JP2835862B2 - Exposure adjustment device for photo printing equipment - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an exposure adjusting apparatus for a photographic printing apparatus that adjusts exposure conditions for photographic paper when printing an image of a negative film on photographic paper.

[Conventional technology]

An exposure adjusting device is incorporated in a photographic printing apparatus in order to improve the reproducibility of an image on a negative film. A conventional exposure adjusting device measures light emitted from a light source and light transmitted through a negative film, and automatically adjusts exposure conditions based on the photometric data.

For this reason, the conventional exposure adjusting device is provided with a sensor provided on the light source side with the negative film interposed therebetween to measure light source light, a sensor provided on the screen side to measure light transmitted through the negative film, and photometric data from these sensors. Is entered,
And an exposure control unit that adjusts exposure conditions for photographic paper based on the input photometric data.

The exposure control unit mainly adjusts the light amount based on the photometric data from the light source side sensor to adjust the white balance, and averages the entire image based on the photometric data from the screen side sensor. The exposure is adjusted so that the brightness becomes gray.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

The conventional exposure adjusting device adjusts the exposure so that the brightness and the hue of the entire image are averaged, and thus causes the following inconvenience.

Adjustment that emphasizes or weakens a specific color of a specific portion of an image (for example, a human face) cannot be performed.

For this reason, for example, in an image in which a person is photographed in the background of a lawn, the entire face is green, and the face of the person is unnecessarily reddish and unnatural.

Exposure cannot be performed according to the color and brightness desired by the customer user.

The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and provides an exposure adjustment apparatus that can easily perform enhancement of a specific color of a specific portion of an image, correction of a desired color, and brightness. Its purpose is to

[Means for solving the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, an exposure adjustment device of the present invention includes:
First light metering means for measuring light source light applied to the negative film, second light metering means for metering light transmitted through the negative film, a position facing the exposure table, and a retractable position, A screen on which the image of the negative film is projected, a unit for driving the screen, a spot metering unit that moves on the screen in a two-dimensional direction to meter a specific position of the image on the screen, and the metering unit. A moving means for moving the moving means in the Χ-Y two-dimensional direction, and a driving means for driving the moving means, and adjusting an exposure condition to photographic paper based on photometric data of the first photometric means and the second photometric means. And an exposure control means for correcting the exposure conditions based on the photometric data of the spot photometric means to adjust the density of each color of the image.

[Action]

In principle, the exposure control means performs exposure adjustment based on photometric data from the first photometric means and the second photometric means so that the hue and brightness are averaged over the whole. The spot metering means measures a specific portion of the image and outputs the metering data to the exposure adjusting means. By the input of the photometric data, the exposure adjustment unit performs enhancement of a specific color of a specific portion, correction of a color tone according to a user's preference, and correction of brightness.
Perform new exposure adjustment.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of the external appearance of a photographic printing apparatus to which the present invention is applied. An exposure unit 1 for printing an image of a negative film on photographic paper is located on the left side, and the exposed photographic paper is developed and fixed. The exposure unit 1 and the processing unit 2 are entirely covered with a housing to prevent external light from entering.

A light source unit 3 for irradiating the negative film with light is attached to an upper surface panel of the exposure unit 1, and a monitor means (monitor television 5) for displaying an image of the negative film on a monitor screen 4 is attached. In addition, a viewing window 6 for viewing the inside of the exposure unit 1 is formed in a front portion of the upper panel. On the other hand, in the processing section 2, processing tanks such as a developing tank, a fixing tank, and a washing tank (all not shown) are arranged in order, and photographic paper is sequentially placed between these processing tanks. After being transported, dried appropriately through a dryer, and then discharged.

FIG. 2 shows the internal structure of the exposure unit 1. A light source 7 and a diffusion tube 22 are provided in the light source unit 3, a set table 8 and a rotary table 9 are sequentially arranged below the diffusion tube 22, and an exposure table 10 is provided below the rotary table 9. I have. The photographic paper P is supplied onto the exposure table 10 and exposed to light, so that the image on the negative film F is printed.

A negative carrier 11 is set on the upper surface of the set table 8, and a negative film F is mounted on the negative carrier 11 and exposed. The set table 8 is set so that the negative film F is positioned directly below the diffusion tube 22 via the negative carrier 11, and can be moved and adjusted in the Y direction in a horizontal plane by an appropriate driving source such as a motor or a cylinder. It has become. By adjusting the movement of the set table 8, the negative film F moves below the light source 7, and a trimming process such as partial enlargement or deletion of an image becomes possible.

The rotary table 9 has a large number of optical members such as lenses 12 and reflecting mirrors 13 having different magnifications arranged at a constant interval on the same circumference. The rotary table 9 is rotated to set a lens 12 matching the exposure magnification in the optical path L or to switch the reflection mirror 13 in the optical path L. The illustrated example shows a state in which the reflection mirror 13 is set below the light source 7.

The printing paper P is set in a state of being wound in a loam shape, and is stored as a roll paper in a magazine 14 attached to the right side of the exposure unit 1 in FIG. The photographic paper P is sequentially pulled out of the magazine 14, supplied to the exposure table 10, exposed on the exposure table 10, and then carried into the transport path 15, where it is transferred from the transport path 15 to the processing unit 2 (first (See the figure).

In the above configuration, the light emitted from the light source 7 passes through the negative film F on the set table 8 and then passes through the lens 12 of the rotary table 9 to form an optical path L for exposure.
The printing paper P on 10 is exposed to print an image on the negative film F. Prior to this exposure, it is necessary to check the exposure state in advance and adjust the exposure conditions.
For this reason, the screen 30 is set on the upper surface of the exposure table 10.

This screen 30 is made of a plate whose upper surface is almost white,
In the case of the above adjustment or the like, an image of the negative film F set on the exposure table 10 is projected, and the operator can check this through the viewing window 6 (see FIG. 1). After the adjustment is completed, the screen 30 is turned upright in the direction of the arrow in the drawing, and exits the optical path L. As a result, the photographic paper P can be exposed.

The reflection mirror 13 attached to the rotary table 9 is provided with a CCD camera 16 that reflects the transmitted light of the negative film F in a direction perpendicular to the optical path L and connects the image of the negative film F to the monitor television 5. , Monitor TV 5 is CCD
The image of the negative film F is input from the camera 16 and the image is displayed on the monitor screen 4. Since the operator can adjust or trim the color density and brightness while viewing the image on the monitor screen 4, these operations can be easily performed.

The exposure adjusting device is the exposure unit 1 of the photographic printing apparatus as described above.
A first photometric unit 23 provided on the light source 7 side with the negative film F interposed therebetween;
A pair of second photometering means 24, 24 provided on the screen 30 with the light beam interposed therebetween; a spot photometering means 40 (see FIG. 4) provided on the screen 30;
An exposure control means 50 is provided which receives the photometric data from 4 and 40 and adjusts the exposure conditions.

FIG. 3 shows the internal structure of the light source unit 3 in which the first photometric means 23 is provided. Between the light source 7 and the diffusion tube 22, Y (yellow) and M (magenta) are adjusted by adjusting the amount of insertion into the optical path. , C (cyan), a cut filter 26 for cutting Y, M, and C colors, and a shutter 27 that opens and closes for exposure. 25 insertion amount, cut filter 26
Exposure control means for insertion time of shutter and operation time of shutter 26
Controlled by 50. The white balance at the time of exposure is adjusted mainly by the light control filter 25, and the hue by spot metering described later is adjusted by the cut filter 26.

Reference numeral 28 denotes a guide tube for guiding the light from the light source 7 to the diffusion tube 22, and the first photometric means 23 is provided at an exit portion of the guide tube 27 or around the exit portion. With such an arrangement, the first photometric means 23 measures the amount of light emitted from the light source 7 and the mixing ratio of B (blue), G (green), and R (red), and controls the photometric data for exposure control. Output to means 50. In this case, since the photometric data does not change much during the light emission of the light source 7, the first photometric means 23 normally performs photometry at the beginning of a series of exposure work, but during the series of exposure control, Alternatively, photometry may be performed as appropriate.

In contrast to the first light metering means 23, the second light metering means 24 measures the light transmitted through the negative film F, and a pair of diagonal lines are provided on the downstream side of the optical path L from the negative film F. Have been. As shown in FIG. 2, the second photometric means 24 is attached to the lower surface side of the set table 8 and controls the light passing through the negative film F and entering the optical member such as the lens 12 of the rotary table 9. The light is measured around the optical path.

The photometric data measured by the second photometric means 24 is output to the exposure control means 50, and the exposure control means 50 controls the light path of the cut filter 26 so that the entire image becomes an average gray based on the photometric data. Adjust the insertion time into

Next, the spot metering means 40 scans on the plane of the screen 30.
And Y to move in the two-dimensional direction. FIG. 4 shows the screen 30 and the spot metering means.
The screen 30 shows a screen frame 31 showing a correlation arrangement with 40.
It is stretched inside.

