JPH11127295A - Image reader - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image reader capable of reading frame images respectively under the optimum conditions even when a regular-size (full size) frame image and a frame image with different size from the regular size such as a panoramic frame image coexist in one roll of a film. SOLUTION: An image reader is provided with a pair of light shielding plates 366 which are symmetrically arranged at the both ends sides of a photographic film 22 and capable of being loaded/unloaded under the film surface and with a light shielding device 320 to adjust a light transmissible area of a slit part 302C to the size of width of a panoramic frame image 22B by shielding the light of an area except the panoramic frame image 22B in the light transmissible area of the slit part 302C by arranging the light shielding plates 366 at the lower part of the photographic film 22 in the case of fine scanning of the panoramic frame image 22B.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus, and more particularly, to an image reading apparatus which reads a frame image by a line scanner while conveying a long photographic film on which a plurality of frame images are recorded. Things.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a frame image recorded on a photographic film is irradiated with slit-shaped light while the photographic film is being conveyed, and light transmitted through the frame image is photoelectrically read by a reading sensor such as a line CCD. There is known an apparatus that performs image processing such as enlargement / reduction and various corrections on digital image data obtained by the reading, and forms an image on a recording material by a laser beam modulated based on the image-processed digital data. .

In an apparatus for digitally reading a frame image using such a reading sensor such as a CCD, in order to realize high-precision image reading, the frame image is preliminarily read with a relatively rough reading accuracy (so-called press). Scanning), and from these results, reading conditions (for example, the amount of light irradiated onto the frame image and the charge storage time of the CCD) according to the density of the frame image are determined, and the frame image is read with extremely severe reading accuracy under the determined reading conditions. Is read again (so-called fine scan).

[0004]

In recent years, a frame image of a normal size (full size) and a frame image whose width dimension is smaller than the normal size, such as a panoramic shot frame image, are mixed in one film. Recording methods for recording data have become common. In such a case, the optimum image reading conditions for one film differ depending on the frame image.

[0005] However, the above-described apparatus has a configuration suitable for, for example, a normal-size (full-size) frame image, and thus poses a problem in reading a panoramic frame image.

That is, the reading area of a reading sensor such as a CCD in the above-described apparatus is suitable for the width dimension of a normal size frame image (dimension in a direction perpendicular to the film transport direction). Further, in the panoramic frame image, since the width of the image area is smaller than the normal size, the film base area exposed in the width direction is wider than the frame image of the normal size.

For this reason, when a panorama frame image is read using a reading sensor adapted to the width of a frame image of a normal size, the reading sensor transmits not only the image region of the panorama frame image but also the upper and lower film base regions. The light transmitted through the upper and lower film base areas is directly incident, causing flare, and the amount of light transmitted through the base area becomes excessive, thereby saturating the sensor output. Problem.

Further, a slit is provided between the light source and the reading sensor for transmitting a part of the light from the light source. The light from the light source is irradiated on the film through the slit. For example, if the transport of the film is stopped for a long time with the light source turned on, the temperature of the light irradiation part of the film rises and the film is deformed. There are also drawbacks such as ingress and light leaking from the slit.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and a frame of a normal size (normal size) and a frame of a size different from the normal size such as a panorama frame image in one film. It is a main object of the present invention to provide an image reading apparatus that can read an image under the most appropriate reading conditions even when the image is mixed. It is another object of the present invention to provide an image reading apparatus which solves difficulties such as deformation of a film, entry of dust and the like, and leakage of light other than during image reading.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a photographic film having a plurality of frame images recorded thereon is transported in a predetermined direction, and the photographic film is transported in a predetermined direction. A film conveying means provided with a slit-shaped light transmitting portion longer than the length of the frame image recorded on the photographic film in the cross direction in a direction intersecting with the photographic film, and irradiating the photographic film conveyed by the film conveying means with light A light source provided on an optical path of the light source, an image reading unit for receiving light transmitted through the photographic film and the light transmitting unit and outputting the image information as image information, and a frame image recording area of the photographic film in the light transmitting unit. So that the light transmittance of the part corresponding to the frame image is lower than the light transmittance of the part corresponding to the image recording range of the photographic film. It is characterized in that and a light amount adjusting means for changing the light intensity distribution of the transmitted light that.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the light transmittance of the portion corresponding to the area outside the frame image recording area of the photographic film in the slit-shaped light transmitting section is adjusted by the light amount adjusting means. In order to change the light amount distribution of the light transmitted through the slit-shaped light transmitting portion according to the width dimension of the frame image so as to be lower than the light transmittance, 1
Even if a normal size frame image and a non-normal size frame image such as a panorama frame image are mixedly recorded on the film of the book, the image reading means may use the reading conditions most suitable for the size of each frame image. It is possible to read.
As the light amount adjusting means, a light shielding plate for shielding light or a light reducing plate such as an ND filter for reducing light transmittance can be used.

For example, when reading a panoramic frame image after reading a frame image of a normal size, the width of the slit-shaped light transmitting portion (hereinafter referred to as a slit width).
When the light amount adjusting means narrows the slit width so that the width dimension of the panoramic frame image coincides with the width dimension of the panoramic frame image, and conversely, when reading the normal size frame image after reading the panoramic frame image, the light amount adjusting means The slit width is changed so as to match the width size of the normal size frame image.

Thus, when the panorama frame image is read after the normal size frame image is read, the upper and lower film base areas of the panorama frame image read by the image reading means in reading the normal size frame image are reduced. Light or light is shielded, and the image reading means reads only the panorama frame image area. Of course, when reading a normal size frame image after a panoramic frame image, the slit width is changed so as to match the width dimension of the normal size frame image, so that the normal size frame image can be read as usual. .

Therefore, since light transmitted through the upper and lower film base areas does not directly enter, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of flare. Also, since the amount of light passing through the base area is an appropriate amount, the sensor output is saturated. There is no.

