JP2004202699A - Image processing device, image processing method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To finish a film at the time of image formation to be a proper density by correctly grasping a characteristic change proper to a device, and consequently correcting effects of a change with time of the characteristic of the device without carrying out calibration. <P>SOLUTION: An image processing device operates a characteristic change model of an exposure means and/or a developing means proper to the device by an operation means 250, and judges by a differential judging means 400 whether or not a differential between a preliminarily set characteristic change model and the characteristic change model proper to the device by the operation means is not smaller than a predetermined differential. When the differential is judged to be not smaller than the predetermined differential, a characteristic model having a predetermined ratio of the differential corrected is replaced as the preliminarily set characteristic change model by a replacing means 500. When the differential is judged not to be smaller than the predetermined differential, the device is fixed to the characteristic change model by a fixing means 600. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, and a program, and more particularly, to an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, and a program that can make a film having an appropriate density when an image is formed.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A medical laser imager (image processing apparatus) has a very strong demand for a basic function of always outputting density stably in order to express a diagnostic image in gray scale.
[0003]
Also, a medical laser imager has a so-called calibration function for controlling an image forming portion so that a digital video signal (designated density signal) sent from a diagnostic device or a photographing device has a constant density on a film. Is provided.
[0004]
However, a fixed density is obtained immediately after performing the calibration, but the density fluctuates due to various factors with the lapse of time after the calibration. In particular, in an image processing process using a heat developing machine, a density fluctuation is likely to occur. For example, a density fluctuation due to the following causes can be considered.
(1) Exposure system fluctuations (eg AOM light intensity and LD wavelength fluctuations) due to temperature rise inside the machine
(2) Fluctuations in thermal development characteristics such as temperature rise in the cooling / transporting section of the thermal development due to film processing (3) Fluctuations in sensitivity characteristics of the film stored in the machine (4) Characteristics of the thermal development drum due to fatty acid adhesion and the like during film processing Change (5) Use of Films with Different Thermal Development Characteristics Of the above-mentioned changes, changes such as (1), (2), and (5) are caused by the fact that if the device is specified in advance, the change in characteristics due to use will be a priori change. Estimation can be performed based on experiments, and feedforward control (abbreviated as "FF" as necessary) can be controlled to cancel this.
[0005]
On the other hand, since fluctuations such as (3) and (4) are difficult to predict in advance, the finished densities affected by the overall including the effects of (3) and (4) are measured, and the subsequent image formation is performed. A so-called patch density method for applying feedback (abbreviated as "FB" as necessary) correction may be used.
[0006]
As such a density patch method, there is known a laser recording apparatus (image processing apparatus) that measures the density of a film after thermal development using a transmission sensor and feeds back the result to the amount of laser light (Patent Document 1).
[0007]
This patch density method is to expose a rectangular area of about 5 × 10 mm to a predetermined portion of a film with a predetermined amount of light, measure the finished density of this area, and obtain a density that should be obtained originally (hereinafter, “comparison”). FB correction based on the difference between the exposure amount and the image density and / or the heat development condition.
[0008]
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 62-249138
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, since the exposure system and the heat development system include elements that vary from device to device, there is a problem that the setting of the characteristic change amount and the comparison density value is apt to be erroneous. If the setting of the density value is wrong, the process system may reproduce the density in accordance with the setting, but as a result, the density may decrease or increase.
[0010]
Therefore, the inventor of the present invention performs FF control and / or FB control, correction of a calib LUT (look-up table), and the like based on a characteristic change model suitable for device variation. As a result, an appropriate result can be obtained. The present invention has been found to be feasible, and has led to the present invention. An object of the present invention is to correct the influence of the change over time in the characteristics of the device without calibrating by accurately grasping the characteristic change unique to the device. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, and a program, which can make a finished film at an appropriate density when forming an image.
[0011]
Further, other objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description.
[0012]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The above object is achieved by the following inventions.
