JPH0750300B2 - How to stop detecting image frames - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a method of detecting and stopping an image frame, which automatically positions and stops the image frame according to the passing direction and size information of an original film such as a negative film. Regarding

(Technical Background of the Invention and Problems Thereof) In a photographic printing apparatus, in order to properly print a frame image of an original film on photographic paper, it is necessary to accurately position the frame of the original film on an optical frame. For this reason, especially in the case of 135 size film other than 110 size and 126 size where the frame and perforation correspond in a 1: 1 positional relationship, conventionally, a notch is provided on the side edge of the original film and this is used as an optical sensor. However, it is necessary to accurately correspond to the top when the notch is provided, which requires a great deal of labor. Further, there is also a method of positioning the original image film by constantly feeding a fixed distance to the original image film, but there is a drawback that the positional deviation is accumulated and the accuracy is poor. Furthermore, a method has also been proposed in which an optical sensor such as a photodiode is arranged according to the shape of the frame of the original film and the positioning is performed according to the detection state or order of each optical sensor, but the structure and control algorithm are complicated. There is a drawback that becomes.

As a method of solving the above-mentioned drawbacks, the applicant of the present invention uses an image sensor to stop detection of the original frame image (for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 59-230643 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-10).
No. 9040)) is proposed. However, since the original film is conveyed in only one direction in this detection stop method, it cannot be applied as it is to a photo printing apparatus capable of switching between horizontal and vertical passages. It had to be changed mechanically according to the switching of the through. That is, in the photographic printing apparatus, as shown in FIG. 10, the negative film 2 is conveyed horizontally in the same direction or in the opposite direction to the conveying direction of the photographic printing paper 7, and the negative film 2 is conveyed in the perpendicular direction. There is a vertical thread for transportation. This is done in order to save the loading type of the photographic printing paper 7 and to further improve the efficiency of the printing work, and is performed for negative films other than 126 size in which the frame is square. The above-described detection stopping method cannot be applied as it is to the photographic printing apparatus in which the functions of the horizontal threading and the vertical threading are switched and used.

(Object of the Invention) The present invention has been made under the circumstances described above.
An object of the present invention is to detect image information of an original film such as a negative film with a two-dimensional image sensor, and select and calculate detection data of orthogonal pixel rows of the two-dimensional image sensor according to the passing direction of the original film. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for determining the amount of movement based on size information and edge detection by processing, positioning an image frame, and stopping the detection of the image frame accurately at high speed.

(Summary of the Invention) According to the present invention, an original film illuminated by a light source is received by a two-dimensional image sensor, transmitted light or reflected light from the original film is detected, and arithmetic processing is performed to calculate a frame image of the original film. The present invention relates to a method for stopping the detection of image frames in a photo printing apparatus which detects an edge and conveys a predetermined distance corresponding to the size of the original film according to the detected information of the edge and stops the image frame. The use area of the detection data of the orthogonal pixel rows of the two-dimensional image sensor is automatically selected and arithmetic processing is performed to detect the edge and stop the detection of the original image film. Another invention is to detect an edge of a frame image of the original film by receiving an original film illuminated by a light source with a two-dimensional image sensor and detecting transmitted light or reflected light from the original film, In the method of conveying a predetermined distance corresponding to the size of the original image film and stopping the image information according to the edge detection information, the image information of the entire area received by the two-dimensional image sensor is detected for each pixel divided into screens, The size and the passing direction of the original image film are determined by comparing the feature amount of the detected value with the storage information for each original image film size and for each passing direction, and the image is determined by the information of the determined passing direction of the original image film. The edge detection is performed by automatically selecting the use area of the detection data of the pixel rows orthogonal to the sensor and performing the arithmetic processing. The performed as a detection method of stopping an image frame which is adapted to detect stop of the original film.

(Embodiment of the Invention) First, a method of stopping detection of image frames of a negative film as an original image film, which is a premise of the present invention, will be described.
The detection of the negative film by the two-dimensional image sensor is performed by the method disclosed in, for example, JP-A-60-196740.

