JP3515670B2 - Electro-developing recording medium for use in an electro-developing camera and image reading apparatus for reading the recorded image - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention generally relates to an electro-developing type camera that uses a recording medium for electronically developing an image obtained by exposure, and more particularly to the structure of the recording medium itself, and more particularly to The present invention relates to an image reading device incorporated in an electro-developing camera to read an image recorded on a recording medium as an image signal.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a photographic material capable of electronically developing an optical image obtained by a taking lens has been known. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-2280 discloses a photographic material as follows. A recording medium in which an electrostatic information recording medium and a charge holding medium are combined is disclosed. In such a publication, such a recording medium is referred to as an electro-developing recording medium.

In the electro-developing recording medium described in the above publication, the electrostatic information recording medium has a photoconductive layer and an inorganic oxide layer, and the charge holding medium has a liquid crystal display element. In the electro-developing recording medium having such a structure, when the electrostatic information recording medium is exposed while the voltage is applied between the electrostatic information recording medium and the charge holding medium, the charge according to the amount of incident light is generated. It is generated on the electrostatic information recording medium. Since the strength of the electric field applied to the liquid crystal display element arranged facing the electrostatic information recording medium changes according to the generated charge, an image corresponding to the light amount distribution is displayed as a visible image on the liquid crystal display element. appear. In short, the image recorded as a latent image on the electrostatic information recording medium is immediately developed as a visible image on the liquid crystal display device.

When a liquid crystal having a memory property, for example, a smectic liquid crystal is used for a charge holding medium of an electro-developing recording medium, that is, a liquid crystal display element, the recorded image is erased even if the applied electric field is removed after the image is recorded there. It will be a retained samurai without being killed. This kind of electro-developing recording medium can be stored in the same manner as a conventional slide film.

On the other hand, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-165005 discloses an electro-developing recording medium of a type different from the above-mentioned electro-developing recording medium. In this type of electro-developing recording medium, the inorganic oxide layer is excluded from the electrostatic information recording medium, and a smectic liquid crystal is encapsulated in a polymer material as a charge retention medium. A body type liquid crystal display element is used.

Further, JP-A-6-130347 and JP-A-6-130347
Further, another type of electro-developing recording medium is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication 7-13132. In this type of electro-developing recording medium, the inorganic oxide layer is excluded from the electrostatic information recording medium, and a polymer material is used as the charge holding medium, as in the case of JP-A-5-16005. A liquid crystal polymer composite type liquid crystal display device of the type in which a smectic liquid crystal is enclosed is used, but the electrostatic information recording medium and the charge holding medium are integrated via an insulating layer.

It is conceivable to construct a camera by using the above-mentioned electro-developing recording medium. In this case, not only the image is recorded on the electro-developing recording medium, but also the image recorded there is recorded. It is also conceivable to read it as an image signal with an image reading device such as a scanner and write it in a recording medium such as an IC card or a magnetic disk for storage. In this case, an image reading device such as a scanner has a light source for illuminating an electro-developing recording medium, a light source lens system for collimating a light beam emitted from the light source and passing through the electro-developing recording medium, and a parallel light source lens system. It may be configured as a line sensor that detects the intensity of the light flux, for example, a CCD image sensor.

[0008]

By the way, as a light source used in such an image reading apparatus as a scanner, a fluorescent lamp, an LED (light emitting diode) array or the like can be used, but what kind of light source is used? Even if it is used, it is impossible to uniformly illuminate the line sensor with the illumination light. Therefore, it is necessary to perform shading correction on the image signal read from the line sensor. For such shading correction, prepared in advance is correction data as is done in conventional image reading devices such as facsimiles, and the image signal actually read by an image reading device such as a scanner is used. Processing based on such correction data can be considered. However, since the characteristics of fluorescent lamps, LED arrays, etc. used as light sources change due to deterioration over time or environmental changes, the initial fixed correction data may be applicable to the subsequent shading correction of image signals. Disappear.

Further, each photoelectric conversion element itself on the line sensor used in an image reading apparatus such as a scanner is also deteriorated over time, and its photoelectric conversion characteristic changes, and in this case also, the same problem as the shading problem occurs. Because there will be problems
It is necessary to correct the image signal according to the characteristic change of each photoelectric conversion element.

Further, looking at individual products of the above-mentioned electro-developing recording medium, the light transmittance characteristics of the entire electro-developing recording medium of each product also vary.
Strictly speaking, each of the light transmittance of the electrostatic information recording medium and the light transmittance of the charge holding medium varies for each product. Thus, the image signal obtained from the image sensor should also be corrected for variations in light transmittance of individual products of the electro-developing recording medium.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an electro-developing recording medium constructed so as to solve the above-mentioned shading problem. Also,
Another object of the present invention is an image reading apparatus incorporated in an electro-developing camera for reading a recorded image of such an electro-developing recording medium as an image signal, which is configured to appropriately perform shading correction and the like. An object is to provide an image reading device.

[0012]

An electro-developing recording medium according to the first aspect of the present invention is an electrostatic information recording medium for generating a charge distribution according to the brightness of an exposed subject image, and this electrostatic information recording medium. A charge holding medium composed of a liquid crystal display element for recording a subject image as a visible image according to the charge distribution generated in the medium, and an image recording area of the liquid crystal display element is adjacent to the charge holding medium and has a constant transmittance. The reference area is provided, and the reference area used when the image of the subject recorded optically is read by reading the image signal is used for creating the shading correction data.

