JPH10228061A - Photographic preparing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prepare a photographic corrective in the individual variation of the skin color or the like of an object in a photographic preparing device whose photographing condition is fixed to be constant. SOLUTION: This photographic preparing device 10 of a standalone type is provided with illuminations 20 and 21, a photometric sensor 29 and an illuminating light quantity controlling part 44. The photometry of the object luminance of the face of a person to be photographed is performed by the photometric sensor 29. Photometric data is transmitted to the illuminating light quantity controlling part 44 through a controller 40. The driving voltage of the illuminations 20 and 21 is decided based on the luminance data of the face of the person to be photographed at the illuminating light quantity controlling part 44, and a control signal is transmitted to voltage adjusting parts 20a and 21a. In the case of photographing for instance, the person having more sunburnt skin than a standard image, the image is picked up by increasing illuminating light quantity. Image data having nearly the same density as skin color density in the case of picking up a reference image is obtained, so that the photograph 75a is finished so as to make the skin color density same as the reference image.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a stand-alone type (stand-alone) photo production apparatus installed in a store or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A stand-alone photograph production apparatus for producing a photograph for proof such as a passport or a license has become widespread. Such a photo production device is composed of a photography room and a photo production room, and the photographing is started by sitting on a chair arranged in the photography room, adjusting the height thereof, and inputting a fee. And a photo is automatically created.

[0003]

In a photograph producing apparatus, photographing is always performed under the same photographing conditions due to its mechanism. For this reason,
The photographing conditions, print conditions, and the like are fixed based on the average subject. Therefore, there is a problem that the photographing conditions are affected by individual differences such as the presence or absence of sunburn and the difference in color density of the clothes worn, and for example, a difference larger than the actual sunburn difference appears in the finished print.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and is intended to produce a photograph in which, under fixed photographing conditions, a photograph in which individual differences such as skin color and clothing of a subject which are problematic are corrected is obtained. It is intended to provide a device.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a photograph producing apparatus, comprising: an imaging unit for imaging a subject; and a printing unit for performing printing based on image data captured by the imaging unit. A photo production apparatus for photographing a subject at a charge to produce a printed photograph, comprising: an illuminating means for illuminating the subject; a photometric means for photometrically measuring the subject; and an illumination light amount based on a photometric result of the photometric means. And an illumination light amount adjusting means for adjusting the light amount. In addition to the photometric sensor, the photometric unit may extract a face area from image data obtained by the imaging unit, and obtain a characteristic value of the face area. Further, the illumination means includes a plurality of illuminations, the photometric means,
A face area is extracted from the image data by the imaging means, the face area is divided into a plurality of areas, and a characteristic value of each divided area is obtained. It is preferable to individually adjust the light amounts of the plurality of illuminations.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a photograph producing apparatus, comprising: a photometric device for measuring the light of the subject; and a photographing condition adjusting device for adjusting an image capturing condition of the image capturing device based on a photometric result of the photometric device. . It is preferable that the photographing condition adjusting means comprises an aperture for reducing the amount of photographing light. The imaging condition adjusting means may be configured to adjust the charge accumulation time of the imaging means. Further, instead of the photometric sensor, the photometric unit may extract a face area from image data obtained by the imaging unit, and obtain a characteristic value of the face area.

[0007]

When a predetermined time elapses after a coin or a bill is inserted, or when a start operation is performed, the photometric means measures the luminance of the subject in the face area of the subject. Based on the photometric data, any one of the illumination light amount, the aperture of the camera, and the charge accumulation time is changed, and the imaging condition is adjusted so that the skin color of the face region of the reference image becomes the same as that of the face region, and imaging is performed.
Therefore, even if the photographed person has, for example, tanned skin unlike the skin color of the reference image, image data having the same skin color or density as the reference image can be obtained. Since printing is performed based on the image data, a photograph having substantially the same color or density as that obtained when the reference image is captured is obtained. In this way, it is possible to obtain a photograph in which individual differences in skin color, clothing, and the like of a subject which are problematic under a fixed shooting condition are corrected.