The invention described in claim 2 is the first invention.
In the image reading device according to the above, the image reading means,
A pre-scan that obtains image information by scanning a frame image recorded on a film with a predetermined reading accuracy, and reading conditions are determined based on the image information obtained by the pre-scan, and are higher than the predetermined reading accuracy. Performing fine scanning for scanning with reading accuracy, and the light amount adjusting means changes the light amount distribution of the light transmitting portion by covering both ends of the light transmitting portion based on image information obtained at the time of pre-scanning. It is characterized by the following.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the fine scan is performed by determining the optimal reading conditions such as the light source state and the dynamic range at the time of the fine scan from the image information obtained at the time of the prescan. Can do well.

Further, since the light amount distribution of the transmitted light is changed based on the light amount distribution change timing obtained from the image information obtained by the prescan, the light amount distribution can be changed at an optimum timing.

In this case, for example, the position of the panorama frame image existing from the image information is detected in advance to determine the light amount distribution change timing, and when the panorama frame image reaches the reading position, the light amount adjusting means is set. However, the slit-shaped light transmitting portion of the light transmitting portion is formed such that the light transmittance of the portion corresponding to the outside of the frame image recording range of the photographic film is lower than the light transmittance of the portion corresponding to the image recording range of the photographic film. It is preferable to cover both ends.

Accordingly, even if a frame image of a normal size and a frame image of a size different from the normal size such as a panorama frame image are mixedly recorded on one film,
Since the light transmittance of the light transmitting portion can be changed at an optimal timing in accordance with the size of the frame image, the reading accuracy can be further improved.

When prescanning and fine scanning are performed, the prescanning and finescanning may be performed by using two image reading units while the film is conveyed in one direction by the conveying unit. A configuration may be adopted in which the film is reciprocated by using the reading means, and prescan is performed on the outward path and fine scan is performed on the return path.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image reading apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the light amount adjusting means includes a part or the whole of the light transmitting portion except when the image is read by the image reading means. The light transmittance is reduced.

In other words, according to the third aspect of the present invention, the light amount adjusting means is provided in a part of the light transmitting portion except when the image reading means reads an image, for example, when the transport of the film is stopped for a long time while the light source is turned on. Alternatively, since the entire light transmittance is reduced, overheating of the film due to temporal light irradiation from the light source can be prevented. In addition, when the film is not being conveyed, it is possible to prevent dust from entering from the light transmitting portion or to prevent light from leaking, that is, to prevent glare.

[0023]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.
This will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. First, a digital laboratory system according to the present embodiment will be described.

(Schematic Configuration of Entire System) FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a digital laboratory system 10 according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 shows an appearance of the digital laboratory system 10. As shown in FIG. 1, the lab system 10 includes a line CCD scanner 14, an image processing unit 16,
The system includes a laser printer unit 18 and a processor unit 20. The line CCD scanner 14 and the image processing unit 16 are integrated as an input unit 26 shown in FIG. , As an output unit 28 shown in FIG.

The line CCD scanner 14 is for reading a frame image recorded on a photographic film such as a negative film or a reversal film.
5 size photographic film, 110 size photographic film, and photographic film with a transparent magnetic layer (24
0 size photographic film: so-called APS film), 12
Frame images of photographic film of size 0 and size 220 (Brownie size) can be read. The line CCD scanner 14 reads the frame image to be read by the line CCD 116 and outputs image data.

In this embodiment, a digital lab system 10 in which a 135-size photographic film 22 is used will be described.

The image processing section 16 stores image data (scanned image data) output from the line CCD scanner 14.
Is input, image data obtained by photographing with a digital camera, image data obtained by reading an original (for example, a reflective original, etc.) with a scanner, image data generated by a computer, etc. File image data) from outside (for example,
It is also configured to be able to input through a storage medium such as a memory card or input from another information processing device via a communication line.

The image processing section 16 performs image processing such as various corrections on the input image data, and outputs the image data to the laser printer section 18 as recording image data. Also,
The image processing unit 16 can also output image data subjected to image processing to an external device as an image file (for example, output to a storage medium such as a memory card, or transmit to another information device via a communication line). It is possible.

The laser printer section 18 has R, G, and B laser light sources, and irradiates a photographic paper with laser light modulated in accordance with recording image data input from the image processing section 16 to perform scanning exposure. To record an image on photographic paper. Further, the processor unit 20 performs each process of color development, bleach-fix, washing, and drying on the photographic paper on which the image is recorded by the scanning exposure by the laser printer unit 18. Thus, an image is formed on the printing paper.

(Configuration of Line CCD Scanner) Next, the configuration of the line CCD scanner 14 will be described. FIG. 3 shows a schematic configuration of an optical system of the line CCD scanner 14. This optical system is composed of a halogen lamp, a metal halide lamp, or the like, and has a light source 30 for irradiating light to the photographic film 22. Boxes 36 are arranged in order.

The photographic film 22 includes a light diffusion box 36.
The frame image is conveyed by a film carrier 38 (see FIG. 5 and not shown in FIG. 3) arranged on the light emission side of the frame so that the screen of the frame image is perpendicular to the optical axis.

Between the light source 30 and the light diffusion box 36, C (cyan), M (magenta) and Y (yellow) dimming filters 114C, 114M and 114Y are arranged along the optical axis of the emitted light. A lens unit 40 that is provided in order and forms an image of light transmitted through the frame image along the optical axis on a side opposite to the light source 30 across the photographic film 22.
A line CCD 116 is provided. Although FIG. 3 shows only a single lens as the lens unit 40,
The lens unit 40 is actually a zoom lens composed of a plurality of lenses.

The line CCDs 116 are arranged in a line along the width direction of the photographic film 22 on which a plurality of CCD cells are conveyed, and three sensing lines provided with an electronic shutter mechanism are provided in parallel with each other at intervals. Each of the R, G, and B color separation filters is mounted on the light incident side of each sensing unit (a so-called three-line color CCD). The line CCD 116 is arranged so that the light receiving surface of each sensing unit matches the image forming position of the lens unit 40.