In the electro-developing recording medium according to the first aspect of the present invention, the reference area can be formed as a liquid crystal exclusion area, but it is possible to allow the liquid crystal to exist in the reference area. In the latter case, the transparent electrode plate in the reference area is made independent of the transparent electrode plate of the liquid crystal display element, and the reference area is adjusted so that the liquid crystal in the reference area has the maximum transmittance when the shading correction electro-developing type is prepared. A voltage is applied to the transparent electrode plate.

In the electro-developing recording medium according to the first aspect of the present invention, preferably, the reference area is located on the upstream side of the image recording area in the reading direction of the recorded image on the liquid crystal display element.

The image reading apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention is incorporated in an electro-developing camera which records a subject image as a visible image on a liquid crystal display element of such electro-developing recording medium,
Light intensity detecting means for detecting a light intensity value from a light source which passes through the reference area before the subject image recorded on the liquid crystal display element is read as an image signal, and the light intensity detected by the light intensity detecting means. Correction data creating means for creating correction data based on the value, and correction image signal creation for creating a corrected image signal by processing the image signal read from the subject image recorded on the liquid crystal surface element with the above-mentioned correction data. And means. According to the second aspect of the present invention, preferably, the light intensity detecting means is also used as an image reading sensor when reading the subject image recorded on the liquid crystal display element as an image signal.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Next, an example of an electro-developing camera incorporating an image reading device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows an example in which the electro-developing camera is configured as a still video camera. An insertion slot 12 is formed on the side surface of the camera body 10,
The recording medium holder 13 (FIG. 3) is inserted through the insertion slot 12, and the electro-developing recording medium RM held therein is positioned at a predetermined position as described later. A holder detection sensor 14 and a holder positioning sensor 15 are provided on the side surface near the entrance of the insertion slot 12.

When the camera body 10 is viewed from the front, an image pickup optical system 16 provided with a taking lens and the like is provided substantially in the center of the front surface thereof, and a strobe 17 is provided above and to the right of the image pickup optical system 16. A release switch 18 and a photometric sensor 20 are provided on the opposite side of the strobe 17. A finder 22 is provided in the center of the upper surface of the camera body 10, an image reading switch 24 is provided on one side of the finder 22, and a main switch 25 is provided on the other side of the finder 22. Further, an output terminal connector 26 is provided on the lower side surface of the camera body 10, and a holder ejection switch 27 for ejecting the recording medium holder 13 from the insertion slot 12 is provided in the vicinity of the output terminal connector 26.

FIG. 2 shows the above-mentioned electro-developing camera as a block diagram. In FIG. 2, the system control circuit 28 is configured as a microcomputer and controls the electro-developing camera as a whole.

The image pickup optical system 16 includes a diaphragm 30 in addition to a plurality of lens groups, and an electro-developing recording medium RM held by a recording medium holder 13 is arranged behind the image pickup optical system 16. A quick return mirror 32 is provided between the imaging optical system 16 and the electro-developing recording medium RM, and a shutter 34 is provided between the quick return mirror 32 and the electro-developing recording medium RM. Above the quick return mirror 32, a focus plate 36 of the finder optical system provided in the finder 22 is arranged.

The diaphragm 30, the quick return mirror 32 and the shutter 34 are driven by an iris drive circuit 38, a mirror drive circuit 40 and a shutter drive circuit 42, respectively, and these drive circuits 38, 40 and 42 are controlled by an exposure control circuit 44. . The exposure control circuit 44 is operated according to a command signal output from the system control circuit 28.

More specifically, at the time of exposure control, the photometric sensor 20
The opening of the diaphragm 30 is adjusted by the iris drive circuit 38 according to the control of the exposure control circuit 44 based on the output signal from the. The quick return mirror 32 is normally set at a down position (inclined state shown by a solid line) which is a position for observing a subject image, whereby light passing through the imaging optical system 16 is guided to the finder optical system of the finder 22. However, during the shooting operation, the quick return mirror 32 is rotated upward by the mirror drive circuit 40 and set to the up position (horizontal state shown by the broken line) under the control of the exposure control circuit 44.

The shutter 34 opens and closes the optical path to the electro-developing recording medium RM. That is, the shutter 34 is normally closed, but during the shooting operation, the shutter drive circuit 42 opens for a predetermined time under the control of the exposure control circuit 44, and thus the light passing through the imaging optical system 12 is electrodeveloped recording medium RM. It is designed to reach the light receiving surface of. In short, by moving the quick return mirror 32 to the up position and opening the shutter 34, the subject image is captured by the imaging optical system 12 and the electro-developing recording medium RM.
An image is formed on the light receiving surface of.

A voltage is applied to the electro-developing recording medium RM under the control of the recording medium driving circuit 46, and the recording medium driving circuit 46 is operated according to a command signal output from the system control circuit 28. When the light receiving surface of the electro-developing recording medium RM is exposed while a voltage is applied, a subject image appears as a visible image there. Note that this will be described in detail later.

