Print inspection and reprint apparatus

Claim 3

In photographic apparatus for advancing finished photographic prints in a series of consecutive customer print orders on a roll of developed print material through a print inspection station for inspecting the prints to detect commercially unacceptable prints and to reprint, with the correction necessary to produce an acceptable print, the corresponding photographic original in the corresponding customer original film order of a plurality of customer film orders attached together at their respective ends to form a film roll, each customer print order having a selected print associated therewith to indicate separate consecutive print orders; the improvement comprising synchronization apparatus responsive to the continuous advancement of the prints for controlling the stepwise advancement of the originals of a customer film order corresponding to the print order through the exposure station of a photographic printer associated with the print inspection apparatus, whereby the original in the exposure station corresponding to a print found to be commercially unacceptable may be reprinted in the photographic printer, said synchronization apparatus further comprising: a. means for detecting the continuous advancement of each print into said print inspection station and for stepwise advancing an original into said exposure station in response to each detected print; b. means for detecting the selected prints associated with each customer print order continuously advanced into said print inspection station and for continuously advancing the originals in the customer film order through said exposure station in response to each detected print; c. means for detecting the attached ends of the plurality of customer film orders and for halting the continuous advancement, initiated by said selected print detecting means, of the originals in the customer film order through said exposure station after the detected attached end is advanced through said exposure station; d. means responsive to the detection of both a selected print of a first customer print order and a print of a second consecutive customer print order on the print roll prior to the detection of the attached ends of corresponding first and second customer film orders for halting continuous print advance until the attached ends of the first and second customer film orders are detected; and e. means for halting the continuous advancement of a commercially unacceptable print within the print inspection station, whereby the corresponding original in said exposure station of said photographic printer may be reprinted with exposure corrections based on the assessment of the exposure conditions of the unacceptable print.

Claim 4

In photographic apparatus for advancing finished photographic prints in a series of consecutive customer print orders on a roll of developed print material through a print inspection station for inspecting the prints to detect commercially unacceptable prints and to reprint, with the correction necessary to produce an acceptable print, the corresponding photographic original in the corresponding customer original film order of a plurality of customer film orders attached together at their respective ends to form a film roll, each customer print order having a selected print associated therewith to indicate separate consecutive print orders; the improvement comprising synchronization apparatus responsive to the continuous advancement of the prints for controlling the stepwise advancement of the originals of a customer film order corresponding to the print order through the exposure station of a photographic printer associated with the print inspection apparatus, whereby the original in the exposure station corresponding to a print found to be commercially unacceptable may be reprinted in the photographic printer, said synchronization apparatus further comprising: a. means for detecting the continuous advancement of each print into said print inspection station and for stepwise advancing an original into said exposure station in response to each detected print; b. means for detecting the selected prints associated with each customer print order continuously advanced into said print inspection station and for continuously advancing the originals in the customer film order through said exposure station in response to each detected print; c. means for detecting the attached ends of the plurality of customer film orders and for halting the continuous advancement, initiated by said selected print detecting means, of the originals in the customer film order through said exposure station after the detected attached end is advanced through said exposure station; d. means responsive to the detection of both a selected print of a first customer print order and a print of a second consecutive customer print order on the print roll prior to the detection of the attached ends of corresponding first and second customer film orders for halting continuous print advance until the attached ends of the first and second customer film orders are detected; and e. means for halting the continuous advancement of a commercially unacceptable print within the print inspection station, whereby the corresponding original in said exposure station of said photographic printer may be reprinted with exposure corrections based on the assessment of the exposure conditions of the unacceptable print.

Claim 5

continuously advancing the remaining color negatives in thE first customer film order and the spliced ends of the first and second customer film orders through said exposure station until the first color negative of the second customer film order is advanced into said exposure station when the detection of the selected color print associated with the first customer print order precedes, in time, the detection of the spliced ends of the first and second customer film orders; and

Claim 6

continuously advancing the remaining color negatives in thE first customer film order and the spliced ends of the first and second customer film orders through said exposure station until the first color negative of the second customer film order is advanced into said exposure station when the detection of the selected color print associated with the first customer print order precedes, in time, the detection of the spliced ends of the first and second customer film orders; and

Claim 7

halting the continuous advancement of the color prints into said print inspection station when the detection of both the selected color print associated with the first customer print order and a print of the second customer print order precedes, in time, the detection of the spliced ends of the first and second customer film orders and for continuously advancing the first and second customer film orders through said exposure station until the detection of the spliced ends of the first and second customer film order; and c. means for halting the continuous advancement of a commercially unacceptable color print within the print inspection station, whereby the color negative in said exposure station of said photographic printer corresponds to the unacceptable color print when the number of color prints in the customer print order containing the unacceptable color print equals the number of color negatives in the corresponding customer film order, and the color negative may be reprinted with exposure corrections based on the assessment of the exposure of the unacceptable print.

