Facsimile and static presentation processing – Facsimile – Picture signal generator
Reexamination Certificate
1999-02-22
2003-01-28
Grant, II, Jerome (Department: 2624)
Facsimile and static presentation processing
Facsimile
Picture signal generator
C358S471000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06512601
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND
Electronic film development is a process in which conventional silver halide film is electronically scanned during the actual development process, rather than waiting, as in the common art, until development is finished. Electronic film development is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,519,510 issued to the present inventor.
With electronic film development it is possible to build a history of the emerging image through different phases of development. Early in development, highlights reveal the greatest clarity. Conventional development would proceed past this point into total darkness, but by capturing the image at this time, highlight details that would normally be lost are saved. Conversely, conventional development would end development at the optimum compromise point. But by developing past that time and continuing to capture the image during continued development, image details that would normally be lost can be coaxed from the shadows.
Thus, one key to electronic film development is the ability to capture images of the same piece of film at different development times and to later merge these images into one image with more detail than in conventional development. This merging is called “stitching”. In the prior art, stitching was performed by effectively cutting out and aligning parts of the different development time images, and pasting those image fragments back together.
This system is capable of coping with variations or jumps in sample times that would confuse the prior art method of stitching. For example, if all the samples were made 30 seconds later, but all the densities were proportionately higher, the same continuous curve would of course be described without special corrections required to make individually captured image densities coalign.
Additional background art is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,465,155 developed by Al Edgar. This known process extends electronic film development to tricolor image capture. In duplex film scanning, a conventional multilayer color film is scanned during development in three ways: by reflected light from the back, by reflected light from the front, and by transmitted light from either the front or back. Each of these three ways of scanning “sees,” to varying degrees, the front, middle, and back layers of the multilayer film. By mathematically differencing the images seen in these three ways, all colors can be distinguished and, through color mapping techniques, can be assigned to the correct colors.
FIG. 1
presents a basic apparatus for electronic film development. A filmstrip
102
is placed under development by immersing the entire film in a transparent developing tank (not shown for clarity). During development, an infrared lamp
104
is switched on to illuminate a developing image
106
on the film. Light passing through the film
102
containing the image
106
is focused by lens
108
onto an area sensor array
110
. At the same time, light reflected from the front of the film
102
containing the image
106
is focused by lens
112
onto an area sensor array
114
. After the back transmission and front reflection images have been received by the sensor arrays
110
and
114
and stored in a computer memory, the lamp
104
is extinguished and the infrared lamp
120
is activated. With lamp
120
on, the sensor array
114
receives a front transmission image, and the sensor array
110
receives a back reflection image of the light from the film
102
containing the image
106
. In the course of electronic film development, this process is repeated any number of times to receive multiple images made during development.
The problem with the apparatus of
FIG. 1
is that only one frame can be developed at a time. The method also requires very precise placement of developer application to transition in the thin space between frames. Further, the method requires precise alignment of frames on a film before development is started. If a mistake is made in frame alignment, which is easy to do before any image has begun to develop, a seam will appear within a frame, ruining the image exposed in that frame. This hit or miss development is unacceptable for general use.
FIG. 2
presents a prior art refinement of an electronic film development apparatus. In
FIG. 2
, a filmstrip
202
is moved continuously to the right without requiring foreknowledge of frame boundaries. Developer is applied at station
204
. At some time after application of developer, the film
202
will be positioned under line
206
. At this line
206
the film
202
is scanned by two linear scan arrays: a front array
210
receives light imaged through lens
212
, and a back array
214
receives light imaged through lens
216
. In conjunction with front lamp
220
and back lamp
222
, the front refection, back reflection, and transmission images can be received as described in FIG.
1
.
In the apparatus of
FIG. 2
, sensor arrays
210
and
214
will always receive images of the film
202
at a specific development time fixed by the time of transport between the developer application station
204
and the line being scanned
206
. A second scanning station viewing line
230
, and a third scanning station viewing line
240
capture two additional images at two additional distinct times. Combined, the three scanning stations provide three views of the image in the film at three points in time.
Because of the ability to continuously move the film
202
, the apparatus of
FIG. 2
solved the problem of knowing frame boundaries before development. In fact, the entire film is developed seamlessly, with the assumption that further software can parse the continuous film image into separate frames.
The prior art apparatus of
FIG. 2
has some serious disadvantages that severely limited the commercialization of electronic film development. The three scanning stations of
FIG. 2
would cost on the order of three times that of the one scanning station of FIG.
1
. Further, as explained above, an improved image would be obtained by scanning the image many more times than three. Although the apparatus of
FIG. 2
could contemplate additional scanning stations, the cost would grow proportionately. Further, the line scanners of
FIG. 2
require much more light than the area scanner of FIG.
1
.
Another serious flaw in the apparatus of
FIG. 2
is the problem in later aligning the images made at the different scanning stations. The image made along line
230
is scanned at a different development time from the image made along line
206
, and therefore contains different image details. Because of the differences in these images, registration of these images in software was difficult and often done improperly since prior art software had difficulties aligning images with different sets of details. In response to the inability of software to align the images, the apparatus of
FIG. 2
relied on expensive, precision mechanics for alignment, further increasing the cost. Electronic film development promised a universal film that could be used in conventional cameras and yet give unprecedented image detail as well as give a widened sensitivity range that would embrace the natural light of life without reliance on harsh electronic flash. The further promise of electronic film development was for a small development apparatus, with no plumbing, that could fit beside a desktop computer in businesses, schools, and homes to accelerate the image literacy revolution. The problems described above seriously compromised these dreams by making an electronic film development apparatus too expensive for families and schools to afford.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
A primary object of this invention is to provide a simplified method of electronic film development.
A corollary object is to perform seamless scanning during film development with a single area scan station.
Another corollary object is to perform an arbitrary number of scans per film area with seamless coverage.
A further object is to perform seamless scanning at multiple times during development with a single linear array scanner.
Anot
Applied Science Fiction Inc.
Dinsmore & Shohl LLP
Grant II Jerome
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