JP2001307084A - Image processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processor capable of obtaining images uniform and excellent over the entire range for curled images without enlarging the device. SOLUTION: In a film scanner provided with an image pickup element 15 and image forming means 11, 12, 13 and 14 for forming the images on the image pickup element 15, a distance change means 32 capable of changing a distance in an optical axis direction between the image forming position of the image by the image forming means 11, 12, 13 and 14 and the image pickup element 15 is provided. Then, the image is processed by an extraction means for extracting a focus part based on the space frequency from the plural images picked up by the image pickup element 15 in the mutually different distances and a compositing means for compositing the focus parts extracted in the extraction means.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus which obtains image data by projecting an image or the like recorded on a film onto an image pickup device by an optical image forming means, and more particularly to an image processing apparatus in which an original image is curled. Also, the present invention relates to an image processing apparatus capable of performing a good imaging process over the entire area of an image.

There is known a photographic processing apparatus capable of automatically performing processes such as exposure, development, and bleaching on a photosensitive material such as photographic paper. When exposing photographic paper with such a photographic processing apparatus, direct (analog) exposure of exposing a photosensitive material with light transmitted through a photographic film is widely performed.

On the other hand, in recent years, digital exposure for exposing a photosensitive material with light controlled based on a digital image signal obtained by imaging a film has been put to practical use. By adopting this digital exposure method,
Various image processing such as color correction, density correction, sharpening processing, partial image correction, etc. can be performed freely, rapid reprinting processing is possible, and color and density reproducibility and resolution are excellent. It is possible to obtain good prints of high image quality.

An image processing apparatus that obtains a digital image signal by capturing an image of a film on an image sensor through an optical image forming means is used in the digital exposure type photographic processing apparatus.

[0005] However, the film of the original image has a curl in the longitudinal direction due to a curl. In addition, curling in the width direction also occurs due to a change in the diameter of the film. Then, the film is gripped at the front and rear of the film by a nip roller, and the film is taken under tension so that an image is taken. However, such curls cannot be completely removed by the nip roller.

[0006]

In an image processing apparatus in a conventional photographic processing apparatus, a film having a strong curl is used.
In order to obtain a uniform and good image over the entire area of the image frame,
This has been dealt with by giving a deep depth of focus to the optical imaging means.

However, in order to obtain a large depth of focus in the optical imaging means, it is necessary to stop down the aperture. When the aperture is stopped down, it is necessary to provide a large and strong light source in order to secure the amount of light transmitted through the film, and there is a problem that the image processing apparatus becomes large.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an image processing apparatus capable of obtaining a uniform and good image over the entire area of an image having curl without increasing the size of the apparatus.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing apparatus comprising: an image pickup device; an image forming unit for forming an image on the image pickup device; A distance changing unit that can change a separation distance in an optical axis direction between an image forming position and the image pickup element, based on a spatial frequency from a plurality of images picked up by the image pickup element at the different separation distances from each other. Extracting means for extracting a focused portion by using the extracting means, and synthesizing means for synthesizing the focused portion extracted by the extracting means.

According to the first aspect, when the image has curl, the image forming position of the image by the image forming means and the separation distance in the optical axis direction between the image pickup device and one image are changed.
Obtain a plurality of image data. Each image data has a partially focused portion corresponding to the curl. When a focused portion of each image data is extracted based on the spatial frequency, and the focused portions of each image data are collected and combined, a uniform and good image is obtained corresponding to the entire region of the image.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the extracting means extracts a focused portion by filtering the image data with a spatial frequency. According to the second aspect, the in-focus portion of the image data has a specific spatial frequency. Therefore, a portion detected by filtering the spatial frequency can be extracted as the in-focus portion of the image data.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, an image picked up by the image pickup device is recorded on a film. According to the third aspect, the film has a spatial frequency corresponding to the grain size of the film emulsion. The part where the spatial frequency peaks can be the focused part.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a photographic processing apparatus incorporating an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The photographic processing apparatus mainly includes a film image processing unit (image processing apparatus) 100 for acquiring a digital image from the film 1 and a photographic exposure processing unit 200.

The film image processing unit 100 includes a film supply device 110, a film scanner unit 120,
A film cutting device 130 and a control unit 140 are provided. The photographic exposure processing unit 200 includes a digital exposure engine 210 and a developing device 220.

