JPH0731362B2 - Image detection method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Field of Application) The present invention is applied to an optical device such as a reader printer, a camera, a microscope, and a magnifying projector which forms a projected image on a projection surface. The present invention relates to an image detecting method in an autofocus device.

(Technical background of the invention) A reader printer which forms a projection image of an original microphotograph on a screen or a photoconductor, visually recognizes a magnified projection image on the screen, and obtains a hard copy imaged on the photoconductor, is provided. is there. When an autofocus mechanism is provided in this type of device, part of the projected image is guided to a line sensor, and it is determined whether or not focus is achieved based on the contrast of the image obtained from the output of this line sensor. It is considered to control the optical system of the projected image so that

However, in order to perform a correct autofocus operation, it is premised that an image suitable for this autofocus operation is projected on the line sensor. Therefore, it is necessary to confirm that this appropriate image is projected on the line sensor prior to the autofocus operation. In general, the presence / absence of an image is determined by comparing the output signal of the line sensor with a predetermined slice level and the number of times the output signal changes in magnitude relative to this slice level (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 57-79907).
No.).

Here, the slice level is set based on the base portion of the original film image. For example, first locate the line sensor at the base portion of the original film film, obtain the output of the line sensor by the base portion, and add a predetermined value to this output signal (for negative original image) or subtract (for positive original image) the slice level. There was a way to decide. However, in this case, the line sensor must first be moved to the base portion and then further moved to a position where an image is present to determine whether or not the image is appropriate, which causes a problem that the operation time becomes long.

A method has also been proposed in the prior art in which the slice level is controlled by an automatic gain control circuit (AGC) in response to changes in the amount of light from the light source and the density of the original film image (JP-A-57-799).
See No. 07). However, this proposed method not only requires that the original image is known to be positive or negative, but the range of change in the light source light amount and original image density is also very limited due to the requirements such as the operating range of the AGC. there were. For this reason, not only the positive / negative of the original image needs to be specified, but also the light quantity and the original image density must be thoroughly examined in advance, which makes the operation troublesome.

On the other hand, blooming may occur during main scanning of the line sensor in the process of image detection. Blooming is a phenomenon in which the incident light is too strong and the signal charge overflows from the potential well of the pixel of the line sensor and flows into the potential well of the adjacent pixel, so that the screen becomes white. If blooming occurs during the operation, the previously obtained data cannot be used, the slice level must be determined again, and the operation time becomes long.

(Object of the Invention) The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and it is possible to determine the setting of an appropriate slice level and the presence / absence of an appropriate image with a small amount of movement of the line sensor. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image detection method for an autofocus device that does not require the operation to be restarted from the beginning even when blooming occurs and can shorten the operation time.

Further, the present invention can be applied to both positive and negative of an original image regardless of whether it is a positive image or a negative image, and can cope with a large change in light amount or original image density. To aim.

(Structure of the Invention) According to the present invention, an object of the present invention is to provide an image detection method in an autofocus device that performs an autofocus operation after determining the presence or absence of an image based on the output of a line sensor on which a projected image is incident, The peak value or minimum value of the output signal of a specific pixel when scanning the sensor,
Hold sequentially while moving the line sensor, and obtain a slice level for a positive original image or a negative original image by subtracting or adding a predetermined value to this hold value,
While determining the presence or absence of an image based on the number of times the output signal obtained by scanning the line sensor crosses this slice level, the line sensor is used when blooming occurs due to too strong incident light during scanning of the line sensor. Is changed, and each slice level is corrected in accordance with the change amount.

That is, while moving the line sensor, while determining the slice level and performing image detection in parallel, when blooming occurs, the drive frequency of the line sensor is increased to change the accumulation time, and the data already obtained according to this change amount The time required as a whole will be shortened by modifying and using.
Further, the slice level is determined for each of the positive and negative original images, and the positive / negative of the original image is discriminated and the optimum slice level is determined based on the number of times the slice level is crossed.

