JPH11102018A - Method and device for retrieving microfilm - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the possibility of the erroneous detection of a frame when the existence of the frame is detected and retrieved by deciding the existence of the frame by regarding the part of a film as white when the number of white signals in respective groups is equal to or over a set value and regarding it as black when the number of white signals is below the set value. SOLUTION: A density signal being the signal outputted from an optical sensor 206 is binarized to an H level and an L level by a binarization part. The H level corresponds to the transparent part (white) of the film and the L level corresponds to the opaque frame part (black) thereof. The binarized signals are inputted to a decision part. By the decision part, the number of white signals included in the groups of the prescribed number of continuous binarized signals inputted before a sampling time is successively obtained based on a sampling signal. Then, the existence of the frame 202 is decided by regarding the part of the film as white when the number of white signals is equal to or over the set value and regarding it as black when the number of white signals is below the set value. A decision signal being the result decided by the decision part is inputted to a retrieval part. Then, the number of frames is accumulated and the target frame is detected. The target frame is fed to a picture projecting position and the feeding of the film 200 is stopped.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for retrieving a microfilm for judging the presence or absence of a frame from a density change in a running direction of the microfilm.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art It is known that a search mark (blip) is attached to each frame in order to search for a microfilm, and the blip is detected and searched. On the other hand, it has been considered that a search is performed by detecting the presence or absence of a frame instead of the blip.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art In detecting a frame in this way, when the frame edges are irregular, the density difference between the transparent portion of the film and the film is small, or when the film has dust or scratches, etc. , Frames may be erroneously detected.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a microfilm search method capable of reducing the possibility of erroneous detection of a frame when performing a search by detecting the presence or absence of a frame. The first purpose is to do so. It is a second object of the present invention to provide a microfilm search device that can be used directly for implementing the method.

[0005]

According to the present invention, there is provided a microfilm retrieving method for determining the presence or absence of a frame from a density change in a running direction of a microfilm, wherein the detected density change is output for each predetermined microfilm feed amount. The number of white signals included in a group consisting of a predetermined number of continuous binary signals is sequentially obtained based on the sampling signals, and the number of white signals in each of these groups is determined. Is determined as white when the value is equal to or more than the set value and black is determined as black when the value is less than the set value.

Here, the density change of the microfilm is detected at a plurality of positions in the width direction of the microfilm, and the presence or absence of a frame can be determined by using a plurality of determination results obtained from the density changes at the plurality of positions. . In this case, when the photographing method of the microfilm changes to simplex, duo, duplex, or the like, the change in the photographing method is convenient by using the density change at the position corresponding to the photographing method. Alternatively, the presence or absence of a frame may be determined by majority decision of a plurality of determination results.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a microfilm search apparatus which determines the presence or absence of a frame based on a change in density in the running direction of a microfilm, an encoder for outputting a sampling signal for each predetermined microfilm feed amount, A density sensor for detecting a film density within the running width of a microfilm frame, a binarization unit for binarizing a density signal output from the density sensor in synchronization with the sampling signal, and a binarization unit The number of white signals included in a group consisting of a predetermined number of consecutive signals is sequentially obtained based on the sampling signal, and the presence or absence of a frame is indicated as white when the number of white signals is equal to or more than a set value and black when the number of white signals is less than the set value. A micro-filter comprising: a determination unit that outputs a determination signal; and a search unit that searches for a frame based on the determination signal. Time scan device, is achieved by.

Here, a plurality of density sensors are provided in the width direction of the microfilm, and the judging section selects and uses only one of these density signals corresponding to the photographing method, or determines whether or not there is a frame by majority decision of a plurality of judgment results. May be determined.

The density sensor is configured such that end faces of a pair of optical fibers are opposed to each other with a microfilm interposed therebetween, light guided from one optical fiber is made incident on the other optical fiber, and the amount of incident light is measured by the optical sensor. it can. In this case, a number of density sensors can be arranged side by side in the width direction of the narrow microfilm.

