Abstract:
A method for use in generating a digital representation of an image by applying a first light to an image storing medium which includes the image, detecting the first light which is reflected from or transmitted through the image storing medium in order to provide a first image signal, applying a pulse of a second light to the image storing medium, and detecting the second light which is reflected from or transmitted through the image storing medium in order to provide a second image signal, whereby the second image signal may be used to modify the first image signal to generate a modified digital representation of the image. A method of scanning an image with visible light and a pulse of infrared light is also provided, as well as a system for use in generating a digital representation of an image.
Abstract:
Recovering the dye image on film in electronic film development following a latent holding stage obviates the problem common in prior art electronic film development of film image destruction. Recovery of the image is accomplished using a developing agent containing couplers to form a dye image. Theses dyes do not affect the infrared scans of the image. Upon complete development of the dye image, further dye formation is halted by the application of a coupler blocking agent, while silver development and electronic scanning may continue or halt. After halting dye formation, the film is stable for an arbitrary time in a latent stage and may be dried and stored. Following this latent stage, silver is removed from the film with a bleach-fix leaving a conventionally usable film image.
Abstract:
A system and mehtod for correcting defects in an image. A correction area surrounding the defective pixel is dynamically chosen to include a predetermined percentage of non-defective pixels. The percentage is varied as a function of the size of the surrounding region, such that the percentage decreases as the size of the region increases. The shape of the surrounding area may be varied bto further enhance the correction procedure. A center of gravity is maintained around the defective pixel by defining subregions surrounding the pixel.
Abstract:
A single pass scanner having a trilinear array, a source of white light, filters of the three primary colors and a separate source of infrared light is used in various methods of removing medium-based defects from a scanned film image. The method generates an infrared channel in addition to the common visible channels by covering the parallel rows of sensors in the trilinear array respectively with a red, green and blue filter to create the three color channels. Normally, each of the three color filters also passes infrared light, which is removed by filters external to the sensors. In a specific embodiment, interstitial in time between two visible light scans, the sensor is exposed to infrared light for a single scan. As the trilinear array sweeps across an image in time and spatial synchronization with the exposing lights, at least two visible channels and an infrared channel are generated.
Abstract:
An improved developer application method and apparatus for use in electronic film development, wherein the developer is applied to a photographic film using controlled, aerial deposition of one or more stream(s) of droplets of one or more developer agents or developer components such that the droplets adhere to a targeted region of the film, rather than run off, and chemically react to allow scanning of a latent image in the film as it moves through an electronic film development scan mechanism.
Abstract:
In electronic film development, a film (101) is scanned, using light, multiple times during development. The light is reflected from an emulsion containing milky undeveloped silver halide embedded with developing grains. The undeveloped halide layer has a finite depth over which photons from a light source scatter backward. This depth is within the range of the coherency length of infrared sources commonly used in electronic film development, causing coherency speckle noise in the scanned image. A prescan made after the emulsion swells, but before the silver grains develop, normalizes subsequent scans, pixel by pixel, to cancel coherency speckle and other defects.
Abstract:
In luminance-priority multilayer color film, one of the layers substantially matches the luminance sensitivity of the human eye. This luminance layer distinguishes from prior art color films that have a blue, a green, and a red sensitive layer. This luminance layer has the priority front position to sense light before being diffused and attenuated by other layers, giving the luminance record enhanced speed and clarity compared to prior art blue-priority color film. In another embodiment, a layered CCD sensor has a top silicon layer (1012) that is sensitive to all colors, followed by a yellow filter (1010), a second silicon layer (1008) responsive to green and red light only because of the yellow filter, a cyan filter (106), and a bottom silicon layer (1004) receiving only green light. An image from a luminance-priority color sensor inputs to a color space conversion to recover full color. In the preferred embodiment, a luminance layer on top maps to a luminance 'Y' value, and underlying color sensitive layers are used in conjunction with the luminance to derive the 'U' and 'V' chrominance vectors of YUV color space.