(Embodiment) FIG. 1 is an overall schematic view of a reader printer which is an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view of a screen showing a moving range of the line sensor, FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a control system, Fourth
5 and 5 show the original image and the output waveform of a specific pixel when the line sensor is moved. FIG. 4 is for a negative original image, and FIG. 5 is for a positive original image. Further, FIG. 6 is an output waveform chart of each part in the process of obtaining the contrast, and FIG. 7 is a flow chart of the image detecting operation.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 is an original image of a microphotograph such as a microfish or a roll-shaped microfilm.
Reference numeral 12 denotes a light source, and the light from the light source 12 is guided to the lower surface of the original image 10 via a condenser lens 14, a heat insulating filter 16, and a reflecting mirror 18. In the reader mode, the transmitted light (projected image) of the original image 10 is guided to the transmissive screen 28 by the projection lanes 20 and the reflecting mirrors 22, 24 and 26, and the original image 10 is displayed on the screen 28.
To form an enlarged projection image of. In printer mode,
The reflecting mirror 24 is rotated to the position shown by the phantom line in FIG.
22、30、32 by PPC type slit exposure type printer 3
Guided by 4. The reflecting mirrors 22 and 30 move in synchronization with the rotation of the photosensitive drum 36 of the printer 34, and a latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 36. This latent image is visualized with toner charged to a predetermined polarity, and this toner image is transferred to the transfer paper 38.

Reference numeral 40 denotes a CCD line sensor, and the line sensor 40 is attached to a rotating end of a rotating arm 42 that rotates about the outside of the upper left corner of the screen 28 as a fulcrum. This rotating arm
The motor 42 is rotated by the motor 44 within the shaded area in FIG.
The rotation angle θ of the motor 44, that is, the rotation arm 42 is detected by the rotary encoder 46.

Reference numeral 50 is a control means that changes the slice level for image detection based on the output of a specific pixel of the line sensor 40 while moving the line sensor 40, and in parallel with this, determines the presence or absence of an appropriate image. The image detecting operation is performed. Further, the control means 50 performs focus determination based on the output signal of the line sensor 48, and an autofocus operation for moving the projection lens 20 to a focus position by a motor 51 (FIG. 1),
The printer 34 is controlled and the reflecting mirrors 22, 24, 30 are moved.

A control system including the control means 50 is constructed as shown in FIG. That is, the CPU 52 sends a signal a instructing an appropriate frequency to the clock generator 54, and the clock generator 54 outputs the drive pulse b of the instructed frequency in the line sensor 40.
Send to. The line sensor 40 sequentially outputs the output signal c of each pixel to the amplifier 56 by this drive pulse b. In this way, the scanning of the line sensor 40 is performed. The output signal c is amplified by the amplifier 56 to be the output signal d (see FIG. 6 (I)).

This output signal d is converted into the signal e shown in FIG. 6 (II) by the bandpass filter 58, and then the peak hold circuit 60.
Is input to the contrast signal C shown in FIG. 6 (III).
It is said that The maximum value of this signal C becomes the contrast in this one scan. Note that in FIG. 6, the horizontal axis indicates the pixel order of the line sensor 40.

The output signal d is also input to the sample hold circuit 62,
The sample-hold circuit 62 temporarily stores only the output signal d'of the specific pixel based on the synchronizing signal b'output from the clock generator 54 in synchronization with the output signal of the specific pixel. 64 is a changeover switch, and this switch 64 is the CPU 52
Command to read the output signal d'stored in the sample hold circuit 62 into the CPU 52 via the A / D converter 66 while the contrast C stored in the peak hold circuit 60 at the end of the scan is changed to A. Read into the CPU 52 via the / D converter 66. The CPU 52 finds and temporarily stores the peak value D (max) and the minimum value D (mim) of the output signal d ', and also temporarily stores the contrast C.

The output signal d is also input to the non-inverting input terminal of the comparator 68 for detecting blooming. The inverting input terminal of the comparator 68 is supplied with a level slightly lower than the output level set by the setting unit 70 at which blooming occurs. Therefore the comparator
When the blooming occurs, the 68 inputs the blooming signal f which becomes the logic "1" to the CPU 52 without fail. At this time, the CPU 52 uses the line sensor 40 to reduce the exposure amount of the line sensor 40.
The signal a is changed so that the drive frequency of the line sensor 40 is increased to shorten the storage time of the line sensor 40. At this time, the output level of the output signal d also decreases as the exposure amount changes. In the present invention, accordingly, various data obtained as described below are corrected, and the subsequent operation is continued using the corrected data.

