Pako Corporation

Lifetouch National School Studios, Inc.

Pako Corporaton

Ronald B Harvey

John Pone, Jr

Jan T Freier

Gerald A Jensen

Gerald R Strunc

Dwayne H Putzke

Richard D Anderson

Keith Alan Benson

Jon A Holmes

John A Wedel

Patrick J Gilligan

Victor R Baert

Karl J Kallenberg

Patrick J Caulfield

Kenneth B Schrupp

Randall C Knudsen

A portraiture printer system receives portrait film which carries portrait images provided by a portraiture camera. A frame grabber receives portrait images carried on the film and converts them into digitized images. An edit station processes the digitized images. The edit station manipulates the sequence of the images and their composition. A printer receives the digitized images and prints the digitized images on an image recording medium.

Portrait printer system with digital image processing editing

A projector with two levels of illumination for projecting images from a film transparency is disclosed. Monitoring circuitry configures the level projector for the appropriate lead of illumination depending upon an operator request for preview illumination or a heightened level of illumination for exposure of a photograph of a composite optical image including the projected image. The monitoring circuitry also prevents excessive duration of illumination at the preview level.

Image projectors with pivoting mirror in front screen projection system

A paper mask produces even width borders on bordered photographic prints even if the unexposed photographic print paper is misaligned, angularly mistracking, or wandering in alignment through roll feeding, or if the width of the paper varies. The paper mask apparatus includes a base which is mounted on the paper deck of the printer and front and rear guides which are movably mounted to the base and have masking lips which overhang the longitudinal edges of the print paper. The front and rear guides are generally parallel to one another and are urged toward one another by bias springs. A separate masking frame of the desired print size is mounted to one of the two guides and moves with that guide to define transverse masking edges.

Floating edge-follower bordered paper mask

A photographic printer includes a sensor system for measuring the optical characteristics of each photographic film frame to be printed at a plurality of defined areas. Based upon the measured optical characteristics, the printer identifies and classifies the film frames into various types of scenes. The exposures used in printing each film frame depend upon the classification of that film frame. A user-selectable control permits the user to vary the sensitivity of the classification of one or more of the types of scenes in essentially a linear fashion.

Photographic printer with sensitivity control for classification of

A photographic printer includes incremental correction buttons or keys to permit the operator to request incremental color or overall density corrections. In addition, preset correction keys are provided which allow the operator to request a correction for a recognizable cause of off-balance prints such as incandescent or fluorescent lighting or snow scenes. The preset correction keys represent the desired correction for these recognizable causes which represent a combination of more than one incremental color or density correction.

Photographic printer with preset correction buttons

A photographic printer includes a system for indicating the direction of movement of the dichroic filters required to re-establish color balance whenever a setup is changed. Signals are stored for each of the plurality of setups which are determinative of the desired filter position for achieving color balance with that setup. When one of the setups is selected, a parameter is sensed which is related to the filter position. The signals generated as a function of the sensed parameter are compared to the stored signals, and an indication of the direction of movement, if any, necessary to move the filters to the desired filter positions for that selected setup is provided.

Photographic printer with dichroic filter reset indicators

An automatic photographic printer includes a sensor system for providing density signals indicative of measured optical density of a photographic film at a plurality of defined areas of the film. Photographic films containing landscape type scenes, snow/beach type scenes, and other scenes which might be incorrectly identified as subject density failures, are identified. The identified films are excluded from receiving a subject density failure exposure correction, while the remaining films are subjected to an automatic subject density failure exposure correction which is derived from the density signals.

Automatic exposure corrections for photographic printer

An automatic system for classifying photographic negatives containing snow or beach scenes measures the red, green, and blue densities of the negative to be printed. Signals indicative of red, green, and blue exposure times are derived from these measured densities, and the signal indicative of the blue exposure time is compared to the signals indicative of the red and green exposure times. The results of this comparison indicate whether a snow or beach scene is present. To determine the amount of density correction, if any, the densities of the negative at a plurality of points are measured. The extent of the density correction is determined by the number of points whose density is within a predetermined interval of the maximum density measured from any one of the points.

Automatic snow/beach correction for photographic printer

An improvement for use with an automatic print cutter mechanism which is actuated by sensing control indicia positioned along a continuous strip of photographic prints, said improvement comprising a wide scanning angle sensor capable of detecting said indicia of numerous configurations when same are misaligned with respect to the center line of said sensor and means for independent lateral and transverse adjustment of said sensor.

Wide scanning angle sensor

A system and method for reading machine-readable information from a carrier and printing information onto said carrier or other means is presented. The system comprises a reader means, storage means, printer means, enable means, read repeat means and annunciator means. Circuitry is provided fordetermining when an unsuccessful scan has resulted and thereafter commanding a rescan of the code until a successful scan is obtained or a predetermined limited number of unsuccessful rescans have been completed. The system may include means for modifying the relative position of the scanning means with respect to the carrier during successive rescans. When successful read and print cycles are completed, the carrier means is positioned appropriately for human retrieval. An annuciator means is employed to signal the human controller when the allowable number of rescans has been exhausted without successfully reading the coded information. The system further provides apparatus for adjusting the alignment of the printer means.

Method and apparatus for read and print data

A web advancement and cutting method and mechanism are provided for a web which is divided into unique segments or frames each incorporating a sensing indicium and in which a plurality of frames is advanced through a cutting mechanism and cut from the web for each cycle of operation. In each cycle of operation, a digital stepper motor drive and counter combination advances the web a predetermined number of counts, generally equivalent to moving all but one of the said plurality of frames to be advanced beyond the cutting plane of a cutting mechanism, and then further advancing without stopping the web until an optical sensor senses the indicium on the last frame to be advanced through the cutting mechanism. The stepper motor is stopped and said plurality of frames is then cut from the web. Means are also provided to reduce the power consumption of the stepper motor while the cutting mechanism is actuated. This invention is described in connection with a commercial processing film cutter which cuts a customer's individual rolls of film into strips of several frames for packaging after processing. The cutting mechanism may be adjusted for different types of film and customer requirements by adjustment of the digital counters associated with the stepper motor advancement mechanism.

Web advancement and cutting mechanism and method

An automatic density control device for photographic printers for sensing and correcting for a 'subject failure' in a photographic negative, where the subject area of the negative is out of the optimum density ratio to the background area, which device includes a frusto-pyramidal radiation directing member having its enlarged end proximate to the negative and its small end remote therefrom and being positioned to receive the radiation from a source through the negative and having subject sensing means mounted at the central portion of the enlarged proximate end of said member to sense the radiation passing through the central subject area of the negative and also having background sensing means mounted at the diminished remote end to sense the radiation passing through the marginal portions of the negative and the marginal portions of the enlarged end of said member and including circuitry for comparing the signals produced by said subject sensing means and background sensing means and thus deriving a density signal which is used to control the exposure time during the printing process.

Growing community of inventors

Minneapolis, MN, United States of America

Ronald B Harvey