JP2000295417A - Image reading device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To provide an image reading device capable of obtaining a clear image without flare at low cost. SOLUTION: When reading an actual image of a photographic film,
When reading data (optical information) outside the actual image using the mask 10a having a small inner diameter shown in FIG.
A mask 10b having a large inner diameter shown in FIG. When the mask 10a is used, a peripheral light beam is blocked, and a clear image without flare can be obtained. When the mask 10b having a large inner diameter is used, some flare occurs, but there is no problem in reading optical information.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus such as a film scanner for reading a transparent original such as a developed photographic film.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a film scanner for reading a transparent original such as a photographic film by a one-dimensional image sensor or the like (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 07-212535). The film scanner illuminates the entire width of the photographic film with one rod-shaped light source, and forms the transmitted light in the entire width of the photographic film illuminated by the rod-shaped light source into an image on a single line sensor via a taking lens. ing. And
When the film is fed and the film screen or the like is scanned by the line sensor, an area other than the screen recording area on which the film screen is imprinted (perforation section, etc.)
The optical information provided at the same time is read at the same time.

Further, a film scanner has been proposed in which an optical unit having a zoom lens is used to obtain an image of a desired true resolution in accordance with the size of a document (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 09-181880). Gazette).

[0004]

The method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 07-212535 is applicable to the case where a film image is read by the above-described film scanner and area data (barcode, orange base, etc.) other than the image screen is read. However, there is a problem in that a problem such as a flare occurs when reading is performed on an off-screen area as compared with a case where only a film image is read. Further, when reading outside the screen using the method described in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 09-181880, the number of components increases due to the zoom lens, leading to an increase in cost, and a space for installation must be secured. There is.

The present invention has been made under such circumstances, and has as its object to provide an image reading apparatus capable of obtaining images and data at higher resolution and lower cost than in the past. is there.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, an image reading apparatus is provided with the following (1),
The configuration is as shown in (2) and (3).

(1) A light source for irradiating a transparent original such as a photographic film, an optical system for forming an image of a light beam emitted from the light source and transmitted through the transparent original, and an image is read from light formed by the optical system. An image reading apparatus, comprising: an image reading unit; a plurality of masks for changing a range of a light beam incident on the image reading unit; and control means for selectively moving the plurality of masks on and off the optical axis.

(2) The image reading apparatus according to (1), wherein the mask is taken in and out between the transparent original and the optical system or between the optical system and the image reading section. apparatus.

(3) An optical system composed of a light source for illuminating a transparent original such as a photographic film, a plurality of lens groups for forming an image of a light beam emitted from the light source and transmitted through the transparent original, and this optical system An image reading apparatus comprising: a plurality of masks for changing a range of a light beam passing therethrough; and control means for selectively inserting and removing the plurality of masks between the plurality of lens groups.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to examples of a film scanner.

[0011]

(Embodiment 1) A "film scanner" which is Embodiment 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a state of mask switching,
2 is a perspective view of a main part of the film scanner of the present embodiment using the mask of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of the film scanner shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a film shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the scanner.
3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the film scanner shown in FIG.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a film carriage used as a document table, and 2 denotes a developed photographic film, which is fixed on the film carriage 1. 3 is an illumination lamp, 4 is a mirror, 5 is a lens, 6 is a line sensor composed of a CCD or the like.
, Is reflected by the mirror 4, and is imaged on the line sensor 6 by the lens 5. Reference numeral 7 denotes a motor for moving the film carriage 1 in a scanning (sub-scanning) direction (arrow direction in FIG. 2), 8 denotes a sensor for detecting the position of the film carriage 1, and 9 denotes light from the lamp 3 to the line sensor 6. The axis 10a is an actual image reading mask, and 10b is an off-screen reading mask (actual image reading mask inner diameter <out-screen reading mask inner diameter).

FIG. 1 shows an example in which a mask is provided immediately after the film so that the "change of the light beam range" can be easily understood. However, in this embodiment, as shown in FIGS.
This is an example in which a mask is provided immediately before the line sensor 6. In any of the examples, the range of the light flux formed on the line sensor 6 can be similarly changed.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a mask motor for moving the mask 10. By driving the mask motor 11, the mask 10 a for reading the actual image and the mask 10 b for reading outside the screen are switched on the optical axis 9. It is possible to do.

Referring to the schematic diagram of FIG. 1, when an actual image is read, a mask 10a having a small inner diameter is moved on the optical axis to narrow the reading range so that only the actual image can be read, and when reading outside the screen. Is a mask 10 having a large inner diameter.
b is moved on the optical axis to expand the reading range so that information outside the screen can be read. At that time, the reading range of the line sensor 6 also changes.