In the vicinity of each sensing section, a transfer section is provided corresponding to each sensing section, and electric charges accumulated in each CCD cell of each sensing section are sequentially transferred via the corresponding transfer section. It is transferred and output from the output terminal.
Although not shown, a shutter is provided between the line CCD 116 and the lens unit 40.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic configuration of an electric system of the line CCD scanner 14. Line CCD scanner 1
4 includes a microprocessor 46 for controlling the entire line CCD scanner 14. The microprocessor 46 has a RAM 64 (for example, SRA
M), ROM 66 (for example, RO whose storage contents can be rewritten)
M), a motor driver 48 is connected, and a filter drive motor 54 is connected to the motor driver 48. The filter drive motor 54 enables the dimming filters 114C, 114M, and 114Y (see FIG. 3) to slide independently.

The microprocessor 46 controls the light source 30 (see FIG. 3) in conjunction with turning on and off a power switch (not shown).
Is turned on and off. Further, when reading the frame image (side light) by the line CCD 116, the microprocessor 46 slides the dimming filters 114C, 114M, and 114Y independently by the filter driving motor 54 and enters the line CCD 116. The light amount is adjusted for each component color light.

The motor driver 48 includes a zoom drive motor 70 for changing the zoom magnification of the lens unit 40 by relatively moving the positions of a plurality of lenses of the lens unit 40 (see FIG. 3). A lens drive motor 42 that moves the image forming position of the lens unit 40 along the optical axis by moving the whole is connected. The microprocessor 46 changes the zoom magnification of the lens unit 40 to a desired magnification by the zoom drive motor 70 according to the size of the frame image, whether to perform trimming, and the like.

On the other hand, a timing generator 74 is connected to the line CCD 116. The timing generator 74 generates various timing signals (clock signals) for operating the line CCD 116, an A / D converter 82 described later, and the like. The signal output terminal of the line CCD 116 is connected to an A / D converter 82 via an amplifier 76. The signal output from the line CCD 116 is amplified by the amplifier 76 and converted to digital data by the A / D converter 82. Is done.

The output terminal of the A / D converter 82 is connected to an interface (I / F) circuit 90 via a correlated double sampling circuit (CDS) 88. The CDS 88 samples the feedthrough data indicating the level of the feedthrough signal and the pixel data indicating the level of the pixel signal, and subtracts the feedthrough data from the pixel data for each pixel. Then, the calculation result (pixel data that accurately corresponds to the amount of charge stored in each CCD cell) is converted into scan image data via the I / F circuit 90 as an image processing unit 1.
6 sequentially.

Note that R, G,
Since the side optical signal of B is output in parallel, the amplifier 76, A
Three signal processing systems including a / D converter 82 and a CDS 88 are also provided, and the I / F circuit 90 outputs R, G, and B image data as scan image data in parallel.

The motor driver 48 is connected to a shutter drive motor 92 for opening and closing the shutter.
The dark output of the line CCD 116 is corrected by the image processing unit 16 at the subsequent stage, but the dark output level is set by the microprocessor 4 when the frame image is not read.
6 can be obtained by closing the shutter.

(Configuration of Image Processing Unit) Next, the image processing unit 16
Will be described with reference to FIG. Image processing unit 1
Reference numeral 6 is provided with a line scanner correction unit 122 corresponding to the line CCD scanner 14. The line scanner correction unit 122 includes a dark correction circuit 124, a defective pixel correction unit 128, and a light correction circuit 13 corresponding to R, G, and B image data output in parallel from the line CCD scanner 14.
There are provided three signal processing systems composed of 0s.

The dark correction circuit 124 includes a line CCD 116
In the state where the light incident side is darkened by the shutter, data input from the line CCD scanner 14 (data representing the dark output level of each cell of the sensing unit of the line CCD 116) is stored for each cell. Line CCD
From the scanned image data input from the scanner 14,
The correction is performed by reducing the dark output level of the cell corresponding to each pixel.

Further, the photoelectric conversion characteristics of the line CCD 116 vary from cell to cell. Defective pixel correction unit 12
In the bright correction circuit 130 at the subsequent stage of 8, the line CCD 116 reads the adjustment frame image with the line CCD 116 in a state where the frame image for adjustment with a constant density is set on the line CCD scanner 14. The gain is determined for each cell based on the image data of the adjustment frame image input from 14 (the density variation of each pixel represented by this image data is caused by the variation of the photoelectric conversion characteristics of each cell). Every line CCD scanner 14
The image data of the frame image to be read which is input from is corrected for each pixel according to the gain determined for each cell.

On the other hand, in the image data of the adjustment frame image, if the density of a specific pixel is significantly different from the density of other pixels, the cell of the line CCD 116 corresponding to the specific pixel has some abnormality. Yes, the specific pixel can be determined to be a defective pixel. The defective pixel correction unit 128 stores the address of the defective pixel based on the image data of the adjustment frame image, and stores the defective pixel data in the image data of the frame image to be read input from the line CCD scanner 14. Generates new data by interpolating from the data of surrounding pixels.

Since three lines (CCD cell rows) are arranged in the line CCD 116 at predetermined intervals along the conveying direction of the photographic film 22, the line CCD scanner 14 outputs R, G, B. There is a time difference in the timing at which the output of the image data of each component color is started.
The line scanner correction unit 122 delays the output timing of the image data with a different delay time for each component color light so that the R, G, and B image data of the same pixel is simultaneously output on the frame image.

The output terminal of the line scanner correction unit 122 is connected to the input terminal of the selector 132.
Are output to the selector 132. The input terminal of the selector 132 is also connected to the data output terminal of the input / output controller 134. From the input / output controller 134, externally input file image data is input to the selector 132. Selector 1
The output terminals of the 32 are connected to the input / output controller 134 and the data input terminals of the image processor units 136A and 136B, respectively. The selector 132 can selectively output the input image data to each of the input / output controller 134 and the image processors 136A and 136B.