An image reading device 48 is arranged at a predetermined position near the recording position of the electro-developing recording medium RM, and the recorded image is read as an image signal from the electro-developing recording medium RM by the image reading device 48. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the image reading device 48 includes a light source 50, an optical lens system 52, and a line sensor 54, and the light source 50, the optical lens system 52, and the line sensor 54.
Are supported by the frame 55 and aligned with each other.

The light source 50 is a light source that emits a parallel light beam, and is constituted by, for example, a light-emitting diode array and a collimator lens, and the front side of the shutter 34,
That is, the front side of the electro-developing recording medium RM (the photographing optical system 16
Side). On the other hand, the optical lens system 52 and the line sensor 54 are arranged on the back side of the electro-developing recording medium RM, and the line sensor 54 is configured as a 2,000 pixel CCD one-dimensional sensor, for example.

As shown in FIG. 3, the recording medium holder 13 is provided with detection marks M ₁ , M ₂ and M _{3 at} predetermined positions. The detection mark M ₁ is detected by the holder detection sensor 14, and The detection marks M ₂ and M ₃ are detected by the holder positioning sensor 15.
For example, when the holder detection sensor 14 and the holder positioning sensor 15 are configured as optical sensors that detect reflected light, the detection marks M ₁ , M ₂ and M ₃
Is formed as a reflective glossy area, and when the holder detection sensor 14 and the holder positioning sensor 15 are magnetic sensors for detecting magnetism,
The detection marks M ₁ , M ₂ and M ₃ are formed as magnetic regions.

The image reading device 48 further includes moving means 56 provided in the vicinity thereof, and the moving means 56 is for moving the recording medium holder 13 inserted into the insertion slot 12 of the camera body 10. is there. More specifically, the moving means 56 includes a drive motor 56a such as a step motor or a servomotor and a pinion 56b attached to the output shaft of the drive motor 56a as shown in FIG. 3, and the pinion 56b is a recording device. It is engaged with a rack 13a formed along the lower edge of the medium holder 13. Although not shown, an appropriate clutch is interposed between the output shaft of the drive motor 56a and the pinion 56b, and the drive motor 56a can transmit its rotational driving force to the pinion 56b only when the clutch is in the ON state. Yes, when the clutch is off,
The pinion 56b is designed to idle around the output shaft of the drive motor 56a.

The drive motor 56a is driven by a drive pulse generated based on a command from the system control circuit 28. In short, when the recording medium holder 13 is inserted into the insertion slot 12 of the camera body 10, the rack 13a at the lower edge of the recording medium holder 13 is engaged with the pinion 56b, and the drive motor 56a is driven, so that the recording medium holder 13 is moved. It can be moved horizontally behind the shutter 34 in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis. Note that, in FIG. 2, the recording medium holder 13 is illustrated for convenience so that it can move in the vertical direction along the plane of the paper surface, but in reality, it moves in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. It should be understood that it is becoming more profitable.

The moving means 56 has a function of positioning the electro-developing recording medium RM held by the recording medium holder 13 at a predetermined exposure position at the time of photographing, while the electro-developing recording by the image reading device 48 after the photographing is finished. When reading the recorded image from the medium RM as an image signal, it also functions as a scanning unit as described later. That is, the recording medium holder 13 is intermittently moved at a predetermined pitch between the light source 50 of the image reading device 48 and the optical lens system 52 by the moving means 56, and at this time, the shutter 34 is opened and the light source. 50 is in the “ON” state, the image recording area of the electro-developing recording medium RM is sequentially scanned by the illumination light from the light source 50, and the scanning light is transmitted according to the image density of the image recording area, Next, the optical lens system 52
The line sensor 54 forms an image on the light receiving element of the line sensor 54, and thus the recorded images of the electro-developing recording medium RM are sequentially read by the line sensor 54 as image signals.

During the reading operation of the image reading device 48, the on / off control of the light source 50 is performed by the illumination light source drive circuit 58, which is driven by the system control circuit 28.
Controlled by. On the other hand, image signals are sequentially read from the line sensor 54 by the line sensor drive circuit 60 under the control of the system control circuit 28, and the image signal is amplified by the amplifier 62 and then converted into a digital image signal by the A / D converter 64. To be converted. After being subjected to shading correction, the digital image signal is further subjected to processing such as gamma correction in the image processing circuit 66 under the control of the system control circuit 28, and then the digital image signal is temporarily stored in an appropriate memory 68. To be done. The memory 68 has a capacity capable of storing an image signal for one frame.

The image signal stored in the memory 68 is read out as needed. For example, the image signal read from the memory 68 by the image processing circuit 66 is input to the interface circuit 70 and subjected to processing such as format conversion, and then, through the output terminal connector 26, an external monitor device (not shown). It is possible to output to. The image signal output from the image processing circuit 66 is subjected to processing such as image compression or format conversion in the recording device control circuit 72, and then the image recording device 74 in the IC memory card,
It can be recorded on a recording medium such as a floppy disk. The interface circuit 70 and the recording device control circuit 72
Are operated according to a command signal from the system control circuit 28. The reference numeral 76 is the strobe 17
A strobe drive circuit for activating the strobe is shown. This strobe drive circuit 76 turns on a strobe actuation switch (not shown) to activate the strobe 17 at the time of photographing.

As shown in FIG. 2, the system control circuit 28 includes a holder detection sensor 14, a holder positioning sensor 15, a release switch 18, an image reading switch 24, a main switch 25 and a holder ejection switch 2.
7 etc. are connected, and by these sensors and switches,
The operation described below is performed.

Referring to FIG. 4A, an example of the electro-developing recording medium RM is shown, which is similar to the type disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-2280. More specifically, the electro-developing recording medium RM is composed of an electrostatic information recording medium 78 and a charge holding medium 80. The electrostatic information recording medium 78 has a laminated structure including a substrate 78a, an electrode layer 78b, an inorganic oxide layer 78c, and a photoconductive layer 78d,
The photoconductive layer 78d is formed by polymerizing the charge generation layer 78d ₁ and the charge transport layer 78d ₂ . The entire electrostatic information recording medium 78 is light transmissive. The charge holding medium 80 is configured as a liquid crystal display element, which is configured by enclosing a liquid crystal 80c between a transparent support plate 80a and a transparent electrode plate 80b. The charge transport layer 78d ₂ of the electrostatic information recording medium 78 and the liquid crystal support 80a of the charge holding medium 80 are opposed to each other with a minute gap.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the electrode layer 78b of the electrostatic information recording medium 78 and the transparent electrode plate 8 of the charge holding medium 80 are used.
A predetermined voltage is applied between 0b and the power source 82. When the electrostatic information recording medium RM is exposed in such a voltage applied state, a charge distribution according to the brightness of the subject image is generated in the electrostatic information recording medium 78, and the liquid crystal 80c of the charge holding medium 80 has the charge distribution. The electric field strength acts according to the charge distribution.
Thus, the subject image appears as a visible image on the charge holding medium, that is, the liquid crystal display element 80. In short, the electronic latent image obtained on the electrostatic information recording medium 78 is immediately developed on the liquid crystal display element 80. As described above, when a liquid crystal having a memory property is used as the charge holding medium, that is, the liquid crystal 80c of the liquid crystal display element 80, the image once recorded therein can be held even if the voltage application is released.

Referring to FIG. 4B, another example of the electro-developing recording medium RM is shown, which is similar to the type disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-165005. As is clear from the figure, the electrostatic information recording medium 78 of the electro-developing recording medium RM of this type has a substrate 78a and an electrode layer 78.
b and the photoconductive layer 78d, and from FIG.
The inorganic oxide layer 78c as shown in (A) is omitted.
The point that the photoconductive layer 78d is formed by polymerizing the charge generation layer 78d ₁ and the charge transport layer 78d ₂ is the same as that shown in FIG. 4 (A).

On the other hand, in the electro-developing recording medium shown in FIG. 4B, the charge holding medium, that is, the liquid crystal display element 80 is a liquid crystal polymer composite type liquid crystal display element of a type in which smectic liquid crystal is enclosed in a polymer material. Composed. As described above, since the smectic liquid crystal has a memory property, even if the applied voltage is removed after the image is recorded on the liquid crystal polymer composite type liquid crystal display element 80, the recorded image is retained. .

Referring to FIG. 4C, there is shown another example of the electro-developing recording medium RM, which is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-130347.
It is the same as the type disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-13132. In this type of electro-developing recording medium, the electrostatic information recording medium 78 has the same structure as that shown in FIG. 4 (B), and the charge holding medium, that is, the liquid crystal display element 80 is also shown in FIG. 4 (B). It has the same configuration as the case,
However, the feature is that both the electrostatic information recording medium 78 and the charge holding medium 80 are integrated with each other through the insulating layer 83.

The electro-developing recording medium RM shown in FIGS. 4 (A), 4 (B) and 4 (C) cannot be directly used in an electro-developing camera incorporating the image reading device according to the present invention. Therefore, the electro-developing recording medium RM shown in each of FIGS. 4 (A), 4 (B) and 4 (C) has a structure shown in FIG.
The structure is as shown in FIG. 5 (B) and FIG. 5 (C).

Referring to FIG. 5 (A), there is shown a first embodiment of the electro-developing recording medium RM according to the present invention, and the construction of the electro-developing recording medium RM is shown in FIG. 4 (A). In the electro-developing recording medium RM shown in FIG. 5 (A), the charge holding medium, that is, a part of the liquid crystal display element 80, for example, a region 84 outside the image display region is used. The liquid crystal 80c is excluded, and the liquid crystal exclusion area 8
4 is used as a reference area for creating shading correction data. Reference area 8 excluding liquid crystal 80c
Since the transmittance of No. 4 is substantially constant, the reliability of the correction data created for the light passing through the reference area is high.

In the electro-developing recording medium RM shown in FIG. 5A, the power source 82 itself does not constitute a part of the electro-developing recording medium RM, but the recording medium driving circuit 46 on the camera body 10 side. It forms part of the.

Referring to FIG. 5B, there is shown a first embodiment of the electro-developing recording medium RM according to the present invention, which is shown in FIG.
Although a type similar to the type of (B) is shown, as is clear from the figure, also in the electro-developing recording medium RM of this type, as in the case of FIG. 5 (A). ,
The liquid crystal 80c is excluded from a part of the charge retaining medium, that is, the liquid crystal display element 80, for example, a region 84 outside the image display region, and the liquid crystal excluded region 84 is used as a reference region for creating shading correction data.

