Photography – With data recording – Data for control of subsequent processing of film
Reexamination Certificate
1998-12-10
2001-11-27
Gray, David M. (Department: 2851)
Photography
With data recording
Data for control of subsequent processing of film
C355S041000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06324345
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a photographic film having a novel bar code recorded in a different position using the standardized DX coding systems to represent additional information. More particularly, relates to a method of acquiring additional information for performing image processing by reading the novel bar code from the photographic film.
A photoprinter is an apparatus where an image taken with a camera and recorded on a photographic film such as a negative or reversal film (which are hereinafter referred to simply as “film”) is printed on photographic paper such as color paper. It is required with the photoprinter that the photographic paper be finished to a print reproducing a high-quality image. To meet this requirement, the conventional analog photoprinter of an areal exposure type performs photometry on the image carried on a film, and printing conditions such as color filter conditions and the amount of exposure that are necessary for printing an image with appropriate colors and densities are determined on the basis of the obtained photometric data. The Assignee recently put a digital photoprinter on the market as an advanced model that performs digitally controlled laser exposure. With this photoprinter, the image carried on a film is photoelectrically read pixel by pixel to produce digital image data, on the basis of which printing conditions such as set-up and image processing conditions are determined in such a way as to print an image of appropriate colors and densities.
However, the emulsion used on films and their base density differ not only between film manufacturers but also between film types. Therefore, when photographic printing is to be done, just determining the printing conditions from photometric and digital image data is insufficient to produce an image having appropriate color and density balances. Hence, the image processing conditions and the printing conditions are currently determined based on the film manufacturer and the film type, in addition to the photometric and digital image data.
Under the circumstances, currently used photographic films such as negatives and reversals, particularly those of 135 size, have various kinds of bar codes marked in the edge portion as trade standards; they include a DX bar code that represents film information such as film manufacturer, film type and emulsion number (the DX bar code is hereinafter referred to simply as “DX code”), an expanded DX bar code which, besides including the above film information, adds the information about frame number in order to provide a back print of the frame number of the film for a finished print (the expanded DX bar code is hereinafter referred to simply as “expanded code”), and an FNS code which represents the frame number. These codes can be read automatically by a dedicated bar code reader.
FIG. 10A
shows an example of the location DC where the DX code DX or the expanded DX code (DXe) is recorded on a negative film of 135 size, as well as the location FN where the (FNS) code FNS is recorded on the same film.
FIGS. 10B
,
10
C and
10
D show an example of the (DX) code DX, the expanded DX code (DXe) and the FNS code (FNS).
As shown in
FIG. 10A
, if the negative film of 135 size F
0
is placed with the emulsion coated side facing down and with the frame number increasing from left to right, the expanded DX code DX or the expanded DX code DXe is recorded on the bottom edge. Namely, the DX or DXe codes are recorded in the edge region DC under bottom perforations P, in two locations in an image region GA of a common full-size frame. On the other hand, FNS is recorded in the edge region FN above top perforations P, in two locations in the image region GA. Hence, these standardized codes are recorded one by one in an image region of a half-size frame. Since the expanded DX code contains a portion representing the frame number, the code FNS is not recorded when the expanded DX code is recorded.
The DX code DX and expanded DX code DXe, as shown in
FIGS. 10B and 10C
, respectively, share the common feature of being a dual-track bar code consisting of two tracks, a clock track Tc in top and a data track Td at bottom. The DX code DX and expanded DX code DXe are bar codes consisting of 23 and 31 bits, respectively. Each bar code comprises, from left to right, a 6-bit entry pattern S
1
representing the beginning of a bar code sequence, a 7-bit film-product-class identification array S
2
representing film manufacturer, film type and the like, a 1-bit unassigned bit S
3
, a 4-bit film-specifier-array representing film's emulsion number and the like, a 1-bit parity bit S
5
and a 4-bit exit pattern S
6
representing the end of the bar code sequence. The expanded DX code DXe additionally includes 8 bits consisting of a 7-bit frame number array S
7
and a 1-bit second unassigned bit S
8
and which are interposed between the film-specifier-array S
4
and the parity bit S
5
in the DX code DX.
The FNS (film number system) code FNS, as shown in
FIG. 10D
, comprises, from left to right, an entry pattern S
9
consisting of one wide bar followed by one narrow space, a frame number sequence S
10
consisting of five bars elements interleaved with four space elements, three of these nine elements being wide and the remaining six being narrow, and an exit pattern S
11
consisting of one narrow space followed by one narrow bar.
The standardized codes such as the above-described DX code DX, expanded DX code DXe and FNS code FNS provide film information such as film manufacturer, film type and emulsion number and by setting the conditions for printing and image processing the photographic paper in accordance with the film, one can produce finished prints that have been subjected to appropriate processing.
In fact, however, the quality of the image recorded on a photographic film largely varies with the model of the camera used to take the picture, the type of the taking lens, the characteristics of the photographic film on which the image was recorded and other factors. Consider, for example, the image recorded with a comparatively low-price camera such as a film with lens or a compact camera.
Generally speaking, the image, as compared with that recorded with a quality camera such as a single-lens reflex camera, suffers comparatively high levels of overall image blurring, decrease in the amount of exposure in the edge of image field, decrease of contrast, distortion of images such as the subject of interest, and cross color.
The deterioration in the quality of the image reproduced on prints is particularly pronounced when the image taken with a low-price camera is outputted as a print and factors that contribute to this phenomenon include the lateral chromatic aberration and distortion that are caused by the poor performance of the lens fitted on the camera used to record the image. A color image is formed of three primary colors, red (R), green (G) and blue (B) and due to the slight wavelength-dependent differences in the refractive index (imaging magnification) of the lens, the imaging magnification of the three light components, R, G and B, varies to cause “lateral chromatic aberration”. As a result, the image recorded on a film will have color mismatch upon reproduction. In order to record a satisfactory image, a plane normal to the optical axis must be correspondingly imaged on an imaging plane. In fact, however, ordinary lenses suffer an aberration called “distortion”. The image recorded on a film will accordingly be distorted upon reproduction.
If the image itself that is recorded on a photographic film has deteriorations in quality such as blurring and distortion, the problem cannot be dealt with by such measures as the correction of the amount of exposure and the print quality cannot be improved beyond a certain limit. This problem has become particularly noticeable in recent years as manufacturers offer cameras of lower price as exemplified by films with lens and compact cameras and as users prefer photographic films of h
Fuji Photo Film Co. , Ltd.
Gray David M.
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