The output signal d is further input to the non-inverting input terminals of the comparators 72 and 74. The comparator 72 is a slice level Sn for the negative original image.
CPU52 is used to determine the
(D (min) + α) obtained by adding a predetermined value α to the minimum value D (min) of the output signal d'stored in is input through the D / A converter 76. Here, (D (min) + α) indicates the slice level Sn for the negative original image. The comparator 74 is used to determine the slice level Sp for the positive original image, and subtracts a predetermined value β from the peak value D (max) of the output signal d ′ stored in the CPU 52 at its inverting input terminal (D
(Max) −β) is input via the D / A converter 78. This (D (max) -β) is the slice level S for the positive original image.
Indicates p. The comparators 72 and 74 send signals of logic "1" to the counters 80 and 82 when the output signal d becomes equal to or higher than the slice levels Sn and Sp, respectively. The counters 80 and 82 output the outputs of the comparators 72 and 74 to logic " The number of times it becomes 1 "is counted and sent to the CPU 52. That is, if the above operation is repeated while moving the line sensor 40 in the direction orthogonal to the scanning direction (longitudinal direction), 1 is added to the counters 80 and 82 each time the output signal d exceeds the slice levels Sn and Sp. It If this count value exceeds a certain number, it is assumed that there is an image. Considering that the fixed number of this count value may be mistakenly counted due to dust attached to the original film,
It is not desirable to set "1" or "2", and it is preferable to set it to "4" or more, for example.

In FIGS. 1 and 3, reference numeral 84 is a sensor that detects the type of the projection lens 20, and the CPU 52 detects the magnification of the projection lens 20 based on the output of this sensor 84. Generally, the illuminance on the screen 28 decreases as the distance from the optical axis increases, and this illuminance unevenness is almost uniquely determined by the magnification of the projection lens 20. A correction curve for the illuminance unevenness for each lens is stored in advance in the memory 86 of FIG. 3, and the CPU 52 controls the rotational position θ of the line sensor 40.
The contrast C and the output signal d'or the slice levels Sn and Sp are corrected with respect to.

Further, the memory 88 stores the drive pulse frequency of the line sensor 40 at which the exposure amount is substantially appropriate for the magnification of the lens 20. This frequency is sufficient if a rough exposure amount of the line sensor 40 is determined, and particularly in this embodiment, the comparator described above is used.
Since 68 has a blooming prevention function of detecting blooming and reducing the exposure amount, it is desirable to store the drive pulse frequency in the memory 88 so that the exposure amount is slightly blooming. This is because even if the negative film has only a small contrast, the output amplitude of the sensor can be made large by lengthening the accumulation time so that the accuracy becomes high.

Although the drive frequency is variable in order to change the storage time here, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and the storage time is changed by changing the number of pulses while keeping the drive frequency constant. Good. By doing so, it is possible to always detect the same spatial frequency band even if the bandpass filter that detects the contrast has a single characteristic.

The memory 90 stores the past focus position of each lens 20 detected by the sensor 84. The CPU 52 reads from the memory 90 the past lens focus position of the lens determined based on the output of the sensor 84 each time the lens 20 is replaced, and the lens 20 is moved to the past lens focus position prior to the image detection operation and the autofocus operation. To the in-focus position. This prevents the inoperable state due to the lens 20 being significantly separated from the in-focus position and the projected image being significantly blurred.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. First of all, the user is a reflector 24
Select the reader mode with the solid line position shown in FIG. 1 to project the target original image on the screen 28. The CPU 52 determines the magnification of the projection lens 20 based on the output signal of the lens sensor 84 (step 100, FIG. 7). Further, the CPU 52 reads the past focus position of the projection lens 20 from the memory 90 based on the output signal of the lens sensor 84, and controls the motor 51 to move the lens 20 to this focus position. The CPU 52 further reads the drive frequency of the line sensor 40 corresponding to the magnification of the lens 20 from the memory 88, and outputs a signal a instructing this frequency to the clock generator 54 (step 102). CPU
52 also reads the correction curve for uneven illuminance from the memory 86 into the memory in the CPU 52 according to the magnification of the lens 20, and the autofocus operation is ready.

If the user selects the autofocus mode by a switch (not shown) (step 104), the CPU 52 moves the line sensor 40 from the position outside the upper side of the screen 28 shown by the solid line in FIG. 2 into the screen 28. Then, the motor 44 is started (step 106). The rotation angle .theta. Of the line sensor 40 is detected by the encoder 46, and when it enters the range .THETA. In FIG. 2, the image detecting operation starts (step 108).

This range Θ is also a range that overlaps the rectangular range X in the center of the screen 28. This rectangular range X corresponds to a range overlapping when an A4 size enlarged image is projected vertically and horizontally on the center of the screen 28, for example, and there is a possibility that an image always exists regardless of whether the original image is vertically or horizontally oriented. Is also a very high range. When using a microfiche in which a large number of original images are arranged vertically and horizontally, the microfiche is loaded into a manual carrier and the original image is moved by moving the carrier. At this time, the shadow Y of the carrier is shown in FIG. It may appear near the edge of the screen 28 as shown in A). In addition, a frame without a film may be projected in a frame located at the beginning of the film. Further, in a roll film or the like, an identification mark such as a blip mark may appear near the edge of the screen 28. In this embodiment, even if such a shadow Y of the carrier, a non-image area of the film or a blip mark appears on the screen 28,
Since the image detection operation is performed using the image within the fixed range X near the center of the screen 28, there are few malfunctions.

When the line sensor 40 enters the range of Θ, a predetermined operation is performed using its output signal d, other signals, the contents of the memory, and the like. This output signal d is compared with the set value of the output level at which blooming occurs in the comparator 68 (step 110), and if blooming has occurred, the output signal f becomes "1". The signal a for instructing to increase the drive frequency of the above and decrease the exposure amount is sent to the clock generator 54, and the slice levels Sp and Sn obtained in step 116 described later are corrected according to the change amount of the exposure amount. (Step 112). By this correction, the slice level data already obtained by the operation before blooming occurrence can be used as it is, and the subsequent operation can be continued.

If blooming has not occurred, the output signal d'of one or more specific pixels of the line sensor 40 is temporarily stored in the sample hold circuit 62 by the output signal b'of the clock generator 54, while the output signal d'is obtained by one scan. Contrast C
Are stored in the peak hold circuit 60. By switching the switch 64, the output signal d'and the contrast C are read into the CPU 52 for each scanning. Further, if blooming occurs, the accumulation time of the line sensor is shortened by the above method. Since the output of the line sensor is proportional to the accumulation time, the minimum value and the peak value stored at this time are corrected by the amount by which the accumulation time is changed. By doing so, past data is valid even if the storage time is changed.

While the line sensor 40 is moving, the CPU 52 monitors changes in the output signal d'of this one or more specific pixels and continues to obtain its peak value D (max) and minimum value D (min) (step 114). ).

FIG. 4 (A) shows the movement locus of this specific pixel with respect to the negative original image, and FIG. 4 (B) shows the change of the output signal d'at that time with respect to the movement distance l. Also, FIG. 5 (A),
(B) is also for a positive original image. Note that l =
The range of l ₀ or more corresponds to the range X in FIG. 2, and CP
U52 uses the subsequent output signal d'to determine the peak value and minimum value.

The CPU 52 uses the minimum value and the peak value to determine the predetermined values α and β.
Are added or subtracted, and Sn = D (min) + α Sp = D (max) −β is set as the slice level for the negative and positive original images, respectively (step 116).

In this case, it is desirable to consider the following points when detecting the minimum value and the peak value. That is, in the case of a negative original picture, if scratches or dents are attached to the original picture, these become an abnormally dark image, and the minimum value based on this image becomes smaller than the correct minimum value of the base portion. Therefore, the minimum value is adopted as the correct minimum value only when the line sensor 40 continues to move for a predetermined distance. For example, on the original film
If a minimum value for 0.5 mm or more is used and held, these scratches and dust will not be adversely affected.

On the contrary, in the case of a positive original image, in general, it does not become brighter than the actual base portion, and therefore the peak value may be directly adopted and held.

When the predetermined values α and β are expressed by the optical density represented by the logarithm of the ratio F / F ₀ of the transmitted light beam F ₀ and the incident light beam F, the minimum value and the peak value are 0.1 to 0.6, preferably 0.2 to
It is desirable to set it to about 0.4.

The CPU 52 converts these slice levels Sn and Sp into D / A converters 76 and 78.
Send to. The comparators 72 and 74 output "1" each time the output signal d exceeds the slice levels Sn and Sp, and the counters 80 and 82 count this number of times. That is, (B) of FIGS.
As shown in, the minimum value D (min), the peak value D (max), and the slice level as the line sensor 40 moves.
Sn and Sp continue to change, and if there is an image, the output signal d due to the main scanning at that time greatly changes. Therefore, the count value of the counter 80 increases if it is a negative original image, and the count value of the counter 82 increases if it is a positive original image. To do. If the count values become equal to or greater than a predetermined value (for example, 4), the CPU 52 determines that the slice levels Sn and Sp at that time are appropriate and that there is an image (step 118), and stops the line sensor 40 (step 120).
The above steps 108 to 118 are repeated within the range X (step 122). If it cannot be determined that there is an image (steps 118 and 122), it is determined that there is an abnormality and a lens movement command or the autofocus operation is stopped. Yes (Step 12
Four).

The accuracy of the slice levels Sn and Sp increases as the number of times of movement and scanning of the line sensor 40 increases, but generally the accuracy is sufficient if the movement and scanning of the line sensor 40 are performed about 10 to 20 times.