Here, the film 1 may be basically a long roll film in which a plurality of images are arranged in parallel through a transparent portion, and the length of the film and the number of frame images are, for example, 6 A piece-shaped film such as a piece, a piece, or the like is optional. The width of the film may be a film having a width of 60 mm called 120 or 220, or a film having a width of 24 mm called APS.

The film supply device 110 has a roller unit (not shown) for generally sending out one-order-length films having 24 or 36 image frames to the film scanner unit 120 one after another. DX printed near the perforation section of the film 1 between the film supply device 110 and the film scanner section 120.
A DX code sensor Sd for reading a code is provided. The content of the read DX code is stored in the control means 140 in a pair with the image data.

The film scanner unit 120 mainly includes an illumination optical system 11, a film transport device 12, an automatic film mask 13, an image pickup optical system 14, and an image pickup device 15, and forms a core of an image processing device. I have. The illumination optical system 11, the film transport device 12, the automatic film mask 13, and the imaging optical system 14 constitute an image forming unit for the film 1.

The illumination optical system 11 mainly includes the halogen lamp 2
1, a light control filter 22 for adjusting the color distribution of the light beam from the halogen lamp 21 as needed, and a mirror tunnel 23 for adjusting the intensity distribution of the light beam. These parts 21, 22, 23 are housed in a lamp house.

The film transport device 12 includes a pulse motor 2
5 is constituted by a plurality of nip roller rows 26 driven by the nip rollers 5. Tension is applied in the longitudinal direction of the film 1 so that the film 1 can be controlled to reciprocate in a controlled manner while maintaining a tensioned state.

The automatic film mask 13 is disposed between the illumination optical system 11 and the imaging optical system 14 described below, directly below the film transport device 12, and
Has a through-hole forming block (not shown) for guiding the light emitted from the illumination optical system 11 and transmitted through the film 1 as slit light to the imaging optical system 14 described below in order to scan the image by the imaging device 15 line by line. I have.

The image pickup optical system 14 includes a lens unit 31 including a zoom lens, and a mirror unit 32 for changing the distance of the optical axis of irradiation light. The lens unit 31
It has a plurality of lenses for imaging light emitted from the illumination optical system 11 and transmitted through the film 1 onto the image sensor 15. The plurality of lenses are part of the plurality of lenses, and include a zoom lens that is movable in the optical axis direction and is capable of enlarging and reducing an image without moving a focal point.

The mirror unit 32 has a fixed first mirror 32a and a fourth mirror 32d, and a movable second mirror 32d.
b and the third mirror 32c, and has a function of shifting a part of the optical axis in parallel. Second mirror 32b
By slightly moving the third mirror 32c in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis, the length of the optical axis from the lens unit 31 to the image pickup device 15 changes greatly. This allows
The imaging position of the imaging means including the illumination optical system 11 and the imaging optical system 14 and the separation position of the imaging device 15 in the optical axis direction can be changed. This lens unit 31 is
And a distance changing means for changing an image forming position and an isolated position of the image sensor 15 in the optical axis direction, which will be described later.

The image pickup device 15 has a function of receiving a light beam and performing photoelectric conversion, and has three CCD sensors 15a, 15b and 15c assigned to detect each color of RGB.
It has. Each CCD sensor 15a, 15b, 15c
Is a line sensor in which a large number of, for example, 5000 light receiving elements are arranged in the main scanning direction, that is, parallel to the width direction of the film 1. The charge storage operation and the charge storage time are controlled during main scanning by a sensor drive circuit (not shown). A color filter that passes only the red component of the light transmitted through the film 1 is provided on the imaging surface of the red CCD sensor 15a, and similarly, the green color of the light transmitted through the film 1 is provided on the imaging surface of the green CCD sensor 15b. A color filter that passes only the component is provided. Similarly, a color filter that passes only the blue component of the light transmitted through the film 1 is provided on the imaging surface of the blue CCD sensor 15c.
Each CCD sensor photoelectrically converts only the red, green, and blue components.

Each image signal output from each CCD sensor according to the received light intensity is sampled and held, and each pixel signal becomes a continuous image signal. Each image signal is converted into a digital signal of a predetermined number of bits, for example, 12 bits. The converted data is stored in the RAM 43 as a memory unit of the control unit 140.
Is stored in the line buffer.