The image processor section 136A includes a memory controller 138, an image processor 140, and three frame memories 142A, 142B, 142C. Frame memories 142A, 142B, 142C
Has a capacity capable of storing image data of one frame image of one frame, and the image data input from the selector 132 is stored in any of the three frame memories 142. The memory controller 138 The address at which the image data is stored in the frame memory 142 is controlled so that the data of each pixel of the input image data is stored in the storage area of the frame memory 142 in a fixed order.

The image processor 140 takes in the image data stored in the frame memory 142, performs gradation conversion, color conversion, hypertone processing for compressing the gradation of the ultra-low frequency luminance component of the image, and sharpness while suppressing graininess. Various image processing such as hyper sharpness processing for emphasizing is performed. Note that the processing conditions of the above image processing are automatically calculated by an auto setup engine 144 (described later), and the image processing is performed according to the calculated processing conditions. The image processor 140 is connected to the input / output controller 134, and the image data subjected to the image processing is temporarily stored in the frame memory 142 and then output to the input / output controller 134 at a predetermined timing. Note that the image processor unit 136B has the same configuration as the above-described image processor unit 136A, and a description thereof will be omitted.

In this embodiment, each frame image is read twice by the line CCD scanner 14 at different resolutions. In the first reading at a relatively low resolution (hereinafter, referred to as pre-scan), even when the density of the frame image is extremely low (for example, a negative image underexposed on a negative film), the line CCD 116 is not used.
The frame image is read under the reading conditions (light amounts of light to be applied to the photographic film in the respective R, G, and B wavelength ranges, and the charge storage time of the CCD) determined so as not to cause saturation of the stored charge. The image data (pre-scan image data) obtained by the pre-scan is input from the selector 132 to the input / output controller 134, and further output to the auto setup engine 144 connected to the input / output controller 134.

The auto setup engine 144 uses C
PU 146, RAM 148 (for example, DRAM), ROM
(Eg, a rewritable ROM) 150 and an input / output port 152, which are connected to each other via a bus 154.

The auto set-up engine 144 generates a line C based on pre-scan image data of a plurality of frame images input from the input / output controller 134.
Image processing conditions for image data (fine scan image data) obtained by the second relatively high resolution reading by the CD scanner 14 (hereinafter referred to as fine scan) are calculated, and the calculated processing conditions are stored in an image processor. Image processor 140 of unit 136
Output to In the calculation of the processing conditions of this image processing, it is determined whether or not there is an image of a plurality of frames that captures a similar scene from the exposure amount at the time of shooting, the shooting light source type and other feature amounts,
When there are a plurality of frame images of similar scenes, the processing conditions for the image processing on the fine scan image data of these frame images are determined to be the same or similar.

The optimal processing conditions for image processing also vary depending on whether the image data after image processing is used for recording an image on photographic paper in the laser printer unit 18 or output to the outside. Since the image processing unit 16 is provided with two image processor units 136A and 136B, for example, when the image data is used for recording an image on photographic paper and is output to the outside, the auto setup engine 144 is used. Calculates the optimal processing conditions for each application, and calculates the image processor units 136A and 136A.
Output to B. Thereby, the image processor unit 13
6A and 136B, the same fine scan image data is subjected to image processing under different processing conditions.

Further, the auto setup engine 144
Calculates an image recording parameter that defines a gray balance and the like when recording an image on photographic paper by the laser printer unit 18 based on the pre-scan image data of the frame image input from the input / output controller 134, The image data is output simultaneously when the image data for recording (described later) is output to the printer unit 18. Auto setup engine 1
Reference numeral 44 also calculates the image processing conditions for file image data input from the outside in the same manner as described above.

The input / output controller 134 is an I / F circuit 1
It is connected to the laser printer section 18 via 56.
When the image data after image processing is used for recording an image on photographic paper, the image data processed by the image processor 136 is transferred from the input / output controller 134 via the I / F circuit 156 to the recording image. The data is output to the laser printer unit 18 as data. The auto setup engine 144 is connected to a personal computer 158. When the image data after the image processing is output to the outside as an image file, the image data processed by the image processor unit 136 is sent from the input / output controller 134 to the auto setup engine 144.
Is output to the personal computer 158 via the.

The personal computer 158 has a CPU
160, memory 162, display 164 and keyboard 166 (see also FIG. 2), hard disk 168, C
It includes a D-ROM driver 170, a transport control unit 172, an expansion slot 174, and an image compression / decompression unit 176.
These are connected to each other via a bus 178. The transport controller 172 is connected to the film carrier 38 and controls the transport of the photographic film 22 by the film carrier 38. In addition, the film carrier 38
When the APS film is set in the APS film, information (for example, image recording size) read from the magnetic layer of the APS film by the film carrier 38 is input.

A driver (not shown) for reading / writing data from / to a storage medium such as a memory card.
A communication control device for communicating with another information processing device is connected to the personal computer 158 via the expansion slot 174. When image data for output to the outside is input from the input / output controller 134, the image data is output to the outside (the driver, the communication control device, or the like) as an image file via the expansion slot 174. When file image data is input from outside via the expansion slot 174, the input file image data
4 to the input / output controller 134. In this case, the input / output controller 134 outputs the input file image data to the selector 132.

The image processing section 16 outputs prescanned image data and the like to the personal computer 158,
A frame image read by the line CCD scanner 14 is displayed on the display 164, an image obtained by recording on a photographic paper is estimated and displayed on the display 164, and the operator can correct the image via the keyboard 166. When instructed, this can be reflected in the processing conditions of image processing.

(Structure of Film Carrier) Next, the structure of the film carrier 38 in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG.
Has a box-shaped housing 302 composed of an upper lid 302A and a base 302B. Various members related to film transport described later are stored in the housing 302. The photographic film 22 is attached to one end of the housing 302.
An insertion slot 304 for inserting the photographic film 22 is provided at the other end.

As shown in the schematic diagram of FIG. 7, the housing 302 is connected to the upper lid 302A and the base 30 by hinges 308A.
2B is connected, and by operating the opening switch 308, the upper lid 302A rotates about the hinge 308A,
The upper lid 302A is driven by rollers 312B and 318 to be described later.
B and 322B are opened.
In FIG. 7, for the sake of explanation, illustration of various members related to film transport accommodated therein is omitted.

