JP2005308788A - Light source unit - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a light source unit capable of outputting uniform bundle of rays free from irregularity in light quantity by uniformly mixing light beams from a plurality of light sources having different wavelength without requiring installation accuracy so high and without causing upsizing and cost rise due to the increase in the number of parts. <P>SOLUTION: The light source unit is equipped with a 1st light source 2 for reading a film image, a 2nd light source 3 for detecting film noise, an optical filter 2A removing the wavelength component of the 2nd light source 3 from the bundle of rays outputted from the 1st light source 2, an optical diffusion hollow body 7 equipped with light entering parts 4A and 4B on which the bundle of rays from the 1st light source 2 through the optical filter 2A and the bundle of rays from the 2nd light source 3 are made incident and a light exiting part 6 outputting the bundles of rays made incident from the light entering parts 4A and 4B and diffused and reflected on an inner wall surface, and a diffusing plate 5 diffusing the bundle of rays outputted from the light emitting part 6. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention includes a first light source for film image reading and a second light source for film noise detection, reads an image recorded on the film using an output light bundle from the first light source, and outputs from the second light source. The present invention relates to a light source unit suitable for a film scanner that detects scratches and dust on a film using a light beam and corrects the detected film noise based on film image data read by a first light source.

  Conventionally, as a light source unit used in a film scanner, the first light source and the second light source described above are configured by a common halogen lamp, and the light flux of the halogen lamp is separated into a visible light region and an infrared light region of RGB components. There is an optical filter arranged so that visible light passing through the optical filter is taken out as an output light bundle from the first light source, and infrared light passing through the optical filter is taken out as an output light bundle from the second light source.

  In the above-described light source unit, the R component of visible light and the wavelength of infrared light are close to each other. Therefore, in order to transmit light having a necessary wavelength, an expensive optical filter is used and the cut characteristics are strictly set. In addition, the wavelength range of infrared light necessary to detect noise is narrow, but if it is cut by an optical filter, light of the wavelength before and after that is transmitted, so the second light source There is a problem in that the R image component other than the noise component is included in the film image produced by the output light flux, which adversely affects the identification of scratches and dust.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, a halogen lamp is used as the first light source 2 for reading the film image, and an optical filter 2A for removing the wavelength component in the infrared region from the output light flux is provided, and a film noise detecting first is provided. An infrared LED is used as the two light sources 3, a cold mirror 100 that reflects visible light from the halogen lamp 2 and transmits infrared light from the infrared LED 3 is provided in the optical path, and these light bundles are used as a common optical path. A light source unit that guides and irradiates the film F with diffused light that has passed through the mirror tunnel 200 has been proposed.

As this type of light source unit, an IR cut filter, a color separation filter, and a mirror box for removing an infrared component from light emitted from a halogen lamp are arranged in order along the optical axis. In some cases, a light guide for guiding the LED light to the frame image of the photographic film so as to be irradiated is provided integrally.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-110824

  According to the above-described conventional technology, a cold mirror that synthesizes visible light and infrared light and a mirror box for diffusion processing are required, and the cold mirror is accurate to match the optical axes of visible light and infrared light. There is a problem that it must be installed well, and further, the size and cost increase due to the increase in the number of parts.

  In view of the above-described conventional drawbacks, the present invention uniformly mixes light from a plurality of light sources having different wavelengths without requiring so much installation accuracy and without causing an increase in size and cost due to an increase in the number of components. The object is to provide a light source unit capable of outputting a uniform light bundle without unevenness in the amount of light.

  In order to achieve the above object, the first characteristic configuration of the light source unit according to the present invention includes a first light source for film image reading and film noise detection as described in claim 1 of the claims. A second light source, an optical filter for removing the wavelength component of the second light source from the output light bundle of the first light source, a light bundle from the first light source and the second light source through the optical filter A light-diffusing hollow body comprising a light incident part into which a light beam is incident, a light emitting part that outputs a light beam incident from the light incident part and diffusely reflected on the inner wall surface, and a light beam output from the light output part The diffusion plate for diffusing the bundle is provided.

