JP2023111317A - Image reading device and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To read stereoscopic image information on a document with high accuracy.SOLUTION: An image reading device 7 comprises: a visible light image reading unit 51 that reads a visible light image on a document G as plane image information; and an invisible light image reading unit 52 that reads an invisible light image on the document G as stereoscopic image information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to an image reading device and an image forming device.

Generally, an image forming apparatus such as a copier is equipped with an image reading device that reads an image on a document using an optical sensor or the like.

This type of image reader mainly reads two-dimensional images. For example, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-41394) proposes an image reader that reads three-dimensional images such as Braille. there is An image reading apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-200000 reads information on unevenness on a document using a roller having a plurality of conductors on its surface. Specifically, a sheet provided with a large number of linear conductors is placed on a document on which a stereoscopic image is formed, and the roller is moved along the sheet while being rotated. At this time, the roller comes into contact with the conductor on the convex portion of the sheet, which deforms following the uneven shape of the document, and the terminals connected to the conductor become conductive. 3D image is read.

According to the image reading apparatus proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-200001, it is possible to read the unevenness information (positional coordinates of the convex portion) of the document. However, in this case, since the unevenness information is read by the rotating roller indirectly contacting the convex portion on the document through the sheet, there is a possibility that an error may occur in reading the unevenness information. was difficult to read with high accuracy.

In order to solve the above problems, an image reading apparatus according to the present invention includes a visible light image reading unit that reads a visible light image on a document as planar image information, and an invisible light image reading unit that reads the invisible light image on the document as stereoscopic image information. and an image reading unit.

According to the present invention, stereoscopic image information on a document can be read with high accuracy.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an image reading device; FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a stereoscopic image forming agent; FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a stereoscopic image forming operation; 4 is a diagram showing a control flow of the image reading device; FIG. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing another configuration of the image reading device; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another control flow of the image reading device; FIG. 4 is a diagram of a document with a mark designating a color of a portion to be formed as a stereoscopic image; FIG. 4 is a diagram of a document marked with all images to be read as stereoscopic image information; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing still another control flow of the image reading apparatus; 1 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a stereo image composed of multiple stereo imaging agents; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing stereoscopic imaging agents having different particle sizes; It is a figure which shows the example of the stereo image from which thickness differs. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing still another control flow of the image reading apparatus; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a stereoscopic image forming agent in which the wavelength region of the ultraviolet reflection component is different for each particle size; 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an image reading device that reads an image formed using special toner; FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a control flow when special toner is used; 1 is a diagram showing an example in which the present invention is applied to an inkjet image forming apparatus; FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example in which a stereoscopic image forming section is arranged upstream in a sheet conveying direction from a planar image forming section; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example in which a planar image forming section is arranged upstream in the sheet conveying direction from a stereoscopic image forming section; FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing another example of a stereoscopic image forming agent; 22 is an enlarged view of a stereoscopic image formed using the stereoscopic imaging agent shown in FIG. 21; FIG.

The present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, in each drawing for explaining the present invention, constituent elements such as members and constituent parts having the same function or shape are given the same reference numerals as much as possible, and once explained, the explanation will be repeated. omitted.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. Here, the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described as a copier, but the image forming apparatus according to the present invention may be a multifunction machine having a facsimile function, etc., in addition to the copier. First, with reference to FIG. 1, the overall configuration and basic operation of the image forming apparatus according to this embodiment will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes an image reading unit 100 for reading an image of a document, and a plane image forming unit 200 for forming a plane image on a sheet-like recording medium such as paper. a stereoscopic image forming unit 300 for forming a stereoscopic image on a recording medium; a fixing unit 400 for fixing an image on the recording medium; a recording medium supply unit 500 for supplying the recording medium to the planar image forming unit 200; A recording medium ejection unit 600 for ejecting to the outside is provided.

The image reading unit 100 is provided with an image reading device 7 capable of distinguishing and reading two-dimensional image information and three-dimensional image information on a document. The image reading device 7 includes a contact glass 25 on which a document G is placed, a pressure plate 26 as a pressing member for pressing the document G placed on the contact glass 25 , and a horizontal movement along the contact glass 25 . A carriage 27 is provided as a movable reading unit for reading an image on the original document G. As shown in FIG. The carriage 27 is equipped with a light source (light emitting element) for irradiating light onto the document G on the contact glass 25, a reflecting mirror for guiding the reflected light from the document G in a predetermined direction, and the like. The image reading device 7 also includes a condenser lens that converges reflected light from the document G, and a CCD sensor that converts the converged reflected light into an electrical signal and outputs the signal as image information.