Accordingly, by opening the upper cover 302A, the frame image to be printed is set at the reading position, and the photographic film 22 is set.
, It is possible to easily print a frame image in the middle of one film or a frame image after the frame image in the middle of one film. In addition, the film can be easily taken out of the film in the event of a jam by the film film carrier 38.

The structure for opening and closing the housing is not limited to this.
For example, one having a structure as shown in FIG.
For the sake of description in FIG. 8, illustration of various members related to film transport housed inside is omitted. This housing 302
The upper lid 302A and the base 302B are
8 so as to be detachable.

Also in this case, similarly to FIG. 7, since the upper cover 302A can be removed while the driven rollers 312B, 318B, and 322B described later are held, the upper cover 302A is removed, the frame image to be printed is set at the reading position, and the photographic film 22 is set. By transporting, it is possible to easily print a frame image in the middle of one film or a frame image after the frame image in the middle of one film. In addition, it is possible to easily take out the film in the event of a jam by the film carrier 38.

In the housing 302 that can be opened and closed, the leading end of the photographic film 22 is detected along the direction in which the film is conveyed from the insertion opening 304 to the storage section 306 (the direction of arrow A). A leading edge detection sensor 310, a pair of conveying rollers 312, a pair of dust removing rollers 314 for removing dust from the surface of the photographic film 22, a perforation sensor 316 for detecting perforation, and a pair of conveying rollers 318;
According to the size of the frame image recorded on the photographic film 22, the scanning light is inserted into the optical path from both sides of the film to partially block (or reduce) the scanning light, so that the light passing through the slit portion 302C described later is reduced. Light shielding device 3 for changing light amount distribution
20 (light amount adjusting means) and a conveying roller pair 322 are sequentially installed. Among them, the transport roller pair 312, 31
In FIGS. 8 and 322, the lower rollers are drive rollers 312A, 318A and 322A, and the upper rollers are driven rollers 312B, 318B and 322B in FIG.

A motor 324 serving as a driving force source for the driving rollers 312A, 318A and 322A is provided inside the housing 302, and a pulley 326 is fixed to a driving shaft of the motor 324. An endless belt 328 is wound around the pulley 326, and the endless belt 328 is also wound around a pulley 330 fixed to the rotation shaft of the drive roller 322A. For this reason,
The driving force of the motor 324 is the pulley 326, the endless belt 3
28, and transmitted to the rotation shaft of the drive roller 322A via the pulley 330.

A pulley 332 is also fixed to the rotation shaft of the drive roller 322A, and an endless belt 334 is wound around the pulley 332. This endless belt 3
34 is also wound around a pulley 336 fixed to the rotation shaft of the drive roller 318A. Therefore, the motor 3
The driving force of 24 is transmitted to the rotating shaft of the driving roller 318A together with the rotating shaft of the driving roller 322A.

A pulley 338 is also fixed to the rotation shaft of the driving roller 318A, and an endless belt 340 is wound around the pulley 338. The endless belt 340 is also wound around a pulley 342 fixed to the rotation shaft of the driving roller 312A. Therefore, the driving force of the motor 324 is transmitted to the rotating shaft of the driving roller 312A together with the rotating shafts of the driving rollers 322A and 318A.

Further, the motor 34 is provided inside the housing 302.
4, 346, 348 are installed. A disk 356 is fixed to the drive shaft of the motor 348 at an eccentric position. At a predetermined position near the outer edge of the disk 356, one end of a connecting member 358 for vertically moving the driven roller 318B is fixed. ing.

The connecting member 358 is configured to be rotatable around a support shaft 360, and a driven roller 318B is supported at the other end of the connecting member 358. For this reason,
When the disk 356 is slightly rotated in the direction of arrow E by the driving force of the motor 348, the upper part of the connecting member 358 (the shaft support of the driven roller 318B) is moved around the support shaft 360 as indicated by arrow F.
The driven roller 318B rotates slightly in the
Slightly away from 18A.

The distance separated by the photographic film 22
When the leading end of the photographic film 22 is conveyed (for example, detection of perforation), the drive roller 318A and the driven roller 318B are separated from each other, so that the drive roller The photographic film 22 can be smoothly inserted between the 318A and the driven roller 318B.

The drive shaft of the motor 344 has a disk 35
0 is fixed at an eccentric position, and at a predetermined position near the outer edge of the disk 350, one end of a connecting member 352 for moving the driven roller 322B up and down is fixed.
The connecting member 352 is configured to be rotatable about a support shaft 354, and a driven roller 322B is supported on a multi-end side of the connecting member 352. When the disk 350 is slightly rotated in the direction of arrow C by the driving force of the motor 344, the upper portion of the connecting member 352 (the shaft support of the driven roller 322B) is slightly rotated about the support shaft 354 in the direction of arrow D, and the driven roller is rotated. 322B is slightly separated from the drive roller 322A.

This distance is determined by the distance of the photographic film 22.
When the leading end of the photographic film 22 is conveyed (for example, detection of perforation), the drive roller 322A and the driven roller 322B are separated from each other, so that the drive roller 322A is separated from the drive roller 322B. The photographic film 22 can be smoothly inserted between the driven roller 322A and the driven roller 322B.

The operation timings of the motors 348 and 344 may be independently performed according to the transport of the photographic film 22, or may be performed simultaneously.

By the way, a substantially central portion between the pair of conveying rollers 318 and 322 is a scanning position of the photographic film 22, and an elongated slit portion 302C (only the upper portion only) is located immediately above and below the scanning position on the upper lid 302A. display)
Are provided, and the light source unit 30 described with reference to FIG.
The optical path reaches D116.

When the line CCD 116 detects the leading edge of the frame image recorded at the end of the photographic film 22 sequentially fed from the pair of transport rollers 312, 318 and 322, it starts reading the frame image. The position of the frame image is stored in accordance with the count number of the perforation 22C detected by the perforation sensor 316, so that the image data and the position (count number) of each frame can be collated.

The slit section 302C provided on the optical path from the light source section 30 to the line CCD 116 has a slit width (length corresponding to the width direction of the photographic film 22).
The normal size frame image is formed longer than the width of the normal size frame image corresponding to the normal size frame image of the photographic film 22. Therefore, in the case of a panoramic frame image, an extra area is generated in the slit width.

To eliminate this extra area, the light source unit 3
On the optical path from 0 to the line CCD 116, the light shielding device 3
20 are provided. Here, a top view of the light shielding device 320 is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG.
Reference numeral 20 denotes a pair of photographic films 22 symmetrically arranged on both ends of the photographic film 22.
62, and a moving device (moving means) including a gear 364 (see FIG. 6), and a cam-shaped light shielding plate 366 that rotates in conjunction with the gear 364 of the moving device. In FIG. 6 described above, one light shielding device 3 is used for explanation.
Only 20 is shown. As shown by the solid line in FIG. 9, the light-shielding plate 366 is set to have such a length that only the portion corresponding to the image area of the panoramic frame image 22B of the slit portion 302c located immediately below the film is shielded and other portions are shielded. Then, at the time of the fine scan of the panorama frame image 22B, it is moved to the position shown by the solid line in FIG. Further, at the time of the fine scan of the normal frame image 22A, as shown by the broken line in FIG.
At 66, light is not shielded.

Thus, even if the frame image 22A and the panorama frame image 22B of the normal size are mixed in one film, the light shielding plate 36 can be used in accordance with the shooting size of the frame image.
Since the position of No. 6 is changed, the area outside of the reading target is shielded, the occurrence of flare at the time of reading the panorama frame image can be prevented, and the line CCD 116 (see FIG. 3) can be prevented from being saturated.

When the reading of one photographic film 22 by the line CCD 116 (see FIG. 3) is completed, the light shielding device shields the slit portion 302C from light, and the photographic film 22 is stored in the storage portion 306 while being wound. Then, one reading (pre-scan) is completed.
Here, the second reading (fine scan)
The transport direction of the photographic film 22 is reversed and reading is performed in the reverse order.

Next, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11 by taking as an example the case where the photographic film 22 in which the panoramic frame image 22B is recorded between the frame images 22A of the normal size is read. This will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG.

First, the process of reading a frame image in prescan will be described with reference to FIG. In the prescan, reading with relatively rough accuracy is performed with the light shielding plate 366 retracted.

In step 100, the line CCD 116 controls whether or not the frame image has reached the image reading position of the line CCD scanner 14, more specifically, whether or not the leading edge of the frame image has reached the image reading position. The determination is made based on the signal output to the circuit. Here, it is determined that the leading edge of the frame image has reached the image reading position of the line CCD scanner 14 when the level of the signal output to the control circuit falls below a predetermined level.

When it is determined in step 100 that the frame image has reached the image reading position of the line CCD scanner 14, in the next step 102, the pre-scan image data is stored in the control circuit together with the position data indicating the position of each frame. Is stored in the RAM of the microcomputer provided in the computer. The position data can be obtained by counting the number of perforations detected by the perforation sensor 316. In the next step 104, the photographic film 22
It is determined whether or not the pre-scan has been completed for all the frame images recorded in.

The end of the pre-scan is determined by detecting whether or not a predetermined time (time until the end of the pre-scan of the last frame) has elapsed after the rear end of the photographic film 22 is detected by the insertion detection sensor. In this case, it is determined that the pre-scan for all the frame images recorded on the photographic film 22 has been completed.

If it is determined in step 104 that the pre-scan has been completed for all the film images recorded on the photographic film 22, the transport is stopped in step 105, and the process proceeds to step 106.
If it is determined that the processing has not been completed, the process proceeds to step 102 to repeatedly execute the above-described processing, that is, the pre-scan for the frame image recorded on the photographic film 22.

In the next step 106, the position of the panorama frame image recorded on the photographic film 22 is detected based on the pre-scan image data and the position data stored in the RAM of the microcomputer. That is, the length in the width direction of the frame image detected by the line CCD 116 is determined to determine whether or not the frame image is a panorama frame image, and the frame position is detected from the position data of the frame determined to be the panorama image. The position data of the panorama frame image thus detected is stored in the RAM.

Next, the fine scan will be described with reference to FIG. The fine scan controls the light shielding device based on the position data of the panorama frame image obtained by the prescan, and performs high-precision reading by transporting the light at a speed lower than the transport speed of the prescan.

That is, when the pre-scan is completed and the position of the panorama frame image is detected, in step 200, the transport of the photographic film 22 is started at the transport speed for fine scan. In the next step 202, whether or not the image to be read is a panorama frame image, more specifically, the position data of the panorama frame image obtained by the pre-scan is compared with the position of the image to be read next in the fine scan and matched. It is determined whether or not to perform.

If it is determined in step 202 that the next frame image to be read is a panorama frame image, the process proceeds to step 204 so that the width of the slit portion 302C matches the width of the panorama frame image. The fine scan is performed by rotating the light shielding plate 366 to narrow the distance between the opposing light shielding plates at the position of the slit portion 302C.

If it is determined that the next frame image to be read is not a panorama frame image, the process proceeds to step 206, in which the light shielding plate 366 is rotated and retracted from immediately below the film, so that the light at the position of the slit portion 302C is obtained. Fine scan is performed such that the distance between the opposing light shielding plates is increased and the light transmissible area of the slit portion 302C is not shielded by the light shielding plate 366.

In the next step 208, photographic film 2
Then, it is determined whether or not the fine scan for all the frame images recorded in Step 2 has been completed. This step 208
If it is determined that fine scan has not been completed for all frame images, the process proceeds to step 202, where the transport of the photographic film 22 and fine scan are continued, and it is determined that fine scan for all frame images has been completed. Then, the light shielding plate 366 is rotated to reduce the distance between the opposing light shielding plates at the position of the slit portion 302C, and the processing in this flowchart ends.

In the above-described embodiment, when the light-shielding device retracts the light-shielding plate, the light-shielding device is completely retracted from immediately below the film. When the plate is in the retracted state, the perforation perforated portions on both sides of the film may be covered. As such, FIGS. 12 and 13 show schematic top views of another embodiment of the light blocking device.

FIG. 12 shows a configuration using a substantially fan-shaped light shielding plate 500 and a rotary solenoid 501 as a moving device (moving means) for the light shielding plate 500. The light shielding plate 500 has a diameter from the center of rotation. Types of fan-shaped wings 5
00A and 500B are integrally formed. Here, each member such as a transport guide is omitted for the sake of explanation.

In this light shielding device, the fan blades 500A and 500B are switched by the rotation of the rotary solenoid 501, whereby the light shielding amount of the slit 302C is adjusted in two stages. Here, fan-shaped wings 5
Although the material that blocks light is used as 00A and 500B, it is needless to say that the member may be formed of a member that reduces light, such as an ND filter.

In the case of reading the frame image 22A of the normal size in the light-shielding device having the above configuration, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the fan-shaped wings 500, which are the first-stage areas covering the perforated portions at both edges of the photographic film 22, are provided.
When A is selected and the panorama frame image 22B is read, as shown in FIG. 12B, the fan-shaped wing 500B, which is the second stage area covering the upper and lower film bases of the panorama frame image 22B, is selected. You.

The shape of the light-shielding plate is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 12C, a light-shielding plate having a substantially fan-shaped shape in which the light-shielding amount gradually increases with rotation is used. Good. In addition, these light shielding plates are paired with the slit portion 302C.
If the configuration is such that the entire area can be covered, the light from the light source can be shielded by covering the entire slit portion 302C with the light-shielding plate in a case where the conveyance of the film is stopped for a long time while the light source is turned on. It is possible to effectively prevent deformation of the film due to a rise in the temperature of the slit portion 302C and entry of dust from the slit.

Further, as shown in FIG. 12D, three types of fan blades 503A and 503 having different diameters from the center of rotation are provided.
B and 503C are also integrally formed.
In this case, in reading the frame image 22A of the normal size, the fan-shaped wing 500A which is the first area shields the end of the slit 302C in accordance with the width dimension of the frame image 22A of the normal size, and reads the panorama frame image. The fan-shaped wing 500B, which is the second area, shields the end of the slit portion 302C in accordance with the width of the panorama frame image 22A, and the fan-shaped wing, which is the third area, except when reading an image. 503C completely shields the slit portion 302C from light.

In FIGS. 12A and 12D, the light shielding plate has a structure in which a plurality of fan blades having different diameters from the center of rotation are integrally formed. May be independently provided, and the most suitable one may be selected and used when necessary.

FIG. 13 is a schematic view of a light-shielding device having another structure, and FIGS. 13A and 13B are top views.
FIG. 13C is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XX in FIG. This device includes a pair of rectangular light shielding plates 504A,
504B, a bar member 505 for connecting the light shielding plates 504A and 504B, and a motor 507 that can rotate forward and reverse to rotate the bar member 505 about the center axis of the bar member 505. Here, each member such as a transport guide is omitted for the sake of explanation.

As shown in FIG. 13C, the bar member 5
05 is threaded symmetrically from the center to the end, one end is screwed with a nut 506A integrally provided on the back side of the light-shielding plate 504A, and the other end is connected to the light-shielding plate 5A.
04B is screwed with a nut 506B provided integrally on the back surface side. One end 505A of the bar member 505 is connected to the rotation shaft 507A of the motor 507,
7, the light shielding plate 504A and the light shielding plate 504
B is moved symmetrically to change the distance between them.

That is, in the case of reading the normal size frame image 22A, as shown in FIG. 13A, the distance between the two light shielding plates 504A and 504B is the normal size frame image 2A.
The motor 507 is connected to the bar member 505 until the width becomes 2A.
To rotate. When reading the panorama frame image 22B, as shown in FIG.
The motor 507 further rotates the bar member 505 until the distance between 04A and 504B becomes the width of the panorama frame image 22B. When reading the normal size frame image 22A after reading the panorama frame image, the motor 50
By rotating the bar member 505 in the reverse direction by rotating the bar 7 in the reverse direction, the distance between the two light shielding plates 504A and 504B is increased until the width of the frame image 22A of the normal size is reached.

In the above description, an example in which driven rollers 312, 318, and 322 are arranged in parallel as a means for transporting the photographic film 22 and the photographic film 22 is read while being transported horizontally has been described. As shown in the figure, the photographic film 22 may be curved in the middle and read at this curved position.

In FIG. 14, the diameter of the perforation holding rolls 600A and 600B and the diameter of the perforation holding rolls 600A and 600B are smaller than those of the perforation holding rolls 600A and 600B, and both ends thereof are provided with the respective perforation holding rolls 600A and 600B.
The photographic film 22 is conveyed in the image reading unit by a film winding roller 600 having a connection shaft 601 connected to the center position of 600B.
The photographic film 22 is loaded on the perforation holding roll 600
A, 600B, whereby the film surface at the reading position is curved along the circumferential direction of the perforation holding rolls 600A, 600B.

This curvature increases the strength of the photographic film in the width direction and makes it difficult to deform even when a force is applied in the width direction of the photographic film, so that the flatness of the film surface at the reading position can be maintained. . The winding angle at this time (perforation holding rolls 600A, 6A
It is preferable that the angle α between the contact points of the perforation holding rolls 600A and 600B with the photographic film 22) about the rotation center of 00B be 10 ° or more, since sufficient strength can be given. Thus, high-precision reading by the line CCD sensor 116 can be realized.

The film winding roller 600 has a high durability if it is made of a hard material such as hard rubber, metal or hard plastic, and preferably has a flare if it is made of black. There is an advantage that can be prevented.