Claim 8

halting the continuous advancement of the color prints into said print inspection station when the detection of both the selected color print associated with the first customer print order and a print of the second customer print order precedes, in time, the detection of the spliced ends of the first and second customer film orders and for continuously advancing the first and second customer film orders through said exposure station until the detection of the spliced ends of the first and second customer film order; and c. means for halting the continuous advancement of a commercially unacceptable color print within the print inspection station, whereby the color negative in said exposure station of said photographic printer corresponds to the unacceptable color print when the number of color prints in the customer print order containing the unacceptable color print equals the number of color negatives in the corresponding customer film order, and the color negative may be reprinted with exposure corrections based on the assessment of the exposure of the unacceptable print.

Claim 9

The synchronization apparatus of claim 2 further comprising means for varying the rate of continuous advancement of the prints through said print inspection station.

Claim 10

The synchronization apparatus of claim 2 further comprising means responsive to the means for detecting the attached ends of the plurality of customer film orders for preventing the stepwise advancement of the originals into said exposure station by said means for detecting the prints.

Claim 11

The synchronization apparatus of claim 2 wherein a customer print order contains a greater number of prints than the number of corresponding originals in the corresponding customer film order and further comprising: a. means responsive to the means for detecting the attached ends of the plurality of customer film orders for preventing the stepwise advancement of the originals into said exposure station by said means for detecting the prints; and b. means responsive to said means for detecting the selected prints for advancing a detected attached end through said exposure station until an original in the next customer film order adjacent said attached end is positioned in said exposure station; whereby the stepwise advancement of the originals is halted for the period of time between the detection of the attached end of the customer film order and the selected print of the corresponding customer print order.

Claim 12

In photographic apparatus for advancing finished prints in a series including at least first and second consecutive customer print orders on a roll of developed print material through a print inspection station for inspecting the prints to detect commercially unacceptable prints and to reprint, with the correction necessary to produce an acceptable print, the corresponding negative in the corresponding customer film order of a plurality including at least first and second consecutive customer film orders attached together at their respective ends to form a film roll, each print having a first mark associated therewith on the print material and each customer print order having a second mark associated therewith on the print material; the improvement comprising synchronization apparatus responsive to the continuous advancement of the prints for controlling the stepwise advancement of the negatives of a customer film order corresponding to the prints through the exposure station of a photographic printer associated with the print inspection apparatus, whereby the negative corresponding to a print found to be commercially unacceptable may be reprinted in the photographic printer, said synchronization apparatus further comprising: a. means for detecting the first marks associated with said prints continuously advanced through said print inspection station and for stepwise advancing a negative into said exposure station in response to each detected first mark; b. means for detecting the second marks associated with the first customer print order continuously advanced through said print inspection station and the attached ends of the first and second of customer film orders for continuously advancing the remaining negatives in the first customer film order and the attached ends of the first and second customer film orders through said exposure station until the first negative of the second customer film order is advanced into said exposure station when the detection of the second mark associated with the first customer print order precedes, in time, the detection of the attached ends of the first and second customer film orders and for halting the continuous advancement of the prints into said print inspection station when the detection of both the second mark of the first customer print order and a first mark of the second customer print order precedes, in time, the detection of attached ends of the corresponding first and second customer film orders; and c. means for halting the continuous advancement of a commercially unacceptable print within the print inspection station, whereby the negative in said exposure station of said photographic printer corresponds to the unacceptable print when the number of prints in the customer print order containing the unacceptable print equals the number of negatives in the corresponding customer film order, and the negative may be reprinted with exposure corrections based on the assessment of the exposure of the unacceptable print.

