JP2007180677A - Film scanner - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a film scanner capable of further reducing a reading time. <P>SOLUTION: A plurality of image sensors 4 for reading images in a film 3 are provided on a film support body 2 to which the film 3 is transferred. Each image sensor 4 respectively reads each image in the film 3 in different regions. On that occasion, positioning marks P respectively provided outside each region of frames F in the film are also included in the image read by the image sensors 4. Read image data are stored in a storage 51 for each frame F. The image data for each frame F are processed so that the frames F are aligned with each other by a data processing part 52 on the basis of the positioning marks P included in the image data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a film scanner, and more particularly to a film scanner for digitizing a video film with high resolution.

  In order to record a video film such as a movie on a DVD or the like, it is known to scan and digitize the video film. On the other hand, a so-called three-plate type film scanner that uses a line sensor or an area sensor using a light receiving element such as a CCD and reads the same frame for each color simultaneously using a prism or a filter in the case of a color image is also known (for example, Patent Documents). 1 and 2).

On the other hand, high resolution video is required for movies and the like. For example, a resolution higher than 4K master (4096 × 2160 pixels) defined in the Digital Cinema System Specification standard is required.
JP 2000-216965 A JP 2003-307678 A

  However, film scanning at such a resolution requires an imaging time (reading time) of about 1 second per frame. Usually, since the number of frames of a movie is 24 frames / second, for example, it takes a total of 3 days to read all the movies of 3 hours. Therefore, there was a problem that it took a very long time.

  The present invention has been made to solve the problems of the prior art, and an object thereof is to provide a film scanner that can further shorten the reading time.

  A film scanner according to the present invention is a film scanner for reading an image of a film sent from a film reel to a film support, and a plurality of film scanners are provided on the film support along the film sending direction, and each of the films in different regions. An image sensor that reads an image; a storage unit that stores an image of the film read by the image sensor as image data for each frame; and a data processing unit that processes the image data. An area including a positioning mark provided outside the frame is read as a reading area, and the data processing unit aligns the frames based on the positioning mark read by the image sensor.

  According to the film scanner having the above-described configuration, a plurality of image sensors that read an image of the film are provided on the film support on which the film is conveyed. Each image sensor reads (captures) an image of the film in a different area. At this time, the image read by the image sensor includes a positioning mark provided outside the frame region of the film (that is, a range wider than the frame region of the film is read as a reading region by the image sensor). The read image data is stored in the storage unit for each frame. In the image data for each frame, the data processing unit aligns the frames based on the positioning marks included in the image data.

  As described above, by reading the image of the film using a plurality of image sensors, it is possible to read the image data more quickly using a known image sensor. Furthermore, since the image data for each frame can be aligned on the image data based on the positioning marks provided outside the frame area of the film, the processing after reading can be performed with high accuracy and in a short time. Further, since the alignment is performed on the image data, the original film is not damaged.

  Preferably, the apparatus includes a film reel drive control unit that controls a film delivery amount, and the data processing unit numbers the frames read by the image sensor based on the film delivery amount in advance, and the image sensor When reading the image of the film frame by frame, the frame number corresponding to the read image is recognized based on the amount of the film to be sent, and the storage unit includes the image data read by the image sensor and the recognized frame number. It is configured to store in association with each other.

  In this case, the frames of the film to be sent out in advance are numbered, and the number is associated with the amount of film sent out on the film reel (the amount of rotation of the film reel). The data processing unit recognizes the number in the frame of the image data read by the image sensor on the basis of the film feed amount transmitted from the drive control unit of the film reel, and stores the read image data together with the number. Store in the department.

  Therefore, data processing after reading image data can be performed more efficiently when a meaningful film such as a video film is used or when the same frame is read separately for each color.

  Preferably, the positioning mark is configured to be a feed hole for film delivery.

  In this case, the positioning mark is also used as a film delivery hole (perforation). Accordingly, it is possible to perform highly accurate positioning on the image data by reading the image of the feed hole without separately providing a positioning mark on the film by printing or the like.

  Preferably, the image sensor is configured to be provided at least one for each color to be read.

  In this case, at least one image sensor is provided for each color (for example, R, G, B) to be read, and the film is read at each position. When the same region is read separately for each color by a prism or the like as in the known three-plate type, information (pixels) that can be read by one image sensor is reduced by performing spectroscopy using the prism. Therefore, by providing a different image sensor for each color (for example, R, G, B) to be read, the ability of the image sensor (CCD pixels and the like) can be efficiently exhibited compared to the three-plate type.

  Preferably, the image sensor is configured to be a line sensor. Alternatively, the image sensor is configured to be an area sensor.

  Preferably, the plurality of image sensors are configured to be arranged in one frame. Alternatively, the plurality of image sensors are configured to be arranged so that different frames can be read simultaneously.

  Preferably, the film is configured to be a film for video. That is, the above configuration is particularly effective for a film for video (moving image) in which positioning between frames is important.

  According to the film scanner of the present invention, it is possible to read image data more quickly using a known image sensor by reading an image of the film using a plurality of image sensors. Furthermore, since the image data for each frame can be aligned on the image data based on the positioning marks provided outside the image area of the film, the processing after reading can be performed with high accuracy and in a short time. Further, since the alignment is performed on the image data, the original film is not damaged.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 is a schematic side sectional view showing a film scanner according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a reading of an image sensor in the film scanner in FIG. It is the schematic which shows an area | region.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the film scanner according to the present invention is a film scanner for reading an image of a film 3 sent from a film reel 1 to a film support 2, and is applied to the film support 2 along the film sending direction. A plurality of image sensors 4 that read images of the film 3 in different areas, a storage unit 51 that stores the images of the film 3 read by the image sensor 4 as image data for each frame F, and processes the image data The image sensor 4 reads a frame of the film 3 and a region including a positioning mark P provided outside the frame region as a reading region S, and the data processing unit 52 The frames F are aligned based on the positioning mark P read in step S2. And it is characterized in and.

  Further, a drive control unit 53 of the film reel 1 for controlling the delivery amount of the film 3 is provided, and the data processing unit 52 numbers the frames F read by the image sensor 4 based on the delivery amount of the film 3 in advance. In the above, when the image sensor 4 reads the image of the film 3 for each frame F, the number of the frame F corresponding to the read image is recognized based on the delivery amount of the film 3, and the storage unit 51 recognizes it. The frame F number is stored in association with the image data read by the image sensor 4.

  In this embodiment, there is a drive source on the winding side (left side as viewed in FIG. 1) of the two film reels 1, and the film 3 to be read is wound around the delivery side (right side as viewed in FIG. 1). 1), the film 3 is delivered onto the film support 2 by attaching the leading end of the film to the winding side and rotating the film reel 1.

  The image sensor 4 of the present embodiment is configured to be a CCD area sensor. The plurality of image sensors 4 are configured so as to be able to simultaneously read different frames.

  For this reason, the film support 2 has a plurality of openings 21 having at least an opening surface equal to or larger than the reading area S of the image sensor 4, and the image sensor 4 is located below the opening 21 (the film 3 mounting surface and Is provided on the opposite side. The plurality of openings 21 in the present embodiment are provided at equal intervals corresponding to the frame F of the film 3. Since the opening 21 has a larger area than the frame region F, for example, every other frame F can be read simultaneously. Thereby, each frame F can be read in the same way in all the openings 21.

  Between the image sensor 4 and the film 3, a projection lens system 8 for enlarging and projecting the transmitted light from the film 3 to the image sensor 4 and an optical filter 9 (9 r, polarization, color separation, etc.) for each image sensor 4. 9g, 9b).

  And the image sensor 4 of this embodiment is comprised so that at least 1 may be provided for every color to read. In FIG. 1, a sensor group 40 is formed in which one image sensor 4 is provided for each of a red (R) filter 9r, a green (G) filter 9g, and a blue (B) filter 9b.

  In this case, one image sensor 4 is provided for each color (R, G, B) to be read, and an image on the film 3 is read at each position. When the same region is read separately for each color with a prism or the like as in the known three-plate type, information (pixels) that can be read by one image sensor is reduced by performing spectroscopy using the prism. Therefore, by providing a different image sensor 4 for each color (R, G, B) to be read, the ability of the image sensor 4 (CCD pixels and the like) can be efficiently exhibited as compared with the three-plate type. In addition, since no prism is used, the optical system can be simplified and reduced in price.

  In the present embodiment, the colors read by the adjacent image sensors 4 are different from each other, such as R, G, B, R, G, B, R,... .., R, G,..., G, B,.

  Further, above the film support 2 (and the film 3 to be delivered), a plurality of LEDs 6 serving as a light source and a diffusion plate 7 for making light from the LEDs 6 uniform light are provided. Thereby, the transmitted light in the film 3 is read by the image sensor 4 using the light emitted from the diffusion plate 7 as a light source.

  The storage unit 51 includes a drive for an external storage medium such as a flexible disk or a hard disk device. The data processing unit 52 and the drive control unit 53 include one or a plurality of CPUs. The storage unit 51, the data processing unit 52, and the drive control unit 53 constitute the control unit 5. The control unit 5 may be built in the film scanner or may be configured by connecting an external computer terminal.

  According to the film scanner having the above configuration, a plurality of image sensors 4 for reading an image of the film 3 are provided on the film support 2 on which the film 3 is conveyed. Each image sensor 4 reads an image on the film 3 in a different region (frame F). At this time, the image read by the image sensor 4 also includes a positioning mark P provided outside the frame F area (image area) of the film 3 (that is, the area of the frame F of the film 3 by the image sensor 4). A wider range is read as the reading area S).

  In the present embodiment, the positioning mark P is configured to be a feed hole (perforation) for film delivery as shown in FIG. In this case, the positioning mark P is also used as a film delivery hole (perforation). Therefore, it is possible to perform highly accurate positioning on the image data by reading the image of the feed hole without separately providing the positioning mark P on the film 3 by printing or the like.

  The configuration of the control unit 5 will be described more specifically. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a specific example of the control unit of FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 5 of the present embodiment includes the storage unit 51, a digital signal processing unit (DSP: Digital Signal Processor) 52 that is a data processing unit, and a drive control unit 53, and the entire film scanner. Main CPU 54 that supervises processing, a user interface 55 such as an operation panel that receives operations from the user and outputs the state of the film scanner, a data compression unit 56 that compresses data processed by the data processing unit 52, and compressed data A data I / O 57 having a connector that can output the signal to the outside (network, etc.) and a timing control unit 58 that controls the reading timing of the image sensor 4, and each unit can be communicated via a signal bus 59 Is done. The timing control unit 58 controls the reading timing of the image sensor 4 so that it can be read for each frame F based on the delivery amount of the film 3 transmitted from the drive control unit 53 of the film reel 1.

  Each CCD of the image sensor 4 is connected with a CDS / AGC (Corelated Double Sampling / Automatic Gain Control) 60 that performs noise reduction processing and output level adjustment on the signal from the CCD. An A / D converter 61 for converting to digital data is connected to / AGC60. The low frequency noise caused by the fluctuation of the reset level generated in the video signal is reduced by the CDS, and the signal output is adjusted to a level necessary for the A / D converter 61 which is the circuit unit of the next stage by the AGC. Note that the AGC may not be connected due to the characteristics of video film reading. A sub-digital signal processing unit (DSP) 62 and a memory 63 are connected after the A / D converter 61, and are communicably connected to a data processing unit 52, which is a main DSP, via a data bus 64.

  The sub DSP 62 is provided as an auxiliary to ensure the degree of freedom of data processing. Thus, for example, the position correction (normalization) with respect to the positioning mark (perforation) P is performed for each image sensor 4 by the sub DSP 62, thereby speeding up the entire alignment process in the main DSP 52. be able to. Alternatively, while data processing such as position correction is being performed by the main DSP 52, when data being processed is temporarily stored, it may be compressed by the sub DSP 62 and stored in the memory 63.

  The image data read in this way is stored in the storage unit 51 for each frame F (reading area S). In the present embodiment, the frames F of the film 3 to be sent out in advance are numbered, and the number is associated with the amount of film 3 sent out on the film reel 1 (the amount of rotation of the film reel 1). The delivery amount of the film 3 can be realized by, for example, controlling the rotation of the film reel 1 with a stepping motor (not shown). Then, the data processing unit 52 recognizes the number in the frame F of the image data read by the image sensor 4 and causes the storage unit 51 to store the image data read together with the number.

  Therefore, in particular, when using the meaningful film 3 of the frame F such as a video film or when the same frame F is read separately for each color, the data processing after the image data reading is performed more efficiently. Can do.

  Further, the image data for each frame F is aligned by the data processing unit 53 by digital processing based on the positioning mark P included in the image data. After alignment, the unnecessary data portion is trimmed.

  As described above, by reading the image of the film 3 using the plurality of image sensors 4, it is possible to read the image data more quickly using the known image sensor 4. Further, since the image data for each frame F can be aligned on the image data based on the positioning mark P provided outside the frame F area of the film 3, the processing after reading can be performed with high accuracy and in a short time. it can. Further, since the alignment is performed on the image data, the original film is not damaged.

  Further, by increasing the number of image sensors 4, the reading time is shortened, and finally, reading in real time (for example, 24 frames / second) becomes possible.