[0013]
(Claim 1) An image processing apparatus comprising an exposure unit for forming an image as a latent image on a film based on image data and a development unit for developing and visualizing the exposed film, a predetermined characteristic change model. Correcting means for correcting the exposure means and / or developing means based on the exposure means, and exposing a partial area of the film on which an image is formed with a predetermined exposure amount or an output calculated via an LUT, and developing Measuring means for measuring the density of the partial area of the obtained film, and subtracting the correction amount in the correcting means from the density measurement result of a predetermined number of films measured by the measuring means, and exposing means unique to the apparatus and / or Alternatively, the characteristic change model of the developing unit is calculated by the calculation unit, and the difference between the predetermined characteristic change model and the characteristic change model unique to the device by the calculation unit is calculated. The difference determining means determines whether or not there is a constant difference or more, and determines that the difference between the predetermined characteristic change model and the device-specific characteristic change model by the calculating means is equal to or greater than a predetermined difference. In this case, the replacement means replaces the characteristic model obtained by correcting the predetermined ratio of the difference as a predetermined characteristic change model, and the difference determination means replaces the characteristic change model predetermined by the replacement means with the calculation means. An image processing apparatus characterized in that when it is determined that the difference from the characteristic change model unique to the apparatus is not more than a predetermined difference, the characteristic change model is fixed to the characteristic change model by fixing means.
[0014]
(2) The image processing apparatus according to (1), wherein the characteristic change model is individually defined for an exposure unit and a development unit.
[0015]
(3) The image processing apparatus according to (1), wherein the characteristic change model is determined by combining an exposure unit and a development unit.
[0016]
(Claim 4) There is a time judging means for judging a relationship between a power-on time and a processable time, and the time judging means determines that the power-on time and the processable time are not shorter than a predetermined time. 4. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when it is determined, the calculation unit does not use a series of density measurement results at the time of turning on the power.
[0017]
(5) An image processing method comprising: an exposure step of forming an image as a latent image on a film based on image data; and a development step of developing and visualizing the exposed film. A correction step for correcting the exposure step and / or the development step based on the exposure step, and exposing a partial area of the film on which an image is formed with a predetermined exposure amount or an output calculated via a LUT in the exposure step; A measurement step of measuring the density of the partial area of the film, and subtracting the correction amount in the correction step from a density measurement result of a predetermined number of films measured in the measurement step, and performing an exposure step and / or Alternatively, the characteristic change model of the development process is calculated in the calculation step, and the difference between the predetermined characteristic change model and the characteristic change model unique to the device in the calculation step is calculated. It is determined in a difference determination step whether or not there is a constant difference or more, and in the difference determination step, it is determined that a difference between the predetermined characteristic change model and a device-specific characteristic change model in the calculation step is equal to or greater than a predetermined difference. In this case, the characteristic model in which the predetermined ratio of the difference is corrected is replaced as a predetermined characteristic change model in a replacement step, and the characteristic change model predetermined in the replacement step and the calculation step are replaced in the difference determination step. An image processing method characterized in that when it is determined that the difference from the characteristic change model unique to the device is not more than a predetermined difference, the characteristic change model is fixed to the characteristic change model in a fixing step.
[0018]
(6) The image processing method according to (5), wherein the characteristic change model is individually defined for an exposure step and a development step.
[0019]
(7) The image processing method according to (5), wherein the characteristic change model is determined by combining an exposure step and a development step.
[0020]
(Claim 8) There is a time judgment step for judging a relationship between a power-on time and a processable time, and in the time judgment step, the power-on time and the processable time are not shorter than a predetermined time. 8. The image processing method according to claim 5, wherein when the determination is made, the calculation step does not employ a series of density measurement results obtained when the power is turned on.
[0021]
(9) A program for causing a computer to execute the image processing method according to any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein the program is stored in an image processing apparatus.
[0022]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.
[0023]
The present invention has a feature in the control of the image processing apparatus. First, the configuration of the image processing apparatus on which the control is based will be described.
[0024]
FIG. 1 is a front view of a main part showing an example of the configuration of an image processing apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a view schematically showing an exposure section of the image processing apparatus of FIG.
[0025]
As shown in FIG. 1, an image processing apparatus 100 includes first and second loading units 11 and 12 for loading a package formed by barging a predetermined number of sheets of a film, which is a photothermographic material in the form of a sheet, with one film. A supply unit 110 having a supply unit 90 which conveys and supplies the film for exposure and development one by one; an exposure unit 120 which is an exposure unit that exposes a film fed from the supply unit 110 to form a latent image; The image forming apparatus includes a developing unit 130 that is a developing unit that thermally develops the film on which an image is formed, and a densitometer 200 that is an example of a measuring unit that measures the density of the developed film and obtains density information.
[0026]
The film is conveyed one by one from the first and second loading units 11 and 12 of the supply unit 110 by the supply unit 90 and the pair of conveyance rollers 39, 41 and 141 in the direction of the arrow (1) in FIG. ing.