Further, since sufficient strength is given depending on the winding angle, the conveying roller pair 3 serving as an auxiliary roller is provided.
18, 322 can also be omitted. As a result, the structure is simplified, so that the manufacturing cost can be reduced and the device can be made compact. In addition, the perforation holding roll 6
The claws inserted into the perforations 22C provided in 00A and 600B may be omitted.

Further, FIG. 15 shows a schematic configuration of another embodiment of the film transport means. The film conveying means shown in FIG.
It is composed of a pair of endless belts 400A and 400B provided on the outer surface with a number of protrusions 401 meshing with C.

In the case of this configuration, endless belts 400A and 400B are arranged in parallel on the front side or the back side of the perforations 22C of the photographic film 22, respectively.
In a state in which 1 is inserted into the perforation 22C of the photographic film 22, they are synchronously rotated by the driving force of a motor (not shown). In this case, a motor may be provided as each drive source, or two endless belts 400A and 400B may be supported in parallel in a single motor and driven by the drive force of one motor. It is good also as a structure which performs.

The endless belts 400A and 400A are attached to the perforations 22C provided outside the screen of the photographic film 22.
By adopting a configuration in which the projecting portion 401 of 00B is inserted and conveyed, load fluctuation due to the perforations 22C can be suppressed, so that speed unevenness can be reduced and reading accuracy for speed unevenness can be improved. it can.

This film transport means is composed of a transport roller pair 318 which requires the highest transport accuracy of the transport means described above.
May be provided partially in a region between the transport rollers 322 and the transport rollers 322, or may be provided over the entire region where these are disposed instead of the transport rollers 318 and 322.

As another configuration for suppressing the load fluctuation due to the perforations 22C provided outside the screen of the photographic film, as shown in FIG. 16, the outside of the photographic film 22 becomes lower in the film width direction. A transport guide 410 having an inclined surface 410A having a configuration, and a roll member 4 for pressing a film onto the inclined region from above.
11 may be used.

In this configuration, the roll member 41
When the perforated area of the photographic film 22 is pressed from above while rotating, the frictional force acts between the roll member 411 and the photographic film 22, and the photographic film 2
The photographic film 22 is pulled in the direction of the arrow because a force in the direction along the inclined surface acts on 2. Accordingly, since the flatness of the photographic film 22 is improved, load fluctuation due to the perforations 22C can be prevented.

It is preferable that such a roll member 411 be made of a member having a high frictional force such as an elastic member such as rubber or silicon, because the flatness of the photographic film 22 is improved. It is preferable that the shape of the roll member 411 be an endless belt shape as shown in FIG.

[0115]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention,
Transmission according to the width dimension of the frame image so that the light transmittance of the portion corresponding to the outside of the frame image recording range of the photographic film in the light transmitting portion is lower than the light transmittance of the portion corresponding to the image recording range of the photographic film. Even if a normal size frame image and a non-normal size frame image such as a panorama frame image are mixedly recorded on one film, a light amount adjusting means for changing a light amount distribution of light is provided. The image reading means can read under the reading conditions most suitable for the size of each frame image.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, optimal reading conditions such as a light source state and a dynamic range at the time of fine scanning are determined from image information obtained at the time of pre-scanning. Since the light amount distribution of the transmitted light is changed based on the light amount distribution change timing to be obtained, a frame image of a normal size and a frame image of a size different from the normal size such as a panorama frame image are mixed in one film. Even if it is recorded, the light transmittance of the light transmitting portion can be changed at an optimal timing in accordance with the size of the frame image, so that the reading accuracy can be further improved.

Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the film from being overheated when the film transport is stopped for a long time while the light source is turned on, and to prevent dust from entering the image reading apparatus. Achieve the effect of preventing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a digital laboratory system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external view of a digital laboratory system.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of an optical system of the line CCD scanner.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of an electric system of the line CCD scanner.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image processing unit.

FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram of a film carrier for 135 film.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view schematically showing an opening and closing structure of a housing.

FIG. 8 is a schematic explanatory view of a housing provided with another opening / closing structure.

FIG. 9 is a top view schematically showing an embodiment of the light shielding device of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a prescan reading processing routine.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a reading process routine of a fine scan.

FIG. 12 is a schematic explanatory view showing an embodiment of a light shielding device of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a schematic explanatory view showing another embodiment of the light-shielding device of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a schematic view showing another structure of an image reading section of a photographic film.

FIG. 15 is a schematic view showing another embodiment of the film transport means.

FIG. 16 is a schematic view showing still another embodiment of the film transport means.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 digital laboratory system 14 line CCD scanner (line scanner) 22 photographic film 38 film carrier 320 light shielding device 346 motor 366 light shielding plate 500 fan-shaped blade 501 rotary solenoid 504 light shielding plate 505 bar member 507 motor

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A photographic film on which a plurality of frame images are recorded is transported in a predetermined direction, and a length of the frame image recorded on the photographic film in a direction intersecting the transport direction of the photographic film is determined by an intersecting direction. A film conveying means provided with a long slit-shaped light transmitting portion; a light source for irradiating light to a photographic film being conveyed by the film conveying means; a photographic film provided on an optical path of the light source; Image reading means for receiving light transmitted through the portion and outputting the image information as image information; and a portion in the light transmitting portion corresponding to an area outside the frame image recording area of the photographic film corresponding to the image recording area of the photographic film. A light amount adjusting means for changing a light amount distribution of transmitted light in accordance with a width dimension of a frame image so as to be lower than a light transmittance of the image. apparatus. 2. The image reading device according to claim 1, wherein the image reading unit scans the frame image recorded on the photographic film with predetermined reading accuracy to obtain image information, and reads the image based on the image information obtained by the prescan. Determine the conditions,
Performing fine scanning for scanning with a reading accuracy higher than the predetermined reading accuracy, and the light amount adjusting means changes the light amount distribution of the transmitted light based on the light amount distribution change timing obtained from the image information obtained at the time of the pre-scan. The image reading device according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light amount adjusting unit reduces the transmittance of a part or the entirety of the light transmitting unit except when the image is read by the image reading unit. apparatus.