  The embodiment according to the present invention has been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various improvements, changes, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  For example, in the present embodiment, the configuration in which the frame F and the positioning mark P are read by one image sensor 4 has been described, but separate sensors may be provided and read individually. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another example of the configuration of the reading sensor. 5 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to the AA cross section of FIG. 1, similar to FIG. In the example of FIG. 5, the projection lens system 8 in FIG. 2 is omitted. Then, the optical filter 9 and the image sensor 41 are provided at a position corresponding to the region of the frame F, and the positioning image sensor 42 is provided at a position corresponding to the positioning mark 9. The image sensor 41 and the positioning image sensor 42 are associated with each other so as to be integrated on the image data and stored in the storage unit 51.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the image sensor 4 is configured to be provided at least one for each color to be read. However, if a plurality of image sensors 4 are used, the present invention is not limited to this. The same frame may be used for each color and simultaneously with a three-plate configuration. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an example in which a three-plate type reading unit is employed. In FIG. 6, the configuration other than the film 3 and the reading unit is intentionally omitted for the sake of simplicity, but it is the same as the embodiment of FIG. In this case, as shown in FIG. 6, the reading unit includes a projection lens system 8 that magnifies and projects the transmitted light from the upper surface of the film 3, a composite prism 11 that divides incident light into three, and three composite prisms 11. There are provided optical filters 9r, 9g, and 9b for color classification provided at two exit ports, and image sensors 4r, 4g, and 4b that respectively read transmitted light that has been spectrally and color-coded. By arranging a plurality of such reading units and reading another frame F at the same time, a film scanner capable of performing quick processing can be made smaller while being colored.

  Further, a configuration in which a line sensor 4 ′ is employed as the image sensor is also possible. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example using a line sensor. Fig.7 (a) is the figure seen from the film surface side, FIG.7 (b) is the figure seen from the film side. In FIG. 7, two line sensors 4 'are arranged next to each other. In particular, the reading region S (S1, S2, S3) is configured to be within one frame of the film via the lens 12. In this case, the reading is performed in order of the reading areas S1, S2, S3,. By doing so, the time for reading by the two line sensors 4 'is substantially halved. That is, if n line sensors 4 'are used in parallel, the reading time is substantially 1 / n.

  In the case of an area sensor, it is necessary to transfer the entire screen data vertically and then horizontally, so it takes time to read the data. Naturally, when the number of pixels of the image sensor is increased in order to obtain high-resolution image data, the reading time is delayed. For example, even if a film is read by one area sensor employing a CCD of 4096 × 2160 pixels, reading at 24 frames / second (real time) is difficult. Therefore, in the above-described embodiment such as FIG. 1, a plurality of image sensors 4 are provided to substantially reduce the reading time. On the other hand, for example, a configuration in which five line sensors capable of reading 4096 pixel data for one line at 95 μs are arranged side by side and read simultaneously, and then the film 3 is moved by a distance of an integral multiple of 6 μm or 6 μm to read different areas. If so, it is possible to image the pixel of 5/95 μ = 52631 lines per second. This exceeds the number of vertical pixels for 24 frames (2160 × 24 = 51840). This means that reading in real time is possible.

  By arranging a plurality of line sensors 4 'in this way, the reading time can be increased and the film scanner itself can be miniaturized.

  Note that a plurality of area sensors may be arranged side by side to read the same frame.

1 is a schematic side sectional view showing a film scanner according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is AA sectional drawing of FIG. It is the schematic which shows the reading area | region of the image sensor in the film scanner of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the specific example of the control part of FIG. It is a figure which shows the other example of a structure of a reading sensor. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example which employ | adopted 3 plate type reading parts. It is a figure which shows the structural example using a line sensor.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Film reel 2 Film support 3 Film 4, 4 'Image sensor 51 Memory | storage part 52 Data processing part 53 Drive control part F Frame P Positioning mark (feed hole)
S Reading area

Claims (9)

A film scanner for reading an image of a film sent from a film reel to a film support,
A plurality of image sensors provided on the film support along the film delivery direction, each reading an image of a film in a different area;
A storage unit that stores the image of the film read by the image sensor as image data for each frame;
A data processing unit for processing image data,
The image sensor reads, as a reading area, an area including a film frame and a positioning mark provided outside the frame,
The film scanner according to claim 1, wherein the data processing unit aligns frames based on a positioning mark read by an image sensor. A film reel drive control unit that controls the amount of film delivered,
The data processing unit numbers the frames read by the image sensor based on the amount of film delivered in advance, and then the frame number corresponding to the read image when the image sensor reads the image of the film for each frame. On the basis of the amount of film delivered,
The film scanner according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit stores a recognized frame number in association with image data read by an image sensor.   3. The film scanner according to claim 1, wherein the positioning mark is a feed hole for sending a film.   The film scanner according to claim 1, wherein at least one image sensor is provided for each color to be read.   The film scanner according to claim 1, wherein the image sensor is a line sensor.   The film scanner according to claim 1, wherein the image sensor is an area sensor.   The film scanner according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of image sensors are arranged in one frame.   The film scanner according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of image sensors are arranged so that different frames can be read simultaneously.   The film scanner according to claim 1, wherein the film is an image film.

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