[0027]
Next, as shown in FIG. 2, the exposure unit 120 deflects the laser light L of a predetermined wavelength within the wavelength range of 780 to 860 nm, which is intensity-modulated based on the image data signal, by the rotating polygon mirror 113, and Main scanning, and sub-scanning is performed by moving the film F relative to the laser light L in a substantially horizontal direction, which is a direction substantially perpendicular to the main scanning direction, and the latent image is formed on the film F using the laser light L. Is formed.
[0028]
A more specific configuration of the exposure unit 120 will be described below. In FIG. 2, when receiving an image signal S which is a digital signal output from an image signal output device 121, the image signal S is converted into an analog signal by a D / A converter 122 and input to a modulation circuit 123. The modulation circuit 123 controls the driver 124 of the laser light source unit 110a based on the analog signal so that the modulated laser light L is emitted from the laser light source unit 110a. Further, the high-frequency superimposing unit 118 superimposes a high-frequency component on the laser light via the modulation circuit 123 and the driver 124 to prevent formation of interference fringes on the film.
[0029]
An acousto-optic modulator 88 is arranged between the lens 112 of the exposure unit 120 and the laser light source unit 110a. The acousto-optic modulator 88 is controlled and driven by an acousto-optic modulation (AOM) driver 89 based on a signal from a correction unit 300 for adjusting the modulation amount.
[0030]
The correction unit 300 controls the acousto-optic modulation element 88 via the AOM driver 89 based on the correction signal from the control unit 99 so that the optimal modulation amount (the ratio of the outgoing light amount to the incident light amount) is obtained at the time of exposure.
[0031]
Next, the laser light L emitted from the laser light source unit 110a and having the light amount appropriately adjusted by the acousto-optic modulation element 88 passes through the lens 112, and is then converged only in the vertical direction by the cylindrical lens 115. The light is incident on the rotary polygon mirror 113 rotating in the direction of arrow A as a line image perpendicular to the drive shaft. The rotary polygon mirror 113 reflects and deflects the laser light L in the main scanning direction. After the deflected laser light L passes through an fθ lens 114 including a cylindrical lens formed by combining four lenses, the laser light L is scanned on the optical path. The mirror F is reflected by a mirror 116 extending in the direction, and is conveyed (sub-scanned) by the conveying device 142 in the arrow Y direction on the scanned surface 117 of the film F in the arrow X direction repeatedly. Main scanning is performed. As a result, the laser light L scans the entire surface to be scanned 117 on the film F.
[0032]
The cylindrical lens of the fθ lens 114 focuses the incident laser light L on the surface to be scanned of the film F only in the sub-scanning direction, and the distance from the fθ lens 114 to the surface to be scanned of the film F Is equal to the focal length of the entire fθ lens 114. As described above, in the exposure unit 120, the cylindrical lens 115 and the fθ lens 114 including the cylindrical lens are provided, and the laser light L is once converged on the rotary polygon mirror 113 only in the sub-scanning direction. Therefore, even if the rotating polygon mirror 113 is tilted or axially pre-formed, the scanning position of the laser beam L is not shifted in the sub-scanning direction on the surface to be scanned of the film F, and scanning lines of equal pitch are formed. You can do it. The rotating polygon mirror 113 has an advantage that it is superior in scanning stability to other optical polarizers such as a galvanometer mirror. As described above, a latent image based on the image signal S is formed on the film F.
[0033]
Next, the developing unit 130 of the image processing apparatus of FIG. 1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the developing unit 130 includes a drum 14 that can heat the film F while holding the film F on the outer periphery, and a plurality of rolls 16 that hold the film between the drum 14 and the drum 16. The drum 14 includes a heater (not shown) therein, and thermally develops the film F by maintaining the film F at a temperature equal to or higher than a predetermined minimum heat development temperature (for example, about 110 ° C.) for a predetermined heat development time. Thus, the latent image formed on the film F by the exposure unit 120 is formed as a visible image. The heater of the drum 14 is controlled by a control unit described later, and the density can be adjusted by changing the temperature of the heater to change the developing temperature.
[0034]
On the left side of the thermal developing unit 130, a cooling transport unit 150 that includes a plurality of transport roller pairs 144 and a densitometer 200 and that cools a heated film is provided. The film F separated from the heating drum 14 is cooled while being conveyed obliquely downward to the left by the cooling conveyance section 150 as shown by the arrow (3) in FIG. The densitometer 200 measures the density of the film F while the transport roller pair 144 conveys the cooled film F. Thereafter, the plurality of transport roller pairs 144 are provided at the upper right part of the heat developing device 100 so that the film F can be further transported as shown by an arrow (4) in FIG. The sheet is discharged to the discharge tray 160.
[0035]
FIG. 3 is a main part front view showing the guide member 21 arranged near the heating drum 14 in the cooling and conveying unit 150 of FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the guide member 21 constitutes a guide surface 30 for guiding the film F and is made of a nonwoven fabric and has a heat insulating property. And a thermally conductive second member 23 made of a metal material such as The guide member 21 first reaches the thermally conductive second member 23 after the film F indicated by a broken line in FIG. 3 is conveyed between the heating drum 14 and the guide roller 16 and separated from the outer peripheral surface 14a. Next, it is guided along the guide surface 30.
[0036]
The densitometer 200 of FIG. 1 includes a light emitting unit 200a and a light receiving unit 200b, and when the film after development is conveyed between the light emitting unit 200a and the light receiving unit 200b as described above and passes therethrough, the light emitting unit 200a The light emitted from the light receiving unit 200b is received by the light receiving unit 200b through the film, and the density is measured based on the degree of attenuation of the amount of received light.
[0037]
Next, the functions that characterize the present invention will be described below using the image processing apparatus of FIG. Such a function is realized by being controlled by a software program (program) stored in a predetermined storage device such as a flash ROM (not shown) in the image processing apparatus. The image processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a microcomputer (computer) including a CPU (not shown) therein, and the following functions are executed by processing the program by the computer.
[0038]
FIG. 4 is a block diagram for explaining functions of an image processing apparatus for implementing the image processing method of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining processing by the image processing apparatus shown in FIG. FIG.
[0039]
As shown in FIG. 4, the image processing apparatus according to the present invention includes an exposure unit 120 for performing an exposure process, a development unit 130 for performing a development process, a correction unit 300 for performing a correction process, and a measurement process. , A calculating means 250 for performing the calculating step, a difference determining means 400 for performing the difference determining step, a replacing means 500 for performing the replacing step, and a fixing means for performing the fixing step. Is provided.
As shown in FIG. 5, the correcting unit 300 corrects the exposure unit 120 and / or the developing unit 130 based on a predetermined characteristic change model (standard change model) (S1).
[0040]
The characteristic change model is a model that shows how the exposure system 120 and / or the development system 130 of the apparatus changes its characteristics over time in correlation with time and density. FIG. 8 shows an example of the characteristic change model. FIG. 8A shows an example of a characteristic change model of the exposure unit 120 specific to the apparatus, FIG. 8B shows an example of a characteristic change model of the developing unit 130 specific to the apparatus, and FIG. 3 is a characteristic change model of the exposure unit 120 and the development unit 130 of FIG. In FIG. 8C, a curve A represents a characteristic variation of a thermal developing device which is an example of an image processing device. The following characteristics are shown. The portion of the curve B is determined from the exposure and / or development characteristics due to an increase in the in-machine temperature following the subsequent film processing.
[0041]
As the characteristic change model unique to the device of the present invention, any of the models shown in FIGS. 8A to 8C can be used, but the model shown in FIG. 8C is preferable in conformity with the actual device. .
[0042]
The standard change model is used as a basis for control of each device. Based on this model, the FB correction amount and the FF correction amount can be calculated, and the LUT correction according to the calib timing is performed. You can also.
[0043]
Next, the exposure means 120 exposes a partial area of the film on which an image is formed with a predetermined exposure amount or an output calculated via a LUT (S2). Specifically, an image is formed as a latent image on a film based on the image data, and a part of the film on which the image is formed is calculated via a lookup table (LUT) with respect to a predetermined exposure amount or a specified density. Exposure is performed with the specified output. The part of the film on which an image is formed is a region where an end of an image forming region F2 such as F1 in the film F shown in FIG. 6 is formed. For example, a region of about 5 × 10 mm is used. The lookup table (LUT) used is obtained by calibration. Calibration is to create an LUT by forming an image for a test in advance, measuring the density of the formed image, and determining the relationship between the amount of light and the output and the relationship between the amount of light and the density on the film. Say. The LUT is represented, for example, in a form as shown in FIG.
[0044]
Next, the developing unit 130 measures the density of the partial area of the developed film by the measuring unit 200 (S3). This is for measuring patch density. In addition to the density of the patch portion, the correction amount in S1 and the print time are also stored.