Claim 13

In photographic apparatus for advancing finished prints in a series including at least first and second consecutive customer print orders on a roll of developed print material through a print inspection station for inspecting the prints to detect commercially unacceptable prints and to reprint, with the correction necessary to produce an acceptable print, the corresponding negative in the corresponding customer film order of a plurality including at least first and second consecutive customer film orders attached together at their respective ends to form a film roll, each print having a first mark associated therewith on the print material and each customer print order having a second mark associated therewith on the print material; the improvement comprising synchronization apparatus responsive to the continuous advancement of the prints for controlling the stepwise advancement of the negatives of a customer film order corresponding to the prints through the exposure station of a photographic printer associated with the print inspection apparatus, whereby the negative corresponding to a print found to be commercially unacceptable may be reprinted in the photographic printer, said synchronization apparatus further comprising: a. means for detecting the first marks associated with said prints continuously advanced through said print inspection station and for stepwise advancing a negative into said exposure station in response to each detected first mark; b. means for detecting the second marks associated with the first customer print order continuously advanced through said print inspection station and the attached ends of the first and second of customer film orders for continuously advancing the remaining negatives in the first customer film order and the attached ends of the first and second customer film orders through said exposure station until the first negative of the second customer film order is advanced into said exposure station when the detection of the second mark associated with the first customer print order precedes, in time, the detection of the attached ends of the first and second customer film orders and for halting the continuous advancement of the prints into said print inspection station when the detection of both the second mark of the first customer print order and a first mark of the second customer print order precedes, in time, the detection of attached ends of the corresponding first and second customer film orders; and c. means for halting the continuous advancement of a commercially unacceptable print within the print inspection station, whereby the negative in said exposure station of said photographic printer corresponds to the unacceptable print when the number of prints in the customer print order containing the unacceptable print equals the number of negatives in the corresponding customer film order, and the negative may be reprinted with exposure corrections based on the assessment of the exposure of the unacceptable print.

Claim 14

The synchronization apparatus of claim 6 further comprising means responsive to said means for detecting the first and second marks for preventing said means for stepwise advancing the negatives from responding to the detected first mark immediately following, in time, a detected second mark.

Claim 15

The synchronization apparatus of claim 6 further comprising means for varying the rate of continuous advancement of the prints through said print inspection station.

Claim 16

The synchronization apparatus of claim 6 wherein a customer print order contains two prints made from each negative in the corresponding customer film order, and wherein said means for detecting the first marks is selectively operable to detect alternate first marks associated with alternate prints for stepwise advancing each negative into said exposure station in response to each detected first mark.

Claim 17

In photographic apparatus for advancing finished color prints in a series including at least first and second consecutive customer print orders on a roll of developed print material through a print inspection station for inspecting the color prints to detect commercially unacceptable prints and to reprint, with the correction necessary to produce an acceptable print, the corresponding color negative in the corresponding customer film order of a plurality including at least first and second consecutive customer film orders spliced together at their respective ends to form a film roll; the improvement comprising synchronization apparatus responsive to continuous advancement of the color prints for controlling the stepwise advancement of the color negatives of a customer film order corresponding to the color prints through the exposure station of a photographic printer associated with the print inspection apparatus, whereby the color negative corresponding to a color print found to be commercially unacceptable may be reprinted in the photographic printer, said synchronization apparatus further comprising: a. means for detecting the continuous advancement of each color print into said print inspection station and for stepwise advancing a color negative into said exposure station in response to each detected color print; b. means for detecting a selected color print associated with each customer print order continuously advanced into said print inspection station and the spliced ends of the plurality of customer film orders for:

Claim 18

In photographic apparatus for advancing finished color prints in a series including at least first and second consecutive customer print orders on a roll of developed print material through a print inspection station for inspecting the color prints to detect commercially unacceptable prints and to reprint, with the correction necessary to produce an acceptable print, the corresponding color negative in the corresponding customer film order of a plurality including at least first and second consecutive customer film orders spliced together at their respective ends to form a film roll; the improvement comprising synchronization apparatus responsive to continuous advancement of the color prints for controlling the stepwise advancement of the color negatives of a customer film order corresponding to the color prints through the exposure station of a photographic printer associated with the print inspection apparatus, whereby the color negative corresponding to a color print found to be commercially unacceptable may be reprinted in the photographic printer, said synchronization apparatus further comprising: a. means for detecting the continuous advancement of each color print into said print inspection station and for stepwise advancing a color negative into said exposure station in response to each detected color print; b. means for detecting a selected color print associated with each customer print order continuously advanced into said print inspection station and the spliced ends of the plurality of customer film orders for: