JPH085522B2 - Microfilm retrieval / reading device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial field of application) The present invention is designed to find a target image from a storage shelf that stores a large number of microfilm cartridges, read the image by an image sensor, and output it as an image signal. The present invention relates to a microfilm retrieval / reading device.

(Technical Background of the Invention) One cartridge is selected from a number of microfilm cartridges stored in a storage shelf, a target image contained in the cartridge is read out by an image sensor, and this image signal is output as a digital signal. The device is considered. For example, it is considered that an image is output to a CRT, a printer, or a facsimile using this image signal, or a desired form or document is output by printing in combination with the output of another data processing device. That is, by converting the image of the microfilm into a digital signal, it becomes possible to cooperate with other digital image processing devices by utilizing the data communication network, and the usefulness of the microfilm can be enhanced.

As such a device, a rotary shelf type device has been conventionally known. This is because a large number of cartridges are detachably housed in multiple stages on the rotating drum, the desired cartridge is taken out by a take-out device that only moves up and down at a fixed position, and this cartridge is transferred to an image reader having an image sensor. To read the image.

However, in this case, since the heavy rotating drum rotates to take out the target cartridge, there is a problem that the time (access time) required to search for the target image becomes long and the installation area becomes large.

Also, many cartridges are stored in a fixed shelf like a bookshelf,
It is also known that a carrier traveling in the X-Y directions on the front surface of this shelf searches for any one cartridge and carries it to an image reader fixed at a predetermined position, where the image is read.

But in this case the film must be delivered twice. That is, from the shelf to the carrier and then from the carrier to the image reader. Therefore, there is a problem that the access time becomes long. There is also a problem that the system becomes large in size and cannot be dealt with when a small system is required.

(Object of the Invention) The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances,
An object of the present invention is to provide a microfilm retrieval / reading device which can shorten the access time, has a small installation area, and can easily cope with a change in system scale.

(Construction of the Invention) According to the present invention, the object is to select a cartridge containing a target image from a storage rack containing a large number of microfilm cartridges, read the target image from the cartridge by an image sensor, and output an image signal. In the microfilm retrieval / reading device, a plurality of cartridges are stacked diagonally in the vertical direction and stored by being locked by stoppers, and a vertically long storage side that can be dropped downward by opening the stoppers and a take-up reel are attached. A scanner that has a built-in film running drive and image reader, moves up and down to the target cartridge, and releases this stopper by its own weight to drop it into the entry space through the guide rail, and from the entry space of this scanner. Store the cartridge through the guide rail A micro device comprising return means for returning to the shelf, memory means for storing the storage position of the cartridge, control means for controlling the scanner and the return means to read the target image and returning the cartridge to the storage shelf. This is achieved by the FIM search / read device.

(Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a system using an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II showing a state before a cartridge enters a scanner, and FIG. A sectional view taken along the line II-II showing a state in which the cartridge is inserted, FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram of a system using this device, and FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram when this is developed into a large-scale system.

In these figures, reference numeral 10 is a prismatic case,
A cartridge storage shelf 12 is assembled in the case 10 so as to be shifted to one side. A large number of cartridges 14 are stored in the storage rack so as to be vertically stacked while being tilted at a constant angle. The cartridge 14 accommodates a reel 15 around which a microfilm 16 (see FIG. 3) is wound.

In FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, 30 is a scanner. The scanner 30 moves the front of the storage shelf 12 in the case 10 in the vertical direction. That is, the scanner 30 is vertically movably held by a pair of left and right guide rails 32, 32 (see FIG. 5), and is vertically moved by a pair of wires 34 (see FIG. 1). Wire 34 consists of upper and lower pulleys 36 and 38 (Fig. 1)
It is wrapped around and fixed to the scanner 30 at both ends. One pulley 38 is rotated by a servo motor 40,
As a result, the scanner 30 is moved up and down. Note that a counter weight 42 is fixed to the wire 34 at a position symmetrical to the scanner 30, thereby reducing the load on the motor 40.

The scanner 30 is constructed as shown in FIGS. That is, the entrance space 44 into which the cartridge 14 enters from above, the take-up reel 46 located under the scanner 30, and the image reader disposed between the take-up reel 46 and the entrance space 44.
48, a film running drive device 50 (see FIG. 1) that drives the reels 15 and 46 to run the film 16, a pair of left and right guide rails 52, and a returning means (not shown). In the traveling drive device 50, the drive shaft 50A of the reel 15 can be moved forward and backward, and when the cartridge 14 enters and exits the entry space 44, the drive shaft 50A exits from the entry space 44 and advances when the cartridge 14 enters. Then, the reel 15 is engaged with the reel 15, and the reel 15 is rotationally driven.

The guide rail 52, as shown in FIGS.
It extends to both sides of the cartridge 14 inside. Each cartridge 14 has a guide pin that engages with these guide rails 52.
54 is projected. Each cartridge 14 is held by a stopper (not shown) in the storage rack 12 shown in FIG. 1, and the scanner 30 releases the stopper from the cartridge 14 so that the cartridge 14 uses its own weight to guide the guide rail 52. Is guided to and dropped into the entrance space 44 of the scanner 30.

Further, the returning means returns the cartridge 14 whose image has been read by the scanner 30 to the original position in the storage rack 12 from the entry space 44. This returning means can have various configurations, for example, a belt conveyor provided on the guide rail 52 is engaged with the guide pin 54 to return the cartridge 14 to the upper side, one utilizing a restoring force of a spring or rubber, etc. Is possible.

The image reader 48 includes a closed reader unit 60 and an EL plate 62 as a light source. The EL plate 62 is pressed against the film 16.
It is separable and controlled by an electromagnetic plunger (not shown) or the like. The reader unit 60 is provided with a glass plate 64 facing the EL plate 62 with the film 16 sandwiched therebetween, a projection lens 66 and an image sensor 68 housed in a sealed case. Here, the lens 68 is moved in the optical axis direction by a motor, a piezoelectric element or the like so that focusing can be performed.

Therefore, when the scanner 30 is carried diagonally forward and downward of the target cartridge 14, the stopper is opened and the cartridge 14 is dropped onto the guide rail 53 by utilizing its own weight,
The scanner 30 is moved to the entry space 44. At this time, drive shaft 50A
Exits from the entry space 44 once, and enters after the reel 15 enters the entry space 44. Then, the film running device 50 rotates the reels 15 and 46 to run the film 16. At this time, the EL plate 62 is separated from the film 16. When the target image comes, the EL plate 62 presses the film 16 against the glass plate 64. The EL plate 62 serves as a surface light source, and the projected image of the film 16 is guided to the image sensor 68 through the glass plate 64 and the lens 66. The image sensor 68 scans an image and outputs a time-series image signal a (see FIG. 1). This signal a is binarized by the image processing circuit 70 to be a digital signal, which is input to the child control means 100A. Here, the image sensor 68 is preferably a two-dimensional area sensor, but the one-dimensional line sensor may be moved in the direction orthogonal to the length direction (sub scanning direction) to read the image.

In this embodiment, the control means is separately provided with a child control means 100A provided for each case 10 and a main control means 100 for giving address information such as a target cartridge and a target image to the child control means 100A.

Both of these control means 100, 100A are formed by a small computer. The main control means 100 is a CPU as shown in FIG.
102, input / output interfaces 104 and 106, a ROM 108 that stores a control program, a RAM 110 that stores data during control, such as data when performing autofocus. Reference numeral 112 denotes a memory means, which is composed of a storage medium such as an optical disk, a magnetic disk, a magnetic tape, or a semiconductor memory, and stores address information such as a storage address of the cartridge 14 in the storage shelf 12 and an image data position. The main control means 100 and the memory means 112 are housed in a cabinet 114 in FIG.

Data such as contents of each cartridge 14 and storage addresses are input to the CPU 102 from the keyboard 116 and stored in the memory means 112. When searching for a target image, the code of the target image or the like is input from the keyboard 116, for example. The CPU 102 sends the cartridge 14 containing this target image from the memory means 112.
The address information such as the position and target image is output to the child control means 100A. The child control means 100A finds the corresponding cartridge 14 based on this address information, and operates the motor 40 to move the scanner 30 diagonally forward and downward of the cartridge 14. Then, the drive shaft 50A is retracted and dropped by this cartridge 52 from the storage shelf 12,
Incorporate 14 into entry space 44 within scanner 30. Child control means 10
0A is the traveling drive device 50 by engaging the drive shaft 50A with the reel 15.
Thus, the reels 15 and 46 are rotated and the target image is controlled to enter between the EL plate 62 and the glass plate 64. The target image can be confirmed by reading a blip mark (not shown) previously recorded on the microfilm 16 with another optical sensor (not shown).

When the target image comes in front of the glass plate 64, the child control means 100A presses the EL plate 62 against the film 16 to emit light. The projected image of the target image is guided to the image sensor 68. The image signal a of the image sensor 68 is binarized in the signal processing circuit 70 by processing of various types such as variation correction of characteristics of each light receiving element, shading correction, waveform shaping, and the like, and then the child control means 100A.
Is input to When performing the autofocus operation, the circuit 70 selects a predetermined spatial frequency component of the image signal a with a bandpass filter and obtains a contrast signal by integrating the absolute value of this component. The child control means 100A controls the lens 66 to a position where this contrast signal becomes maximum. Needless to say, another element dedicated to autofocus, for example, an element of a phase difference detection method or the like may be separately prepared to perform autofocus.

In this way, when the image is read by the scanner 30 and the image signal is read by the parent control means 100, the CPU 102 outputs this data to various kinds of image processing devices. For example, this image is output to the CRT 118 or the printer 120 or stored in another external memory means such as the optical disk device 122. In addition, a facsimile machine 126 at a remote place is used by using a data communication network 124 such as a LAN (local area network).
(See FIG. 4) or CRT or the like. The CPU 102 can read data from an external image processing device using the data communication network 124, and can use external image data in this system.

The smallest version of this system is completed by combining one case 10 with a workstation as shown in FIG. That is, the keyboard 116 and the CRT 118
, Printer 120, main control means 100 and memory means 11
Case 10 with cabinet 114 for storing 2 (see Fig. 1)
It can be configured by combining.

In the above embodiment, the control of the case 10 is performed by the child control means 100A different from the main control means 100,
This has the effect of facilitating control when enlarging the scale by connecting a large number of cases 10. However, according to the present invention, the child control means 100A
Of course, the main control means 100 may be integrated,
Such things are also included.

When increasing the scale of this system, as shown in FIG. 5, for example, stacks S1 to Sn in which eight cases 10 are combined into one are installed movably on a plurality of rails 132, and a large number of them are installed. Connect to your workstation.

As described above, this device can be easily increased in scale by collecting a large number of cases 10 as one unit, and in this case, if the cases 10 are controlled in parallel at the same time, the access time becomes further shorter. For example, in one case 10 while the scanner 30 is reading an image from one cartridge, another case 10
Then, the scanner 30 moves up and down to search for and read out the target image, so that the access time can be shortened.

Further, by connecting the cases 10 dispersedly arranged in different places to each other by the data communication network 124, the cases can be freely used and the microfilm can be used in common.

In the above embodiment, since the storage rack 12 and the scanner 30 can be configured to have a substantially rectangular shape in a plan view, the case 10 can be properly stored behind a wall or pillar in the room, and the space near the ceiling can be effectively used.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of an embodiment showing another arrangement of the storage rack 12a and the scanner 30a, and FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line VII-VII thereof.
In this embodiment, the cartridge 14 is not entirely ejected from the storage shelf 12a, but only the minimum necessary portion is made to enter the scanner 30a to read an image. That is, the entire cartridge 14 is not moved to the scanner 30a, but is put into the entry space 44a by an amount required for driving by the traveling drive device 50a.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, the movement amount of the cartridge 14 is reduced, and the access time is further shortened.

In this figure, the same parts as those in the above embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will not be repeated.

(Effect of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, the scanner is moved up and down on the front of the storage shelves that are stacked diagonally in the vertical direction, and the target cartridge is taken into the scanner by its own weight and the image is read. The configuration is simple and the access time required to read the target image can be shortened. Further, since the unit of one case can be made smaller than that of the conventional device, the installation area becomes smaller, and by appropriately increasing or decreasing the case, it is possible to easily cope with a change in system scale.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a system using one embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a state where the scanner enters the storage rack, FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a state where the scanner is also retracted from the storage rack, and FIG. 4 is a conceptual view of a system using this device. FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram when this is developed into a large-scale system, FIG. 6 is a diagram showing another embodiment, and FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line VII-VII. 10,10a …… Case, 12,12a …… Storage rack, 14,14a …… Cartridge, 30,30a …… Scanner, 44 …… Entry space, 48,48a …… Image reader, 52 …… Guide rail, 100 ...... Control means, 100A ...... Child control means 112 ...... Memory means

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A microfilm retrieval / reading apparatus for selecting a cartridge containing a target image from a storage rack containing a large number of microfilm cartridges, reading the target image from the cartridge by an image sensor, and outputting an image signal. A vertically long storage side that allows a large number of cartridges to be stacked diagonally in the vertical direction and locked by a stopper to be stored, and that can be dropped downward by opening the stopper, and a film running drive device and an image reader to which a take-up reel is attached. A built-in scanner that moves up and down to the target cartridge and releases the stopper of this cartridge to drop it into the entry space through the guide rail by its own weight,
Returning means for returning the cartridge from the entrance space of the scanner to the storage shelf via the guide rail, memory means for storing the storage position of the cartridge, and controlling the scanner and the returning means to read the target image and store the storage shelf. And a control means for returning the cartridge to the cartridge.