[0045]
Next, it is determined whether or not the number of data obtained by the measurement by the measuring means 200 is a predetermined number (S4). The predetermined number is the number of data required to calculate the characteristic change model unique to the device.
[0046]
If the number is not the predetermined number, the process returns to S1, and a correction based on the patch density is performed in S1. If the number is a predetermined number, the correction amount in the correction unit is subtracted from the density measurement result of the predetermined number of films measured by the measurement unit, and the characteristic change model of the exposure unit and / or the development unit unique to the apparatus is calculated by the calculation unit 250. (S5).
[0047]
In S5, there is provided a time determining means (not shown) for determining the relationship between the power-on time and the processable time, and the time determining means determines that the power-on time and the processable time are not shorter than a predetermined time. When it is determined, it is preferable that the calculating means does not adopt a series of concentration measurement results at the time of turning on the power. This is to avoid using the patch data obtained by measuring the image developed and exposed at the start-up in the normal state. This is because the processable time is determined to be the time when the temperature of the drum has reached a predetermined temperature or higher. It is considered that the power was turned on when the power-on time was short and the device temperature did not reach the equilibrium with the environmental temperature. To consider the temperature, start from the equilibrium state with the initially installed (power-on) environmental temperature. This is because it is estimated that the deviation from the obtained characteristic change model is large.
[0048]
A series of concentration measurement results at the time of power-on, after the power is turned on, when it is determined by the time determination means that the time of power-on and the time at which processing can be performed are not shorter than a predetermined time, then, This refers to the concentration measurement result measured before the power was turned on.
[0049]
Next, the difference judging means 400 judges whether or not the difference between the predetermined characteristic change model and the characteristic change model unique to the device is equal to or larger than a predetermined difference (S6).
[0050]
If it is determined in S6 that the difference is equal to or larger than the predetermined difference, the replacement means 500 newly adds a characteristic change model obtained by modifying the predetermined characteristic change model by a predetermined ratio of the difference. The replacement is performed as the determined characteristic change model (S7). Specifically, for example, the predetermined ratio is set to 0.4, and the change rate of the heat-exposed portion (for example, appearing at the portion A in FIG. 8A) of the characteristic change model changes from -3 to -4. In this case, the change rate of the characteristic change model after the replacement is obtained by calculating (−3) + 0.4 × (−4 − (− 3)). For example, the replacement of the characteristic change model is (change rate of the characteristic change model after replacement in the previous exposure and development) + (predetermined ratio) × ((change rate of the characteristic change model unique to the device) − ( Rate of change before replacement)). In the above equation, the characteristic change model after replacement in the previous exposure / development is replaced with a predetermined characteristic change model when performing the first replacement after calibration. By the replacement by the replacing means 500, for example, the predetermined characteristic change model is changed from the characteristic change model indicated by the curve a in FIG. 9 to the characteristic change model indicated by the curve b. This replacement is performed for each exposure and development.
[0051]
As long as the difference determination means 400 determines that the difference is not within the predetermined difference, the processing of collecting the patch data, calculating the characteristic change model unique to the device based on the patch data, and replacing the characteristic change model is repeated.
[0052]
If it is determined in S6 that the difference is within the predetermined difference, the fixing means 600 fixes the characteristic change model (S8). The fixing of the characteristic change model means that the operation of the characteristic change model is not performed by the calculating means, and the replacement of the characteristic change model is not performed by the replacing means.
[0053]
The present invention starts printing with a standard characteristic change model installed in advance, collects patch data, and performs correction while identifying a characteristic change model unique to the device at the time when a predetermined number of data is collected. By repeatedly replacing the characteristic change model with a model in which the difference between the characteristic change model and the device-specific characteristic change model is corrected at a predetermined rate, the characteristic change model gradually approaches an accurate device-specific characteristic change model. Thus, before and after the algorithm change, the image output from the apparatus does not cause a rapid change (density change) with respect to the image signal of the same diagnostic image data, so that the influence on the diagnosis can be minimized. .