One side of the screen frame 31 is pivotally supported by a bracket 32, and the screen frame 31 is rotated into the optical path L by the rotation of the screen frame 31 to cover the exposure table 10, or the screen frame 31 is exposed. It operates so as to stand on one side of the table 10 and exit from the optical path L. For this reason, a wire is provided on the screen frame 31 on the side opposite to the bracket 32 pivotal site.
The distal end of the wire 33 is connected, and the proximal end of this wire 33 is
It is connected to the output shaft of 34, and the wire 33 is wound or pulled out by the forward and reverse rotation of the motor 34,
The above operation is performed. When the screen frame 31 falls on the exposure table 10, the image of the negative film F is projected on the screen 30 and exposure adjustment is performed. The printing on the paper P is performed.
In addition, an indication line such as a size scale 30a is appropriately printed on the upper surface of the screen 30, so that positioning of an image to be projected or the like is easily performed.

The spot metering means 40 is provided on the screen 30 so as to be movable in two-dimensional directions of Χ and Y directions. For this reason, a pair of Χ-axis arms 35, 35 are attached to the screen frame 31, and a pair of Y-axis arms
The axis arms 36, 36 are bridged, and the spot metering means 40 is slidably movable along the Y-axis arms 36, 36. Then, while the Y-axis arm 36 slides with respect to the Χ-axis arm 36 by the motor 37,
38, the entire spot metering means 40 slides with respect to the Y-axis arm 36, so that the spot metering means 40
Moves in a two-dimensional direction on the screen 30.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show the internal structure of the spot metering means 40, which has a sensor holder 41 through which the Y-axis arm 36 is inserted, and a rotary plate 42 is provided in the sensor holder 41. The rotating plate 42 has a ring gear formed on the outer peripheral surface thereof, and an output gear 43a of a step motor 43 mounted on the upper surface of the sensor holder 41 meshes with the ring gear.
The rotating plate 42 is rotated by a predetermined angle by the driving of the step motor 43. On the rotary plate 42, color filters 44 of B, G, and R colors and a transparent white filter 45 are arranged at equal intervals (90 degrees in the illustrated example). A sensor 46 for measuring light is fixed below the rotation locus of the filters 44 and 45. The sensor 46 measures the transmitted light from the filter 44 or 45 moved immediately above the sensor 46 and outputs the measured light data to the exposure control means 50, whereby exposure control as described later is performed.

In the figure, 47 is a cover glass attached to the information part of the filters 44 and 45 (information of the white filter 45 in the illustrated example) in the sensor holder 41, and 48 is a sensor cover that covers the lower part of the sensor 46. At an appropriate position in the slide arm 41, a limit switch 49 for detecting the home position of the rotary plate 42 is provided. The limit switch 49 comes into contact with a dog 49a vertically provided on the lower surface of the rotary plate 42, and detects the home position of the rotary plate 42 by this contact.

Then, based on this detection signal, the sensor 46 starts photometry, and a start signal is input to the step motor 43 so that the step motor 43 is driven. As a result, the rotating plate 42 performs intermittent rotation, and the sensor 46 operates so as to successively measure the transmitted light from the filter 44 or 45 moved immediately above the rotating plate 42 and output photometric data to the exposure control means 50 by this rotation. I do.
In this case, the state in which the white filter 45 is located immediately above the sensor 46 is the home position, and B, G,
The color filters 44 of the respective colors of R sequentially move onto the sensor 46.

The spot metering means 40 moves in a two-dimensional direction on the screen 30 to measure a specific position of the image of the negative film F projected on the screen 30. The light transmitted through the white filter 45 is transmitted to the photographic paper P. While the light metering data becomes the same as the brightness (light intensity) at the time of exposure, the transmitted light of the color filter 44 of each color becomes the same metering data as the color density of each color of B, G, and R at the time of exposure. The exposure condition can be corrected based on the photometric data.

In this case, the movement of the spot metering means 40 is controlled by the monitoring means 5.
Is automatically performed by operating the cursor displayed on the monitor TV 5. At the time of the operation, the transmitted light of the negative film F is taken into the monitor television 5 via the CCD camera 16 as described above, and the monitor screen is displayed. 4 shows an image of the negative film F.

An image on the monitor screen 4 of the monitor television 5;
The image on the screen 30 has a mutually corresponding relationship. When a point on the image on the monitor screen 4 is designated, the spot metering means 40 moves on the screen 30 and stops at the position corresponding to the point.