Next, the control means 50 performs autofocus control based on the output signal d of the line sensor 40. Various algorithms are possible for this control. For example, the maximum and minimum I (M) I (m) of the brightness I obtained from the output voltage of each pixel of the line sensor 40 at a certain position of the projection lens 20 is obtained, and the following formula V = (I (M) -I The "mountain climbing method" is used in which the position of the projection lens 20 having the maximum visibility V defined by (m)) / (I (M) + I (m)) is detected while sequentially moving the projection lens 20. Further, the projection lens 20 is moved once so as to cross the in-focus point, and the in-focus point is obtained from the half-value width of the luminance change characteristic curve at that time (half-value width method), or the projection lens 20 is moved once over the entire range. , The position where the brightness I is maximum may be obtained (full scan method). When the autofocus control is completed in this way, the control means 50 turns the motor
The line sensor 40 is driven out of the screen 28 by driving 44 in the reverse direction.

When the printer mode is set after viewing the enlarged projection image appearing on the screen 28, the reflecting mirror 24 is rotated to the virtual line position in FIG. 1 and the image is transferred to the transfer paper 38 to obtain a hard copy.

Although the present invention is applied to the reader printer in the above-described embodiments, the present invention is applicable to other optical devices such as a camera, a microscope, a magnifying projector, and includes these.

Further, although the line sensor 40 is moved along the arcuate locus in the above embodiments, the present invention is not limited to this, and includes a linear sensor that moves linearly in the orthogonal direction.

When the line sensor is moved linearly, if only one specific pixel is monitored and the slash levels Sn and Sp are determined, a malfunction may occur. This is because, for example, the specific pixel may move on a ruled line in the image or a straight line in the table. Therefore, in this case, such problems can be avoided by monitoring the output signals of a plurality of pixels and changing the pixels to be used in accordance with the movement of the line sensor.

In the above-described embodiment, the contrast obtained by one scan of the line sensor 40 is obtained by the peak hold 60, and this is read into the CPU 52. On the other hand, a method of sequentially A / D converting the output of each pixel during scanning of the line sensor, reading the output into the CPU, and determining the slice level in one scan may be considered. However, in this case, a high-speed and expensive A / D converter is required, while the above-described embodiment has an effect that the low-speed and inexpensive A / D converter 66 is sufficient.

As described above, the present invention sequentially holds the peak value or the minimum value of the output signal of the specific pixel of the line sensor while moving the line sensor, and subtracts or adds a predetermined number from the held value. Obtain the slice level for positive or negative, and determine that there is an image when the number of times the output signal from the scanning of the line sensor crosses this slice level is a predetermined value or more, while the line sensor causes blooming during the above operation. If this occurs, the slice level already obtained is corrected while shortening the accumulation time of the line sensor. Therefore, the presence or absence of an image can be determined at the same time when the slice level for image detection is determined while moving the line sensor in one direction. Therefore, compared to the conventional method in which the line sensor is placed on the base part of the image and the slice level is determined and then the line sensor is moved again to the position where the image is, the amount of movement of the line sensor is smaller and the operation time is significantly longer. Can be shortened.

Even if you do not specify the positive or negative of the original image, you can determine the positive or negative based on the number of times the output signal of the line sensor crosses the slice level, and even if there is a large change in the light source light amount or the original image density, the minimum This is possible because the slice level is determined based on the value and the peak value. This makes the operation very simple.

Further, even if the line sensor causes blooming during operation, the slice level data already obtained can be corrected and used, and it is not necessary to restart all operations from the beginning. Therefore, the operation time does not become long.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall schematic view of a reader printer which is an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view of a screen showing a moving range of its line sensor, FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a control system, and FIG.
5 and 5 show the original image and the output waveform of a specific pixel when the line sensor is moved. FIG. 4 shows the negative original image and FIG. 5 shows the positive original image. Further, FIG. 6 is an output waveform chart of each part in the process of obtaining the contrast signal, and FIG. 10 …… Original image, 20 …… Projection lens, 28 …… Screen, 40
...... Line sensor, d ... Output signal, d '... Specific pixel output signal,

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An image detecting method in an autofocus device for performing an autofocus operation after determining the presence / absence of an image based on the output of a line sensor on which a projected image is incident, in a specific pixel when the line sensor is scanned. The peak value or minimum value of the output signal is sequentially held while moving the line sensor, and a slice level for a positive original image or a negative original image is obtained by subtracting or adding a predetermined value to this hold value, and the line While determining the presence or absence of an image based on the number of times the output signal obtained by scanning the sensor crosses this slice level, the accumulation of the line sensor when blooming occurs due to too strong incident light during the scanning of the line sensor. The time is changed, and each slice level is corrected according to the change amount. Image detection method.