JPH08248519A - Microfilm reader and its retrieval method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To make it possible to easily know the address of a target frame and to improve retrieval efficiency by detecting all the blips of a microfilm in precedence to retrieval, forming an address tree and assigning the address of the target frame by viewing the tree. CONSTITUTION: A blip length setting means 102 measures the blip length from the top to the terminal of the film 26 in precedence to the retrieval (preliminary retrieval). The blip length is detected by the output of a blip sensor 104b and the output of a rotary encoder 48 and discrimination is made as to in which of the permissible lengths of the blip lengths determined by the preliminary retrieval the blip length enters. An address tree forming means 105 disposed at a CPU forms an address tree in accordance with the order of detection and number of detection of the respective blips. The address tree is displayed on a CRT display means 12. An operator views the address tree and inputs the address of the required frame, i.e., the target frame from the key-board 14, at the time of automatic retrieval.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a microfilm reader for performing a search using a blip attached to a microfilm and a search method therefor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A blip (a rectangular mark) is imprinted on each frame of a microfilm, and the blip reader is used to read and count the blip to determine the frame address and search for a target frame. A blip method (document mark method) is known.

In this method, there is a blip having different lengths, for example, three types of blips of large, medium and small, and a plurality of levels represented by the blip. For example, a large blip indicates a large classification, a middle blip indicates a middle classification, and a small blip indicates a small classification.

The addresses used here are, for example, large, medium, and
It can be represented by listing the addresses in each small category. For example, the address of a frame having a large classification of 1, a middle classification of 2, and a small classification of 3 can be represented as [1.2.3].

[0005]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to specify the address of the target frame as described above, it is necessary to know in advance how the addresses of the respective frames of the microfilm to be searched are assigned.

An address tree or an address map (in this application, both are referred to as an address tree) indicating such an addressing structure and the number of addresses is separately prepared in advance for each microfilm, so that each time it is searched, the It was necessary to extract and use the microfilm address tree. For example, it is possible to store a large number of microfilm address trees in a storage medium (a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, etc.) of a personal computer, and display an address tree required for a search on a display device such as a CRT. Was needed. Therefore, the operation was troublesome.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances and seeks the address tree of the microfilm to be searched for without searching for the address tree of the microfilm to be searched without separately preparing a storage medium or the like in which the address tree is memorized. It is a first object of the present invention to provide a search method for a microfilm reader capable of easily knowing an address and improving search efficiency. A second object is to provide a microfilm reader which is directly used for implementing this search method.

[0008]

According to the present invention, a first object of the present invention is to provide a search method for a microfilm reader which automatically searches for a target frame at a specified address by using a blip attached to the microfilm. It is characterized in that all the blips of the microfilm are counted, the address tree of all the frames is created and displayed on the display means, and the address of the target frame can be specified using the displayed address tree. This is achieved by the search method of the microfilm reader.

A second object is a microfilm reader for automatically searching for a target frame at a specified address by using a blip attached to the microfilm, and a blip sensor for detecting the blip and a traveling amount of the microfilm. A rotary encoder for detecting, an address tree creating means for creating an address tree by detecting the lengths of all the blips based on the outputs of the blip sensor and the rotary encoder, and a display means for displaying the created address tree. , An address input means for designating an address of a target frame using the displayed address tree, and a search control means for automatically searching for a frame of the designated address and displaying the image on the display means. Achieved by the featured microfilm reader.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a view showing a usage state of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the inside of a scanner used therein, FIG. 3 is a side view showing the arrangement of the main parts thereof, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a line sensor driving unit, FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a simplified control system, FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a blip, FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a histogram used for setting a blip length, and FIG. 8 is a blip length. Operation flow chart at the time of preliminary search for setting,
FIG. 9 is a flow chart of the entire operation, and FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a display example of the address tree.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 is a computer main body, which has a built-in CPU and the like. Reference numeral 12 is a display means such as a CRT or liquid crystal plate, and 14 is a keyboard, which are mounted on a desk 16. Reference numeral 18 is a scanner housed under the desk 16, and 20 is a printer placed beside the desk 16.

The scanner 18 has a cartridge insertion port 22 on the upper front surface thereof, and the cartridge 2 inserted therein.
4 (see FIGS. 2 and 3)
Image is read at low density. The read image is displayed on the display unit 12 after being subjected to predetermined image processing by the CPU or the like in the computer body 10.

This image reading is performed while the line sensor 96, which will be described later, is stationary and only the film 26 is running.
Meanwhile, the display means 12 of the CRT displays the read image while continuously changing it in synchronization with the traveling of the film 26. Therefore, the display of the display means 12 moves in synchronism with the running of the film 26, and it is possible to display the image on the display means 12 which is almost the same as the image projected on the screen.

At the time of manual retrieval, the operator looks at the image on the display means 12 and gives an instruction to output the image that needs to be printed out. Based on this output instruction, the scanner 18 sets the position of the frame to the correct position and reads the entire image with high image quality. This high-density image is printed out by the printer 20, stored in a magneto-optical disk or the like, or transferred to an external processing device.

At the time of automatic search, the address of the target frame is input from the keyboard 14. Micro film 2
6, the blip 27 (27a, 27a
b, 27c) are imprinted, the scanner 18 retrieves the target frame by reading and counting the blips 27 by the blip reader. A search method using the blip 27 will be described later.

Next, the structure of the scanner 18 will be described. The scanner 18 has a vertically long casing 28, and a supply reel driving unit 30 is arranged above the front portion of the casing 28, and a winding reel driving unit 32 is arranged below the front portion. The supply-side reel drive unit 30 inserts the cartridge 2 into the cartridge insertion opening 22.
4 is inserted, the cartridge 24 is automatically moved to engage the reel 24A with the rotation shaft. Further, the leading end of the film 26 is pulled out and fed downward, and is guided to the take-up reel 32A of the take-up side reel drive unit 32.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the film 26 passes through the rear side of the gap between the reel driving units 30 and 32, that is, the rear side as viewed from the front of the housing 28. 34, 34 in FIG.
Reference numerals 36 and 36 denote guide rollers for the film 26. Therefore, a space 38 is formed between this gap and the front panel 28A of the housing 28, and the light source unit 52 described later is housed therein.

The take-up reel drive unit 32 has a drive belt 40 that travels in contact with the reel 32A as shown in FIG. This drive belt 40 is a guide roller 4
2, 44, the drive roller 46, the encoder 48, and the tension roller 50, and the drive roller 46 drives the film in the film winding direction (arrow direction).

Reference numeral 52 is a light source portion housed in a space 38 between the reel driving portions 30 and 32, and a lamp 54,
It has a reflecting mirror 56, a condenser lens 58, an appropriate filter, and the like. In FIG. 2, 60 is a power supply circuit section, and 62 is a power control circuit section such as a motor.

Next, the line sensor driving section 64 will be described.
The line sensor driving unit 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 tubular portion 70 that holds the projection lens 66.
The projection lens 66 held by the cylindrical portion 70 has a fixed focus and a magnification of about 2 times. The tubular 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 cylindrical portion 70 rotates about an optical axis 74 perpendicular to the film 26.

A cylindrical portion 70 of the rotary frame 68 and a pulley 76 of a servo motor 76 mounted on a fixed frame 72.
A belt 78 is wound around A. The rotating 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 rotary frame 68 on the surface opposite to the cylindrical portion 70. That is, the movable base 80 includes a pair of guide rods 82, 82.
Slidably held by the optical axis 74 near the opening of the tube 70.
It is possible to reciprocate in the 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.
Is provided, and one side of the movable base 80 is fixed to the belt 86. The servo motor 8 is attached to one pulley 84.
The rotation of 8 is transmitted via the belt 90. As a result, the movable base 8 is moved by rotating the servo motor 88 in the forward and reverse directions.
0 can be reciprocated on a plane orthogonal to the optical axis 74.

The movable base 80 has guide rods 82, 82.
The long window 92 is formed in a direction orthogonal to the vertical direction, that is, a direction orthogonal to the reciprocating direction of the movable table 80. This long window 92
Has its longitudinal center located on the optical axis 74. A printed wiring board 94 is fixed to the rear surface of the movable table 80, that is, the surface opposite to the tubular 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). A preamplifier that amplifies the output of the line sensor 96 is also mounted on the substrate 94. CCD line sensor 9
It goes without saying that the light receiving surface of 6 coincides with the image forming surface of the projection image of the projection lens 66.

CPU built in the computer body 10
Reference numeral 100 is a control means for controlling the whole, and has various functions as shown in FIG. Although these functions are formed by software, they are shown as blocks in FIG. 5 for convenience.

Reference numeral 102 denotes a blip length setting means, which first feeds the film 26 from the beginning to the end in advance of the search and measures the blip length (preliminary search 1, step 200 in FIGS. 8 and 9). This measurement is performed by the blip sensor 1 facing the light emitting element 104a across the travel path of the blip 27.
This is performed using the output of 04b and the output of the rotary encoder 48.

The blip length setting means 102 creates a histogram of the obtained blip lengths as shown in FIG. 7 (step 202), and the blips 27a having different lengths,
The peaks A, B, and C having the frequency N corresponding to 27b and 27c are detected. The number of levels of the blip 27 is detected from the number of the peaks A, B and C (step 204). In this embodiment, there are 3 levels. And these peaks A, B, each blip 27a based on the widening range of C, 27b, 27c tolerance L _a, L _b, obtains the L _c (step 206), and stores them in the memory 104 (step 208 ).

The allowable range L _a length of blips 27 Thus the first preliminary search 1 (step 200),
When L _b and L _c are obtained, a preliminary search is then performed again to obtain an address tree. That is, the film 26 is rewound and the film 26 is searched again from the beginning (preliminary search 2, step 210 in FIGS. 8 and 9).

At this time, preliminary search 1 (step 200)
The blips 27a, 27b, and 27c at each level are discriminated using the allowable ranges L _a , L _b , and L _c of the blip length obtained in step 1, and these are counted. That detects blip length L by outputs of the rotary encoder 48 of Burippusensa 104b, to determine whether the obtained blip length L is allowable range L _a, L _b, enters where the L _c.

If the obtained blip length L is within the allowable range L _a , the blip length is set to the large blip 27a. Similarly, if the blip length L falls within the allowable range L _b or L _c , the middle blip 27b
Alternatively, the small blip 27c is used. The address tree creating means 105 provided in the CPU 100 uses the blips 27a, 2
An address tree TR as shown in FIG. 10 is created based on the detection order of 7b and 27c and the number of detections (step 21).
2).

This address tree TR is displayed on the CRT display means 12 (step 214). It is desirable that the address tree TR be stored in the memory 104, read out as appropriate, and displayed on the CRT display means 12. The feed control of the film 26 in the above preliminary searches 1 and 2 is performed by the search control means 106.

The operator can confirm the address of the target frame by looking at the address tree TR displayed on the display means 12. The address tree TR in FIG.
In, in the major categories (1 ...), (2 ...), the indications such as (circuit diagram) and (specification) are attached. In addition, indications indicating the contents of (substrate 1), (substrate 2), etc. are added to the middle categories (1.1 ..), (1.2 ..), etc. These displays can be automatically added and displayed by setting them in the memory of the CPU 100 in advance.

At the time of automatic retrieval, the operator looks at this address tree TR and inputs the address of the required frame, that is, the target frame, from the keyboard 14 (step 2).
16). Instead of the keyboard 14, a mouse 14A (see FIG. 1) connected here and a cursor K (see FIG. 1) appearing on the screen of the display unit 12 may be used. In this case, the cursor K may be moved with the mouse 14A to align with the target frame, and the mouse 14A may be clicked.

When the target frame is designated, the search control means 1
In step 06, the target frame is detected by using the blip 27 while feeding the film 26 from the beginning again (final search, step 218). In the automatic search, the target frame is automatically obtained in this way, and the obtained frame is positioned at an appropriate position so that the image falls within the scan range of the line sensor 96. Further, at the time of manual retrieval, the film feeding direction and the feeding speed of the film 26 can be manually operated by operating a film feeding operation key (not shown) provided on the keyboard 14.

Reference numeral 108 denotes a scan control means, which keeps the line sensor 96 stationary on the optical axis 74 during a manual search and reads an image to be output to the printer 20 or the like.
The line sensor driving unit 64 is operated. That is, the motor 88 is actuated to move the line sensor 66 in parallel on the image forming plane to read the projected image.

It is not necessary to display the image of the film 26 on the CRT display means 12 during the automatic search as in the manual search. However, if it is necessary for the operator to confirm the image of the frame automatically searched, the image may be displayed on the CRT display means 12 as in the manual search (step 220). The lamp 54 of the light source unit 52 is turned on during the search and the scan.

Reference numeral 110 denotes a display control means, and when it is inputted from the keyboard 14 that a search is in progress, the line sensor 96 is stopped on the optical axis 74 and the film 2 running.
The images of 6 are continuously displayed on the display unit 12. That is, in this search operation, the display control means 110 detects the amount of travel of the film 26 from the rotary encoder 48, and the line sensor 96 performs main scanning in the transverse direction of the film at a fixed amount of travel (movement amount corresponding to the sub-scanning interval). I do.

The output of the line sensor 96 undergoes various processing in the image processing means 112, and then the frame memory 11
4 is stored at a predetermined address. The processing of the image processing unit 112 includes, for example, processing for correcting unevenness of characteristics between pixels of the line sensor 96, black / white inversion of an image (negative / positive inversion), image enlargement / reduction, trimming, masking, and the like. Done.

The image signals subjected to the image processing are sequentially stored in the frame memory 114. Display control means 110
Causes the display means 12 to display an image in the display range of the film 26 using the contents of the frame memory 114. By repeating the above operation while the film 26 is running, the image of the running film 26 can be continuously displayed on the display means 12, and a screen similar to that when a film projection image is displayed on the screen is obtained. be able to.

Reference numeral 116 is a print control means for reading the image of the target frame with a high density by the scanner 18 and outputting it to the printer 20 when the print is completed after the retrieval (step 222). First, when a print output command is input from the keyboard 14, the target frame is moved to an appropriate position on the optical axis 74. The image reading is performed twice for the preliminary scan and the main scan. In the preliminary scan, the image is read at low density (step 224), the black frame is detected (step 226), and the inclination of the image is corrected (step 228). In the main scan, the image is read at a high density to obtain an image for print output (step 230).

The black frame is a portion around the original, that is, a portion that appears on the outer periphery of the original image at the time of printing. Various black frame detection algorithms have been proposed. For example, when a document enters a document from a black frame during scanning, a black pixel of a certain number or more continues and then changes to a white pixel, so that the boundary between the black frame and the document can be detected.

When the black frame is detected in this way, the inclination of the image of the original is then obtained, and the motor 76 is driven to correct this inclination. As a result, the entire line sensor driving unit 64 rotates and makes the line sensor 66 parallel to one side of the projected image.

When the image is read at a high density by the main scan, the output of the line sensor 66 is subjected to predetermined image processing by the image processing means 112 (step 232). For example, correction (CCD pixel correction) for eliminating the influence of non-uniformity of the characteristics of each pixel of the line sensor 96, image enhancement, image inversion, image enlargement / reduction, spatial filtering, trimming, masking, and the like are performed. The image signal processed here is output to the printer 20 (step 234).

During this image processing, the moving speed of the line sensor 96 is changed by the magnification. That is, when the set magnification is higher than the reference magnification (for example, the output of each pixel of the line sensor 96 can be output without thinning or overlapping), the feed speed of the line sensor 96 is set to a low speed. To do. When the set magnification is lower than the reference magnification, the feed speed of the line sensor 96 is increased. These speeds are speeds that are inversely proportional to the ratio of the set magnification to the reference magnification.

During the preliminary scan and the main scan, the exposure amount may be automatically adjusted so that the output level of the line sensor 96 falls within a predetermined range. That is, by changing the clock frequency of the line sensor 96, the light receiving amount can be controlled by changing the accumulation time of each pixel. It is also possible to change the amount of light received by the line sensor 96 by changing the illuminance of the light source lamp 54.

Next, the overall operation of this embodiment will be described collectively. When the cartridge 24 is inserted into the cartridge insertion port 22 and loaded into the supply-side reel drive unit 30, the leading end of the film 26 is pulled out downward. Then, the leading end of the film 26 is guided by the guide rollers 34, 34, 36, 36 and the like, and is guided to the winding side reel drive unit 32. The beginning of the film 26 is a reel 32A and a drive belt 40.
It is sandwiched between and and wound around the reel 32A.

When the setting of the film 26 is completed, the film 26 is first sent to the end and a preliminary search 1 is performed (step 200), and the allowable ranges L _a , L _b and L of the blip length L are set.
_c is _calculated (step 202). This allowable range L
_{The a} , L _b , and L _c are stored in memory and used for blip detection in the subsequent automatic search.

Next, the film 26 is rewound to form the film 26.
The film 26 is sent again from the beginning of the address, the blip 27 is detected, and the address tree TR is created (step 21
2). The result is displayed on the CRT display means 12 (step 214). At the time of automatic retrieval, the operator looks at the displayed address tree TR and inputs the address of the target frame using the keyboard 14 or mouse (step 216).

The search control means 106 searches for this target frame and displays the image on the CRT display means 12 (step 220). The print process may be started without displaying the CRT display means 12 (step 222).

In the manual search, if the film feed direction and the feed speed are set by the keyboard 14, the film 26 is fed, and in synchronization with this, the image read by the line sensor 96 is image-processed and sequentially stored in the frame memory 114. It As a result, the image of the traveling film 26 is continuously displayed on the display means 12 similarly to the screen screen.

When the search is completed (step 218) and a print output is instructed from the keyboard 14 (step 22)
2) First, the line sensor 96 moves at high speed to perform a preliminary scan (step 224) to read an image at low density.
Then, a black frame is detected (step 226), the inclination of the image is corrected (step 228), and then the main scan is started (step 230). In this scan, the line sensor 96
Reads a high density image at a low speed, performs image processing (step 232), and then causes the printer 20 to output a high density image (step 234).

When the print output is completed and another frame image needs to be output, the process returns to step 214 and a search is performed (step 236). That is, the address tree TR stored in the memory 104 is called and displayed on the CRT display means 12 (step 214), and the operator may specify the address of another target frame while observing this display.

In the embodiment described above, the line sensor 9
6 is stopped, the images are continuously read while the film 26 is running, and the continuously moving images are displayed on the CRT display means. However, in the present invention, the display on the display unit 12 is not essential in the case of the automatic search, so the display on the display unit 12 may be omitted. Further, when displaying on the display means 12, it goes without saying that the image of the searched frame may be stopped and read and displayed by the line sensor 96.

[0055] Also in this embodiment, the allowable range L _a blip 27, L _b, is performed a preliminary search 1 (step 200) to determine the L _c, manually them separately from a keyboard omitted this It may be entered or preset.

In the case of microfilm, the light source unit 5 is usually used.
Since the arrangement of 2 and the projection lens 66 is the reverse of that of this embodiment, when the microfilm used in such a conventional apparatus is used in this embodiment, the projected image is turned over. In this case, it suffices to electrically convert into a correct image by image processing, and such processing is easy. Further, in the case of a negative film, black and white may be electrically inverted.

In the above embodiment, the line sensor driver 64
Although the tilt of the image is corrected by rotating, the image data read may be electronically rotated by image processing instead of rotating the optical system. It is not necessary to correct the tilt of the image.

In the above embodiments, the projection lens 66 of the scanner has a fixed focus, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it goes without saying that an automatic focusing mechanism (autofocus mechanism) may be provided.

The display means 12 is not limited to the CRT display device, but may be a liquid crystal plate, a plasma display or the like.
The display means for displaying the address tree TR here is also used as the display means 12 for displaying the retrieved image, but both display means may be separate. In particular, the address tree TR may be output to the printer 20 or may be constantly displayed on another liquid crystal plate or the like. The output device is also the printer 2
It is not limited to zero. For example, it may be output to an external memory such as a magneto-optical disk or may be output to another image processing device.

In this embodiment, if the lamp 54 is turned on only when the line sensor 96 is scanned, the power consumption will be reduced. Also, since the heat generation amount of the lamp 54 is reduced,
The cooling system of the lamp 54 can be simplified. The lamp 54 can be turned on when the cartridge 24 is loaded in the scanner 18 and turned off when the cartridge 24 is removed.

Although the present invention relates to a microfilm reader, the method of the present invention is not limited to microfilm, and can be applied to the reading of other photographic film, radiographic film, and printed matter other than film. The same effect can be obtained. A two-dimensional image sensor may be used instead of the line sensor, or the image sensor may be closely attached to the film and read.

[0062]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, prior to the search, all the blips of the microfilm are detected to create an address tree, and the address of the target frame can be specified by looking at this address tree. Since this is done, it is possible to easily know the address of the target frame and improve the search efficiency. Further, according to the invention of claim 2, a microfilm reader directly used for carrying out this search method can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a scanner used here.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the same main part.

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

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a control system.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a blip.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a histogram for obtaining an allowable range of the blip length.

FIG. 8 is an operation flowchart of preliminary search 1 for obtaining an allowable range of blip length.

[Fig. 9] Overall operation flow chart

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a display example of an address tree.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 computer body 12 CRT display device as an example of display means 14 keyboard as address input means 14A mouse as address input means 18 scanner 20 printer 26 microfilm 48 rotary encoder 52 light source section 54 lamp 64 line sensor drive section 66 projection lens 88 Stepping motor for feeding line sensor 96 CCD line sensor 100 CPU 102 Blip length setting means 104 Memory 105 Address tree creating means 106 Search control means 108 Scan control means 110 Display control means 112 Image processing means 114 Frame memory

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A search method for a microfilm reader that automatically searches for a target frame at a specified address using a blip attached to a microfilm, and counts all blips of the microfilm prior to the search.
A method for searching a microfilm reader, characterized in that an address tree of all frames is created and displayed on a display means, and an address of a target frame can be designated by using the displayed address tree. 2. A microfilm reader for automatically searching for a target frame at a specified address by using a blip attached to a microfilm, and a blip sensor for detecting the blip and a rotary encoder for detecting the traveling amount of the microfilm. An address tree creating means for creating an address tree by detecting the lengths of all the blips on the basis of the outputs of the blip sensor and the rotary encoder; a displaying means for displaying the created address tree; and A microfilm comprising: an address input means for designating an address of a target frame using an address tree; and a search control means for automatically searching for a frame of the designated address and displaying an image thereof on a display means. leader.