[0010]

The number of white signals included in a predetermined number of binarized signal groups immediately before each sampling signal is obtained,
Decide between black and white. For example, in the case of a negative film, it can be determined that the frame has entered the frame when the determination result changes from white to black or in the vicinity immediately before.

[0011]

[Principle] FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the principle of the present invention, FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the function of the judging unit, FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the circuit configuration of the judging unit, and FIGS. FIG. First, the principle of the present invention will be described with reference to these drawings.

In FIG. 7, reference numeral 200 denotes a micro-roll film, in which frames 202 are imprinted side by side in the longitudinal direction of the film 200. Reference numerals 204 and 206 denote a light source lamp and an optical sensor that face each other with the film 200 interposed therebetween, and these form a density sensor that detects a density change in the running direction of the film 200. The density signal which is the output signal of the optical sensor 206 is converted to a binarizing unit 208 as shown in FIG.
Is binarized into an H level and an L level. The H level corresponds to a transparent part (white) of the film, and the L level corresponds to an opaque top part (black). This binarization process is performed in synchronization with a sampling signal output by the encoder that detects the feed amount of the microfilm 200 at every fixed feed amount (for example, 0.1 mm).

[0013] The binarized signal is input to a determination unit 210. The determination unit 210 sequentially obtains the number of white signals included in a group of a predetermined number of continuous binarized signals input before a certain sampling point based on the sampling signals, and determines the number of these white signals as a set value. If it is above, it is determined as white, and if it is less than the set value, it is determined as black to determine the presence or absence of a frame. This judgment unit 21
The determination signal, which is the determination result of 0, is input to the search unit 212, where the number of frames is integrated to detect a target frame, and the target frame is sent to the image projection position to stop feeding the film 200.

The determination section 210 makes a determination by using seven continuous binary signals Q1 to Q7 in FIG.
That is, the binarized signals input for each sampling signal are sequentially sent to the seven-digit shift register, and at the time of the seventh sampling signal, the immediately preceding seven binarized signals Q1 to Q7 are output.
As one group. Such groups are sequentially obtained for each sampling signal, and the number of white signals included in each group is obtained.

The determination unit 210 determines that the number of signals is black when the number of signals is equal to or more than a set number (for example, 3) and white when the number of signals is less than the set number. Note that FIG. 8 only shows the principle, and the size of the frame 202 and the size of the sampling signal interval of 0.1 mm are significantly different from the actual size.

The determining unit 210 having such a function is
It can be configured as shown in FIG. That is, it is composed of the shift register unit 214 and the logic unit 216. Note that FIG. 9 illustrates a three-digit shift register for simplicity. The shift register section 214 has D flip-flops (delay flip-flops, hereinafter referred to as D-FFs) 214A having a predetermined number of digits, and each D-FF 214A sequentially sends a binary signal in synchronization with a sampling signal. Each D
Binarized signals Q1, Q2, Q3 output from FF 214A
Is sent to the logic unit 216.

The logic unit 216 is composed of a combination of NOR circuits, and here, three consecutive binary signals Q are shown.
If two or more of 1 to Q3 are black, a determination signal indicating that the frame is within the frame is output. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a determination result when the logic unit 216 is used. (A) and (B) are 2
The black and white arrangement of the digitized signal is different. FIG. 11 shows a determination result in a case where five binarized signals are grouped into one group. Similarly, FIGS. 11A and 11B differ in the black and white arrangement of the binarized signals.

[0018]

FIG. 1 is a view showing a use state of one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the inside of a scanner used here, FIG. 3 is a side view showing an arrangement of main parts of the scanner, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a line sensor driving unit, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a main part, and FIG. 6 is a diagram explaining the arrangement of optical fibers.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes a computer main body, which incorporates a CPU and the like. Reference numeral 12 denotes a display means such as a CRT or a liquid crystal plate, and 14 denotes a keyboard, which are placed on a desk 16. Reference numeral 18 denotes a scanner housed under the desk 16, which incorporates the microfilm search device of the present invention. Reference numeral 20 denotes a printer placed beside the desk 16.