[0008]

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the entirety of a photographic apparatus 10 embodying the present invention. Photo production device 1
0 denotes a photographing room 12 and a photo production room 1 with a partition wall 11 interposed therebetween.
It is divided into three. The photographing room 12 is provided with a chair 15 on which a photographed person sits during photographing. The partition wall 11 includes a main light 20, an auxiliary light 21, and a photographing window 22.
, An operation panel 23, a cash slot 24, and a change outlet 25. In addition, near the entrance of the photographing room 12, on the outer wall surface of the photograph production room 13, a take-out port 27 for printed photographs is arranged. Further, a mirror 28 is arranged on the outer wall surface of the photographing room on the right side of the entrance.

As shown in FIG. 1, a control unit 30, a money unit 31, a camera 32, a photometric sensor 29, a display 33, a color laser printer 34, a heat development transfer The unit 35 is arranged. The control unit 30 includes the control board 3
7, a driver 38a, 38b, and a power supply unit 39. The control board 37 includes a controller 40 including a microcomputer, an image processing unit 41, a frame memory 42, a data memory 43, and an illumination light amount adjustment unit 44.

The controller 40 includes a cash unit 31
, The operation panel 23, the main illumination 20, the auxiliary illumination 21 via the voltage adjusting units 20a, 21a, the display 33, the camera 32, and the driver 38 via the driver 38b.
The laser printer 34 and the thermal development transfer unit 35 are connected via a, and the controller 40 controls these in sequence based on a predetermined program. The operation panel 23 has various keys, and the display 33
Is used to select the processing content displayed in.

The display 33 is composed of a color CRT, and displays a captured image under the control of the controller 40, in addition to displaying a screen for selecting processing contents. The display 33 is arranged above the half mirror 45, and the display screen is observed by the subject via the half mirror 45 and the imaging window 22.

The money unit 31 is arranged between the money input port 24 and the change outlet 25 on the side of the photo production room.
As is well known, the money unit 31 detects the inserted money and sends the inserted amount to the controller 40,
The change is paid out to the change exit 25 according to a change payout signal from the controller 40.

The lights 20, 21 are always on,
The subject is illuminated through the diffuser. Voltage regulator 20
In shooting, a and 21a adjust the driving voltage based on the control signal from the illumination light amount control unit 44, and adjust the illumination light amount according to the skin color density of the subject. The main illumination 20 is disposed above the partition wall 11 and illuminates the subject from obliquely above. The auxiliary lighting 21 is disposed at the lower center of the partition wall 11 and illuminates the face of the subject from obliquely below.

The photographing window 22 is arranged at the center of the partition wall 11. The half mirror 45 is visually recognized through the photographing window 22, and the display screen of the display 33 reflected on the half mirror can be observed. The face of the subject is displayed on the display screen, and at the same time, a reference line or a reference circle indicating the face position at which the subject is to be located is displayed. The chair 15 is arranged to be able to move up and down on the floor of the photographing room via a screw portion.
By rotating, its height can be adjusted freely. Therefore, the subject can adjust the height of the chair 15 so that his / her face displayed on the display 33 when sitting is in line with the reference line of the display screen, thereby setting the chair 15 at the optimum shooting position. Will be able to

At the position facing the photographing window 22, the photographing room 1
3, a photometric sensor 29 and a camera 32 are arranged. The photometric sensor 29 measures the luminance of the face of the subject. The photometric data is sent to the illumination light amount control unit 44 via the controller 40.

The illumination light amount control unit 44 determines a driving voltage for illumination based on luminance data of the face of the subject, and sends a control signal to the voltage adjustment units 20a and 21a. Illumination light amount controller 4
4 includes luminance data of the face of the subject and illuminations 20 and 21.
Table data indicating the relationship with the drive voltage is obtained in advance and stored. Thereby, for example, in the case of a subject who is tanned more than the standard image, the voltage adjusting units 20a and 21
A control signal for increasing the drive voltage of “a” is sent, the amount of illumination is increased, and imaging is performed.

The camera 32 includes an image area sensor 32
a and a photographing lens 32b. And
In accordance with a photographing signal from the controller 40, the subject light having passed through the photographing window 22 and the half mirror 45 is imaged by the photographing lens on the image area sensor 32a, and the face and upper body of the photographed person are photographed. The captured image data is sent to the image processing unit 41 via the controller 40. Instead of using the half mirror 45, a movable mirror that moves in and out of the photographing optical axis may be arranged. In this case, the movable mirror is inserted into the photographing optical axis when displaying on the display, and the photographing light is used when photographing. Retracted from axis.

The image processing section 41 performs image processing on the image data from the camera 32 for displaying on a display and for printing. Then, the image data for display display is sent to the display 33 via the controller 40, and the captured image is displayed. In addition, the image data for printing is frozen by operating the print start key,
The data is stored in the frame memory 42 for each color of red, green, and blue. Image processing includes well-known gradation correction and density /
Perform color correction. In this gradation and density / color correction, the correction parameters are obtained in advance for display display and printing so that appropriate gradation, density and color are obtained when the most common standard subject is imaged. It is set in the image processing unit 41. Further, the image processing unit 41 inserts and synthesizes a multi-print image having four 2 × 2 sub-frames using the frozen image signal of one frame. The image data of this composite image is
The data is sent to the laser printer 34 via the driver 38a.

As shown in FIG. 3, the laser printer 34 comprises a laser beam exposure unit 50, a sub-scanning and conveying unit 51, and a control unit 52. The laser beam exposure unit 50 emits light having a wavelength and an optical output for coloring each photosensitive layer of cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y) of the photosensitive material 54. , 55m, and 55y. Also,
Along the traveling direction of the light beams from these LDs 55c, 55m, 55y, the collimator lenses 56c, 56m, 5
6y and cylindrical lenses 57c, 57m, 57y
, A polygon mirror 58, an fθ lens 59, and a cylindrical lens 60, and three light beams are shifted and projected in the width direction of the photosensitive material 54 (main scanning direction). The polygon mirror 58 is rotated at a high speed by a motor 63. As is well known, a laser beam is swung in the main scanning direction of the photosensitive material by this rotation, and one main scan is performed on one surface of the polygon mirror 58. The rotation of the motor 63 is controlled by the control unit 52 via the driver 63a. The imaging optical system including the fθ lens 59 and the cylindrical lens 60 narrows the laser beam deflected by the polygon mirror 58 on the photosensitive material 54 so as to have a beam diameter corresponding to the photosensitive density.

Since the three beams are projected while being shifted in the main scanning direction, modulation circuits 61c, 61m, 61y and drive circuits 62c, 62 for each of the LDs 55c, 55m, 55y.
By controlling the light emission timing of m and 62y by the shift amount, three colors are exposed at the same position based on the image data corresponding to this position. Each LD5
5c, 55m and 55y are modulation circuits 61c, 61m and 6
1y and pulse width modulation based on the image data via the drive circuits 62c, 62m and 62y. Thereby, each of the LDs 55c, 55m, and 5m within one pixel cycle for each pixel.
The time for continuously emitting 5y is changed based on the image data.

As shown in FIG. 4, the photosensitive material 54 is accommodated in a magazine 65 in the form of a roll.
The print data is sent to the print stage 67 by 6. The feed roller pair 66 is driven by a motor 64. The motor 64 is
The rotation is controlled by the control unit 52 via the driver 64a. Then, in the print stage 67, the image is scanned and exposed on the photosensitive material 54 by the sub-scanning by the feed roller pair 66 and the main scanning of the light beam. When the exposure of the image for the order is completed, the exposed photosensitive material 54 is cut off from the unexposed portion by the cutter 68 to form a sheet. This sheet-shaped photosensitive material 54a is fed to a feed roller pair 69.
Is sent to the thermal development transfer unit 35. In addition, a sheet type may be used in addition to the roll form. In this case, the cutter 68 becomes unnecessary.

The thermal development transfer unit 35 includes a water application unit 7
1, a thermal developing section 72 and a peeling-out section 73. The exposed sheet-shaped photosensitive material 54a is first sent to a water application section 71, where a small amount of water is applied thereto, and then heat-developed together with a sheet-shaped image receiving sheet 75 sent from an image receiving sheet housing section 74. Sent to the unit 72. In the heat developing section 72, the image of the photosensitive material 54a is thermally developed and transferred to the image receiving sheet 75 by heating the photosensitive material 54a and the image receiving sheet 75 in a state of being in close contact with each other. The peeling-out portion 73 peels off the photosensitive material 54a after the thermal development transfer from the image receiving sheet 75, and the image receiving sheet 7 on which a positive screen appears.
5 is discharged as a photograph 75a to the outlet 27, and the photosensitive material 54a is discarded in a waste box 76.

The controller 40 performs various processes by controlling each part in sequence. First, as shown in FIG. 5, the money unit 31 detects the amount of money such as coins and bills, and sends this money amount signal to the controller 40. When a predetermined fee is input based on the money signal from the money unit 31, the controller 40 starts imaging and pays out change.

First, since the illuminations 20 and 21 are always on at a predetermined reference voltage, the subject is illuminated. Next, the subject brightness of the face of the subject is measured by the photometric sensor 29, and the photometric data is sent to the illumination light amount control unit 44 via the controller 40. Illumination light amount controller 44
Then, the driving voltages of the illuminations 20 and 21 are adjusted based on the photometric data, and the illumination is performed so that the face of the subject is the same as the subject brightness of the reference subject. Since the image captured by the camera 32 is displayed on the display 33, the height of the chair 15 is adjusted and the clothing and hairstyle are corrected while watching the display. Next, by operating the print start key, the captured image is frozen, and this image data is written to the frame memory 42. After the freeze, the voltage is returned to the predetermined reference voltage.

After performing well-known gradation conversion and color correction, the image processing unit 41 uses the corrected image data to
Images are synthesized so as to have a format including 2 × 2 sub-frames. This composite image is sent to the laser printer 34 via the driver 38a, and the composite image is
Is subjected to scanning exposure. The exposed photosensitive material 54 is a cutter 6
At 8, the sheet is cut into a sheet, and the sheet-shaped photosensitive material 54 a is sent to the thermal development transfer unit 35. In the thermal development transfer unit 35, the image exposed on the sheet-shaped photosensitive material 54a is thermally developed and transferred to the image receiving sheet 75, and then the photosensitive material 54a and the image receiving sheet 75 are separated. And
The peeled image receiving sheet 75 is discharged to the outlet 27 as a photograph 75a.

In the above embodiment, the amount of illumination is adjusted based on the photometric data. In addition, as shown in FIG. 6, the camera 3 is controlled based on the photometric data from the photometric sensor 29.
The imaging condition 2 may be changed. To change the imaging conditions, an aperture 32c is provided in the camera 32, and the amount of incident light is adjusted via the aperture control unit 80. Instead of adjusting the light amount using the aperture 32c, the charge accumulation time of each pixel of the image area sensor 32a may be changed according to the photometric data.

Also, instead of using the photometric sensor 29,
The camera 32 may perform imaging for photometry. In this case, the controller 40 and the image processing unit 41 obtain photometric data according to the processing procedure shown in FIG. First, an image is taken for photometry, and a face area is extracted by the image processing unit 41 based on the image data. Next, the three-color average density of the entire extracted face area is obtained. Then, the difference between the three-color average density of the face area of the reference image obtained by photometry of the reference subject in advance is obtained, and according to this difference, as in the above embodiment, the illumination light amount, the aperture, and the charge accumulation time Is obtained. Any of the illumination light amount, the aperture, and the charge accumulation time is controlled by the control value to change the photographing condition.

The face area is divided into an upper half area and a lower half area, and the main illumination and the auxiliary light are adjusted so that the density difference between these areas becomes the same as the density difference when the reference image is captured. The light amount of the illumination may be adjusted. Further, a right auxiliary lighting and a left auxiliary lighting are provided to illuminate the right and left sides of the face of the subject, respectively, and at the time of photometry, the face area is divided into right and left halves. The right and left auxiliary illuminations may be individually controlled in light amount so that the density difference is the same as the density difference of each area when the reference image is captured. Further, the face area is divided into upper, left, center, right, and lower areas, and characteristic values of these areas are obtained. Based on these characteristic values, main lighting, right auxiliary lighting, and left auxiliary lighting are performed. Alternatively, the amount of light of the lower auxiliary illumination may be individually controlled to achieve an illumination state in which a density distribution similar to that of the reference image is obtained.

In the above-described embodiment, the frozen image is printed as it is. Alternatively, an image for simulating and displaying the finished state of the photograph based on the frozen image data may be created and displayed on the display 33. . In this case, when the expression or the pose is not satisfactory, the freeze processing may be performed again to select a desired one.
Also, instead of performing the freeze process again, for example, three times
The freeze processing may be performed at predetermined intervals, and these may be sequentially displayed on a display, and a desired one may be selected from these. Furthermore, while observing this simulated image, the subject may perform image processing according to his / her preference by operating a correction key on the operation panel 23 and inputting a correction value. Further, a data recording unit such as an FD drive unit may be provided in the photo production device 10, and the captured data may be recorded on a recording medium such as an FD. Alternatively, the image data recorded on the FD may be read and printed by the photo production device 10. Also, a plurality of to-be-composed images such as foreground images and background images are displayed, a background or the like is selected, a main subject of the captured image data is extracted, and the main subject and the to-be-combined image are image-combined. It may be printed or data recorded.

In the above embodiment, the amount of illumination is controlled in accordance with the photometric data. In addition, the face area of the subject is subjected to three-color separation photometry, and based on the three-color photometric data, the three-color illumination light is used. The strength of the components may be adjusted by inserting a color filter or the like. In this case, the imaging conditions can be changed so that the hue of the face area of the reference image is also substantially the same. In the above-described embodiment, the lights 20 and 21 are always turned on even in the waiting state of the customer. In addition, when the entrance of the customer into the photographing room 12 is detected by using the photometric sensor 29 or the like, when the entering state is detected. Only the lighting may be turned on.

In the above embodiment, a 2 × 2 multi-print was prepared. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It may be. Further, the size of each sub-frame in the multi-print is not limited to one type, but may be a plurality of types.

In the above embodiment, a photographic printer of the thermal development transfer system is used. However, in the present invention, a thermal recording system, an ink jet recording system, a silver halide photographic recording system and the like can be used. In the thermal recording system, a sublimation thermal transfer recording material, a fusion thermal transfer recording material, and a direct thermal recording material are used. In the silver halide photographic recording system, an instant photographic material, an autopositive paper, or the like can be used in addition to a normal silver halide recording material. Further, in the above embodiment, the display can be observed from the photographing window via the half mirror. However, the display may be provided on a partition wall. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the operation procedure and the like are guided by displaying on the display. However, an audio output device may be provided in addition thereto, and the guidance and the like may be output by voice.

[0033]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, an illumination means for illuminating a subject, a photometry means for photometry of the subject, and an illumination based on a photometry result by the photometry means are provided to the stand-alone type photo-production apparatus. Since the illumination light amount adjusting means for adjusting the light amount is provided, in a stand-alone type photo production device in which the photographing conditions are fixed, it is possible to obtain a photograph in which the individual differences such as the skin color of the subject and the clothes are corrected with a simple configuration. . Therefore, even if there is an individual difference, a photograph having a finish close to the reference image can be obtained.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the illuminating means has a plurality of illuminations, and the photometric means extracts a face area from the image data obtained by the imaging means, and converts the face area into a plurality of areas. By dividing, the characteristic value of each divided region is obtained, and the illumination light amount adjusting means according to the characteristic value of each divided region,
By individually adjusting the light amounts of the plurality of illuminations, more preferable illumination conditions can be automatically set when the image is taken with the face turned.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in a stand-alone type photo production device, a photometric device for photometrically measuring a subject, and a photographing condition adjustment for adjusting an image capturing condition of the image capturing device based on a photometric result by the photometric device. With the provision of the means, in a stand-alone type photograph production apparatus in which the photographing conditions are fixed, it is possible to obtain a photograph having a simple configuration in which individual differences such as skin color and clothing of the subject are corrected. This allows
Even if there is an individual difference, it is possible to achieve the same skin color density as the reference image. Further, by providing a diaphragm for reducing the amount of photographing light as the photographing condition adjusting means, the configuration can be simplified. Further, instead of the stop, the charge accumulation time of the image pickup means may be adjusted. In this case, there is no need to provide a stop, and the configuration can be further simplified. In addition, by adjusting the charge accumulation time for each color, not only the skin color density but also the color tone can be almost the same as the reference image.

According to the second or seventh aspect of the present invention, the face area is extracted from the image data by the image pickup means and the characteristic value of the face area is determined to constitute the light meter means. Therefore, a new light meter sensor is provided. There is no need, and the configuration can be simplified. Furthermore, it becomes easy to divide the face area into a plurality of areas and perform photometry. By changing the illumination condition using the photometry result, it is possible to optimize the illumination condition according to the change in the face direction. It can be easily changed to something.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a photo production apparatus embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of a photo production apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a laser printer of the photo production apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing a heat development transfer unit of the photo production apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of the photo production apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a main part showing another embodiment of the photo production apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure in another embodiment in which photometric data is obtained from image data.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 photo production device 12 photography room 13 photo production room 20, 21 illumination 22 photography window 23 operation panel 30 control unit 32 camera 32 a image area sensor 33 c aperture 33 display 34 laser printer 35 thermal development transfer unit 40 controller 41 image processing unit 42 frame Memory 43 Data memory 44 Illumination light amount control unit 45 Half mirror 50 Laser beam exposure unit 51 Sub-scanning conveyance unit 54 Photosensitive material 54a Sheet-shaped photosensitive material 75 Image receiving sheet 75a Photograph 80 Aperture control unit

Claims (7)

[Claims] A photographing apparatus for photographing a subject, and a printing means for performing printing based on image data taken by the photographing means, wherein the photographing apparatus captures a subject at a charge to produce a printed photograph; A photograph producing apparatus comprising: an illuminating unit that illuminates the subject; a photometric unit that performs photometry on the subject; and an illumination light amount adjusting unit that adjusts an illumination light amount based on a photometric result obtained by the photometric unit. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the photometric unit extracts a face area from data captured by the image capturing unit, and obtains a characteristic value of the face area. 3. The illumination unit includes a plurality of illuminations. The photometry unit extracts a face area from image data obtained by an imaging unit, divides the face area into a plurality of areas,
The characteristic value of each divided area is obtained, and the illumination light amount adjusting means includes:
2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein light amounts of a plurality of illuminations are individually adjusted according to characteristic values of the divided areas.
The photo production apparatus according to the above. 4. A photograph production apparatus comprising: an image pickup means for picking up an image of a subject; and a print means for printing based on image data picked up by the image pickup means. A photo production apparatus, comprising: a photometric unit for photometrically measuring the subject; and a photographing condition adjusting unit for adjusting an image capturing condition of the image capturing unit based on a photometric result of the photometric unit. 5. The photograph producing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said photographing condition adjusting means comprises a stop for reducing a photographing light amount. 6. An apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said photographing condition adjusting means is configured to adjust a charge accumulation time of said image pickup means. 7. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the photometric unit extracts a face area from the image data obtained by the imaging unit and obtains a characteristic value of the face area.