[0054]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, by gradually reflecting the characteristic change unique to the apparatus on the output, the influence of the change over time of the characteristic of the apparatus can be eliminated without calibrating (wasteful film consumption) without fear of a sudden change in the output image. By modifying to (none), it is possible to provide an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, and a program capable of adjusting the finish of a film when forming an image to an appropriate density.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a front view of a main part showing an example of the configuration of an image processing apparatus of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a view schematically showing an exposure section of the image processing apparatus of FIG. 1 FIG. FIG. 4 is a front view of a main part showing a guide member arranged in the vicinity of the heating drum. FIG. 4 is a block diagram for explaining functions of an image processing apparatus for performing the image processing method of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining processing by the image processing apparatus shown in FIG. 4; FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an image region and a partial region of a film; FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of an LUT. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the replacement of the characteristic change model by the replacement means.
100: Image processing device 110: Supply unit 120: Exposure unit (exposure unit)
130: developing unit (developing means)
150: Cooling / conveying unit 200: Densitometer (measuring means)
2500: calculation means 400: difference determination means 500: replacement means 600: fixing means 11: first loading section 12: second loading section 14: drum 88: acousto-optic modulator 89: AOM driver 99: control section 110a: Laser light source section
F: Film S: Image signal (diagnosis image signal)

Claims (9)

Exposure means for forming an image as a latent image on a film based on image data, and an image processing apparatus having a development means for developing and visualizing the exposed film,
A correcting unit that corrects the exposure unit and / or the developing unit based on a predetermined characteristic change model; and the exposure unit calculates a partial area of a film on which an image is to be formed via a predetermined exposure amount or a LUT. Exposure with the output, comprising a measuring means for measuring the density of the partial area of the developed film,
Subtracting the correction amount in the correction means from the density measurement result of the predetermined number of films measured by the measurement means, and calculating the characteristic change model of the exposure means and / or the development means specific to the apparatus by the calculation means;
The difference determination unit determines whether or not the difference between the predetermined characteristic change model and the device-specific characteristic change model by the calculation unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined difference.
When the difference judging means judges that the difference between the predetermined characteristic change model and the device-specific characteristic change model calculated by the calculating means is equal to or larger than a predetermined difference, the characteristic model obtained by correcting the predetermined ratio of the difference Is replaced by a replacement means as a predetermined characteristic change model,
When the difference judging means judges that the difference between the characteristic change model predetermined by the replacing means and the characteristic change model unique to the device by the arithmetic means is not more than a predetermined difference, the fixing means fixes the characteristic change model to the characteristic change model. An image processing apparatus characterized by being fixed. 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the characteristic change model is individually defined for an exposure unit and a development unit. 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the characteristic change model is determined by combining an exposure unit and a development unit. It has time determining means for determining the relationship between the power-on time and the processable time, and when the time-determining means determines that the power-on time and the processable time are not shorter than a predetermined time, 4. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the calculation unit does not use a series of density measurement results at the time of turning on the power. In an image processing method including an exposure step of forming an image as a latent image on a film based on image data, and a development step of developing and visualizing the exposed film,
A correction step of correcting the exposure step and / or the development step based on a predetermined characteristic change model; and in the exposure step, a partial area of the film on which an image is formed is calculated via a predetermined exposure amount or a LUT. Exposure with the output, comprising a measurement step of measuring the density of the partial area of the developed film,
The correction amount in the correction step is subtracted from the density measurement result of the predetermined number of films measured in the measurement step, and the characteristic change model of the exposure step and / or the development step specific to the apparatus is calculated in the calculation step,
Determine in a difference determination step whether the difference between the predetermined characteristic change model and the characteristic change model unique to the device in the calculation step is a predetermined difference or more,
When it is determined in the difference determination step that the difference between the predetermined characteristic change model and the device-specific characteristic change model in the calculation step is equal to or greater than a predetermined difference, a characteristic model in which a predetermined ratio of the difference is corrected Is replaced in a replacement process as a predetermined characteristic change model,
When it is determined in the difference determination step that the difference between the characteristic change model predetermined in the replacement step and the device-specific characteristic change model in the calculation step is not more than a predetermined difference, the fixing step is performed on the characteristic change model in the fixing step. An image processing method characterized by fixing. 6. The image processing method according to claim 5, wherein the characteristic change model is individually defined for an exposure step and a development step. 6. The image processing method according to claim 5, wherein the characteristic change model is determined by combining an exposure step and a development step. A time determining step of determining a relationship between a power-on time and a processable time, and when it is determined in the time determining step that the power-on time and the processable time are not shorter than a predetermined time, 8. The image processing method according to claim 5, wherein the calculation step does not employ a series of density measurement results obtained when the power is turned on. A program for causing a computer to execute the image processing method according to claim 5, wherein the program is stored in an image processing apparatus.

Images