The film cutting processor 130 converts the film 1 having undergone the image processing by the film scanner 120 into 6
Pieces are cut into pieces or predetermined pieces of 6 pieces or less to make piece negatives.
It has a function of storing this piece negative in the bag of the negative sheet.

The control means 140 controls the CPs connected to each other.
U41, ROM 42, RAM 43, and composite image memory 44
And The control means 140 includes a keyboard 45, a monitor 46, a driver (not shown) of the illumination optical system 11, and a pulse motor 25 of the film transport device 12.
A driver (not shown) of the lens unit 31, a driver (not shown) for moving the movable mirrors 32b and 32c of the mirror unit 32,
A driver (not shown) of the image sensor 15 is connected. In FIG. 1, illustration of control elements that are less relevant to the present invention is omitted.

The CPU 41 includes a film scanner unit 120
Various operations are executed in order to generate signals for controlling the operation of each unit of the film scanner unit 12 according to the operation results.
An operation instruction is output to each part of 0. The signal generated by the CPU 41 is supplied to various drivers connected thereto. The ROM (extraction means, synthesis means) 42 includes a CPU 4
1 stores a program for the operation performed in step 1 and data necessary for the program. A RAM (storage means) 43 stores data provided from a keyboard 45, the image sensor 15, and the like, and a CPU.
The calculation result at 41 is temporarily stored. Also, RA
M43 includes RG of image data relating to a frame to be exposed.
A line buffer is formed to temporarily store one line of image data for each color of B and other editing information output as needed. The synthesized image memory 44 has a RAM 4
3, a line buffer for temporarily storing a composite image formed by performing an arithmetic process defined by a program on the image data temporarily stored.

In the film image processing unit 100 configured as described above, when performing the imaging process of the film 1, the film transport unit 12 is driven by the control of the CPU 41 to transport the film 1 to the film scanner unit 12.
0, the illumination optical system 11, the automatic film mask 1
Imaging means composed of an imaging device 3 and an imaging optical system 14;
5 to obtain image data corresponding to the frame of the film 1. The operation of obtaining this image data is performed by setting the image formation position by the imaging optical system 14 for one frame to the mirror unit 3.
It is performed a plurality of times while changing by the operation of 2. For this reason,
The film transport device 12 transports the film 1 a plurality of times so that the same frame of the film 1 is repeatedly located on the film scanner unit 120.

Next, the operation related to image processing in the film scanner unit 120 in the film image processing unit 100 will be described with reference to FIGS.

In FIG. 2, it is assumed that the film 1 is curled, for example, in the width direction as shown. With respect to the curled film 1, without changing the position of the imaging device 15, the first imaging position of the optical axis of the imaging optical system 14 is deep.
The position is changed to the middle position, the middle position, and the shallow third position. When the imaging position is at the first position, the lower line a of the film 1
When the vicinity is focused and the imaging position is at the second position, the vicinity of the line b in the middle of the film 1 is focused, and when the imaging position is at the third position, the vicinity of the upper line c of the film 1 is near. Focus on.

In FIG. 3, the image forming position of the image pickup optical system 14 is set to the first position (step S1). Then, the film 1 is moved at a predetermined speed with respect to the automatic film mask 13 by the film transport device 12. At this time, the illumination optical system 11 and the imaging optical system 14 are in an operating state, and the image of the frame of the film 1 is captured as image data for each line by the imaging device 15, and the first image is stored in the line buffer of the RAM 43. It is stored as data (step S2). The imaging position of the imaging optical system 14 is set to the second position, and similarly, the second image data for the same frame on the same film 1 is obtained. Further, the imaging position of the imaging optical system 14 is set to the third position, and similarly, the third image data for the same frame of the same film 1 is obtained. As described above, the imaging process of the film 1 is repeated until the image data whose imaging position has been changed reaches a predetermined number (step S3).

