Facsimile and static presentation processing – Facsimile – Picture signal generator
Reexamination Certificate
2000-09-13
2004-08-03
Williams, Kimberly (Department: 2626)
Facsimile and static presentation processing
Facsimile
Picture signal generator
C358S487000, C358S538000, C358S517000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06771395
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image reading and processing apparatus which reads an image formed by light projected onto the image sensor through a film and performs image processing on the read image, and which is arranged to reduce occurrence of chipping off images formed on films. More particularly, the present invention relates to a digital printing apparatus using such an image reading and processing apparatus and to an image reading and processing method relating to the image reading and processing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
A kind of printing apparatus is known which performs digital exposure when an image formed on a photographic film such as a negative film or a reversal film (hereinafter referred to simply as “film”) is printed on a light-sensitive material (photographic paper). Digital photoprinters designed as this kind of printing apparatus have recently been put to practical use. That is, this kind of digital photoprinter performs a digital exposure process in which an image formed on a film is photoelectrically read and converted into a digital signal, which is processed by various kinds of image processing to form a recording image data (output data), and an image (latent image) is formed on a light-sensitive material by exposing the light-sensitive material to a scanning beam of recording light which is modulated with the recording image data, thereby obtaining a printed image (finished image).
This digital photoprinter is capable of determining exposure conditions at the time of printing by processing image data obtained as digital image data from an image. Therefore, it can suitably perform correction of washed-out highlights or flat shadows of an image resulting from a flash photography condition or a strongly backlighted condition, sharpness (sharpening) processing, correction of a color failure and a density failure, correction of a result of underexposure or overexposure, correction of a reduction in peripheral light quantity, etc., to obtain a print at a high quality level not attainable by the conventional direct exposure. The digital photoprinter can also perform synthesis of a plurality of images, division of an image, and synthesis of letters by-image data processing, and can output prints freely edited and processed according to uses.
Moreover, the digital photoprinter can form a print from a picture (image data) taken by a digital still camera or the like. Further, it can not only output an image in the form of a print (photograph) but also supply image data to a computer or the like or store image data on a recording medium such as a floppy disk, and therefore the image data can be applied to various uses other than photographic uses.
Basically, the above-described digital photoprinter is constituted by a scanner (image reader) which photoelectrically reads an image recorded on a film, an image processor which processes the read image to form recording image data, and a printer (image recorder) which forms a print by performing scanning exposure of a light-sensitive material according to the image data and by performing development on the light-sensitive material.
For example, if the scanner performs two-dimensional image reading of an image recorded on a film by using an area charge-coupled device (CCD) sensor, the scanner makes light emitted from a light source travel to a film to obtain, through an aperture mask, projection light carrying the image recorded on the film, reads the image by focusing the projection light on the area CCD sensor by an optical system imaging lens and by photoelectrically converting the image into an electrical signal with the area CCD sensor, processes the signal if necessary, and sends the signal as film image data (image data signal) to the image processor.
The image processor sets image processing conditions from the image data previously read by the scanner, performs image processing under the set conditions to form output data (exposure conditions) for recording the image, and sends the output data to the printer.
If the printer is, for example, a unit for performing light beam scanning exposure, it performs two-dimensional scanning exposure (printing) of a light-sensitive material with a light beam modulated according to the output data sent from the image processor, thereby forming a latent image. The printer then performs a predetermined development process, etc., to output a print (photograph) in which the image recorded on the film is reproduced.
In the above-described digital photoprinter, a film on which photographed images are recorded is transferred and stopped by detecting one of the images on the film so that the frame of the image stops at a predetermined position, and projection light from the image recorded on the film is read by the area CCD sensor through the aperture mask. It is important to improve the accuracy with which each image recorded on the film is detected by the sensor and to accurately stop the frame of each photographed image just at the predetermined reading position in order to prevent occurrence of a failure to output an image portion at an end of the image area in the images recorded on the film, i.e., chipping off, or to prevent each of output print images from having a non-photographed area, i.e., a blank image area.
If the scanner performs two-dimensional image reading of images recorded on a film by using a line CCD sensor, each of the photographed images formed on the film is read from the film while the film is being transferred. Transfer of the film for this reading is performed on the basis of photographed image position information detected from prescan image data obtained by previously reading the entire area of the film without distinction between areas where photographed images are formed (hereinafter referred to as picture areas) and areas where no photographed images are formed (hereinafter referred to as non-picture areas). Also in image reading in this case, it is important to accurately extract only the photographed images from the film during transfer of the film so as to prevent occurrence of chipping off and a blank image area as described above.
Japanese Patent No. 2625278 discloses a picture frame positioning method in which an edge of each of picture frames recorded on a photographic film is detected with accuracy no matter what the photographed state in the picture frame, and the detected picture frame is set at a predetermined position by using the result of the detection.
Japanese Patent Application No. 5-142661 discloses a picture frame positioning method which enables a defective picture frame whose edge has not been detected to be correctly set at a predetermined position by fixed-amount positioning transfer. Japanese Patent Application No. 10-90802 discloses a photographic processing apparatus which provides, on a film, marking for positioning with the eye to enable smooth positioning at all positioning points by easier operations if the edges of picture frames on the film cannot be recognized.
In the digital photoprinter using an area CCD sensor in the scanner, however, there is a limit to the accuracy with which the edge of each of photographed images recorded on a film is detected, and there is also variation in the transfer speed, etc., of a transfer system for transferring a film, so that it is extremely difficult to obtain such a high stop position accuracy as a detected photographed image on a film can stop just at the predetermined position and the entire image recorded on the film can be imaged on the area CCD sensor without cutting off any portion of the image and without adding a non-image portion. Under these conditions, in order to prevent printing of a blank image area corresponding to a non-picture area when a photographed image is printed, it is required that, at the time of image reading, projection light carrying the image within an area smaller than the picture area, e.g., an area 10 to 20% smaller than the picture area be obtained through the aperture
Fuji Photo Film Co. , Ltd.
Sughrue & Mion, PLLC
Worku Negussie
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