In such a configuration, the monitor screen 4 of the monitor television 5
By moving the cursor above, the spot metering means 40 automatically moves to the corresponding position on the screen 30 corresponding to the cursor movement position, and performs spot metering at that position. Therefore, the exposure adjustment can be performed only by operating the cursor on the monitor screen 4 and observing from the viewing window 6 becomes unnecessary, so that the exposure adjustment becomes easy. In addition, the movement of the spot metering means 40 can be stopped accurately.

As shown in FIG. 2, the exposure light metering means 50 has a first arithmetic unit 51 to which the light metering data output from the second light metering means 23 is input, and a light metering data output from the second light metering means 24 to input. And a control unit 54 that adjusts exposure conditions from the photometric data, and a third arithmetic unit 53 to which the photometric data output from the spot photometric unit 40 is input. Have.

Hereinafter, the operation of the exposure control means 50 will be described.
It will be described together with the operation of 23, 24 and 40. Exposure control means 50
The first calculating unit 51 in the above calculates the light quantity of the light emitted from the light source 7 and the blending amount of B, G, R in the light based on the photometric data from the first photometric means 23. Further, the second calculating section 52 calculates the color tone of the light transmitted through the negative fill F based on the photometric data from the second photometric means 24. The control unit 54 determines the compounding ratio of each color so that the entire image has a uniform brightness based on the calculation data of the first and second arithmetic units 51 and 52 and that the entire image is gray. I do. This makes it possible to satisfactorily expose the photographic paper P to a normal image.

On the other hand, when it is necessary to emphasize or weaken a specific color at a specific position of an image, or when it is necessary to correct exposure conditions other than the above-described exposure adjustment (for example, when correcting a human face portion in a green background). ), The screen 30 is laid down on the exposure table 10. Then, a specific position is designated on the monitor screen 4 of the monitor means 5, and the spot metering means 40 is moved to a corresponding position on the screen 30 corresponding to the specific position, and the specific position is measured. The photometric data is supplied to a third arithmetic unit 53
The calculation unit 53 calculates the brightness (light intensity) at the specific position and the blending amounts of the B, G, and R colors. The calculated data is transferred from the third calculation unit 53 to the second calculation unit.
52 is input as feedback data. The second calculation unit 52 performs a recalculation based on the fed-back data so that the entire image becomes gray. And the control unit
Numeral 54 corrects exposure conditions based on the new data, and adjusts the insertion time of the cut filter 26 to perform exposure adjustment. In correcting the exposure conditions, the calculation data from the second and third calculation units 52 and 53 are visually displayed on the monitor unit 5, and a separate correction value is input to the display to perform intentional correction. You may do it. By such an operation, it is possible to perform correction in accordance with a specific position of an image or a specific color thereof, and also to perform correction in accordance with a color or brightness desired by a customer or a user, thereby achieving diversification of exposure.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, the present invention adjusts a new exposure condition based on spot metering data of a spot metering unit moving in a two-dimensional direction on a screen. This has the effect that exposure can be performed according to the user's preference.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a photographic printing apparatus to which the present invention is applied, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the internal structure of an exposure unit as viewed from the back side, FIG. The figures are perspective views showing the configuration of the spot metering means and the screen, and FIGS. 5 and 6 are a plan view and a sectional view showing the structure of the spot metering means. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Exposure part, 2 ... Processing part, 3 ... Light source part, 4 ... Monitor screen, 5 ... Monitor television (monitor means), 6 ...
Viewing window, 7 Light source, 8 Set table, 9 Rotary table, 10 Exposure table, 23 First light measuring means, 24
... Second light metering means, 30 screen, 40 spot light metering means, 50 exposure control means, 51 first arithmetic unit, 52 second arithmetic unit, 53 third Calculator, 54 ……
Control unit, F: negative film, P: photographic paper, L: optical path.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G03B 27/72-27/74

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A first photometer for measuring light source light emitted to a negative film, a second photometer for measuring light transmitted through the negative film, a position facing an exposure table, and a retracted position. And a screen on which an image of a negative film is projected, and means for driving the screen,
A first photometer comprising: a spot photometer that measures projected light on the screen; a moving unit that moves the photometer in the Χ-Y two-dimensional direction; and a driving unit that drives the moving unit. Means for adjusting the exposure conditions on the photographic paper based on the photometric data of the means and the second photometric means, and correcting the exposure conditions based on the photometric data of the spot photometric means to adjust the density of each color of the image. An exposure adjusting device for a photographic printing apparatus, comprising: an exposure control unit.