Referring to FIG. 5C, there is shown a first embodiment of the electro-developing recording medium RM according to the present invention.
Although a type similar to the type of (C) is shown, as is clear from the figure, also in the electro-developing recording medium RM of this type, as in the case of FIG. 5 (A). ,
The liquid crystal 80c is excluded from a part of the charge retaining medium, that is, the liquid crystal display element 80, for example, a region 84 outside the image display region, and the liquid crystal excluded region 84 is used as a reference region for creating shading correction data.

In the electro-developing type camera incorporating the image reading apparatus according to the present invention, FIGS. 5 (A), 5 (B) and 5
It is possible to use any of the electro-developing recording media RM shown in (C).

The photographing operation of the electro-developing camera as described above will be described. First, after turning on the main switch 25 of the electro-developing camera, a recording medium on which an unrecorded electro-developing recording medium RM is mounted. When the holder 13 is pushed into the insertion slot 12 of the camera body 10, the rack 13a is engaged with the pinion 56b. At this time, the clutch between the output shaft of the drive motor 56a and the pinion 56b is in the off state, so that the rack 13a of the recording medium holder 13 and the pinion 56b can be engaged smoothly.

The holder detection sensor 14 detects the detection mark M ₁ immediately after the recording medium 13 and the recording medium 13 are pushed into the insertion slot 12 and the rack 13a of the recording medium 13 is engaged with the pinion 56b. The clutch with the pinion 56b is turned on and the drive motor 56b is driven in the forward direction, whereby the recording medium holder 13 is moved so as to be drawn into the camera body 10.

Next, when the detection mark M ₂ is detected by the holder positioning sensor 15, the drive motor 56b is stopped and the electro-developing recording medium RM held by the recording medium holder 13 at this time is positioned at the exposure position. . That is, the center of the image recording area of the electro-developing recording medium RM is aligned with the optical axis of the image pickup optical system 16, and the electro-developing camera is ready to take a picture at this time. At this time, the region 84 is located outside the optical path of the photographing optical system 16 so that it does not interfere with the photographing region.

When the electronic development type camera is aimed at the subject and the release switch 18 is depressed, the output signal from the photometric sensor 20, that is, the photometric value is detected, and the calculation of the exposure time is started based on this photometric value. Further, when a predetermined time has elapsed since the release switch 18 was pressed, the recording medium drive circuit 46 sends a recording medium activation signal to the electro-developing recording medium R.
After being output to M, a predetermined voltage is applied between the electrostatic information recording medium 78 and the charge holding medium (liquid crystal display element) 80, and then the completion of the above calculation (exposure time) is confirmed, The image pickup operation as described above is started.

First, the opening of the diaphragm 30 is adjusted from the fully opened state to a predetermined opening, and the quick return mirror 32 is moved from the down position to the up position. When it is confirmed that the aperture adjustment of the diaphragm 30 and the movement of the quick return mirror 32 to the up position are completed, the shutter 3
4 is open. When it is detected that the exposure time obtained by the above calculation has elapsed, the shutter 34 is closed, then the quick return mirror 32 is returned from the up position to the down position, and the aperture of the diaphragm 30 is moved to the fully open state. Then, the output of the recording medium activation signal from the recording medium drive circuit 46 is stopped. Thus, the subject image is recorded as a visible image on the liquid crystal display element 80 of the electro-developing recording medium RM.

Such a recorded electro-developing recording medium R
The removal of M can be performed by turning on the holder discharge switch 27. More specifically, after the drive motor 56a is driven in the reverse direction for a predetermined time, the clutch between the output shaft and the pinion 56b is turned off. As a result, a part of the recording medium holder 13 is projected from the insertion slot 12, and the recording medium holder 13 can be pulled out by pinching the part with a finger, and thus the recorded electro-developing recording medium RM can be taken out. Can be achieved.

On the other hand, it is possible to read the recorded image as an image signal by the image reading device 48 according to the present invention after the image recording on the electro-developing recording medium RM is completed. This will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

In step 501, the illumination light source drive circuit 5
8, the light source 50 is turned on, and then, in step 502, the shutter 34 is opened by the shutter drive circuit 42.

In step 503, the drive motor 56a is driven in the forward direction, whereby the recording medium holder 13 is moved further into the insertion slot 12. Next, at step 504, it is judged if the detection mark M ₃ is detected by the holder positioning sensor 15. When the holder positioning sensor 15 detects the detection mark M ₃ , the process proceeds to step 505, where the driving of the drive motor 56a is stopped.

At this time, the electro-developing recording medium RM held by the recording medium holder 13 is positioned so that its reference area 84 is interposed between the light source 50 and the optical lens system 52, as shown in FIG. Therefore, the light from the light source 50 is incident on the line sensor 54 (2,000-pixel CCD one-dimensional sensor) through the reference area 84 (that is, the area where no liquid crystal is present) of the electro-developing recording medium RM. That is, electric charges are charged in the 2,000 photoelectric conversion cells of the line sensor 54 according to the intensity of the light incident thereon, and the charge amount of each electric charge becomes the intensity signal of the light source 50 in the corresponding photoelectric conversion cell. .

At step 506, the address counter N
Is reset. Then, in step 507, the line sensor drive circuit 60 outputs a shift clock signal to the line sensor 54, whereby the line sensor 54 outputs an intensity signal corresponding to 2,000 photoelectric conversion cells. Amplified by amplifier 62, then A
After being converted into intensity data L _N (N = 0 to 1999) by the / D converter 64, it is taken into the system control circuit 28 via the image processing circuit 66.

In step 508, the reciprocal of each intensity data L _N is calculated, and the calculation result is the correction data k _N.
It is said that In step 509, the correction data k _N is temporarily stored in a predetermined address in a readable / writable memory (RAM) in the system control circuit. Next, at step 510, the counter number of the address counter N is incremented by 1, and then at step 511, it is determined whether or not the counter number of the address counter N is larger than 1999. At this stage, since the counter number of the address counter N is 1, the process returns to step 508 and the same operation is performed. That is, step 508 to step 5
In 11, the correction data k _N is created for all of the 2,000 intensity data L _N.

[0056] If the counter number of the address counter N at step 511 becomes 1999 or more, that is, the creation of the correction data k _N for 2,000 intensity data L _N is completed, the flow proceeds to step 512, where the drive motor 56a is reverse The recording medium holder 1 is driven for a predetermined time, and
3 is moved to the insertion slot 12 side, and when the recorded image of the electro-developing recording medium RM reaches the reading start position by the line sensor 54, the driving of the drive motor 56a is stopped. In short, the edge of the recorded image area closest to the reference area 84 of the electro-developing recording medium RM is aligned with the read line of the line sensor 54. The drive time of the drive motor 56a here can be controlled by counting the number of drive pulses output thereto.

At step 513, the address counter N
Is reset. Then, in step 514, the line sensor drive circuit 60 outputs a shift clock signal to the line sensor 54, whereby the line sensor 54 outputs an image signal corresponding to 2,000 photoelectric conversion cells. Amplified by amplifier 62, then A
After being converted into image data I _N (N = 0 to 1999) by the / D converter 64, it is taken into the system control circuit 28 via the image processing circuit 66.

[0058] At step 515, the corresponding correction data k _N is multiplied to the image data I _N, the product is the corrected image data AI _N. Subsequently, the corrected image data AI _N in step 516 is subjected to processing such as gamma correction by the image processing circuit 66, then stored in the memory 68 at step 517. Next, at step 518, the counter number of the address counter N is incremented by 1, and then at step 519, it is judged whether or not the counter number of the address counter N is larger than 1999. At this stage, since the counter number of the address counter N is 1, the process returns to step 515 and the same operation is performed. That is, at step 519 from step 515, all the corrected image data AI _N 2,000 pieces of image data I _N is created by the memory 6
8 is stored.

When the number of the address counter N becomes 1999 or more in step 519, that is, when the correction image data correction data AI _N for 2,000 pieces of image data I _N is completed, the process proceeds to step 520, where the drive motor 56a is operated. The recording medium holder 13 is driven in the opposite direction for a short time, and the recording medium holder 13 is slightly moved to the insertion slot 12 side by a predetermined pitch. Such a pitch corresponds to the reading scan line pitch of the recorded image on the electro-developing recording medium RM. The drive time of the drive motor 56a here can be controlled by counting the number of drive pulses output thereto.

At step 521, it is judged whether the reading of the recorded image on the electro-developing recording medium RM is completed. If the reading of the recorded image is not completed, step 5
Returning to step 14, the same operation is performed, and when the reading of the recorded image is completed, the process proceeds to step 522, where the light source 50 is turned off, and the reading of the recorded image of the electro-developing recording medium RM ends. .

A recording medium holder 13 is shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B. When the recording medium holder 13 is inserted into the slot 12 of the camera body 10, the leading end of the insertion is the detection mark M. _It is the side where ₁ is provided. In the above-described embodiment, when the recorded image on the electro-developing recording medium RM is read, the electro-developing recording medium RM is moved in the direction opposite to the inserting direction, but the moving direction is the image reading. When defined as the hour driving direction, it is preferable that the reference area 84 is located on the leading edge side of the image display area ID of the electro-developing recording medium RM in the image reading driving direction. This is because the electro-developing recording medium RM can be quickly moved to the image reading start position after the correction data is created by disposing the reference area 84 in this way.

Referring to FIGS. 9A and 9B, another embodiment of a recording medium holder is illustrated and is generally indicated by the reference numeral 13 '. In the present embodiment, the recording medium holder 13 'has a long shape and holds a plurality of electro-developing recording media RM therein. In order to be able to load such a long recording medium holder 13 ′ into the electro-developing type camera, the slot 12 of the camera body 10 is used.
Need to be formed as a through slot. As shown in the figure, the rack 1 is attached to the lower edge of the recording medium holder 13 '.
3a 'is formed, and this rack 13a' is engageable with the pinion 56b of the motor 56, whereby a plurality of electro-developing recording media RM can be sequentially positioned at the photographing position and their recording. It is also possible to read the image as an electric signal.