The planar image forming section 200 includes four process units 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10Bk as image forming units, and exposure for forming an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive member 2 provided in each of the process units 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10Bk. A device 6 and a transfer device 8 for transferring an image to a recording medium are provided.

Each of the process units 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10Bk has basically the same configuration except that it accommodates different color toners (developers) of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black corresponding to color separation components of a color image. be. Specifically, each of the process units 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10Bk includes a photoreceptor 2 as an image carrier that carries an image on its surface, a charging member 3 that charges the surface of the photoreceptor 2, and a surface of the photoreceptor 2. and a cleaning member 5 for cleaning the surface of the photoreceptor 2 .

The transfer device 8 includes an intermediate transfer belt 11 , a primary transfer roller 12 and a secondary transfer roller 13 . The intermediate transfer belt 11 is an endless belt member and is stretched by a plurality of support rollers. Four primary transfer rollers 12 are provided inside the intermediate transfer belt 11 . A primary transfer nip is formed between the intermediate transfer belt 11 and each photoreceptor 2 by bringing each primary transfer roller 12 into contact with each photoreceptor 2 via the intermediate transfer belt 11 . The secondary transfer roller 13 contacts the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 11 to form a secondary transfer nip.

The 3D image forming unit 300 is provided with an adhesive supply device 30 for supplying an adhesive to a recording medium and a 3D image forming agent supply device 31 for supplying a 3D image forming agent. The three-dimensional image forming agent is composed of particles having a diameter larger than that of the toner that forms the two-dimensional image, and adheres to the recording medium via an adhesive supplied from the adhesive supply device 30 .

The fixing unit 400 is provided with a fixing device 20 for heating the recording medium to fix the two-dimensional image and the three-dimensional image on the recording medium. The fixing device 20 includes a pair of rotating bodies 21 and 22 that contact each other to form a fixing nip. Of the pair of rotating bodies 21 and 22, the rotating body 21 arranged on the image carrying surface side of the recording medium has a heat source 23 such as a heater inside.

The recording medium supply unit 500 is provided with a paper feed cassette 14 that stores paper P as a recording medium, and a paper feed roller 15 that feeds the paper P from the paper feed cassette 14 . Hereinafter, the "recording medium" will be described as "paper", but the "recording medium" is not limited to paper (paper). The "recording medium" includes not only paper but also OHP sheets or fabrics, metal sheets, plastic films, or prepreg sheets in which carbon fibers are previously impregnated with resin. In addition to plain paper, "paper" includes thick paper, postcards, envelopes, thin paper, coated paper (coated paper, art paper, etc.), tracing paper, and the like.

The recording medium discharge section 600 is provided with a pair of paper discharge rollers 17 for discharging the paper P to the outside of the image forming apparatus, and a paper discharge tray 18 for placing the paper P discharged by the paper discharge rollers 17 .

Next, the basic operation of the image forming apparatus 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

First, with the document G placed on the contact glass 25 of the image reading device 7, light is emitted from the light source toward the document G while the carriage 27 moves in the horizontal direction. Thereby, the reflected light reflected from the document G is received by the CCD sensor, and the image information of the document G is read.

Next, each photoreceptor 2 starts rotating, and each charging member 3 charges the surface of each photoreceptor 2 to a uniform high potential. Then, the exposure device 6 exposes the surface (charged surface) of each photoreceptor 2 based on the plane image information among the image information of the document G read by the image reading device 7 . As a result, the potential of the exposed portion is lowered and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of each photoreceptor 2 . Then, each developing device 4 supplies toner to this electrostatic latent image, and a toner image (planar image) is formed on each photoreceptor 2 for each color.

After that, the toner images on the photoreceptors 2 reach the primary transfer nip (the position of the primary transfer roller 12) as each photoreceptor 2 rotates, and are sequentially transferred onto the rotating intermediate transfer belt 11 so as to overlap each other. be. Thus, a full-color toner image (flat image) is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 11 . Any one of the four-color process units 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10Bk is used to form a monochrome image, and two or three of them are used to form a two- or three-color image. can also be formed. Further, after the toner image is transferred from each photoreceptor 2 to the intermediate transfer belt 11 , residual toner on each photoreceptor 2 is removed by the cleaning member 5 .

The toner image (flat image) transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 11 is conveyed to the secondary transfer nip (the position of the secondary transfer roller 13) as the intermediate transfer belt 11 rotates, and is transferred to the paper P at the secondary transfer nip. transcribed above. The paper P is supplied from the paper feed cassette 14, and the paper P is sent out from the paper feed cassette 14 as the paper feed roller 15 rotates. The sent paper P is temporarily stopped by a pair of timing rollers 16, and then conveyed by the timing rollers 16 at the timing when the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 11 reaches the secondary transfer nip.

The paper P onto which the toner image (flat image) has been transferred is subsequently conveyed to the stereoscopic image forming section 300 . In the three-dimensional image forming section 300, the adhesive supply device 30 ejects the adhesive onto the paper P based on the three-dimensional image information among the image information read by the image reading device 7 described above. Next, the three-dimensional image forming agent supply device 31 supplies the three-dimensional image forming agent to the adhesive-attached portion on the paper P to form a three-dimensional image.

After that, the paper P is transported to the fixing device 20 and passes between the pair of rotating bodies 21 and 22 (fixing nip). At this time, the toner image (planar image) and the three-dimensional image on the paper P are fixed on the paper P by heating and pressurizing the paper P. FIG. Then, the paper P is conveyed to the recording medium discharge section 600 and discharged to the paper discharge tray 18 by the paper discharge rollers 17 . This completes a series of image forming operations. Note that "image formation" includes not only formation of meaningful images such as characters, graphics, and symbols, but also formation of meaningless images such as patterns.

As described above, in the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment, a planar image is formed based on the planar image information among the image information read by the image reading device 7, and a stereoscopic image is formed based on the stereoscopic image information. can be formed. That is, the image reading device 7 according to the present embodiment can read the image information on the document by distinguishing between two-dimensional image information and three-dimensional image information.

A mechanism by which the image reading device 7 according to the present embodiment can read two-dimensional image information and three-dimensional image information separately will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 2, the image reading apparatus 7 according to the present embodiment includes a visible light emitting unit 41 for emitting visible light and an invisible light emitting unit 41 for emitting invisible light as light sources for emitting light onto the document G. A portion 42 is provided. Further, the image reading device 7 includes, as light receiving units for receiving light reflected from the document G, a visible light receiving unit 51 for receiving visible light and an invisible light receiving unit 52 for receiving invisible light.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a plane image A that reflects visible light and a stereoscopic image B that reflects invisible light can be formed on the document G used in the present embodiment. This planar image A is an image formed in the planar image forming section 200, and is formed using toners containing visible light reflection components such as yellow, magenta, cyan, and black. On the other hand, the stereoscopic image B is an image formed by the stereoscopic image forming section 300 . The stereoscopic image forming agent used to form the stereoscopic image B contains an invisible light reflecting component that reflects invisible light such as ultraviolet rays or infrared rays.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, when the document G is irradiated with light from the light sources (the visible light emitting unit 41 and the invisible light emitting unit 42) of the image reading device 7, the portion of the plane image A is mainly visible. Light is reflected, and mainly invisible light is reflected in the stereoscopic image B portion. Then, the visible light reflected at the portion of the planar image A is received by the visible light receiving section 51 of the image reading device 7 and read as planar image information. Also, the invisible light reflected by the portion of the stereoscopic image B is received by the invisible light receiving section 52 of the image reading device 7 and read as stereoscopic image information. As described above, the image reading device 7 according to the present embodiment includes the visible light receiving section 51 as a visible light image reading section that reads the visible light image (the plane image A that reflects visible light) on the document G as plane image information. and an invisible light receiving section 52 as an invisible light image reading section that reads an invisible light image (a stereoscopic image B that reflects invisible light) on the document G as stereoscopic image information.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the image reading device 7 according to the present embodiment discriminates and distinguishes two-dimensional image information and three-dimensional image information from the respective light receiving signals of the visible light receiving section 51 and the invisible light receiving section 52. An image information determination unit 60 is provided. The image information determination unit 60 is configured by a microcomputer having, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory) and a ROM (Read Only Memory). The image information determining section 60 may be provided in the image reading device 7 or may be provided in an image forming apparatus body different from the image reading device 7 .

When the image information determining section 60 distinguishes between the planar image information and the stereoscopic image information, the image information determining section 60 instructs the planar image forming section 200 to form a planar image based on the planar image information. Further, the image information determining section 60 instructs the stereoscopic image forming section 300 to form a stereoscopic image based on the stereoscopic image information. The planar image forming section 200 that has received the instruction to form an image forms a toner image on the photosensitive member 2 based on the planar image information, and transfers the toner image onto the paper P via the intermediate transfer belt 11 as described above. . Further, the three-dimensional image forming unit 300 that has received the image forming instruction ejects the adhesive onto the paper P from the adhesive supply device 30 based on the three-dimensional image information, as described above, and then the three-dimensional image forming agent supply device 31 , a stereoscopic image forming agent is supplied to a portion of the sheet P to which the adhesive is adhered to form a stereoscopic image.

Here, in this embodiment, solid particles as shown in FIG. 3 are used as the stereoscopic image forming agent. The stereoscopic image forming agent is not limited to solid particles, and may be liquid or semi-liquid. Specifically, the stereoscopic image forming agent 32 shown in FIG. 3 is composed of a core material 33 containing an invisible light reflecting component 40 and a coating material 34 covering the surface of the core material 33 . The core material 33 is made of a material having a higher melting temperature than the temperature heated by the fixing device. Therefore, even if the paper coated with the stereoscopic image forming agent 32 passes through the fixing device, the core material 33 is not melted and the shape is substantially maintained. On the other hand, since the coating material 34 is made of a material having a melting temperature lower than the temperature at which the fixing device heats, it is melted by the heating of the fixing device.

As shown in FIG. 4 , when forming a three-dimensional image on the paper P, the adhesive 50 is first discharged onto the paper P from the adhesive supply device 30 . The adhesive supply device 30 has an adhesive container 55 containing the adhesive 50 and an ejection port 56 for ejecting the adhesive 50 in the adhesive container 55 . An adhesive is discharged onto the portion where image formation is to be performed. Here, the “portion for forming a stereoscopic image” means a portion for forming a stereoscopic image on the paper P determined based on the stereoscopic image information on the document G read by the image reading device 7 .

Next, the paper P is transported to the three-dimensional image forming agent supply device 31, and the three-dimensional image forming agent 32 is supplied to the adhesive adhesion locations on the paper P by the three-dimensional image forming agent supply device 31. FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the stereoscopic image forming agent supply device 31 includes a stereoscopic image forming agent container 45 containing the stereoscopic image forming agent 32, a carrier 46 capable of carrying the stereoscopic image forming agent 32 on its surface, A regulating member 47 for regulating the amount of the stereoscopic image forming agent 32 on the carrier 46 is provided. When the carrier 46 rotates, the three-dimensional image forming agent 32 carried on the carrier 46 passes through the regulating member 47, thereby regulating the amount of the three-dimensional image forming agent 32 to a predetermined amount. A three-dimensional image forming agent 32 is supplied to the agent adhering portion.

Thereafter, the paper P is heated and pressurized by being conveyed to the fixing device. At this time, the three-dimensional image forming agent 32 on the paper P is heated, so that the coating material 34 melts. After the paper P passes through the fixing device, the three-dimensional image forming agent 32 (core material 33) is fixed to the paper P by solidifying the covering material 34. FIG. In order to further improve the fixability of the three-dimensional image forming agent 32, a device for supplying a coating agent such as a protective agent or a binder is arranged between the three-dimensional image forming agent supply device 31 and the fixing device 20. good too.

As described above, the stereoscopic image on paper output by the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment is formed by the stereoscopic image forming agent 32 containing the invisible light reflection component. A stereoscopic image on a document can be read by the reading device 7 . Then, it is possible to duplicate the stereoscopic image on paper based on the read stereoscopic image information.

That is, as shown in FIG. 5, in the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment, as a result of reading the image on the document by the image reading device 7, when there is an invisible light image on the document (three-dimensional image formation). When reflection of invisible light having the same wavelength as the reflected invisible light component contained in the agent 32 is detected), a stereoscopic image is formed on the paper based on the invisible light image information. In addition, if there is a visible light image in addition to the invisible light image on the document (when reflection of visible light with the same wavelength as the reflected visible light component of the toner is detected), a 3D image based on the invisible light image information In addition, a planar image based on the visible light image information is formed on the paper. On the other hand, when there is no invisible light image on the document, only a plane image is formed on the paper based on the information of the read visible light image.

As described above, in the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment, the image reading device 7 includes a visible light image reading unit that reads a visible light image on a document as plane image information, and a stereoscopic image that converts an invisible light image on the document into a three-dimensional image. By providing an invisible light image reading unit for reading information, plane image information and stereoscopic image information on a document can be reliably distinguished and recognized. In addition, since the stereoscopic image information on the document is optically read by the image reading device 7, the stereoscopic image information can be read with high precision compared to the configuration for reading the stereoscopic image information using rollers as described in Patent Document 1. can be done. Therefore, it is possible to improve the reproducibility of the stereoscopic image that is reproduced based on the read image information.

By the way, in the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment, as long as the first document is prepared using the stereoscopic image forming agent containing the invisible light reflection component, the invisible light image on the prepared document is read and printed on the paper. It is possible to reproduce stereoscopic images. Note that the first document must be created by the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment based on print image information sent from a computer or terminal device.

However, in a stereoscopic image manuscript such as Braille, which is generally produced, the stereoscopic image portion does not contain an invisible light reflection component. can't Therefore, in order to improve convenience, it is preferable to allow such stereoscopic image information on a document to be duplicated.

The example described next is an example in which a stereoscopic image can be formed even when using a general document that does not include an invisible light reflection component.

As shown in FIG. 6, the image forming apparatus in this example includes the image information discrimination section 60 for discriminating image information into two-dimensional image information and three-dimensional image information, as well as a three-dimensional image of a visible light image on a document. A color designation section 61 is provided for designating the color of a portion to be formed as an image. The color designation unit 61 is an input unit provided on, for example, a control panel of the image forming apparatus, and is operated when the user designates the color of the portion of the visible light image on the document that the user wishes to form as a stereoscopic image. be.

As shown in FIG. 7, in this example, when the image on the document is read, it is determined whether or not the stereoscopic image forming mode is selected in the image forming apparatus. The stereoscopic image forming mode can be selected by the user through, for example, a control panel provided in the image forming apparatus.

Then, when the stereoscopic image forming mode is selected, the image information determining section 60 subsequently determines whether or not there is an invisible light image on the document. As a result, when there is an invisible light image on the document, a stereoscopic image is formed on the paper based on the invisible light image information. Also, when there is a visible light image in addition to the invisible light image on the document, a plane image based on the visible light image information is formed on the paper in addition to the stereoscopic image based on the invisible light image information.

On the other hand, if there is no invisible light image on the document, it is further determined whether or not the color designation section 61 has specified a color. As a result, when a color is specified, only the specified color portion of the visible light image on the document is formed on the paper as a stereoscopic image. A color portion other than the designated color is formed on the paper as a plane image. Further, as a result of reading the image on the document, if there is no invisible light image on the document and there is no color specification, all the parts of the read visible light image are formed on the paper as a plane image. .

In this way, in the example shown in FIG. 7, by designating the color of the portion to be formed as a stereoscopic image, a stereoscopic image can be formed from the original, even if it is a general document that does not contain an invisible light reflection component. is possible. For example, if braille characters that do not contain invisible light reflection components are formed on a document, if the braille part is colored black and black is selected by specifying the color, the black braille part will be converted into a stereoscopic image (braille). can be formed on the paper as Similarly, even with a document on which only a 2D image is formed, if a 3D image formation mode is selected and a color is designated, a portion of the designated color can be formed as a 3D image.

Also, when there is no need to form a stereoscopic image, the normal planar image forming mode may be selected without selecting the stereoscopic image forming mode. In that case, not only when the read image is only a visible light image, but also when it is only an invisible light image, or when both a visible light image and an invisible light image are included, all the read images is formed on the paper as a plane image.

In the example shown in FIG. 7, the presence or absence of the invisible light image on the document is determined with priority over the presence or absence of color designation. The presence or absence of an image may be prioritized. In addition, it is possible to perform control to form both the invisible light image portion and the color-designated portion as a stereoscopic image by simultaneously determining whether or not there is an invisible light image on the document and determining whether or not there is a color designation. good.

Also, in the example shown in FIG. 7, the user is allowed to specify the color by using the color specifying section 61 such as a control panel. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. The mark 70 may be attached to the document G in advance. That is, a mark 70 consisting of a symbol or a character is attached to a portion (such as a corner portion) of the document G on which the visible light image is formed, and when the image on the document G is read by the image reading device 7, By reading the mark 70 together, the color of the portion desired to be formed as a stereoscopic image can be automatically discriminated. The mark 70 may be formed by a visible light image or may be formed by an invisible light image. Also, if a plurality of different marks 70 are prepared for each color to be designated, the range of color designation is expanded, thereby improving convenience.

Next, the example shown in FIG. 9 is an example in which a document G is provided with a mark 71 indicating that all images are read as stereoscopic image information.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 10, as a result of reading the image on the document by the image reading device, if there is a mark 71 shown in FIG. is formed on paper as a stereoscopic image regardless of whether it is a visible light image or an invisible light image. Note that the mark 71 may be a visible light image or an invisible light image.

Such an example can be used, for example, when it is desired to superimpose a three-dimensional image such as Braille on paper such as a poster that has already been printed. A pre-printed poster is set in a paper feed cassette of an image forming apparatus, and a manuscript G (see FIG. 9) with the black dots indicating the braille portion and the above mark 71 is read by an image reading device. The part is recognized as a stereoscopic image, and Braille corresponding to the black dot part is formed on the fed poster. In this way, if there is a mark 71 for reading all the images on the document G as stereoscopic image information, it is not necessary to specify the color of the portion desired to be a stereoscopic image.

In FIG. 10, the control when there is no mark 71 to be read as a stereoscopic image is basically the same as the control of presence/absence of the invisible light image on the document shown in FIG. 7 and the control of presence/absence of color designation. omitted.

The image forming apparatus according to the present invention can be used not only for forming braille characters, but also for forming three-dimensional images other than braille characters, such as oil paintings and other paintings having unevenness. When the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is used for braille, as shown in FIG. Since it is necessary to be 3 [mm] to 0.5 [mm], the particle size d (see FIG. 3) of the core material 33 of the stereoscopic image forming agent 32 is 0.3 [mm] to 0.5 [mm]. is preferred. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 11(b), when the three-dimensional image forming agent 32 is superimposed to form a three-dimensional image having a more complicated uneven surface such as an oil painting, the core material of the three-dimensional image forming agent 32 is used. The particle size d of 33 is preferably 0.1 [mm] to 0.5 [mm]. The “thickness” of the stereoscopic image here and the “thickness” of the stereoscopic image in the following description mean the height in the direction in which the stereoscopic image B protrudes from the image forming surface of the document G or the paper P.

In the above embodiment, the case of forming a stereoscopic image using one type of stereoscopic image forming agent 32 (see FIG. 3) has been described. may be

For example, as in the example shown in FIG. 12, the stereoscopic image forming agent 32 may contain two types of particles: small-diameter particles 32a and large-diameter particles 32b larger than the small-diameter particles 32a. .

Thus, by using stereoscopic image forming agents having different particle diameters, it is possible to form stereoscopic images having different thicknesses. For example, in FIG. 13, (a) a three-dimensional image consisting only of small-diameter particles 32a, (b) a three-dimensional image consisting only of large-diameter particles 32b, and (c) A stereoscopic image can be formed from both small particles 32a and large particles 32b. Therefore, by using stereoscopic image forming agents having different particle diameters, it is possible to form stereoscopic images with complex textures such as oil paintings.

It is preferable that the particle size ratio of the small-diameter particles 32a and the large-diameter particles 32b is about twice. In particular, when forming a three-dimensional image by stacking particles in three or more layers, the particle size ratio may be three times or four times. Further, by using three or more types of particles having different particle diameters, it becomes possible to form an image with a more complicated texture.

Here, the small-diameter particles 32a and the large-diameter particles 32b contain invisible light reflection components in different wavelength regions. Specifically, the small-diameter particles 32a contain ultraviolet reflection components in the wavelength region of 380 [nm] or less, while the large-diameter particles 32b contain infrared reflection components in the wavelength region of 780 [nm] or more.

Therefore, if the image reading device can distinguish and read the invisible light reflection components in different wavelength regions, the stereoscopic image formed using these particles 32a and 32b can be identified. That is, the image reading device has an ultraviolet light receiving portion (first invisible light receiving portion) that receives reflected light in the ultraviolet wavelength region (380 [nm] or less) and an infrared wavelength region (780 [nm] or more). An infrared light receiving section (second invisible light receiving section) for receiving reflected light may be provided.

As a result, the image reading apparatus can distinguish and read three-dimensional images having different thicknesses as shown in (a), (b), and (c) of FIG. 13 . In this case, as shown in FIG. 14, when the image reading device reads the document, the part where both the ultraviolet rays and the infrared rays are received becomes a stereoscopic image composed of both the small-diameter particles 32a and the large-diameter particles 32b. The identified portion where only ultraviolet light is received is identified as a stereoscopic image consisting only of small-diameter particles 32a, and the portion where only infrared light is received is identified as a stereoscopic image consisting only of large-diameter particles 32b. If neither ultraviolet light nor infrared light is received, it is determined that there is no stereoscopic image.

In this way, the image reader is configured to be able to read invisible light reflection components in different wavelength regions, so that stereoscopic images with different thicknesses can be discriminated. It becomes possible.

In the above example, the particles containing the ultraviolet reflecting component are the small-diameter particles 32a, and the particles containing the infrared reflecting component are the large-diameter particles 32b. , may be divided into two wavelength regions to have different particle sizes. For example, particles containing an ultraviolet reflection component with a wavelength range of 360 [nm] to 400 [nm] are small particles 32c, and particles containing an ultraviolet reflection component with a wavelength range of 280 [nm] to 320 [nm] are large particles. 32d.

In accordance with this, the image reading device also distinguishes between the reflected ultraviolet component in the wavelength range of 360 [nm] to 400 [nm] and the reflected ultraviolet component in the wavelength range of 280 [nm] to 320 [nm]. By doing so, it becomes possible to identify a stereoscopic image consisting of either or both of the particles 32c, 32d.

Three or more wavelength regions of the ultraviolet reflection component may be divided according to the particle size. Furthermore, the particles containing the infrared reflective component may also be similarly divided into two or more wavelength regions with different particle sizes. By differentiating the wavelength region of the ultraviolet reflection component and the wavelength region of the infrared reflection component for each particle size, the thickness of the 3D image is diversified by the combination of particle sizes, so that the texture of the 3D image can be reproduced more finely. Become.

Further, the three-dimensional image forming agent used in the present invention is not limited to the particles composed of the core material 33 and the coating material 34 as described above, and may be particles having a foaming agent as described in Japanese Patent No. 4356714. good too. The foaming agent is composed of, for example, a foaming agent whose main raw material is a substance that generates gas by thermal decomposition. An image is formed on paper using particles containing a foaming agent, and when the paper is transported to a fixing device and heated, the foaming agent foams to form a three-dimensional image on the paper. . Even in the particles having such a foaming agent, if an invisible light reflecting component is included, a stereoscopic image can be optically read by an image reading device in the same manner as the stereoscopic image forming agent according to the above embodiment. As a result, the reading accuracy is improved, and the reproducibility of the stereoscopic image based on the read image information is also improved.

In the above embodiment, the toner containing the visible light reflecting component is used to form a two-dimensional image, and the three-dimensional image forming agent containing an invisible light reflecting component is used to form a three-dimensional image. Depending on the type, some include invisible light reflection components in addition to visible light reflection components. When such a special toner is used, an image that is originally determined as a two-dimensional image is determined as a three-dimensional image.

Therefore, it is preferable to select whether to discriminate a plane image formed by a special toner that also includes an invisible light reflection component as a plane image or a stereoscopic image. For example, as shown in FIG. 16, when the image reading device 7 reads a plane image C formed with a special toner that includes invisible light reflecting components in addition to visible light reflecting components, that is, the visible light receiving unit 51 receives visible light corresponding to the color of the special toner, and the invisible light receiving unit 52 receives invisible light, the image information discriminating unit 60 discriminates that the planar image C is formed by the special toner. be done. In that case, based on the information from the image information determination unit 60, an operator such as a user selects whether to form a planar image or a stereoscopic image using a selection unit 62 provided in the image forming apparatus. do. As a result, when a stereoscopic image is selected, a stereoscopic image is formed, and when a planar image is selected, a planar image is formed. When only visible light from a toner other than the special toner is received, the image is formed as a plane image because it is a plane image formed by normal toner. When only invisible light is received, a stereoscopic image is formed. Since it is a stereoscopic image formed using the agent, it is formed as a stereoscopic image. This series of flows is shown in FIG.

In this way, when the read image includes a plane image formed with a special toner that also includes an invisible light reflection component, it is possible to select whether to form the read image as a plane image or as a stereoscopic image. By doing so, the range of usable toners is widened and the convenience is improved. It should be noted that in an image reading apparatus that does not have such a function, it is preferable to use toner that does not contain an invisible light reflecting component.

Further, the image forming apparatus equipped with the image reading apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to the electrophotographic image forming apparatus that forms a planar image using toner as described above, and may form a planar image using ink. It may be an inkjet type image forming apparatus.

FIG. 18 shows an example in which an image reading apparatus according to the present invention is installed in an ink jet image forming apparatus.

An ink jet image forming apparatus 80 shown in FIG. 18 includes an image reading device 81 for reading an image of a document G, an ink discharge head 82 for forming a planar image on paper using liquid ink, and an adhesive on the paper. Adhesive supply device 83 to supply, 3D image forming agent supply device 84 to supply 3D image forming agent, paper supply roller 86 to supply paper P contained in paper supply cassette 85, and paper to be discharged outside the apparatus. It is equipped with a paper discharge roller 87 and the like. The ink ejection head 82 may be a so-called serial type that ejects ink while moving in the main scanning direction (paper width direction), or may eject ink without moving a plurality of ink ejection heads arranged in the main scanning direction. A so-called line type may be used. An image reading device 81, an adhesive supply device 83, a three-dimensional image forming agent supply device 84, a paper feed cassette 85, a paper feed roller 86, and a paper discharge roller 87 provided in the ink jet image forming apparatus 80 are used for forming the image shown in FIG. The image reading device 7, the adhesive supply device 30, the 3D image forming agent supply device 31, the paper feed cassette 14, the paper feed roller 15, and the paper discharge roller 17 included in the forming apparatus 1 are basically the same in configuration and function. Therefore, a detailed explanation is omitted.

In the inkjet image forming apparatus 80 shown in FIG. 18, when the image information of the document G is read by the image reading device 81, the adhesive supply device 83 is operated based on the three-dimensional image information among the read image information. An adhesive is discharged onto the paper P sent from the paper feed cassette 85 . Next, the 3D image forming agent supplying device 84 supplies the 3D image forming agent to the portion of the paper P to which the adhesive is adhered to form a 3D image.

Then, the paper P is conveyed below the ink ejection head 82 , and the ink ejection head 82 ejects ink onto the paper P based on the plane image information among the image information read by the image reading device 81 to form a plane image. to form After that, the paper P is discharged outside the apparatus by the paper discharge rollers 87 .

As described above, by applying the present invention to the inkjet image forming apparatus 80 that forms a two-dimensional image with ink, the reading accuracy of the three-dimensional image can be improved, and the three-dimensional image can be reproduced based on the read image information. You can expect an improvement in sex.

In the case of an inkjet image forming apparatus, as shown in FIG. 19, ink can be ejected onto a three-dimensional image B formed on a sheet of paper P to form a two-dimensional image A. The supply device 84 (three-dimensional image forming section) can be arranged upstream of the ink ejection head 82 (planar image forming section) in the paper transport direction. Moreover, in this case, since the ink adheres onto the stereoscopic image B, the visibility of the ink can be satisfactorily ensured.

On the other hand, in the case of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, it is difficult to superimpose and transfer a toner image (flat image) on a stereoscopic image. It is preferable to form the three-dimensional image B after the two-dimensional image A is formed by transferring the three-dimensional image. Further, in this case, in order to ensure the visibility of the toner present under the stereoscopic image B, the stereoscopic image forming agent is preferably made of a transparent material.

In addition, the stereoscopic image forming agent used in the present invention includes a core material 33 containing an invisible light reflecting component 40 and a color component (visible light reflecting component) 39, and a surface of the core material 33 as shown in FIG. It may be constituted by a covering material 35 having adhesive affinity to cover. In this case, when the three-dimensional image forming agent is supplied to the adhesive-adhered portion on the paper, the coating material 35 of the three-dimensional image forming agent 32 is bonded with the adhesive due to its affinity for the adhesive. , the core material 33 is adhered to the paper P so as to be embedded in the adhesive 50 . After that, the three-dimensional image forming agent 32 (core material 33) is adhered to the paper P by solidifying the adhesive 50 . In this case, since the core material 33 contains the color component 39, a visible stereoscopic image can be formed without applying ink or the like separately. Further, the adhesive 50 may be one that naturally hardens upon exposure to air, or may contain a component that hardens upon exposure to ultraviolet rays. When the adhesive 50 contains an ultraviolet curing component, the adhesive 50 is cured by irradiating the adhesive 50 with ultraviolet rays from an ultraviolet irradiation device after the three-dimensional image forming agent 32 is supplied to the adhesive adhesion portion. solidification can be accelerated.

Although the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the scope of the invention.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 image forming apparatus 7 image reading apparatus 32 stereoscopic image forming agent 51 visible light receiving section (visible light image reading section)
52 invisible light receiving unit (invisible light image reading unit)
100 Image reading unit 200 Planar image forming unit 300 Stereoscopic image forming unit G Document P Paper (recording medium)

JP-A-11-41394

Claims (8)

a visible light image reading unit that reads a visible light image on a document as plane image information;
An image reading apparatus, comprising: an invisible light image reading unit that reads the invisible light image on the document as stereoscopic image information. 2. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the invisible light image reading section reads the invisible light image on the document as braille image information. 2. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the invisible light image reading unit reads invisible light images in different wavelength regions as three-dimensional image information having different thicknesses. an image reading device according to any one of claims 1 to 3;
a planar image forming unit that forms a planar image on a recording medium based on planar image information obtained from the image reading device;
An image forming apparatus, comprising: a stereoscopic image forming section that forms a stereoscopic image on the recording medium based on stereoscopic image information obtained from the image reading apparatus. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the stereoscopic image forming unit forms a stereoscopic image using a stereoscopic image forming agent containing an invisible light reflection component. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the three-dimensional image forming unit forms three-dimensional images having different thicknesses by using three-dimensional image forming agents having different particle diameters. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the three-dimensional image forming unit forms three-dimensional images having different thicknesses using a three-dimensional image forming agent containing invisible light reflection components in different wavelength regions for different particle diameters. 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the invisible light reflection components in the different wavelength regions are an ultraviolet reflection component and an infrared reflection component.

Images