The scanner 18 has a cartridge insertion port 22 at the upper part of the front surface thereof.
4 (see FIGS. 2 and 3), the image of the micro-roll film 26 having a width of 16 mm is read at a low density. The read image is subjected to predetermined image processing by a CPU or the like in the computer main body 10 and then displayed on the display unit 12.

This image reading is performed while the line sensor 96 described below is stopped and only the film 26 is running.
In the meantime, the display means 12 of the CRT displays the read image while changing it continuously in synchronization with the running of the film 26. Therefore, the display on the display means 12 moves in synchronization with the running of the film 26, and an image substantially similar to that projected on the screen can be displayed on the display means 12.

At the time of a manual search, the operator looks at the image on the display means 12 and instructs output for an image that requires print output. Based on this output instruction, the scanner 18 positions the frame at the correct position and reads the entire image with high-density image quality. This high-density image is printed out to the printer 20, stored in a magneto-optical disk, a hard disk, or the like, or transferred to an external storage device.

At the time of automatic search, the address of the target frame is input from the keyboard 14. In this automatic search, a frame is detected as described above, and a target frame is searched by counting the number of frames. The frame search is performed by the search unit 212 using the determination result of the determination unit 210 indicating the presence or absence of the frame.

Next, the configuration of the scanner 18 will be described. The scanner 18 has a vertically long housing 28, and a supply-side reel drive unit 30 is provided above a front portion of the housing 28, and a take-up reel drive unit 32 is provided below the front portion. The supply-side reel drive unit 30 inserts the cartridge 2 into the cartridge insertion slot 22.
When the cartridge 4 is inserted, the cartridge 24 is automatically moved to engage the reel 24A with the rotating shaft. Further, the leading end of the film 26 is pulled out, sent downward, and guided to the take-up reel 32A of the take-up reel drive unit 32.

Here, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the film 26 passes behind the gap between the reel drive units 30 and 32, that is, passes through the back side when viewed from the front of the housing 28. In FIG. 3, 34, 34,
36, 36 are guide rollers for the film 26. Accordingly, a space 38 is formed between the gap and the front panel 28A of the housing 28, and a light source unit 52 described later is accommodated therein.

The take-up reel drive unit 32 has a drive belt 40 that runs in contact with the reel 32A as shown in FIG. This drive belt 40 is a guide roller 4
2, 44, a drive roller 46, an encoder 48, and a tension roller 50, and are driven by the drive roller 46 to travel in the film winding direction (the direction of the arrow). The encoder 48 controls a constant feed amount of the film 26 (for example, 0.1 m
m) to output a sampling signal.

Numeral 52 is a light source unit accommodated in the space 38 between the reel driving units 30 and 32,
It includes a reflecting mirror 56, a condenser lens 58, an appropriate filter, and the like. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 60 denotes a power supply circuit, and 62 denotes a power control circuit such as a motor.

Next, the line sensor driving section 64 will be described.
The line sensor driving section 64 is integrated with the projection lens 66. That is, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the frame (rotating frame) 68 of the line sensor driving unit 64 is integrally formed with a cylindrical portion 70 for holding the projection lens 66.
The projection lens 66 held by the cylindrical portion 70 has a fixed focal point and a magnification of about twice. The cylindrical portion 70 is rotatably held by a frame (fixed frame) 72 fixed to the housing 28 so that the inclination of the image to be read can be corrected. Here, the cylinder 70 rotates about an optical axis 74 perpendicular to the film 26.

The cylindrical portion 70 of the rotating frame 68 and the pulley 76 of the servomotor 76 attached to the fixed frame 72
A belt 78 is wound around A. The rotation frame 68 is rotatable around the optical axis 74 by the rotation of the motor 76.