FIG. 9 (A) is shown in FIG. 10 (A) and FIG. 10 (B).
9B shows a modified embodiment of the recording medium holder 13 'shown in FIG. 9B. In this modified embodiment, the reference area 84 is provided only on the electro-developing recording medium RM placed on the leading edge side in the driving direction during image reading. 'Is provided, and the reference area is excluded from the other electro-developing recording medium RM. That is,
Correction data is created based on the light from the light source obtained in the only reference area 84 ', and the electro-developing recording medium RM held in the recording medium holder 13' is created by this correction data.
The image signal read from each of the above is corrected.

11 (A), 11 (B) and 11 (C)
2 shows a second embodiment of the electro-developing recording medium RM according to the present invention. The electro-developing recording medium RM shown in FIGS. 11 (A), 11 (B) and 11 (C). Is Figure 4
11 (A), 4 (B) and 4 (C), respectively, but similar to FIGS. 11 (A) and 11 (C).
(B) and the electro-developing recording medium R shown in FIG. 11 (C).
Each of the M charge holding media, that is, the liquid crystal display element 80 is provided with a reference region 84 ″. In the second embodiment of the electro-developing recording medium RM according to the present invention, the liquid crystal 80c is excluded from the reference region 84 ″. However, the reference area 84 ″ is provided with a transparent electrode plate 80b ′ independent of the transparent electrode plate 80b of the liquid crystal display element 80, and both transparent electrode plates 80b and 80b ′ are provided between them. They are insulated from each other by interposing the transparent insulating material 86.

11 (A), 11 (B) and 11 (C)
When a photographing operation is performed using the electro-developing recording medium RM shown in each of the above items, a power source 88 is provided between the electrostatic information recording medium 78 and the transparent electrode plate 80b 'in the reference area 84 "prior to the photographing operation. In the present embodiment, the power source 88 itself does not constitute a part of the electro-developing recording medium RM like the power source 82, and the recording medium driving circuit 46 on the camera body 10 side. The electrostatic information recording medium 78 and the reference area 8 are formed.
The voltage applied between the 4 "transparent electrode plate 80b 'and the 4" transparent electrode plate 80b' is made higher than the voltage applied by the power source 82 at the time of image recording, that is, at the time of photographing, and therefore the liquid crystal 8 corresponding to the reference area 84 "is
The portion of 0c rapidly shifts to the maximum transmittance. Then, at the time of recording an image, that is, at the time of photographing, as between the electrostatic information recording medium 78 and the transparent electrode plate 80c, as in the case shown in FIGS. 5 (A), 5 (B) and 5 (C). A predetermined voltage is applied by a power source 82 (omitted in FIG. 11).

Thus, in the electro-developing recording medium RM shown in FIGS. 11 (A), 11 (B) and 11 (C),
Since the shading correction is performed based on the light that has passed through the liquid crystal 80c in the reference area 84 ″, it is possible to obtain the effect of dealing with the deterioration of the liquid crystal 80c due to aging. Is deteriorated due to the deterioration of the liquid crystal 80c due to aging, the shading correction is performed based on the light passing through the liquid crystal 80c in the reference area 84 ″, and therefore the image quality deterioration is caused from the read image signal. The effect that the influence of is eliminated is obtained.

11 (A), 11 (B) and 11 (C)
In the second embodiment of the electro-developing recording medium RM shown in FIG. 5, the voltage is applied between the electrostatic information recording medium 78 and the transparent electrode plate 80b 'in the reference area 84 "before image recording, that is, before photographing. However, it is also possible to apply the voltage after the end of photographing. In short, the transmittance of the reference region 84 ″ may be set to the maximum transmittance before the shading correction is performed. .

Further, the electro-developing recording medium R according to the present invention
In the second embodiment of M, the power supply 88 for applying a voltage between the electrostatic information recording medium 78 and the transparent electrode plate 80b ′ in the reference area 84 ″ is the recording medium driving circuit 46 on the camera body 10 side.
Referred to as forming a part of the
May be provided in the external power supply device instead of the electro-developing camera. In this case, the electro-developing recording medium RM is applied with a voltage by the external power supply device before being loaded in the electro-developing camera, and its reference area 84 ″ is applied.
The transmittance of is shifted to the maximum transmittance.

In the embodiment described above, the electro-developing recording medium is adapted to be moved with respect to the image reading device, but it is possible to move the image reading device with respect to the electro-developing recording medium. It is also possible to do so.

[0070]

As is clear from the above description, according to the image reading mechanism of the present invention, the correction data of the read image data is created every time the recorded image of the electro-developing recording medium is read, so that the light source, the line It is possible to properly perform shading correction regardless of deterioration of the sensor, the electro-developing recording medium, or the like over time, environmental changes, and the like.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of an electro-developing camera to which an image reading device according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the electro-developing camera shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a main part of the image reading device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view showing various types of electro-developing recording media.

FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view showing various types of the first embodiment of the electro-developing recording medium according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a part of a flow chart for explaining the operation of the image reading apparatus according to the present invention.

7 is a part of a flowchart for explaining the operation of the image reading apparatus according to the present invention, and is the remaining part of the flowchart shown in FIG.

