JP4333771B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that prints a prestored additional image such as an advertisement image in addition to a read original image.

  In recent years, with the widespread use of copying machines, a large number of copying machines equipped with billing devices have been installed in convenience stores and the like. The copying machine installed in such a place is used by an unspecified number of users. Therefore, if printing is performed including image information such as an advertisement when copying, the advertiser can obtain a predetermined advertising effect.

  In view of such a situation, a technique for adding an advertisement to a sheet copied by a user has been developed.

  For example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-256256, a copying machine detects a blank area of a copy source document, conveys this to a server via a network, and is suitable for a detected blank in an advertisement image stored in the server. A technology is disclosed in which an advertisement having a size is selected, transferred to a copying machine, and the advertisement image is printed on the detected margin portion together with the original image of the copy source.

  Although not intended to print an advertisement image, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-268840 discloses a technique for synthesizing two images, in which the density of a stored image and a document image is set in pixel units. If the density data of the original image is higher than a predetermined value, the original image data is selected, and if it is low, the memory image data is selected. A technique for synthesizing these images like a watermark is disclosed. In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-69935, when two images are combined, the density of at least one of the images is adjusted, and the density of either of the two images in the combined image is reduced to distinguish each image. Techniques for facilitating are disclosed.

  By the way, the advertising effect obtained by the printed advertisement can call the user's attention as the advertisement image is larger. When considering such advertising effects, there are various problems with each of the above technologies.

  In the copying machine disclosed in the above Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 8-256256, since the advertisement image is combined with the margin portion of the original image, when the margin is small, only a relatively small advertisement image can be printed. The advertising effect obtained by the advertisement is small. In addition, when the original image has no blank portion, the advertisement image cannot be printed no matter how much the user desires.

  Furthermore, when the techniques of the latter two publications, which are image composition techniques, are diverted to advertisement composition, it is conceivable that the advertisement image is watermarked or thinly combined with the image of the copy source document. If the image of the copy source document is a photographic image or graphic image, it will be difficult to see if the image overlaps the photo or graphic image even though it is a thin image. It can be shunned. In addition, the advertiser side will be shy away from seeing that an advertisement effect cannot be expected with a watermark or a thin advertisement image.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that can synthesize an advertisement in a wider range by adding an advertisement image on the character area in the image of the copy source document, thereby improving the advertisement effect. Is.

  The above object is achieved by the following means.

(1) An image forming apparatus that synthesizes and outputs a read original image and a prestored additional image, the image reading means for reading the original image, an image storage means for storing the additional image, Character area determination means for determining a character area from the original image read by the image reading means, and the additional image stored in the image storage means on the character area determined by the character area determination means. Image combining means for combining
A printing unit that prints the image synthesized by the image synthesizing unit on a paper when the character area determining unit determines that the original image is a character original;
Have
The printing unit outputs the additional image to a sheet and outputs the document image to another sheet when the document area determining unit determines that the document image is not a character document. Image forming apparatus.

  (2) The character area discriminating means detects the density distribution of the read document image and discriminates whether or not it is a character area by detecting the periodicity of the density distribution.

  (3) The character area discriminating means examines the density of each pixel of the read document image and discriminates whether or not the character area is based on the number of pixels having a density equal to or higher than a predetermined value.

  (4) The image synthesizing unit synthesizes the additional image over the entire surface of the paper to be printed when the character region determining unit determines that the original image is only a character region.

  (5) The image forming apparatus further includes a color discriminating unit that discriminates a color of an image drawn from the document image, and the image synthesizing unit discriminates according to a discrimination result of the color discriminating unit. The additional image is synthesized with a color different from the selected color.

  (6) The additional image is an advertisement image.

  According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained for each claim.

  According to the image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, since the character area is discriminated and an additional image is put into the discriminated character area, the character itself can be read even if the images are combined in the character area. Since there is almost no disappearance, by combining an additional image such as an advertisement with this, the area of the advertisement can be made larger than when combining only the margin. Further, when the additional image cannot be synthesized with the image of the copy source document, the additional image can be returned to the user as a separate print.

  According to the image forming apparatus of the fourth aspect, when the character area extends over the entire surface of the document, the additional image is combined with the entire surface. Since an advertisement can be inserted, the advertising effect can be improved.

  According to the image forming apparatus of the fifth aspect, the character color is discriminated and the additional image having a color different from the character color is synthesized. The additional image can be synthesized without degrading the character recognizability.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a view for explaining the internal structure of the copying machine shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 10 includes a copying machine 11 and a charging device 12 for a user. The charging device 12 in the illustrated example is a coin vendor, and a user can insert a coin into the charging device 12 and operate the copying machine 11 to copy a document. Here, the charging device 12 displays the amount of money that has been input to the user, permits the copying operation of the copying machine 11 according to the amount of money that has been input, collects a predetermined amount when the copying operation is performed, and subtracts it. The new amount, that is, the remaining amount is newly displayed. The amount to be subtracted depends on the paper size used for copying, the set color mode, and the like. Further, the charging device 12 disallows the copying operation of the copying machine 11 when the amount after performing the copying operation and subtracting is equal to or less than a predetermined amount. If the fee is additionally charged again, the copying operation of the copying machine 11 is permitted again. As described above, the charging apparatus 12 has a function of instructing the copying machine 11 to permit / deny the copying operation while managing the usage fee and the remaining amount.

  The copying machine 11 communicates with the charging apparatus 12 via the relay connector 17. The copying machine 11 transmits information such as a copy operation, a paper feed signal, a paper discharge signal, a size, and a copy mode to the billing apparatus 12. On the other hand, the charging device 12 transmits information such as copy permission, copy disapproval, and input amount to the copying machine 11. The copying machine 11 is controlled to be in a copy enabled state or incapable state in accordance with each transmitted information. An operation panel 18 that is operated when a user sets a copy mode or the like is provided on the upper surface of the copying machine 11.

  The charging device 12 includes a coin insertion slot 13, a coin return button 14, a display unit 15, and a coin return slot 16. Then, a necessary amount is calculated from the inserted amount (coin) and a copy mode set by the user, and it is determined whether or not copying is possible. If copying is possible, a copy permission signal is transmitted to the copying machine 11. To do. The copying machine 11 to which the copy permission signal is sent is set in a state where the user can execute copying.

  When the user starts copying, the copying machine 11 starts a predetermined copying operation. The copying machine 11 sends discharge information to the charging device 12 when the paper is discharged, and the charging device 12 subtracts a predetermined amount according to the copy mode such as size and color. When the usage charges are sequentially subtracted and the balance becomes less than the amount required for copying, the charging device 12 transmits a copy prohibition signal to the copying machine 11. The copier 11 to which the copy prohibition signal has been sent is set in a copy disabled state for the user.

  In addition, although the accounting apparatus 12 which consists of a coin vendor was shown in figure, it may be set as the accounting apparatus which inserts media, such as a prepaid card which memorize | stored money amount information, and performs charge management based on the balance information memorize | stored in this card | curd. it can.

  The copying machine 11 shown in FIG. 2 is a four-cycle full-color copying machine, and includes an image scanner unit 21 that reads a document image, a signal processing unit 22 that processes a signal read by the image scanner unit 21, and a document image. A printer unit 23 that prints an image corresponding to the above, a paper storage unit 24 that stores the paper, and a casing 25 that arranges or stores these units.

  In the image scanner unit 21, a document placed on the platen glass is irradiated with a lamp, and light reflected by the document passes through a plurality of mirrors 26 a, 26 b, 26 c and a condensing lens 27, and a line sensor (CCD) 28. Tie a statue on top. By driving the scanner motor 29, the first scanner 31 is at the speed V and the second scanner 32 is at V / 2 in the direction perpendicular to the electrical scanning direction (main scanning direction) of the line sensor 28 (sub-scanning). Direction) and scan the document surface.

  The signal processing unit 22 receives a signal read by the line sensor 28, electrically processes this signal to generate an image signal, and sends it to the printer unit 23.

  The printer unit 23 includes a laser generator 35, a photosensitive drum 36 that is rotationally driven in the direction indicated by an arrow in the figure, and a transfer drum 37 on which the paper 30 is attracted to the outer peripheral surface. Around the periphery of the photosensitive drum 36, a charging charger 38 that uniformly charges the photosensitive drum 36 in order along the rotation direction, and a developing device 39 that develops the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 36. (A general term for the developing devices 39C, 39M, 39Y, and 39K), a transfer charger 40 that transfers the developed toner image onto the paper 30, and a cleaning device 41 that removes the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 36. Has been. The developing device 39C contains cyan (C) toner. Similarly, the developing devices 39M, 39Y, and 39K include magenta (M) toner, yellow (Y) toner, and black (K) toner. Each toner is accommodated. The laser generator 35 drives and modulates the semiconductor laser in accordance with the level of the image signal sent from the signal processing unit 22. The laser light is irradiated onto the photosensitive drum 36 at a position between the charging charger 38 and the developing device 39 via a polygon mirror, an f-θ lens, and a folding mirror (not shown). The electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 36 is developed with toner in the developing device 39.

  On the other hand, the paper storage unit 24 is provided with a plurality (three in the illustrated example) of paper feed cassettes 45a, 45b, and 45c. Each of the paper feed cassettes 45a, 45b, and 45c stores a plurality of sheets having different sheet sizes and different vertical and horizontal directions in a stacked state. The copier 11 also includes a manual feed tray 46 for manually setting paper. The sheets in the sheet cassettes 45a, 45b, and 45c are fed one by one by sheet feeding rollers 47a, 47b, and 47c, and are electrostatically attracted to the outer peripheral surface of the transfer drum 37. When manually fed paper is used, the paper on the manual tray 46 is fed.

  The developed image on the photosensitive drum 36 is transferred to the paper 30 adsorbed on the transfer drum 37. When the copy mode is monochrome, a monochrome image is formed by performing the image formation, development, and transfer recording processes only once with black (K) toner. On the other hand, when the copy mode is full color, the copying machine 11 in the illustrated example repeats the image formation, development, and transfer recording processes for each color toner, rotates the transfer drum 37 four times, and is attracted to the transfer drum 37. A basic color image of cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K) is sequentially superimposed on the sheet 30 to form a full color image. It is also possible to set a single color for printing an image with only a single color of cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y). As in the case of monochrome, the recording process is performed only once.

  The sheet after image formation is separated from the transfer drum 37 by the separation charger 48 and the separation claw 49 and conveyed toward the fixing device 50. The fixing device 50 includes a fixing roller 51 having a built-in heat source such as a halogen heater, and a pressure roller 52 that presses the fixing roller 51 through a sheet, and transfers unfixed toner transferred onto the sheet. Heat and melt to form a permanent image. The sheet on which the toner is fixed is discharged onto a discharge tray 53.

  The copying machine 11 has a double-sided copy function, and is provided with a paper reversing mechanism 55 for reversing the paper on which an image is printed. The sheet reversing mechanism 55 is a switching claw that selectively switches the sheet transported from the fixing device 50 to either the paper discharge tray 53 or the reversing path 56, and the reversing path 56 that transports the sheet when duplex copying. 57, a sheet conveyance path 57 connected to the manual feed tray 46, and a plurality of conveyance rollers 58. The sheet conveyed to the reversing path 56 is attracted to the transfer drum 37 again with the first surface on which the image has been printed serving as the back surface and the second surface on which the image has not been printed serving as the front surface.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a control system of the image forming apparatus 10.

  The image forming apparatus 10 includes a copying machine 11 and a charging device 12 that can communicate with each other via the relay connector 17 and the input / output interfaces 60a and 60b. The control unit 61 of the copying machine 11 includes the image described above. A scanner unit 21, a signal processing unit 22, and a printer unit 23 are connected, and an operation panel 18 including an advertisement function selection unit 62 is connected. Further, the control unit 61 includes an advertisement image memory 63 for storing a plurality of advertisement images in advance, a billing memory 64 for accumulating and storing the number of advertisements printed and billing for the advertiser, temporary storage of image data and image composition A working memory 65 used at times, a timer 66 for measuring the current time, a counter 67 for accumulating the number of printed advertisements, etc., and a determination unit 68 for determining conditions (printing conditions) for printing advertisement images and / or document images It is connected. The control unit 61 controls each part of the copying machine 11 and controls communication with the charging apparatus 12. Therefore, the control unit 61 functions together with the memory 65 and the like as a character area determination unit, an image synthesis unit, and a color determination unit in the present invention. The advertisement image memory 63 functions as an additional image storage unit, and the printer unit 23 functions as a printing unit.

  By accumulating the charges for the advertiser in the charging memory 64 and storing them, the charging information can be obtained collectively for each predetermined period. The amount accumulated and stored as one piece of billing information is the amount billed to the advertiser, and this amount is collectively billed to the advertiser at regular intervals.

  The operation panel 18 includes a numeric key for setting the number of copies, a key 70 for setting a color mode (monochrome copy / color copy) for printing an original image (corresponding to original image color mode setting means), and other copy modes. A key for selecting or setting (for example, double-sided copy, enlarged / reduced copy, etc.), a start key, a display section 69 for displaying a setting state, a list of printable advertisements, and other information are arranged. An advertisement function selection unit 62 is provided in a part of the operation panel 18.

  The advertisement function selection unit 62 includes, for example, a key for a user to select a desired advertisement from a plurality of advertisement types and manufacturer names, a key for specifying that advertisement printing is not performed, and the like. The key of the advertisement function selection unit 62 is a touch panel type key.

  The display unit 69 displays various charging information for the user. For example, when an advertisement image is inserted, the display unit 69 specifically displays that the charging amount is reduced accordingly. For example, “Under this printing condition, the copy fee will be reduced by XX yen”, or “This printing has been reduced by XX yen” is displayed. At this time, it is preferable to specifically display the amount of money that the copy fee per sheet is reduced by the insertion of an advertisement, the accumulated amount corresponding to the reduced amount, and the like. As described above, the fact that the copy fee, that is, the charge amount is reduced, is displayed on the display unit 69, so that the user is prompted to print the advertisement image, and the user is encouraged to actively use the additional image printing. It becomes possible.

  On the other hand, the display unit 15 described above is connected to the control unit 71 of the billing apparatus 12, and further, a billing table memory 72, a billing memory 73 for accumulating and storing the number of copies and the billing amount for the user are connected. Yes. The control unit 71 controls each part of the charging apparatus 12 and also controls communication with the image forming apparatus 10.

  The billing table memory 72 stores a billing amount for each of the user and the advertiser according to the copy productivity. For example, a billing amount for the advertiser, such as a billing amount according to the details of the contents of the advertisement image, and a billing amount based on a combination of the color mode of the document image and the color mode of the advertisement image are stored.

  The control unit 71 calculates a charge amount for each of the user and the advertiser while referring to the charge table memory 72 according to the copy operation to be executed, and transmits this to the copying machine 10. For example, when the user chooses to include an advertisement with color copy, the charge amount for the user is reduced by the amount of the advertisement from the color copy fee, while it is not included in the advertiser. You will be charged for the advertisement image. Also, if the user chooses to include an advertisement with monochrome copy, if the advertisement is in color, the amount of advertisement is subtracted from the monochrome amount for the user, while the amount of color copy for the advertiser The amount of money charged to the user is reduced. Similarly, if the advertisement is monochrome when the user selects advertisement with monochrome copy, the amount of advertisement is subtracted from the monochrome amount for the user, and the amount of advertisement image for the advertiser. To do.

  The calculated charge amount is stored in the charge amount memory 73 as described above, and as a charge for the user, the calculated charge amount is compared with the input amount according to the number of copies and the copy operation is performed. It is used for judging permission / non-permission, and is also transmitted to the copying machine 11 side, and is stored in the billing memory 64 of the copying machine 11 according to the number of copies in which the advertisement is inserted as a billing amount for the advertiser. .

  The image forming apparatus 10 is connected to a terminal 74 in a store where the image forming apparatus 10 is installed. Then, by operating the terminal 74, the store clerk can check the current status of the copying machine 11, such as the remaining number of sheets and the remaining amount of toner, the usage status of advertisement printing, and the amount charged to the advertiser. Yes. In addition, it is possible for the store clerk to switch advertisement images that can be selected by the user by remote control according to the age and sex of the user.

  Further, the image forming apparatus 10 may be connected to a terminal in a management facility that collectively manages the image forming apparatuses 10 installed in a plurality of stores via a network (not shown). Then, in this management facility, the operating status of each image forming apparatus 10 is grasped, billing information sent to each advertiser sent from each image forming apparatus 10 is accumulated and charged to the advertiser, or copied. The advertisement image stored in the machine 11 can be periodically replaced by remote operation.

  Hereinafter, the copying operation by the image forming apparatus 10 described above will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the basic operation.

  First, a copy mode setting such as color copy or monochrome copy, single-sided copy or double-sided copy, the number of copies, etc. is performed by various key operations in the operation panel 18 (S1). The set copy mode is stored in the memory 65. Subsequently, an advertisement selection operation is started (S2). Here, the advertisement selection is performed by key input such as an advertisement type or manufacturer name displayed by the advertisement function selection unit 62 or no advertisement. The selected advertisement type, manufacturer, or no advertisement instruction is stored in the memory 65 (hereinafter, the selected advertisement type, manufacturer name, and no advertisement instruction when placing an advertisement are referred to as advertisement designation).

  Then, the control unit 61 transmits the stored copy mode and advertisement designation to the charging device 12, and in the charging device 12, the control unit 71 calculates a copy fee based on a predetermined criterion from the copy mode and the presence / absence of the advertisement, This is transmitted to the control unit 61 of the copying machine 11. The control unit 61 displays the charging amount for the user calculated by the charging device 12 on the display unit 69 as a copy fee (S3).

  Thereafter, when receiving a copy permission notification from the billing apparatus 12, the control unit 61 starts a copy operation if a start key is input (S4), and reads a document image (S5). The read document image is stored in the memory 65.

  Subsequently, the control unit 61 determines whether or not there is an advertisement from the advertisement designation stored in the memory (S6). Here, when there is no advertisement, the read original image is printed as it is (S12), and the process is terminated.

  On the other hand, when it is selected that an advertisement is to be inserted, it is determined that there is an advertisement, and then the operation of determining the read document image is started. This image discrimination (S7) is for discriminating whether or not the original image is a character original. If the read original image is a character original, the color of the advertisement image is designated together with an instruction to enable full advertisement. If it is not a text manuscript, an instruction to disable full advertisement is issued (details will be described later).

  Subsequently, in accordance with the image discrimination result (S8), the control unit 61 reads the read original image from the memory 65 if the entire advertisement is possible, and advertises the specified type of advertisement or the advertisement of the manufacturer to this. The image is read from the image memory 63 and is synthesized with the designated color (S9). Then, the synthesized image is printed and discharged (S10).

  On the other hand, if the full advertisement is not possible, the designated type advertisement or manufacturer advertisement is read from the advertisement image memory 63, printed as it is, and discharged (S11). Subsequently, the read original image is read from the memory 65, printed, and discharged (S12). The processing in steps S11 and S12 is performed at this point in the case where the advertisement cannot be combined with the image of the copy source document even though the user selects the merit that the copy fee is reduced by putting the advertisement. Increasing the billing amount as a normal copy with no ads is not consistent with the user's initial choice, so to avoid this, instead of raising the billing amount, instead of increasing the billing amount, It is intended to be taken home by the user. In place of this, since the advertisement cannot be entered for the user, a message indicating that the charge is a normal copy is displayed. When the user understands this, a normal copy without an advertisement may be used.

  Here, the image discrimination in step S7 will be described with reference to a subroutine flowchart shown in FIG.

  First, the control unit 61 creates an image density distribution in each of the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction for the document image stored in the memory 65 (S21). And the control part 61 detects the periodicity of the density distribution in each produced direction (S22).

  For example, as shown in FIG. 6, in the case of a horizontally written character document, the density distribution of the document image is determined by looking at the density distribution in the a-line direction (for example, main scanning direction) and b direction (for example, sub-scanning direction). Since the characters are lined up in the row direction, the density distribution in the a direction is high at the portion where the characters are present, and the density is almost zero between the rows. For this reason, the portion having the density of 0 continues at a constant interval. Therefore, in this case, it is determined that the density has periodicity in the a direction. Such periodicity can be detected not only in horizontal writing as shown in the figure but also in vertical writing.

  Then, such a portion having periodicity is determined as a character area, and a case where only this character area exists in the document image is defined as a character document. For reference, FIG. 7 shows a case of a pattern original such as a photograph or graphic image. As shown in the figure, periodicity is not recognized in the density distribution in the pattern original. Therefore, by detecting the periodicity of the density distribution as described above, it is possible to discriminate between a character original and a picture original.

  In the case shown in the drawing, the density distribution is shown only in two places of the a line and the b line. However, in actual image discrimination, in order to examine the entire surface of the original, the original in each of the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction Dozens to several hundreds are carried out over the whole.

  From the result of the periodicity detection, it is determined whether or not the document is a character document (S23), and if it is not a character document, a full advertisement impossible is instructed (S24).

  On the other hand, if it is a character document, the color of the image (ie, character) drawn on the document is detected (S25). This character color detection is determined based on the image data of each RGB color stored in the memory 65. For example, if black, R = G = B. Therefore, when there is almost no difference in the data values of each RGB color, it is determined that the color is black. Also, in the case of other color colors, the determination is made from the difference between the data values of the RGB colors.

  Then, the control unit 61 designates a color that is not the same as the color of the document image as the color of the advertisement image (S26). For example, when a character is black or a color close to a primary color such as red, green, or blue, it is preferable to specify a complementary color such as yellow, cyan, or magenta as the color of the advertisement image because it does not overlap the character color. In addition, for black characters, even if the advertisement image is overlaid with other color colors, the characters will not be indistinguishable. Therefore, if the advertisement itself is a full-color advertisement, specify that the color specified for the advertisement should be used as it is. May be. Thereafter, an instruction to enable full advertisement is issued (S27).

  Thereafter, returning to the main flow chart (FIG. 4), as described above, if the full advertisement is not possible, the advertisement is printed on another sheet. On the other hand, if the full advertisement is possible, the advertisement image is combined with the original image and printed. The

  FIG. 8 shows an example in which an advertisement image is combined with a character document and printed. As shown in the figure, if the manuscript is only a character, even if an additional image such as an advertisement image is superimposed on the manuscript, the character will not be readable, especially if the image has a color different from the character color. There is little even if the nature decreases. In addition, an image such as a synthesized advertisement can be recognized almost completely.

  As described above, in this embodiment, it is determined whether or not the read source document is a text document, and in the case of a text document, an advertisement is synthesized over the entire surface of the document. Since the original characters are not readable and the advertisement image enters the entire surface of the original, it is possible to increase the effect by placing the advertisement larger than when placing the advertisement in the margin.

  Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. For example, in the above-described embodiment, when the document is only a character, an advertisement image is put on the entire surface. Instead, when a part of the document is a character region, the character region Alternatively, an additional image such as an advertisement image may be inserted in a region in which the character region and the margin portion are further combined. In this case, even if there is a photo or graphic image in a part of the copy source document, if there is a character in the other part, a larger advertisement image can be inserted than when an advertisement is inserted only in the margin. .

  Further, in the determination of the character area, the determination is made based on the periodicity of the density distribution, but instead, the determination may be made based on the number of pixels having a density equal to or higher than a predetermined value. This is because the density of a drawn character is high in a normal character document, and the number of pixels in a certain area is about 30%. Therefore, the number of pixels equal to or higher than a predetermined density for a certain area. If the number is 30% or less, the area can be determined as a character area. Therefore, the character area may be determined by such a method.

  Furthermore, it goes without saying that the present invention can be implemented in various forms by those skilled in the art using the technical idea of the present invention.

1 is a perspective view showing an overall configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram schematically showing the inside of the copier shown in FIG. 1. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a control system of the image forming apparatus. FIG. It is a main flowchart for demonstrating copy operation. FIG. 5 is a subroutine flowchart for explaining operations related to image discrimination in the flowchart shown in FIG. 4. FIG. It is drawing which shows the example of a character original image for demonstrating an image discrimination | determination operation | movement. It is drawing which shows the example of a pattern original image for demonstrating image discrimination operation | movement. It is drawing which shows the image example which synthesize | combined the advertisement image with the character original image.

Explanation of symbols

10 image forming apparatus,
11 Copier,
12 Billing device,
18 Operation panel,
61 Copier control unit,
62 Advertising function selector,
63 Advertising image memory,
64 billing memory,
69 display section,
71 Control unit of billing apparatus.

Claims (6)

An image forming apparatus that synthesizes and outputs a read original image and a prestored additional image,
Image reading means for reading the original image;
Image storage means for storing the additional image;
A character area determining means for determining a character area from the document image read by the image reading means;
Image combining means for combining the additional image stored in the image storage means on the character area determined by the character area determination means;
A printing unit that prints the image synthesized by the image synthesizing unit on a paper when the character area determining unit determines that the original image is a character original;
Have
The printing unit outputs the additional image to a sheet and outputs the document image to another sheet when the document area determining unit determines that the document image is not a character document. Image forming apparatus.   The image according to claim 1, wherein the character area determination unit detects the density distribution of the read document image and determines whether the character area is a character area by detecting the periodicity of the density distribution. Forming equipment.   2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the character area determination unit checks the density of each pixel of the read document image and determines whether or not the character area is based on the number of pixels having a density equal to or higher than a predetermined value. . 4. The image synthesizing unit synthesizes an additional image over the entire surface of a sheet to be printed when the character region determining unit determines that the original image is only a character region. The image forming apparatus according to any one of the above. The image forming apparatus further includes a color determining unit that determines a color of an image drawn from the document image,
The image according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the image synthesizing unit synthesizes the additional image with a color different from the determined color according to the determination result of the color determining unit. Forming equipment.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the additional image is an advertisement image.