As shown in FIG. 4, a movable base 80 is attached to the rotating frame 68 on the surface opposite to the cylindrical portion 70. That is, the movable base 80 is provided with a pair of guide rods 82, 82.
Slidably held by the optical axis 74 near the opening of the cylindrical portion 70.
Can be reciprocated in a direction orthogonal to.

A belt 86 wound around pulleys 84, 84 is provided on the rotating frame 68 in parallel with the reciprocating direction of the movable table 80.
And one side of the movable table 80 is fixed to the belt 86. One pulley 84 has a servo motor 8
The rotation of 8 is transmitted via the belt 90. As a result, by rotating the servo motor 88 forward and backward, the movable table 8 is rotated.
0 can be reciprocated on a plane orthogonal to the optical axis 74.

The movable table 80 has guide rods 82, 82
A long window 92 is formed in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the movable table 80, that is, in a direction perpendicular to the reciprocating direction of the movable table 80. This long window 92
Is located on the optical axis 74 in the longitudinal direction. A printed wiring board 94 is fixed to the rear surface of the movable base 80, that is, the surface opposite to the cylindrical portion 70 so as to be orthogonal to the optical axis 74.

A CCD line sensor 96 facing the long window 92 is fixed to the substrate 94 (FIG. 3). The substrate 94 is also provided with a preamplifier for amplifying the output of the line sensor 96. CCD line sensor 9
Of course, the light receiving surface of No. 6 coincides with the image forming surface of the projection image of the projection lens 66.

Next, an apparatus for detecting a frame will be described with reference to FIG. The upstream side of the image reading position of the microfilm 26, that is, the position of the optical axis 74 (the supply reel 24A side)
The film 26 is traversed in the width direction and the film 26
A pair of optical fiber holding blocks 100 and 102 facing each other with a slight gap therebetween are provided. Nine optical fibers 104 and 106 arranged in the film width direction are inserted through these blocks 100 and 102.

The optical fibers 104 and 106 are held perpendicular to the film 26, and their end faces face each other with the film 26 interposed therebetween. That is, the end faces of the nine optical fibers 104 face the end faces of the nine optical fibers 106, respectively. As a result, nine combinations in which the end faces face each other with the film 26 interposed therebetween can be obtained.

The nine optical fibers 104 held by the block 100 are bundled and guided to the vicinity of the lamp 54 of the light source 52. Therefore, light enters the nine optical fibers 104 from the lamp 54 and is guided to one surface (the surface on the block 100 side) of the film 26.

Light emitted from the nine optical fibers 104 opposed to each other enters the nine optical fibers 106 held by the block 102 via the film 26. 9
The optical fibers 106 are guided from the block 102 to the optical sensors 108, respectively. The density signals output from the nine optical sensors 108 are separately input to a binarization unit 110, where they are binarized in synchronization with a sampling signal output from the encoder 48.

Each of the nine binarized signals is determined by the decision unit 112.
The determination result of the presence or absence of a frame is obtained based on the output of each optical sensor 108 here. The nine determination results are input to the final frame determination unit 114, where the presence or absence of a frame is finally determined. The final frame determination unit 114 determines the presence or absence of a frame from these nine determination results according to a shooting method such as simplex, duplex, or duo.

FIG. 6A shows the case of the simplex system. In this case, since all the optical sensors 108 detect frames, the presence or absence of a frame is determined by using the outputs of all the determination units 112. For example, if the majority of the determination result is black, the frame is determined to be a frame.

FIG. 6B shows the case of the duplex system, in which the front and back of a document are simultaneously photographed on the upper and lower channels, and there is an optical sensor 108A which does not detect a frame between both channels. Therefore, these optical sensors 108
Except for the output of A, the upper and lower channel optical sensors 108B,
The frame of each channel is detected using the output of 108C.
FIG. 6C shows the case of the duo system. Since the optical sensor 108D at the center does not detect a frame, the frames of each channel are detected by the optical sensors 108E and 108F in the upper and lower groups.

In the embodiment described above, since the light is guided to each optical fiber 104 by using the light source section 52 for photographing, there is an advantage that the light source can be simplified. However, in the present invention, another light source may be used, or light may be guided to each optical fiber 104 using a plurality of light sources. Further, the determination unit may obtain the number (W) of white signals among the number (N) of signals forming the binarized signal group, and compare the ratio (W / N) of the two with a set value. .

[0042]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, as described above, the density change in the running direction of the film is binarized in synchronization with the sampling signal, and the white color included in a predetermined number of continuous binarized signal groups is obtained. The number of signals is sequentially obtained based on the sampling signal, and the presence or absence of a frame is determined as white when the number of these white signals is greater than or equal to a set value, and as black when less than the set value. The possibility of detection is reduced.

Here, the presence or absence of a frame can be determined at each of a plurality of positions in the film width direction, and the presence or absence of a frame can be determined using the determination result. In this case, by changing the determination result used in accordance with the filming method of the film, it is possible to easily cope with films having different filming methods. In addition, by using a plurality of determination results and determining that black (there is a frame) when a determination result equal to or more than a predetermined ratio (for example, a majority) is black, the determination accuracy can be further improved.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus directly used for performing the method. In this case, a plurality of density sensors can be provided at different positions in the width direction of the film, and the determination can be made using these outputs. When a plurality of density sensors are provided in the film width direction as described above, the end faces of a plurality of pairs of optical fibers are opposed to each other with the film interposed therebetween, light is guided from one optical fiber, and light transmitted through the film is transmitted to the other optical fiber. By detecting with the provided optical sensor, it is possible to detect the density at many positions within the narrow film width (claim 5).

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a use state of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the inside of a scanner used here in a see-through manner;

FIG. 3 is a side view showing the arrangement of the main part.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a line sensor driving unit.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a main part.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an arrangement of optical fibers.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the principle of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing functions of a determination unit.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a circuit configuration example of a determination unit;

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an operation of a determination unit.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an operation of a determination unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 26,200 Microfilm 52 Light source unit 54,204 Lamp 104,106 Optical fiber 108,206 Optical sensor 110,208 Constituting density sensor 110,208 Binarization unit 112,210 Judgment unit 114 Final frame judgment unit 212 Search unit

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A microfilm search method for determining the presence or absence of a frame from a density change in a running direction of a microfilm, wherein the detected density change is converted into a binary value in synchronization with a sampling signal output at a predetermined feed amount of the microfilm. The number of white signals included in a group consisting of a predetermined number of continuous binarized signals is sequentially obtained based on the sampling signal. When the number of white signals in each of these groups is equal to or greater than a set value, white is set. A microfilm search method characterized in that the presence or absence of a frame is determined as black when the value is less than the value. 2. The microfilm search method according to claim 1, wherein the presence or absence of a frame is determined at a plurality of positions in the width direction of the microfilm by using a plurality of determination results obtained by the method of claim 1. 3. A microfilm search device for determining the presence or absence of a frame based on a change in density in the running direction of the microfilm, comprising: an encoder for outputting a sampling signal for each predetermined feed amount of the microfilm; , A density sensor for detecting a film density, a binarization unit for binarizing a density signal output from the density sensor in synchronization with the sampling signal, and a group consisting of a predetermined number of continuous binary signals. A determination unit that sequentially obtains the number of white signals included in the sampling signal based on the sampling signal and outputs a determination signal indicating the presence or absence of a frame as black when the number of white signals is less than the set value as white when the number of white signals is equal to or more than the set value, A retrieval unit for retrieving a frame based on the determination signal. 4. The microfilm according to claim 3, wherein the density sensors are provided at a plurality of different positions in the width direction of the microfilm, and the determination section outputs a determination signal based on a plurality of density signals output from each density sensor. Search device. 5. A density sensor comprising: a pair of optical fibers whose end faces face each other across a microfilm; a light source for guiding light to one optical fiber; and an optical sensor for detecting light incident on the other optical fiber. The microfilm search device according to claim 3 or 4, further comprising: