JP4022798B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus including an exposure unit that forms a copy image on a photosensitive material by irradiating a light beam based on an original image, and a controller that changes the characteristics of the light beam. The original image referred to here is an image formed on each frame of a photographic film obtained by photographing an object with an optical camera, an image as digital image data obtained by scanning such a photographic film with a film scanner, It means an image as a digital image data of a subject directly obtained by a digital camera or the like, an image created on a computer by computer graphics software or the like. The copied image means an image produced on a photosensitive material such as photographic paper using the original image described above as a manuscript, and a typical one is a photographic print. The image forming apparatus to be formed is generally called a printer processor and is installed in a DP shop or the like.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A conventional image forming apparatus is called a projection exposure type, and illuminates a photographic film with illumination light from a light source that constitutes an exposure unit, and exposes a photographic paper with transmitted light that has passed through the photographic film, thereby imaging the photographic film The printed image was printed on photographic paper, and the exposed photographic paper was developed to obtain a photographic print. The color adjustment of a photographic print as a copy image can be made by inserting and removing several filters in front of the light source.
[0003]
Recently, in place of such a projection exposure type image exposure apparatus, print data is obtained by applying appropriate image processing to digital image data obtained by photoelectrically converting a film image or digital image data obtained directly by a digital camera. There is also a so-called digital exposure type image exposure apparatus in which a digital exposure unit exposes photographic paper based on this print data. As the digital exposure unit, various types such as a light-modulated laser beam exposure method, a liquid crystal shutter method, a CRT exposure method, and a fluorescent beam exposure method are employed. In any case, such a digital exposure unit adjusts the irradiation intensity of each RGB color according to the density value of each color of each pixel constituting the digital image data, and forms a latent dot image by exposing the photographic paper. Thus, the exposed photographic paper has a copy image of the original image after development processing. The color adjustment of the obtained copy image can be performed by changing the density value of each color of the digital image data described above. In such a digital exposure method, image data from a digital camera, image data created by computer graphic software, etc. can be handled as an original image, in addition to frame images of photographic film, and projection exposure type photographic paper exposure Compared to devices, the range of original images that can be handled is greatly expanded.
[0004]
In any case, in an image forming apparatus that creates a copy image from such an original image, the reproducibility of the appearance of the image and the color reproducibility of the color image are important. It has been adjusted to produce. However, even if a copy image is produced with the image forming apparatus adjusted as described above, the standard reproducibility may not always satisfy the customer. In order to cope with such a case, conventionally, it has been necessary for the operator to correct the exposure condition by manual operation for each image and to adjust so that a desired copy image can be obtained.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Therefore, if the operator tries to perform the adjustment work for each image as described above in response to the detailed request of the customer, the work load increases and the cost increases. There was an inconvenience that it was not possible to meet the needs of various customers.
In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that can easily produce a copy image that can be satisfied as much as possible to each of people having various sensations.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, an image forming apparatus including an exposure unit that forms a copy image on a photosensitive material by irradiating a light beam based on an original image and a controller that changes the characteristics of the light beam. , The original image includes image data acquired by a digital camera, The controller is A plurality of camera data tables storing camera characteristic correction data created based on image characteristics of a digital camera, and a plurality of photosensitive materials storing data sensitive characteristic correction data created based on color development characteristics of the photosensitive material A data table, Created based on customer and shop preferences and stored arbitrary correction data that can be set and input arbitrarily by the operator plural Optional data table As , The camera-sensitive exposure data adjusted by the camera data table corresponding to the digital camera is generated from the exposure data obtained from the original image, and the photosensitive material corresponding to the photosensitive material used from the camera-corrected exposure data. The exposure amount data adjusted by the data table and the arbitrary data table corresponding to the preference of the customer or shop is generated, and the characteristics are changed based on the exposure amount data. Exposure is performed by a light beam.
In this configuration, an arbitrary data table is prepared that can store arbitrary correction data that is created based on the image preference of the customer or shop and can be set and input by the operator. Therefore, the customer who requested the print order has a predetermined preference. If you want image characteristics, you can select an arbitrary data table that matches it, and correct it to the desired image that deviates from the reference image by your preference. If it has an image characteristic of its own preference for differentiating it, it is possible to correct it to an image unique to the shop by selecting an arbitrary data table that meets the request. Here, the favorite image characteristics are color tone and sharpness.
[0007]
In order to respond to customers' requests and to create a unique shop, once you have set up an arbitrary data table, you only need to select the optional data table as needed. Therefore, an operator's work burden is small and an increase in cost can be suppressed. As a result, it has become possible to provide an image forming apparatus that can easily produce a copy image that can be satisfied as much as possible to each of people having various sensations.
[0008]
In order to change the image characteristics as described above, a conventional exposure processing technique is used. For example, in a digital exposure type image forming apparatus, the tone of each color of each pixel constituting digital image data is corrected. The value is changed with the arbitrary correction data stored in the arbitrary data table. For this reason, each data table is preferably constructed in the memory space in the form of a LUT (Look Up Table). On the other hand, in the projection exposure type image forming apparatus, the arbitrary correction data stored in the arbitrary data table changes, for example, the control amount of the dimming filter that is taken in and out of the light beam path from the light source. Function.
[0010]
In an image forming apparatus that creates a copy image from an original image, the visual reproducibility of the image and the color reproducibility of the color image are important as described above. Care must also be taken. Because various properties such as the photosensitive properties of photosensitive materials represented by photographic paper vary considerably depending on the type and manufacturer. In order to obtain high-quality copy images, it is necessary to match the properties of the photosensitive materials used. Color correction must be performed. In general DP shops and the like, a plurality of types of photographic paper are used. Therefore, every time the paper is replaced with a different type of photographic paper, it is necessary to set color correction in accordance with the photosensitive characteristics. Therefore, by appropriately adjusting the photosensitive material data table so that a good standard print image can be obtained, the above-mentioned arbitrary data table is appropriately used so that an image according to preference can be obtained. As a result, the desired print image can be obtained.
[0011]
In addition, in order to be able to set exposure conditions corresponding to a plurality of photosensitive materials as described above and according to customer preferences etc., data for setting exposure conditions was prepared in advance for all these combinations. In that case, the data becomes enormous and it takes a lot of cost and time to produce it, but as described above, the data can be corrected by appropriately combining the photosensitive material data table and the arbitrary data table. The amount can be suppressed. The color development characteristics of the photosensitive material include the photosensitive characteristics of how much the photosensitive material reacts to incident light, and the development color development of how much color the exposed photosensitive material produces by the development processing material. Therefore, in setting the photosensitive material characteristic correction data in the photosensitive material data table, it is only necessary to consider only the type of photosensitive material when the development processing material is fixed to one type. When a plurality of types of development processing materials are used and the development color development characteristics differ between the development processing materials, it is necessary to set in consideration of the combination of the photosensitive material and the development processing material.
[0012]
Furthermore, in the digital camera, image processing of a subject obtained by photoelectric conversion is subjected to considerably different image processing between models, so that the color development varies considerably between models. For this reason, In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, After standardizing the color characteristics of the digital camera that created the image data with the camera characteristic correction data stored in the camera data table, that is, after losing the individuality of the color characteristics of the digital camera, the standardized image data On the other hand, since the correction is made by the photosensitive material data table or the arbitrary data table, the finally obtained copy image meets the needs of customers and shops.
[0013]
As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, if the controller is configured to determine the model of the digital camera from the attribute data of the image data and select the corresponding camera data table, the image data is captured. At the same time, since the camera data table is automatically set, the burden on the operator is reduced.
[0014]
For the purpose of automating the similar data table selection, an ID code indicating the type of photosensitive material is given to the magazine for storing the photosensitive material, and the controller is appropriately adapted based on the read signal of the ID code. An image forming apparatus that selects a sensitive material data table is also proposed. Further, the controller selects an appropriate arbitrary data table based on the customer code included in the order information sent from the order acceptance machine, thereby reliably providing a copy image having image characteristics preferred by the customer. be able to.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of embodiments with reference to the drawings.
[0015]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
An external perspective view and a block diagram of a printer processor capable of both projection exposure and digital exposure as one embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention are shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, respectively. The printer processor is connected to a receiving machine 20 constructed by a panel computer. The accepting machine 20 receives a print order from a customer and uses a software keyboard displayed on the touch panel to create order information including a customer code, a print size, the number of prints, etc. Provided with an image input unit 20a that extracts image data from various storage media storing CG image data and image data captured by a digital camera, and also has a function of transmitting the input image data to the controller 10 of the printer processor. . Of course, the controller 10 of the printer processor may have the function of the accepting machine 20.
[0016]
This printer processor develops an exposure area 13 for printing an image on photographic paper 2 which is an example of a photosensitive material cut by a paper cutter 12 in accordance with the print size, and photographic paper 2 exposed in this exposure area 13. Development processing section 6, film transport mechanism 8 for transporting a photographic film (hereinafter simply referred to as film) 1, and photographic paper 2 from the photographic paper magazine 11 through the exposure area 13 and the development processing section 6 to a finished print ( A photographic paper transporting mechanism 9 for transporting as a copy image) to the lateral feed conveyor 7 and a sorter 14 for sorting the photographic paper 2 fed from the lateral feed conveyor 7 in units of orders. Control of these parts and realization of various functions Is performed by the controller 10. The controller 10 is accompanied by a monitor 10a configured by a CRT for displaying images and characters and a liquid crystal display, and a console 10b having a keyboard for inputting various information.
[0017]
In the exposure area 13 described above, the projection exposure unit 4 that projects the frame image of the film 1 onto the photographic paper 2 and prints the image on the photographic paper 2 at a common exposure point, and the frame image of the film 1 as digital image data. A digital exposure unit 5 that prints an image on the photographic paper 2 with a light beam controlled based on image data sent from the film scanner 3 to be acquired or digital image data input through the image input unit 20a is provided.
[0018]
The photographic paper 2 is stored in a roll state in the photographic paper magazine 11, and a photographic paper ID code 11 a indicating the type of the photographic paper 2 stored is attached to the photographic paper magazine 11. Is mounted at a predetermined position, the photographic paper ID code 11a is read by the ID code reader 11b, and the read signal is sent to the controller 10.
[0019]
In consideration of a relatively short exposure time and a long development time for the photographic paper 2, the photographic paper transport mechanism 9 of this printer processor is a single photographic paper transport line up to the exposure area 13, and 2 from the development processing unit 6. A row of photographic paper transport lines is formed. For this reason, between the exposure area 13 and the development processing unit 6, the development processing unit 6 is conveyed at an appropriate timing while conveying the switchback type sorting device 9 a and the photographic paper 2 distributed in two rows in two rows. The intermediate conveyance part 9b sent in is provided.
[0020]
This switch-back sorter 9a temporarily passes the photographic paper 2 that has been sent, pinches the rear end of the photographic paper 2, and moves it as it is in the X (horizontal direction) -Y (vertical direction) intermediate transfer. It is alternately delivered to two rows of storable photographic paper transport lines created by the section 9b.
[0021]
Hereinafter, each component will be described.
The film scanner 3 includes an illumination optical system 3a that adjusts the color distribution and intensity distribution of the generated light beam and irradiates the film 1, an imaging optical system 3b that optically processes the transmitted light beam from the film 1, and an imaging The photoelectric conversion unit 3c photoelectrically converts the light beam guided by the optical system 3b into a charge image as a slit image. Each pixel signal of the frame image of the film 1 as the original image acquired by the photoelectric conversion unit 3c is converted into a digital signal having a predetermined number of bits (for example, 12 bits) and sent to the controller 10 as digital image data.
[0022]
The projection exposure unit 4, which is one of the exposure units, includes an illumination optical system 4a and an exposure optical system 4b. The illumination optical system 4a includes an exposure light source, and yellow, magenta, and cyan filters in the exposure optical path. A light control filter 40a that adjusts the color balance of irradiation light from the exposure light source 41 by exiting and exiting, and a mirror tunnel that uniformly mixes the light whose color balance has been adjusted by the light control filter 40a are provided. The system 4b includes a printing lens unit that forms a transmission image from the frame image to be printed on the photographic paper 2, a shutter, and the like.
[0023]
The digital exposure unit 5, which is another exposure unit, includes a line exposure type optical print head 5 a and a sub-scanning mechanism 5 b that moves the optical print head 5 a in the sub-scanning direction that is the conveyance direction of the photographic paper 2. . This optical print head 5a uses a phosphor light emission method, and a red print head composed of a vacuum fluorescent element that performs red exposure and a green print head composed of a vacuum fluorescent element that performs green exposure and a blue exposure. It consists of a blue print head composed of vacuum fluorescent elements. The vacuum fluorescent elements of the print heads of the respective colors are linearly arrayed in the main scanning direction (width direction of the photographic paper 2) so as to have a length corresponding to the width of the photographic paper 2. As the optical print head 5a, a liquid crystal shutter method, a PLZT shutter method, a FOCRT method, a DMD (digital micromirror device) method, and the like are known in addition to the phosphor light emitting method. it can. The sub-scanning mechanism 5b includes a moving carriage that supports the optical print head 5a, a moving mechanism that moves the moving carriage, and the like. The optical print head 5a is connected to the controller 10, and image data and character data are obtained by controlling the lighting of each vacuum fluorescent element by the controller 10 and moving the optical print head 5a in the sub scanning direction via the sub scanning mechanism 5b. The photographic paper 2 is color-exposed.
[0024]
As shown in FIG. 3, the controller 10 includes a microcomputer system including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an I / O interface circuit, and the like as a core member. Various functions necessary for the printer processor are either hardware or software or Both are realized. The controller 10 has functions for controlling the operation of various members such as a film conveyance control unit, a scanner control unit, and a photographic paper conveyance control unit, and forms a copy image on the photographic paper 2 by the digital exposure unit 5. For this purpose, an image processing unit 30 is also constructed which performs various processes on the image data and finally controls the characteristics of the light beam irradiated onto the photographic paper 2. Further, it is attached to the image data of the digital camera sent from the photographic paper type determining unit 61 or the receiving device 20 for determining the type of the photographic paper 2 loaded based on the reading signal from the ID code reader 11b described above. An order information management unit 63 that manages and stores order information (customer code, print size, number of prints, etc.) sent from the receiving device 20. Has also been built. When there is no attribute data for identifying the model in the image data of the digital camera, the model heard from the customer in the receiving machine 20 is incorporated into the corresponding image data as attribute data and sent to the controller 10.
[0025]
The image processing unit 30 includes a working memory 31 that temporarily stores image data sent from the accepting device 20 and image data sent from the film scanner 3, and one original image stored in the working memory 31. A pre-processing unit 32 that performs basic image processing such as scaling, rotation, and noise removal on the corresponding image data, a primary processing unit 33 that performs level correction and the like as error correction of exposure and white balance of the digital camera, and A color matching process is performed to obtain desired image characteristics such as color using various data tables 35 (hereinafter referred to as “profiles”) constructed in the form of an LUT (look-up table). A next processing unit 34 is provided.
[0026]
The profile 35 includes a camera data table 35a (hereinafter referred to as “camera profile 35a”), a photosensitive material data table 35b (hereinafter referred to as “sensitive material profile 35b”), and an arbitrary data table 35c (hereinafter referred to as “preference profile 35c”). ") Is prepared. The camera profile 35a is used to perform correction for eliminating characteristics such as unique color recording characteristics of each digital camera. For example, for a digital camera having reddish characteristics, R of RGB values is used. The camera characteristic correction data is stored so that the correction is performed so that the value is slightly reduced. That is, when the image data is corrected using the camera profile 35a, a standard color balance is obtained, and the RGB value of the corrected image data is the same as the subject and the shooting environment regardless of the type of the digital camera used. If so, the camera profile 35a is created for each model of the digital camera based on the experimental result so as to be substantially the same.
[0027]
Since the photographic paper 2 has a slightly different photosensitive characteristic depending on the manufacturer and its type, even if the same image data is used, the color varies depending on the type of the photographic paper. The photosensitive material profile 35b is for eliminating such inconvenience, and image data is set so as to have a hue obtained when using any photographic paper 2 having photographic paper having a reference photosensitive characteristic. Is prepared for each type of photographic paper 2.
[0028]
When image data subjected to predetermined basic image processing is corrected using the above-described camera profile 35a or photosensitive material profile 35b, standard image data without any characteristic added arbitrarily is ideal. Specifically, image data that reproduces the color of the subject can be obtained, but a copied image having such a standard hue is not always appreciated. For example, the customer prefers a brighter or more subtle shade than is actually the case, or prefers an image with an enhanced outline. Also, some DP shops may want some more characteristic image characteristics to differentiate from other stores.
[0029]
The preference profile 35c performs corrections to meet such customer and shop requests, and stores arbitrary correction data for performing image data corrections necessary for creating a predetermined characteristic copy image. is doing. Since many preference profiles 35c are created for each request, a profile management unit 36 for managing these preference profiles 35c is also provided. When creating a new preference profile 35c, a standard image is output to the monitor 10a, and various image processing is performed through the console 10b to generate a desired characteristic image. The correction of the image data necessary for creating from a typical image is obtained, and this correction is registered in the profile management unit 36 as a new preference profile 35c. The same applies to the other two profiles 35a and 35b, but it is also possible to delete a profile that is no longer necessary or register a new profile through a floppy or the like.
[0030]
When the exposure is performed by the digital exposure unit 5, the secondary processing unit 34 first exposes the digital image data input from the film scanner 3 or the digital image data sent from the accepting device 20 by the optical print head 5a. An arithmetic process for converting the exposure amount data for each pixel is performed. Each parameter used for this calculation process is experimentally obtained and stored in advance so that a standard print image can be obtained when the reference photographic paper 2 is exposed by the optical print head 5a. Thereafter, if there is an instruction to use any one of the profiles 35, the exposure amount data is input to the instructed profile 35, and the output is used as the exposure amount data to control the exposure of the optical print head 5a. To do. If there are a plurality of instructed profiles 35, the exposure data is obtained by linking the profiles 35 so that the output of one profile 35 becomes the input of another profile 35.
The correction of data by each profile 35 may be performed on image data before being converted into exposure amount data by the optical print head 5a.
[0031]
The exposure amount data that has been processed by the image processing unit 30 is sent to the digital exposure control unit 50, and a light beam adjusted based on the exposure amount data is irradiated from each element of the optical print head 5b. A desired copy image is created by forming dots having a high density.
[0032]
The projection exposure control unit 40 calculates exposure conditions by a method known per se during projection exposure, and controls the optical system such as the light control filter 40a and the shutter based on the calculation result, thereby passing through the film 1. The light beam reaching the photographic paper 2 is adjusted to expose the photographic paper 2.
[0033]
Next, the procedure of print processing in the case where the customer: A orders photograph prints of the captured image data acquired by the digital camera: X at the DP shop equipped with the above-described printer processor will be described with reference to FIG.
[0034]
Image data as an original image obtained by photographing a subject is stored in a flash memory together with attribute data. Mr. A who is the photographer presents the flash memory at the DP shop, writes order information including the customer name in the order form, and requests printing as a copy image. At the DP shop, the order information is created using the accepting machine 20, the stored flash memory is set in the image input unit 20a, image data including attribute data is taken out, and these are sent to the controller 10 of the printer processor.
[0035]
In the controller 10, the order information is processed by the order information management unit 63, and for example, it is grasped that the customer name of this order is “A”. Further, from the attribute data attached to the image data, the camera model determination unit 62 determines that the model of the digital camera that created the image data to be processed is “X”. At the same time, this image data is sent to the image processing unit 30 and first subjected to necessary image processing by the preprocessing unit 32 and the primary processing unit 33 as described above. Further, in the image processing in the secondary processing unit 35, a camera profile 35a for the model: X is selected based on the model determined by the camera model determining unit 62, and image data using the camera profile 35a is selected. Correction is performed. Similarly, the photosensitive material profile 35b for the photographic paper type “M” determined from the read signal of the ID code reader 11b by the photographic paper type determining unit 61 is selected, and image data correction using this photosensitive material profile 35b is performed. Is done.
[0036]
Further, since the customer: A who is the orderer of this print has already registered the desired color tone, the profile management unit 36 sets the preference profile 35c for the customer name “A” that has been previously grasped. Then, the secondary processing unit 34 also corrects the image data using the selected preference profile 35c. Image data finally obtained by these image processes is sent to the digital exposure control unit 50 as exposure amount data. As a result, the printing paper 2 exposed to the photographic paper 2 by the optical print head 5a and obtained through the development processing by the development processing unit 6 has an image having a color desired by the customer A.
[0037]
Although not shown here, a customer management database that can be accessed from this controller is provided. The customer management database includes various customer data using the customer code as a key, and the customer-specific preference profile described above. Stored, it is possible to easily search and extract a favorite profile of a specific customer, and perform new registration and correction registration. It is also possible to register a plurality of preference profiles according to customer's wishes and assign different preference profiles for each order or each frame image.
[0038]
In the above-described embodiment, the copy image is adjusted by various correction profiles for the exposure method using the digital exposure unit 5, but a similar correction profile linked to the operation of the light control filter 40a is created. By using this profile by the projection exposure control unit 40 and adjusting the operation of the light control filter 40a, it is possible to realize the copy image adjustment of the present invention even for the projection exposure method using the projection exposure unit 4. It is.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a printer processor employing an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the printer processor according to FIG.
FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating functions created by a printer processor controller.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a process of processing image data using a profile.
[Explanation of symbols]
2 photographic paper (photosensitive material)
4 Projection exposure part (exposure part)
5 Digital exposure part (exposure part)
5a Optical print head
6 Development processing section
10 Controller
20 reception desk
30 Image processing unit
32 Preprocessing section
33 Primary processing unit
34 Secondary processing section
35 Data table
35a Camera data table
35b Photosensitive material data table
35c Optional data table
36 Profile Management Department
40 Projection exposure controller
40a Dimming filter
50 Digital exposure controller
61 Photographic paper type decision section
62 Camera model decision section
63 Order Information Management Department

Claims (1)

In an image forming apparatus comprising: an exposure unit that forms a copy image on a photosensitive material by irradiating a light beam based on an original image; and a controller that changes the characteristics of the light beam.
The original image includes image data acquired by a digital camera,
The controller includes a plurality of camera data tables storing camera characteristic correction data created based on image characteristics of a digital camera;
A plurality of photosensitive material data tables storing photosensitive material characteristic correction data created based on the coloring characteristics of the photosensitive material;
Rutotomoni comprising a plurality of arbitrary data table storing arbitrary correction data can be set arbitrarily input by created from the customer or shop preferences operator,
The camera-sensitive exposure data adjusted by the camera data table corresponding to the digital camera is generated from the exposure data obtained from the original image, and the photosensitive material corresponding to the photosensitive material used from the camera-corrected exposure data. Image formation characterized in that exposure amount data adjusted by a data table and an arbitrary data table corresponding to the preference of the customer or shop is generated, and exposure is performed with a light beam whose characteristics are changed based on the exposure amount data apparatus.

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