In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, an image information detection device 10 having a surface scanning type two-dimensional image sensor 11 made of, for example, a CCD, is arranged in the vicinity of the negative film 2, and the entire screen of the negative film 2 is arranged. Is divided into a large number of aligned pixels to detect image information. That is, by applying a predetermined drive signal to the image sensor 11 from a drive circuit (not shown),
Since the two-dimensional image sensor 11 receives the transmitted light of the negative film 2 placed on the printing portion through the lens system 12,
The two-dimensional image sensor 11 divides the entire negative film 2 into a large number of aligned small pixels 21 as shown in FIG. 2A, and scans the entire screen of the negative film 2 in order according to the scanning line SL. can do. Then, after the scanning of the entire screen is completed, the image signal is sequentially output from the output register section of the image sensor 11, the sample and hold circuit samples and holds the image signal, and the hold value is AD.
Converted to digital signal with converter. The digital signal from the AD converter is logarithmically converted by the logarithmic conversion circuit to obtain a density signal, and this density signal corresponds to the pixel 21 as shown in FIG. 2 (B) in the memory under the control of the writing control circuit. The density digital value of the negative film 2 (the true digital value when the logarithmic conversion circuit is stopped) is stored.

Here, the negative film 2 is sequentially conveyed to the printing part by the negative conveying device 30, and the negative conveying device 30 is shown in FIG.
And as shown in (B), a rectangular opening 32A corresponding to the size of the negative film used in the central portion of the negative conveyance path 31.
The negative carrier 32 having the above is mounted, and the negative film is transported between the negative transport path 31 and the negative carrier 32. Guide walls 31 for guiding the transfer of the negative film are provided on both sides of the negative transfer path 31.
A and 31B are erected, and a transmission hole 33 for receiving the light from the light source 4 is provided immediately below the negative carrier 32.
Further, in the film introduction portion of the negative conveyance path 31, an upper plate 34A and a bottom plate 34B for sandwiching the negative film and smoothly introducing it.
A guide member 34 composed of is arranged, and the upper plate 34A can be opened and closed via a hinge member 34C. Further, a negative drive roller 35 for loading and winding up the negative film that has been baked and conveyed is provided at the film lead-out portion of the negative conveyance path 31, and the negative drive roller 35 is a deceleration mechanism 36. A nip roller 38 composed of a pair of rollers for smoothly loading and winding the negative film is arranged above the negative drive roller 35 by a motor 37 via a nip roller 38. It can be opened and closed upward through a member (not shown).

In such a configuration, the negative film used for printing is introduced from the opening 34C of the guide member 34, and the negative conveying path 3
After being conveyed above 1, it passes underneath the negative carrier 32, finally reaches the end of the negative conveying path 31, is loaded onto the negative drive roller 35 via the nip roller 38, and is wound up.

Then, when the negative film 2 is conveyed to the printing unit for printing, it is necessary to accurately position the image frames 2A, 2B, 2C, ... Taken on the negative carrier 32 as shown in FIG. 4 (A). There is a negative film 2 after printing the image frame.
Is conveyed to position the next image frame and stop. In order to stop the detection of such an image frame, conventionally, a notcher is used to previously make a notch in the negative film to automatically stop the image frame at a predetermined position. On the other hand, regarding the negative film 2 as shown in FIG. 4A, if the image information for each pixel of the image sensor 11 as shown in FIG. The image frames 2A, 2B, 2C, ... Can be detected from the image frames, and the uncaptured areas RA, RB, between adjacent image frames can be detected.
RC, ... Can also be detected from the density data thereof, whereby the detection of image frames can be stopped together with the size information. However, if all of the detection information is used to stop the detection of the image frame, it takes a lot of time to perform the calculation, and in order to perform it at high speed, it is necessary to speed up the capability of the microcomputer and the like, which increases the cost of the device. There is a drawback of inviting. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2 (A), a line-shaped pixel row 40 that is at the center of the two-dimensional image sensor 11 and is orthogonal to the transport direction of the negative film 2 is electrically extracted, and this pixel is extracted. The edge of the frame image of the negative film 2 is detected in the column 40.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing an example of a method for stopping the detection of image frames. A negative carrier 32 having a size corresponding to the size of the negative film 2 to be printed is loaded at a predetermined position of the printing section (step S1), The size of the opening 32A of the carrier 32 is measured by the image sensor 11 (step S2). The size measurement may be visually input. The conveyance amount of the negative film 2 is set according to the size measurement information, the pixel row 40 is automatically selected and extracted, and the printing exposure amount and its correction amount are controlled.