In this manner, the first to third image data obtained by changing the imaging position from the first position to the third position are stored in the line buffer of the RAM 43. A spatial frequency is calculated by performing a Fourier transform on each of the first to third image data (Step S)
4). This spatial frequency corresponds to the number of repetitive patterns. The spatial frequency increases in a focused fine image, and decreases in a defocused rough image. That is, the place where the spatial frequency is high is the focused portion where the focus is achieved. In particular, since the film 1 has a pattern of emulsion grains that cannot be viewed normally, the focused portion can be extracted by extracting the spatial frequency corresponding to the emulsion grains by filtering (step S5). When the in-focus portion of the first image data, the in-focus portion of the second image data, and the in-focus portion of the third image data are combined, image data in which one frame is in focus is obtained (step S6). . As described above, the ROM storing the program for the operation performed by the CPU 41 and the data necessary for the program
Constitutes image data extraction means and synthesis means.

As described above, according to the film image processing apparatus (image processing apparatus) 100 of the present embodiment, the image forming position of the optical axis is changed by the mirror unit 32, and a plurality of images are formed on the same film 1. Data is acquired, a focused portion is extracted based on a spatial frequency, and a focused portion of a plurality of image data is combined. Therefore, when the film 1 is curled in the width direction and / or the longitudinal direction, it is sharp. Image data can be obtained. Therefore, the illumination optical system 11
Even if the depth of focus of the image forming means such as the imaging optical system 14 is somewhat shallow, clear image data can be obtained, and the optical system can be made more compact than when the depth of focus is increased.

Further, the configuration of the film scanner unit 120 of the present embodiment can be realized only by adding the above-described mirror unit 32 capable of changing the image forming position to the conventional film scanner unit. It also has the advantage of being relatively simple. The use of the mirror unit 32 also has the advantage that the position of the image sensor 15 can be fixedly installed.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various design changes may be made within the scope of the appended claims. Is possible.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, by changing the length in the optical axis direction by the mirror unit 32, the image forming position of the image by the image forming means 11 and 14 and the image sensor 15 in the optical axis direction are changed. The separation distance has been changed, but the invention is not limited to this. For example, a mechanism for moving the position of the image sensor 15 in the optical axis direction, or moving the image forming position by moving or exchanging some lenses of the lens unit 31 may be used. Can be.

In the above embodiment, the image forming means 1
Although the distance between the image forming position of the image 14 and the imaging element 15 in the optical axis direction is changed in three steps, it can be changed in two steps or in many steps. However, if the change is made in a plurality of stages, a time for reciprocating one frame of the film 1 and a time for processing image data are required, so that within five stages is realistic.

Further, the image is not limited to a film, but may be any transparent image such as a sheet used for OHP.

[0040]

As described above, according to the first aspect, a plurality of image data whose imaging positions are shifted are obtained for an image having a strong curl, and a focused portion is extracted and synthesized. Even with the imaging means with a shallow depth of focus, uniform image data can be obtained that is focused on the entire image area. As a result, it is not necessary to use an imaging means with a narrowed aperture, so that the light source can be made smaller and the device can be made smaller.

According to the second aspect, the focused portion is extracted by spatial frequency filtering, so that the focused portion of the image data can be reliably extracted.

According to the third aspect, in the case of a film image, a portion where a spatial frequency corresponding to the grain of the film emulsion is obtained can be extracted as a focused portion, so that the focused portion of the film image can be easily extracted. it can. Further, since there is no need to use a mechanism such as a glass press for maintaining the smoothness of the film like a film mask, there is no fear that the color components are attenuated in the glass.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a photographic processing apparatus in which an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is incorporated.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an isolated state of an image forming position in an optical axis direction with respect to a curled image according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an imaging procedure of the image processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Film (image) 11 Illumination optical system (imaging means) 12 Film transport device (imaging means) 13 Auto film mask (imaging means) 14 Imaging optical system (imaging means) 15 Imaging element 31 Lens unit 32 Mirror unit (Distance changing unit) 41 CPU (extracting unit, synthesizing unit) 100 Film image processing unit (image processing device) 120 Film scanner unit 200 Photo exposure processing unit

Claims (3)

[Claims] An image pickup device, an image forming means for forming an image on the image pickup device, and changing an image forming position of the image by the image forming means and a separation distance of the image pickup device in an optical axis direction. A distance changing unit capable of extracting, a extracting unit that extracts a focused portion based on a spatial frequency from a plurality of images captured by the image sensor at the different separation distances, and a focused portion extracted by the extracting unit. And a synthesizing means for synthesizing the image. 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the extraction unit extracts a focused portion by filtering the image data with a spatial frequency. 3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image picked up by the image pickup device is recorded on a film.