negative is made, etc.
All the while that the printer 50 is printing from the first batch of negatives, the second batch of negatives is having its data fed into computer memory as fast as the computer can digest the data from the second batch of negatives: previously unoccupied, and newly vacated, storage locations are taken up by the data of the second batch of negatives. After the second batch of negatives has been completely fed through the exposure determining device 10, it is placed in the second printer 50' for printing therefrom. While the first and second printers 50, 50' are printing as fast as they respectively can, a third batch of negatives is fed through the exposure determining device 10 (as fast as the computer 30 will permit), the data from the negatives in the third batch being stored by the computer 30 in unoccupied, and newly vacated disk storage locations.
The invention has been described in detail with particular reference to preferred embodiments thereof, but it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, it is within the purview of the invention to modify, in the computer 30, the raw signal output from the exposure determining device 10, whereby the operation of the printer 50 may be better controlled; or one or more subcomponents of the various building blocks may be shifted to other building blocks, e.g. subcomponents 58,62 could easily form part of the computer 30; or negatives could be identified on a batch basis rather than individually, etc.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved arrangement for photographic printing apparatus for greater versatility and efficiency thereof.
2. Description Relative to the Prior Art
Typical of the arrangement of known photographic printers is that of the apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,120,782, filed in the name of Goddard and Huboi, and assigned to the instant assignee. The apparatus of U.S. Pat. No. 3,120,782 provides -- by means of an integrated assemblage of components -- for the superposition of photographic print paper and a photographic negative within an exposure gate; the computation/determination of the degree of exposure for the paper which is to be exposed via the negative; the exposure of such paper; and the advancing of the negative and paper to ready the printer for a new printing operation. Batches of photographic negatives (i.e. rolls thereof) are processed through the printer on a batch-by-batch basis; and attendantly, the speed at which a number of negative batches may be printed is limited by the throughput-speed of the printer.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Rather than provide for an integrated assemblage of components as in the prior art, the invention proposes a radically new approach to the design of photographic printing apparatus. In essence, the invention applies building block principles to photographic printing; various building blocks being interrelated and selectively cooperative with each other via a computer. Apparatus in accordance with the invention can effectively separate fast printing operations from slower ones, the slower operations being handled by a greater number of building blocks therefor than the building blocks which are required for the faster operations; and attendantly, printing speeds can, within practical limits, be as fast as desired. Exposure determinations which can be made, comparatively, at a clip, can be made by one device adapted to receive serially successive batches of negatives; and time-consuming printing exposures may be made by a fanned parallel array of devices therefor, each of which is disposed to receive and print from a respective negative batch.
The building block design of photographic printing apparatus as taught by the invention permits, investmentwise, minimal initial outlay of capital for printing equipment for one entering the photofinishing business, with built-in assurance against future equipment redundancies. As the business in question grows, only those equipments which are actually necessary to handle increased growth need be purchased, and "plugged-in." Typically, a small photofinisher may employ one exposure determining device; one computing device; one printing device. As the volume of his business grows, he will increase, say, the number of his printing devices; then, perhaps, he will increase the number of his exposure determining devices; then the number of his computing devices, etc.
The concepts of the invention are, thus,
1. the building block design for photographic printing apparatus,
2. the use of a common exposure determining device cooperative, via a computer, with a plurality of photographic printing devices.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
To improve the efficiency, versatility, and cost requirements incident to practicing the photographic printing art.
The invention will be described with reference to the figures. However, it should be borne in mind that the figures are intended to depict apparatus for implementing the above-described "two concepts;" and it is particularly not intended to suggest herein that the specifics disclosed in such figures are anything more than showings of apparatus for implementing the concepts of the invention in their broadest sense:
FIGS. 1A and 1B are block diagrams illustrating the building block nature of photographic printing apparatus according to the invention, and
FIGS. 2 and 3 are views illustrating component parts of apparatus according to the invention.
Referring to the figures, an exposure determining device 10 includes a stepping motor 12 for feeding film negatives 14 from a batch thereof past an optical gate 16 on a step-by-step basis. A lamp system 18 illuminates each negative 14 as it appears in the gate 16; and a photoreceptive device 20 produces a signal representative of the optical density characteristics of the negative 14 in the gate 16. The negatives 14, in this version of the invention, are each coded (See FIG. 2) for identification purposes; and an array of signal-producing sensors 22 are provided for reading such codes. The density representative signal appearing at the output of the photoreceptive device 20 is quantized by means of an analogue-to-digital converter 24; and applied to a connector 26 which is also adapted to receive the signal outputs from the code sensors 22. The digital representation of negative density information is (symbolically) represented by three data bits.