Next, the negative film 2 to be printed is loaded at a position where the blank photographing frame at the tip of the negative film substantially corresponds to the opening of the negative carrier (step S3), and the tip of the negative film 2 is loaded on the negative drive roller 35. Then, the motor 37 is driven to convey the negative film 2 at a high speed quantitatively by a little less than half the frame interval D S ₁ (step S4), and then a low speed minute pitch feed is performed (step S5), during which the image sensor 11 is operated.
The image information is detected by, and data for each image as shown in FIG. 4 (B) is obtained. 4 (A) and (B)
As is clear from the correspondence relationship between the image frames 2A, 2B, 2C, ...
Generally, there is a significant difference in the density value between A, RB, RC, ..., so the density value is less than a certain value, and there is a sharp change in the density value in the horizontal direction in the vertical direction (the transport direction of the negative film 2). Image sensor 11
By searching in the pixel row 40 of, the image frames 2A, 2B, 2C, ...
It is possible to detect the edges of the unphotographed areas RA, RB, RC, ... Between the frames. FIG. 6 shows this state. The negative film 2 is conveyed in the N direction to the printing portion of the negative carrier 32, and the pixel row 40 of the image information detecting device 10 detects the edge of the unphotographed region RB between frames. is doing. The pixel row 40 of the image sensor 11 is arranged to come to the center of the negative carrier 32. In FIG. 4 (B), the width of the edge is shown wide for the sake of convenience, but in actuality, this edge can be detected in the state shown in FIG. 6 even by a sensor having a high resolution of a few mm unit on the negative film 2. it can. When an edge is detected by a sensor that does not have high resolution, the negative part 2 and the frame image part do not change abruptly but change gently, so the negative film 2 is conveyed at a fine pitch of about 1/10 unit pitch at low speed. , The time when the pixel data for one line of the sensor changes, or the information of the relative difference or relative ratio of the pixel data between two adjacent lines, the edge when the change direction is reversed (or the position where the change value becomes zero) To detect as.

The negative film 2 is continuously conveyed at a fine pitch until the edge of the image frame is detected (step S5). When the edge RB of the image frame is detected, the size is determined by the size measurement (step S2). From the size information, the high-speed fixed-quantity transport is performed for the distance S ₂ until the frame is positioned on the printing part (steps S6, S7, S8), and then stopped (step
S9). In this case, after the fast quantitative conveyance S _1, the negative carrier 32
Although it is located almost in the center of the image frame, the distance E between the image frame 2A and the image frame 2A and the edge of the image frame 2A is detected.
Is a parameter (variable) for correcting the variation in the distance of the above-mentioned clearance portion RB. If the feed amount D = S ₁ + E + S ₂ of the image frame 2A is conveyed in the state of FIG. The negative film 2 is stopped in the positioned state. Further, when the edge between the image frames is not detected in the pixel row of the image information detecting device 10, for example, a fixed amount of the frame interval D is fed for convenience (step S13).

After the negative film 2 is conveyed and stopped, it is determined whether or not the stopped frame is suitable for printing (step S10).
If it is not suitable for printing, the process skips to step S12, and if it is suitable for printing, the stop frame is printed with the determined exposure amount and correction amount (step S11). Is transferred to the printing unit for printing, it is determined whether or not the negative film 2 is still present, and the negative film 2 is transferred at a high speed by a little less than 1/2 of the frame interval according to the size information obtained in step S2. Yes (steps S12, S4). Hereinafter, by repeating the above-described conveyance and stop, it is possible to automatically print each image frame in sequence. Then, when the negative film 2 is exhausted in step S12, the negative drive roller 35 is automatically stopped and stopped.

The method of stopping the detection of the frame image described above is the negative film 2
If the conveyance direction is one of the horizontal passages and there is a vertical passage, the detection position of the two-dimensional image sensor 11 must be mechanically changed according to the switching, or two line sensors must be provided at a right angle. However, in the present invention, the mounting position of the two-dimensional image sensor is fixed, and the use area of the detection data of the pixel example orthogonal to each other is automatically selected according to the information on the passing direction to perform the arithmetic processing. As a result, the frame detection stop described above can be used as it is in the horizontal and vertical directions. That is, assuming that the memory image data detected by the fixed image sensor is the area PA shown in FIG. 7, the detection data in the area LA should be read and used according to the input information in the passing direction in the case of horizontal passing. During vertical passage, the detection data of the area LN is read and used according to the input information in the passage direction. In this way, it is extremely easy to switch the usage area of the stored detection data by LA or LN according to the information of the through direction. As a result, the stop of detection of the frame image described above
It is possible to realize horizontal threading and vertical threading without changing the mounting position of the image sensor. It should be noted that the detection data use area may be LN ′ and LA ″ as shown by the broken line. Further, in the above description, only the data in the necessary area is used when reading out after storing all the data in the memory. However, it may be extracted at the time of storage in the memory.

On the other hand, in the above description, the information on the film passing direction and the size is input by some means, but it is also possible to automatically detect and input the information by the image sensor.