8A and 8B are views showing a recording medium holder for holding an electro-developing recording medium according to the present invention, FIG. 8A is a front view of the recording medium holder, and FIG. 8B is a plan view of the recording medium holder. It is a figure.

FIG. 9 is a view showing another embodiment of a recording medium holder for holding a plurality of electro-developing recording media according to the present invention, FIG. 9 (A) is a front view of the recording medium holder, and FIG. 4] is a plan view of a recording medium holder.

10 is a diagram showing a modified embodiment of the recording medium holder shown in FIG. 9, FIG. 10 (A) is a front view of the recording medium holder, and FIG. 10 (B) is a plan view of the recording medium holder. is there.

FIG. 11 is a schematic sectional view showing various types of the second embodiment of the electro-developing recording medium according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 camera body 12 insertion slots 13.13 'recording medium holder 14 Holder detection sensor 15 Holder positioning sensor 16 Imaging optical system 18 Release switch 20 Photometric sensor 22 Finder 24 image reading switch 25 Main switch 32 quick return mirror 34 shutter 48 image reader 50 light sources 52 Optical lens system 54 line sensor 78 electrostatic information recording medium 78a substrate 78b electrode layer 78c inorganic oxide layer 78d photoconductive layer 80 charge retention medium 80a transparent support plate 80b transparent electrode plate 80c liquid crystal 84 ・ 84 ′ ・ 84 ″ Reference area RM electro-developing recording medium

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Taihei Morisawa 2-36-9 Maeno-cho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo Inside Asahi Optical Co., Ltd. (72) In-house Masato Okabe 1-chome, Ichiya-Kagacho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo No. 1 Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hironori Ueyama 1-1, Ichigaya Kaga-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 1-1 No. 1 Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. (72) Osamu Shimizu Ichi-kaya, Ichigaya, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 1-1-1, Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yudai Yamashita 1-1-1 Ichigayakaga-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Dai-ni Printing Co., Ltd. (56) Reference JP-A-7-28086 (JP , A) JP 7-13187 (JP, A) JP 3-155525 (JP, A) JP 6-324404 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB) Name) H04N 1/401 H04N 1/19 H04N 1/21 G02 F 1/135 G03B 19/00

Claims (8)

(57) [Claims] 1. An electrostatic information recording medium for generating a charge distribution according to the brightness of an exposed subject image, and a subject image recorded as a visible image according to the charge distribution generated on the electrostatic information recording medium. An electro-developing recording medium comprising a liquid crystal display device and a charge holding medium, wherein a reference region having a constant transmittance and having the liquid crystal display device is provided adjacent to an image recording region of the liquid crystal display device. An electro-developing recording, wherein the reference area is used for creating shading correction data when optically reading an image signal by illuminating a subject image recorded in the image recording area of the liquid crystal display element. Medium. 2. The electro-developing recording medium according to claim 1, wherein liquid crystals are present in the reference area, but the transparent electrode plate there is independent of the transparent electrode plate of the liquid crystal display element, An electro-developing recording medium, wherein a voltage is applied to the transparent electrode plate in the reference area so that the liquid crystal in the reference area has the maximum transmittance when the shading correction data is created. 3. The electro-developing recording medium according to any one of claims 1 to 2, positioned on the upstream side of the image recording region and the reference region in the reading direction of the recording image of the liquid crystal display device An electro-developing recording medium, which is characterized by being made. 4. An image reading device incorporated in the electro-developing camera which records a visible image of the subject image on the liquid crystal display device of the electro-developing recording medium according to any one of claims 1 to 3 A light intensity detecting unit that detects a light intensity value from a light source that passes through the reference area before the subject image recorded on the liquid crystal display element is read as an image signal; and the light intensity detecting unit detects the light intensity value. Correction data creating means for creating correction data based on a light intensity value; and a correction image signal for creating a correction image signal by processing an image signal read from a subject image recorded on the liquid crystal display element with the correction data. An image reading apparatus comprising: a creating unit. 5. The image reading device according to claim 4 , wherein the light intensity detecting means is also used as an image reading sensor when reading an object image recorded in the liquid crystal display element as an image signal. Image reader. 6. The electro-developing recording medium comprising an electrostatic information recording medium and the charge retaining medium, constant and the charge retention of transmittance adjacent to the image recording region of the charge retaining medium
An image reading device incorporated in an electro-developing camera for recording an image as a visible image on an electro-developing recording medium having a reference area having a liquid crystal display element constituting a holding medium , comprising: Before reading an image signal from a region, a light intensity detecting unit that detects a light intensity from a light source that passes through the reference region, and correction data is created based on the light intensity value detected by the light intensity detecting unit. And a correction image signal generating unit for processing the image signal read from the image recording area of the electro-developing recording medium with the correction data to generate a corrected image signal. Image reader. 7. The electro-developing recording medium according to claim 6.
In the reference area, liquid crystal is present, but
What is the transparent electrode plate there is the transparent electrode plate of the liquid crystal display device?
Independently, before shading correction data creation
The reference area is set so that the liquid crystal in the reference area has the maximum transmittance.
The voltage is applied to the transparent electrode plate in the area
Image reading device. 8. The image reading apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the light intensity detecting means is also used as an image reading sensor when reading an image signal from an image recording area of the electro-developing recording medium. Image reader.