JP2710076B2 - Microfilm search / reader - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a microfilm retrieval / reading apparatus which searches for a target image from a storage shelf containing a large number of microfilm cartridges, reads the image by an image sensor, and outputs the image as an image signal. It is about.

[0002]

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

[0003] As such an apparatus, a rotary shelf type is conventionally known. In this method, a large number of cartridges are detachably housed in a rotating drum from an outer peripheral surface thereof, and a desired cartridge is taken out by a take-out device which only moves up and down at a fixed position, and is transferred to an image reader having an image sensor. To read an image.

However, in this case, since the cartridge is moved in the order of the rotating drum, the take-out device, and the image reader, the time required for searching for a target image (access time) becomes long, and the take-out device is located outside the rotary drum. There was a problem that the installation area became large. One more
Unload the cartridge until the cartridge is processed.
Must be able to get in and out of
There was also a problem that the processing was slow because there was no such processing.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and can reduce access time .
Enables parallel processing of cartridges to increase processing speed
It is an object of the present invention to provide a microfilm retrieval / reading device capable of reducing the installation area.

[0006]

According to the present invention, it is an object of the present invention to select a cartridge containing a target image from a storage shelf containing a large number of microfilm cartridges, read the target image from the cartridge by an image sensor, and output an image signal. in microfilm searching and reading device for, vertical
A large number of cartridges are stored vertically in a ring around the straight axis and in multiple stages vertically, and each cartridge is removed.
A vertical cylindrical housing shelf and detachable from the peripheral side, the
A carrier that moves inside the storage shelf and
Cartridge comprising a plurality of scanner mounting is moved it its microfilm travel drive device and to face the image reader built in to the inner peripheral surface of the storage rack, and a memory means for storing the storage position of the cartridge, the target image One of the scanners is relatively moved to the storage position, and the cartridge is taken into the scanner from the storage shelf and the target image is displayed.
Search and read and other scans during this search / read
Can search and read other target cartridges by scanner
Microfilm searching and reading device, comprising a the control means is achieved by.

Here, a plurality of scanners can be mounted on one carrier soil at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, and the carriers can be moved in the axial direction of the storage shelf and rotated around the axis. The scanner may move only in the axial direction and rotate the storage shelf.

[0008]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a system using an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes a cylindrical storage shelf, which is rotatable about a vertical axis A. The storage shelf 10 has a large number of cartridges 12 arranged vertically and on a circumference around the axis A. Are stored in such a manner that the rings arranged in the vertical direction are stacked in the vertical direction. The cartridge 12 houses a reel 16 around which a microfilm 14 (see FIG. 2) is wound.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 20 denotes a scanner. The scanner 20 moves up and down in the storage shelf 10 so as to face the inner surface of the storage shelf 10. That is, a pair of the scanners 20 are mounted on symmetrical positions on a carrier 24 which is vertically movably held by guide rails 22 and 22. The carrier 24 includes, for example, the guide rails 22, 2
2 is provided with a feed screw mechanism, and the guide rails 22 are rotated to move up and down. Further, it may be moved up and down by a wire (not shown).

The scanner 20 is configured as shown in FIG. That is, when facing the inner surface of a certain storage shelf 10, a take-in space 26 for taking in the cartridge 12 facing the cartridge 12 on the storage shelf 10 side, a take-up reel 28 positioned below this space, , And a film traveling drive device that drives the reel 16 and the take-up reel 28 of the loaded cartridge 12 and rotates the appropriate number of rollers 32 to run the film 14.

The image reader 30 includes a sealed reader unit 34 and an EL plate 36 as a light source. EL plate 3
Reference numeral 6 can be pressed and separated from the film 14, and is controlled by an electromagnetic plunger (not shown) or the like. The reader unit 34 includes a glass 38 facing the EL plate 36 with the film 14 interposed therebetween, and the projection lens 4 housed in the closed case.
0 and the image sensor 42. Here, the lens 40 is moved in the optical axis direction by a motor, a piezoelectric element, or the like so that focusing can be performed.

Accordingly, when the scanner 20 is transported in front of the target cartridge 12, the scanner 20 captures the cartridge 12 into the capture space 26. Then, the reels 16 and 28 and the rollers 32 are rotated by the film traveling device to rotate the film 1.
Run 4 At this time, the EL plate 36 is
Away from When a target image comes, the EL plate 36 presses the film 14 against the glass plate 38. The EL plate 36 serves as a surface light source, and the projected image on the film 14 is
8. The light is guided to the image sensor 42 through the lens 40.

The image sensor 42 scans an image and outputs a time-series image signal a (see FIG. 1). This signal a is binarized by the image processing circuit 44 to be a digital signal, which is input to the control means 50. Here the image sensor 42
Although a two-dimensional area sensor is preferable, an image may be read by moving a one-dimensional line sensor in a direction (sub-scanning direction) orthogonal to its length direction.

The control means 50 is formed of a small computer, and as shown in FIG. 1, a CPU 52, input / output interfaces 54 and 56, and a ROM for storing a control program.
58, a RAM 60 for storing data during control, for example, data for performing auto focus, and the like.
62 is a memory means which is an optical disk, a magnetic disk,
It is formed of a storage medium such as a magnetic tape or a semiconductor memory, and stores data such as the storage address of the cartridge 12 in the storage shelf 10.

Data such as the contents and storage address of each cartridge 12 is inputted from the keyboard 64 to the CPU 52 and stored in the memory means 62. When searching for a target image, for example, a code of the target image is input from the keyboard 64. The CPU 52 finds the address of the cartridge 12 including the target image from the memory means 62, operates the motor or the like to rotate the storage shelf 10, and moves the scanner 20 up and down to move the cartridge 12 to the front of the cartridge 12. Then, the cartridge 12 is discharged from the storage shelf 10 and is taken into the taking space 26 in the scanner 20. C
The PU 52 rotates the reels 14 and 28 by the traveling drive device in the scanner 20 and controls the target image to enter between the EL plate 36 and the glass plate 38. The target image can be confirmed by reading a blip mark (not shown) or the like recorded in advance on the microfilm 14 with another optical sensor (not shown).

When the target image comes before the glass plate 38, the CPU 52 presses the EL plate 36 against the film 14 to emit light. The projected image of the target image is guided to the image sensor 42. The image signal a of the image sensor 42 is
After receiving various processes such as variation correction of the characteristics of each light receiving element, shading correction, and waveform shaping in 4, the CPU
52 is input. When performing an auto-focus operation, the circuit 44 selects a predetermined spatial frequency component of the image signal a with a band-pass filter, for example, and obtains a contrast signal by integrating the absolute value of this component.
The CPU 52 controls the lens 40 to a position where the contrast signal becomes maximum. Needless to say, another element dedicated to the autofocus, for example, an element of a phase difference detection method or the like may be separately prepared to perform the autofocus.

When the image is read in this way, the CP
U52 outputs this data to various image processing devices.
For example, this image is output to a CRT 66 or a printer 68, or stored in another external memory means such as an optical disk device 70. The data can also be output to a remote facsimile, CRT, or the like using a data communication network 72 such as a LAN (local area network). Note that the CPU 52 reads data from an external image processing device using the data communication network 72, and can also use external image data in this system.

As described above, while one of the scanners 20 is searching and reading the target cartridge 12,
The carrier 24 moves to a position where the other scanner 20 faces the next target cartridge 12 and takes in the same. As described above, since the two scanners 20 alternately search and read the target cartridge 12, the access time becomes very short. In addition, the storage shelf 10 is
Since the cartridge 12 can be attached and detached,
Replacement work is easy, and the storage
It is only necessary to replace the cart with a part of the outer periphery of the storage shelf 10
Enough space for the ridge 12 to be inserted and removed
The product can be reduced.

In the above embodiment, all controls are performed by the control means 50. However, a control unit including a separate microcomputer or the like may be provided for each of the scanners 20, and the search / read control of each of the scanners 20 may be independently performed by the control unit.

In the above embodiment, the carrier 24 moves only in the vertical direction, and the storage shelf 10 rotates. However, the storage shelf 10 may be fixed and the carrier 24 may move up and down and rotate. . In this case, the guide rails 22 for holding the carrier 24 are connected to the rotary table 74.
(FIG. 1), and the table 74 may be rotated. If the storage shelf 10 and the carrier 24 are rotated together,
Access time can be further reduced. Further, a plurality of carriers 24 may be provided as shown by phantom lines in FIG. 1, and each carrier 24 may share an area divided in the vertical direction.

FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the present invention in FIG.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view at a position corresponding to line I-II. This embodiment is 2
This is a combination of two scanners 20A, 20A with different heights. According to this embodiment, the scanners 20A, 20A
Can be arranged in a plan view, and the outer diameter of the carrier 24A can be reduced. Therefore, the diameter of the storage shelf 10A can also be reduced, and the overall size can be reduced.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the third embodiment, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a scanner 20B used here. In this embodiment, a lamp 36A and a condenser lens 36B are used as light sources, while the optical axis of the reader unit 34A is bent at a right angle by a prism 34B. Therefore, the diameters of the carrier 24 and the storage shelf 10 can be reduced by bringing the two sets of scanners 20B, 20B closer to each other. 4 and 5, the same parts as those in FIGS. 1 and 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will not be repeated.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a part of the fourth embodiment. In this embodiment, three upright guide rails 22 are provided.
A, 22A, vertically movable it it carrier 24D separately to 22A, each carrier 24D which it 120
It is possible to rotate within the range of ゜. That scanner 20C provided on each carrier. 24D, the inner from the share 120 DEG uptake of storage shelves (not shown), in which the search and reading was set to obtain the line.

FIG . 7 is a partial side sectional view of the fifth embodiment.
You. In this embodiment , the carrier 24E is provided for each stage of the storage shelf 10.
And each carrier 24E is connected to one guide rail 22B.
Is held rotatably. Therefore, in this embodiment
According to this, the carrier 24E does not need to move up and down,
Time can be further reduced. The target cartridge 12
Exists in close proximity to two vertically adjacent steps
Is that the carriers 24E, 24E of each stage may interfere
However, at this time, one carrier 24E is
The other carrier 24E waits until loading of the cartridge 12 is completed.
I do.

[0026]

【The invention's effect】 The present invention has a vertical cylindrical shape as described above.
A large number of cartridges are stored vertically on the storage shelf,
This storage shelf enables the cartridge to be attached and detached from the outer peripheral side.
Insert the cartridge into the scanner from inside the
The cartridge.
Movement is only between the storage shelf and the scanner
The access time required to read an image can be reduced. Special
While one scanner is searching and reading,
Can search and read other cartridges.
It is possible to process multiple cartridges in parallel.
To make effective use of the inside of the storage shelves
Therefore, the installation area is reduced (claim 1).

In this case, a plurality of scanners are
Move the carrier mounted at the interval up and down, and
And rotate at least one of the storage shelves.
Claim 2), with the storage shelf fixed and only the scanner
(Claim 3).
You may make it rotate.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a system using one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line II-II in FIG. 1 showing a second embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a plan layout view of a third embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a scanner used for this.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a part of the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a partial side sectional view of a fifth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10, 10A storage shelf 12 cartridge 14 microfilm 20, 20A-C scanner 30 image reader 50 control means 52 memory means

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A microfilm search / reading device for selecting a cartridge including a target image from a storage shelf storing a plurality of microfilm cartridges, reading the target image from the cartridge by an image sensor, and outputting an image signal. Annular around a vertical axis
Holds multiple cartridges vertically in multiple stages vertically
A vertical cylindrical storage shelf in which each cartridge is detachable from the outer peripheral side, and a cartridge that moves inside the storage shelf.
A rear, a plurality of scanners which move in opposition to the inner peripheral surface of the mounted the storage rack is built it it microfilm travel drive apparatus and an image reader to the carrier, a memory means for storing the storage position of the cartridge this causes read searching capture target image in the scan <br/> scanner one of the scanner cartridge are relatively moved from the storage rack to the storage position of the cartridge containing a target image
Other target cartridges by other scanners during search / read
A microfilm search / read apparatus, comprising: control means for enabling search / read of a cartridge. (2) The carrier moves up and down, and the carrier
And at least one of the storage shelves rotate about a vertical axis
Scanners are mounted on the carrier at equal intervals in the circumferential direction
2. The microfilm search / reader according to claim 1, wherein: (3) The scanner rotates around the axis of the storage shelf.
3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the roller is rotatable and movable in the axial direction.
Microfilm search and reading device.