The automatic detection of the size and the passing direction will be described below. For example, the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-151626 can be used for size determination, and the direction of passage can be determined according to the flow shown in FIG. That is, first, the negative carrier 32 is loaded in a predetermined position of the photo printing apparatus (step S
1) The unexposed portion of the leading edge or the trailing edge of the negative film 2 is loaded in the opening of the negative carrier 32 (or in the state where the negative film 2 is not loaded), and the image is detected by the two-dimensional image sensor 11 of the image information detecting device. Information is detected (step S2), and the density is "0".
(Or a value close to this) is detected (step S3).
Thereafter, the size is discriminated by detecting the number of the density “0” (this detection is referred to as “detection of an extremely small amount of image information”) (steps S4 and S5), and the ninth stored in advance in the memory. A comparison is made with the pattern information of the pattern formed with the density "0" as shown in FIGS. (A) and (B) (steps S6 and S7). In this case, the memory has a horizontal pattern shown in FIG. 9 (A) for each film size, and FIG.
Since the vertical passing pattern indicated by is stored, it is possible to determine the passing direction of the negative film 2 by comparing the detected pattern with the stored information (step S8). After the size and the passing direction of the negative carrier 32, that is, the negative film 2 are determined in this manner, the loaded negative film 2 (or, if the negative film 2 is not loaded, is loaded) by the negative transport device 30. The frame image is conveyed (step S10), a predetermined frame image is positioned on the exposure section, and the frame image is detected by the image information detecting device 10 (step S11). Then, the information of this frame image is classified according to the detected size and through direction data, and the exposure amount is obtained by substituting this classified data into a predetermined exposure calculation formula (step S12). The printing apparatus exposes the frame with the determined exposure amount (step S13), and repeats the above-described printing operation until printing of all the frames is completed.

In the above description, the through direction is determined by comparing characteristic density patterns as a characteristic amount of image information, but either the number or the number of characteristic density values or the pattern, the number or number of characteristic true numeric values is used. Alternatively, combination information of the above features may be used.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the method of the present invention, the detection data of the pixel rows orthogonal to each other in the image sensor are selected and arithmetically processed according to the passing direction of the original image film. Edge detection information enables automatic detection of image frames and stop-positioning to a predetermined position in any passing direction, and efficient and reliable photo processing is realized with a simple configuration. be able to.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example in which the present invention is applied to a photographic printing apparatus, and FIGS. 2A and 2B are views for explaining an example of a correspondence relationship between pixel division of an original image film and stored data. 3A is a plan view showing the detailed structure of the printing portion, FIG. 3B is a side view thereof, and FIGS. 4A and 4B are views showing the relationship between the negative film and the image information. 5, FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing an example of the operation of stopping the detection of image frames, FIG. 6 is a view showing the state of the negative carrier portion, and FIG. FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing an example of determining the passing direction and size by an image sensor, FIGS. 9A and 9B are detection data diagrams showing the difference in the passing direction, and FIG. 10 is horizontal passing, It is a figure for demonstrating vertical threading. 2 ... Negative film, 3 ... Filter, 4 ... Light source, 5,
12 ... Lens system, 6 ... Black shutter, 7 ... Photographic paper, 8 ... Optical sensor, 10 ... Image information detection device, 30
…… Film transport device, 31 …… Film transport path, 32 ……
Negative carrier, 35 …… Negative drive roller, 37 …… Motor.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An edge of a frame image of the original image film is detected by receiving an original image film illuminated by a light source with a two-dimensional image sensor and detecting transmitted light or reflected light from the original image film to perform arithmetic processing. Then, in the method of conveying a predetermined distance corresponding to the size of the original image film by the detection information of the edge and stopping, the utilization area of the detection data of the pixel row orthogonal to the image sensor according to the information of the passing direction of the original film. Is automatically selected and arithmetically processed to detect the edge and stop the detection of the original image film. 2. An edge of a frame image of the original film is detected by receiving an original image film illuminated by a light source with a two-dimensional image sensor and detecting transmitted light or reflected light from the original image film to perform arithmetic processing. Then, in the method of conveying a predetermined distance corresponding to the size of the original image film and stopping the image information based on the edge detection information, the image information of the entire area received by the two-dimensional image sensor is detected for each pixel divided into screens. At the same time, the size and the passing direction of the original film are determined by comparing the characteristic amount of the detected value with the storage information for each original film size and the passing direction, and the information of the passing direction of the determined original image film is used. By automatically selecting a use area of detection data of orthogonal pixel rows of the image sensor and performing arithmetic processing, Detection method of stopping the image frame, characterized in that to carry out the detection stop of the original film by performing the detection.