  A plurality of light bundles having different wavelengths such as a light bundle from which the wavelength component of the second light source has been removed by passing through the optical filter from the first light source and an output light bundle from the second light source are incident from the light incident portion. As a result of the diffuse reflection being repeated on the inner wall surface of the light diffusing hollow body, a light beam having a sufficiently uniform light amount is output from the light output portion. By diffusing such a light bundle again with the diffusion plate, a light bundle free from unevenness in the amount of light can be obtained.

  Moreover, the light source unit that receives the output light bundle from the light source and the light output unit that outputs the light beam to the film are appropriately set at appropriate positions in the light diffusion hollow body, so that the light source unit can be configured compactly. This not only eliminates the need for highly accurate management of the optical axis between each light source and the mirror as required when a mirror is used, but also reduces the cost by reducing the number of components.

  As described above, according to the present invention, light from a plurality of light sources having different wavelengths is uniformly mixed without requiring so much installation accuracy and without causing an increase in size and cost due to an increase in the number of components. Therefore, it is possible to provide a light source unit that can output a uniform light bundle without unevenness in the amount of light.

  Embodiments of a light source unit and a film scanner including the light source unit according to the present invention will be described below. As shown in FIG. 1, the light source unit 1 includes a first light source 2 for reading a film image, a second light source 3 for detecting film noise, and an output light bundle of the first light source 2. An optical filter 2A for removing wavelength components, light incident portions 4A and 4B on which light bundles from the first light source 2 and light bundles from the second light source 3 enter via the optical filter 2A, and the incident light A light diffusing hollow body 7 having a light exiting portion 6 that outputs a light bundle incident from the light portions 4A and 4B and diffusely reflected by the inner wall surface, and a diffuser plate 5 that diffuses the light flux output from the light exiting portion 6 Is provided.

  The first light source 2 includes a halogen lamp and a reflecting mirror, and the output light beam emitted from the first light source 2 has a wavelength component of the second light source 3 which is an infrared wavelength by the optical filter 2A. The light is removed and incident on the light diffusion hollow body 7 from the light incident portion 4A. The second light source 3 is composed of an infrared LED or the like, and an output light beam emitted from the second light source 3 is incident on the light diffusion hollow body 7 from the light incident part 4B.

  The light diffusing hollow body 7 has a substantially spherical shape, and its inner wall surface 7B is configured to diffuse and reflect a white paint made of barium sulfate or the like, as shown in FIG. The beam bundle from the light source incident from 4B is made to be completely diffused and radiated from the light exit section 6. The beam bundle incident from the light incident sections 4A and 4B is directly output from the light exit section 6. The light exiting part 6 is formed at a position different from the region where the optical path of the light beam incident from the light incident parts 4A and 4B intersects with the wall surface of the light diffusing hollow body 7, and acts as an integrating sphere. .

  A part of the surface of the light diffusion hollow body 7 is formed flat, and the light exit portion 6 is formed in the flat surface so as to have a shape corresponding to the shape of the frame image of the photographic film. Light bundles incident from the light parts 4A and 4B are output as light bundles having a uniform light quantity distribution.

  The light exit portion 6 is provided with a mounting seat for detachably attaching the diffusion plate 5, and when the diffusion plate 5 is attached, dust floating around the light diffusion hollow body 7 is collected in the light diffusion hollow body 7. It does not flow into the interior, and the reflecting surface of the inner wall is not contaminated.

  The light flux diffused by the light diffusing hollow body 7 and output from the light exiting part 6 is further diffused by the diffusing plate 5 and irradiated to the film F in a state in which the unevenness in the amount of light is completely eliminated.

  A photographic processing apparatus including the above-described light source unit 1 and including an image pickup device that reads an image carried on the photographic film based on a light flux output from the light source unit 1 and transmitted through the photographic film conveyed by the film conveying device. explain.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the photo processing apparatus includes a film scanner 10 and a printer 20. The film scanner 10 includes a light source unit 1 that guides an output light flux from the halogen lamp 2 as the first light source 2 and the infrared LED 3 as the second light source 3 to the surface of the film F, and an automatic film that conveys the film F. The image forming unit 12 includes a transport device 11 and a CCD area sensor that reads film-transmitted light from output light from the light source unit 1.

  The automatic film transport device 11 is provided with a driving roller 11A for intermittently transporting the film at a constant speed, and the image pickup unit 12 receives a CCD area sensor arranged along the width direction of the photographic film F and a film image as a CCD area sensor. The frame image of the photographic film F conveyed to the film reading position along the arrow direction in FIG. 2 is read by the CCD area sensor.

  In the CCD area sensor, a plurality of light receiving portions for detecting light are arranged in a plane along the longitudinal direction and the width direction of a photographic film, and image data is read according to light received by each light receiving portion. .

  The printer 20 is arranged in a conveyance path, a magazine 22 in which roll-shaped printing paper P is accommodated, an advance roller 23 that draws the printing paper P from the magazine 22 and conveys it along the conveyance path, and an exposure conveyance roller 24. , A cutter 25 that cuts the photographic paper P into a predetermined size, and a laser system that is disposed at an exposure position on the conveyance path and prints and exposes an image on the photographic paper P in units of pixels based on image data read by the film scanner 10. The exposure engine 21, a developing unit 26 for developing the photographic paper P after exposure, a drying unit 27 for drying the photographic paper P after the development processing, and a control unit 28 for controlling the operation of each functional block described above. And an operation unit 29 for setting and inputting output processing conditions such as a print size, a monitor 30 for displaying a print image, and the like.

  Another embodiment will be described below. In the above-described embodiment, the light diffusing hollow body 7 is described as having a substantially spherical shape. However, the shape of the light diffusing hollow body 7 is not limited to this, and is a cylindrical hollow body. The light emitting portion may be formed on the circumferential surface of the cylinder in parallel with the axis, or may have another shape.

  In the embodiment described above, a halogen lamp is used as the first light source that outputs light in the visible light wavelength region. However, the lamp used as the first light source is visible light such as a metahalide lamp in addition to the halogen lamp. A lamp that outputs light in the wavelength region can be used.

  The shape of the light exit portion is formed in a shape corresponding to the shape of the frame image of the photographic film, and the case where the frame image is read by the CCD area sensor has been described. However, the shape is not particularly limited, depending on the application. It is set appropriately. For example, the light output portion may be formed in a slit shape so that a frame image of a film conveyed at a constant speed in the sub-scanning direction is read by a CCD line sensor.

  The above-described embodiments are merely examples of the light source unit according to the present invention, and the shape, material, size, and the like are not particularly limited. Furthermore, the application example of the light source unit according to the present invention is not limited to a film scanner or an analog projection exposure apparatus, but can be applied to any apparatus that requires a uniform light amount.

  In the above-described embodiment, the infrared light is output as the second light source for film noise detection. However, the wavelength of the second light source is for detecting film noise and is not limited to infrared light. Instead, other wavelengths, for example, light in the ultraviolet region may be output.

(A) is a top view of the light source unit by this invention, (b) is the front view Block diagram of a photographic processing apparatus in which a light source unit according to the present invention is used. Sectional view of a light source unit according to a conventional example

Explanation of symbols

1: Light source unit 2: First light source 3: Second light source 4A: Light incident part 4B: Light incident part 5: Diffusion plate 6: Light emission part 7: Light diffusion hollow body

Claims (1)

  A first light source for reading a film image, a second light source for detecting film noise, an optical filter for removing a wavelength component of the second light source from an output light bundle of the first light source, and the optical filter through the optical filter. A light incident portion where a light bundle from the first light source and a light bundle from the second light source are incident, and a light exit portion that outputs the light bundle incident from the light incident portion and diffusely reflected on the inner wall surface A light source unit comprising a light diffusing hollow body and a diffusing plate for diffusing the light flux output from the light exiting portion.

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