2 to 4, reference numeral 12 denotes a control circuit, 1
Reference numeral 3 denotes a lens holder for holding the lens 5, reference numeral 14 denotes an outer case of a film scanner, reference numeral 15 denotes an input / output terminal for image information and the like, reference numeral 16 denotes a density sensor, and reference numeral 17 denotes a mask sensor for detecting the position of the mask 10.

The lamp 3, the line sensor 6, the motor 7, the sensor 8, the mask motor 11, the input / output terminal 15
Are electrically connected to the control circuit 12.

As shown in FIG. 4, the control circuit 12 includes a sensor control circuit 12a, a density sensor control circuit 12
b, mask sensor control circuit 12c, motor control circuit 1
2d, mask motor control circuit 12e, image information processing circuit 12f, lamp control circuit 12g, line sensor control circuit 12h, film density detection circuit 12i, motor drive speed determination circuit 12j, image information storage circuit 12k, reading device variable circuit 121 And film scanner control circuit 120
It consists of.

Next, a method of reading image information from the film 2 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

Step 101: input / output terminal 15 from outside
When a command for reading a film is input through the sensor 8, the position of the film carriage 1 is determined by the sensor 8 and the sensor control circuit 12a.
This information is detected by the film scanner control circuit 1
20. Then, the motor 7 is driven by the motor control circuit 12d to cause the film carriage 1 to wait at a predetermined standby position, and the film carriage 1 is moved to the standby position.

Step 102: The density of the film 2 is detected by the density sensor 16 and the film density detection circuit 12i.

Step 103: The motor drive speed is determined based on this information.

Step 104: The position of the mask 10 is detected by the mask sensor 17 and the mask sensor control circuit 12c, and this information is transmitted to the film scanner control circuit 120. Then, in order to dispose the off-screen reading mask 10b on the optical axis 9, the mask motor control circuit 12e drives the mask motor 11 to move the off-screen reading mask 10b onto the optical axis 9.

Step 105: The lamp 3 is turned on by the lamp control circuit 12g.

Step 106: The motor 7 is rotated in a predetermined direction by the motor control circuit 12d at the driving speed determined in Step 3, and a scanning operation for obtaining off-screen information of the film 2 is performed. During scanning, image information is transmitted from the line sensor 6 to the image information processing circuit 12f through the line sensor control circuit 12h.

Step 107: The off-screen information (also referred to as optical information) such as the barcode, orange base, and number of frames obtained in step 6 is created and stored in the image information storage circuit 12k.

Step 108: The position of the mask 10 is detected by the mask sensor 17 and the mask sensor control circuit 12c, and the mask motor 11 is driven by the mask motor control circuit 12e to move the actual image reading mask 10a on the optical axis 9. Move to

Step 109: The motor 7 is rotated by the motor control circuit 12d in the direction opposite to that of step 106 at the driving speed determined in step 4, and a scanning operation for obtaining actual image information of the film 2 is performed. During this scan, the actual image information is transmitted from the line sensor 6 to the image information processing circuit 12f through the line sensor control circuit 12h.

Step 110: When the scanning operation is completed, the lamp 3 is turned off by the lamp control circuit 12g.

Step 111: image information storage circuit 12k
Off-screen information obtained in step 107 and step 1
The real image information obtained in step 09 is transmitted to the image information processing circuit 12f, and the real image information is corrected using the orange base among the off-screen information. This makes it possible to perform optimal correction of the actual image information. Also, index information is created using a barcode, the number of frames, and the like in the non-image information. An index screen is created using the index information and the actual image. Here, since the off-screen information obtained in step 106 has a wider viewing angle than the actual image information, extra light enters and flare occurs. The off-screen information may be anyway, but this is not the case for real image information. Therefore, the mask on the optical axis is changed from 10b to 10a to narrow the viewing angle and prevent extra light from entering.

Step 112: The real image information and the off-screen information corrected or processed in step 111 are output from the input / output terminal 15.

In the present embodiment, the mask 10 for switching the incident light beam is provided immediately before the line sensor 6, but may be provided immediately after as shown in FIG. Further, the mask may be anywhere between the film and the lens or between the lens and the line sensor, but the effect of cutting the incident light beam decreases as the distance from the lens increases.

As described above, according to this embodiment,
By providing a mask that can change the range of the incident light beam to the line sensor, the effective light beam range is expanded when reading off-screen information, and the effective light range is reduced when reading actual image information. read. As a result, a clear image free from flare and the like can be obtained at a lower cost than in the past.

(Embodiment 2) In the first embodiment, an example in which the mask 10 is provided between the lens and the line sensor or between the film and the lens has been described. In the present embodiment, the mask 10 is provided in the lens group. It is. Basic configuration is Example 1
Is the same as In the case of Example 1, the mask 10 changed the reading range by the role of changing the angle of view, that is, by the effect of the field stop. However, when a mask is provided in the lens group as in this embodiment, the mask has the effect of a light amount aperture and changes the resolution without changing the angle of view. That is, when a real image reading mask (small inner diameter of the mask) is provided on the optical axis, the resolution is improved (version 1). However, the reading time is prolonged because the light amount is reduced. On the other hand, when an off-screen reading mask (large inner diameter of the mask) is provided on the optical axis, the reverse is true, and a low-resolution image can be obtained in a short time (version 2).

FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing a state of mask switching according to the present embodiment, FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a main part of a film scanner using the mask of FIG. 6, and FIG. 8 is a main part configuration of the film scanner shown in FIG. FIG. A block diagram showing the circuit configuration of the film scanner is the same as that of the first embodiment, and thus will not be described. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the film scanner.

Next, a method of reading image information from the film 2 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

Step 201: input / output terminal 15 from outside
When a command for reading a film is input through the sensor 8, the position of the film carriage 1 is determined by the sensor 8 and the sensor control circuit 12.
a, and this information is transmitted to the film scanner control circuit 120. Then, in order to make the film carriage 1 stand by at a predetermined waiting position, the motor control circuit 12
d drives the motor 7 to move the film carriage 1 to the standby position.

Step 202: The read image (version 1 or 2) is designated by the film scanner. The result is transmitted to the reader variable circuit 12l.

Step 203: The position of the mask 610 is detected by the mask sensor 17 and the mask sensor control circuit 12c based on this information, and this information is transmitted to the film scanner control circuit 120. Then, in order to dispose the mask 610 on the optical axis 9, the mask motor 11 is driven by the mask motor control circuit 12 e and the mask 610 a or 6
10b is moved onto the optical axis 9 between the lens groups.

Step 204: The density of the film 2 is detected by the density sensor 16 and the film density detection circuit 12i.

Step 205: The motor drive speed is determined based on this information (low-resolution read speed> high-resolution read speed).

Step 206: The lamp 3 is turned on by the lamp control circuit 12g.

Step 207: The motor 7 is rotated in a predetermined direction by the motor control circuit 12d at the driving speed determined in step 203, and a scanning operation for obtaining image information of the film 2 is performed. During scanning, image information is transmitted from the line sensor 6 to the image information processing circuit 12f through the line sensor control circuit 12h.

Step 208: When the scanning operation is completed, the lamp 3 is turned off by the lamp control circuit 12g.

Step 209: Image information storage circuit 12k
The image information obtained in step 207 is transmitted to the image information processing circuit 12f, and image processing is performed.

Step 210: The image information processed in step 209 is output from the input / output terminal 15.

As described above, according to the present embodiment,
By providing a mask having the effect of a light amount aperture, information outside the image is read at low resolution and high speed, and real image information is read at high resolution and low speed. Thereby, a clear image without flare can be obtained at low cost.

[0049]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Clear images without flare can be obtained at low cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a mask switching state according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a main part of the film scanner.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main part of the film scanner.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a film scanner.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the film scanner.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state of mask switching according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a main part of the film scanner.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration of a film scanner.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the film scanner.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Film 3 Lamp 5 Optical system 6 Line sensor 9 Optical axis 10a Actual image reading mask 10b Off-screen reading mask

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A light source for irradiating a transparent original such as a photographic film, an optical system for imaging a light beam emitted from the light source and transmitted through the transparent original, and an image for reading an image from light formed by the optical system An image reading apparatus comprising: a reading unit; a plurality of masks for changing a range of a light beam incident on the image reading unit; and a control unit for selectively moving the plurality of masks on and off the optical axis. . 2. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the mask is taken in and out between the transparent original and the optical system or between the optical system and the image reading unit. Image reading device. 3. An optical system including a light source for irradiating a transparent original such as a photographic film, a plurality of lens groups for forming an image of a light beam emitted from the light source and transmitted through the transparent original, and passes through the optical system. An image reading apparatus comprising: a plurality of masks for changing a range of a light beam; and control means for selectively inserting and removing the plurality of masks between the plurality of lens groups.