The stepping motor 12 is indexed by clock pulses from a source 28 thereof in a computer 30; and as each negative 14 has its density and code data read, and applied to the computer via a connector 31, storage is made of such data by means of, say, a motor (29)-driven storage disk 32: Gate circuits 34 receive the data representative signals appearing at the connector 31, and apply such signals to a register 36 in response to clock pulses. And the register 36 applies its signals through gate circuits 38 to the disk 32, via write heads 33, in response to clock pulses. See FIG. 3. To assure against writing over data already stored by the disk 32, an OR circuit 37, cooperative with the gate circuits 38, is adapted to write a data bit (head 40) into a peripheral track of the disk 32 whenever identification data for a negative is written on the disk 32. Therefore, a read head 42, disposed in advance of the write heads 33, 40, may anticipate the presence of data stored by the disk 32, and block (NOT circuit 44) the stepping of data from the device 10 into the computer 30 until disk storage space becomes available.
Read heads 46 adapted to read the negative identification and corresponding density data stored on the memory disk 32 apply their respective output signals to a connector 48, by means of which the computer 30 may be (immediately, or later) connected to a parallel arrangement of printers 50, 50', 50", etc, for the making of photographic prints. A destructive read head 47 effectively vacates discrete disk storage space whenever data is read out of such space, i.e. in response to the read-out command signal from a coincidence circuit 58, the main purpose of which will now be described.
Each printer 50 has a stepping motor 52 for indexing negatives 14 and a supply of photographically sensitized paper 54 past an exposure gate 55 in superposed relationship with respect to each other. Identification data on the negatives 14 is sensed by an array of signal-producing sensors 56, which apply their respective signals to the coincidence circuit 58. With the computer connector 48 mated with a connector 60 on the printer 50, signals from the read heads 46 in the computer are applied to the coincidence circuit 58; and when the two sets of signals applied to the coincidence circuit 58 are identical, a pulse output from the coincidence circuit 58 gates (62) exposure control density signals to a digital-to-analogue converter 64. In turn, the digital-to-analogue converter 64 causes an exposure control 66 to expose the print paper 54 via the negative 14 by the requisite amount. Exposure controls are well known in the art; and typical of such controls is the arrangement of shutters indicated in the above-indicated U.S. Pat. No. 3,120,782. An end-of-exposure detector 68, which may, for example, be a shutter-operated switch, produces a signal output for stepping the motor 52 to bring a new negative into the exposure gate 55, whereby the whole exposure operation may be repeated.
With the devices 10,30,50,50',50" all interconnected as shown, consider the following typical operation:
Batches of negatives are fed one by one through the exposure determining device 10, the computer 30 recording negative and density data as fast as it comes in. Anytime negative and density data is to be read into an occupied memory location, the read head 42 interrupts the feeding of data into the computer. As soon as a memory location has been found, however, the feeding of data into the computer resumes. As soon as one negative batch has been completely fed through the exposure determining device 10, that batch is placed in the first printer 50; and a second negative batch is fed through the exposure determining device. The negatives in the batch thereof in the printer 50 are initially indexed along by briefly actuating a switch 80 until the code read heads 56 in the printer 50 can read the code on the first of the negatives in the first batch thereof. Thereafter, the printer 50 (at its own pace) automatically prints from the first negative batch: As soon as a negative has been printed from, the printer motor 52 in response to a signal from the printer's own detector 58 operates to put a new negative in the exposure gate 58; and as soon as that new negative has been identified on the computer storage disk 32, by means of read heads 46, the exposure for the new negative is made, etc.
All the while that the printer 50 is printing from the first batch of negatives, the second batch of negatives is having its data fed into computer memory as fast as the computer can digest the data from the second batch of negatives: previously unoccupied, and newly vacated, storage locations are taken up by the data of the second batch of negatives. After the second batch of negatives has been completely fed through the exposure determining device 10, it is placed in the second printer 50' for printing therefrom. While the first and second printers 50, 50' are printing as fast as they respectively can, a third batch of negatives is fed through the exposure determining device 10 (as fast as the computer 30 will permit), the data from the negatives in the third batch being stored by the computer 30 in unoccupied, and newly vacated disk storage locations.
The invention has been described in detail with particular reference to preferred embodiments thereof, but it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, it is within the purview of the invention to modify, in the computer 30, the raw signal output from the exposure determining device 10, whereby the operation of the printer 50 may be better controlled; or one or more subcomponents of the various building blocks may be shifted to other building blocks, e.g. subcomponents 58,62 could easily form part of the computer 30; or negatives could be identified on a batch basis rather than individually, etc.