JP6579077B2 - Image reading apparatus and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus that reads an image of a document and an image forming apparatus including the image reading apparatus, and more particularly to a technique for simultaneously reading images of a plurality of documents and creating an image divided for each document.

  The image reading device reads an image of a document placed on a document table and creates an electronic image of the document. When a plurality of documents placed on the document table are read at a time, one image showing an image of each document is created.

  On the other hand, in Patent Document 1 shown below, a specific pattern (two black lines extending in the sub-scanning direction) is formed on the lower surface of the presser lid that holds the document placed on the document table, and a plurality of documents are formed on the document table. The originals are placed side by side in the sub-scanning direction at appropriate intervals, and the plurality of originals are scanned and read in the sub-scanning direction with the presser cover closed. At this time, an area where a specific pattern (black line) is detected is determined to be a break in each document, and images of each document are separated and created. Thereby, an image obtained by reading a plurality of documents placed on the document table at a time can be separated for each document, and an image of each document can be created.

JP-A-11-220575

  However, in Patent Document 1, since a specific pattern is formed on the lower surface of the presser lid, when the original is read, the pattern may be read through the original. In general, an original on a document table is illuminated through the document table (glass), and reflected light of the document is received by an image sensor such as a CCD, and an image of the document is read by the image sensor. If the light passes through the document and is reflected by the lower surface of the presser lid, the pattern is also read, and an image including the image of the pattern may be created as an image of the document. Further, the division position when dividing the read image is restricted by the original placement position on the original table.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and does not adversely affect document reading, and can easily operate a scanned image without being restricted by the document placement position on the document table. The purpose of this is to enable division into a plurality of images.

  An image reading apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes an image reading unit that reads an image of a document placed on a document table, and a display unit that displays an image indicating a scan area in which the document is read by the image reading unit. An input unit that receives an input of a position designation instruction that designates positions of vertical lines and horizontal lines that divide the scan area displayed on the display unit into arbitrary rectangular areas arranged in a vertical and horizontal direction; An image processing unit that divides a read image obtained by reading an original by an image reading unit into the respective rectangular areas at the positions of the vertical line and the horizontal line indicated by the position designation instruction received by the input unit; It is provided.

  An image forming apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes the image reading device and an image forming unit that forms an image of a document on a recording sheet, and the control unit includes the image processing unit in the image processing unit. The image formed by the rectangular areas divided by the sections is formed on different recording media.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to divide a read image into a plurality of images by a simple operation without adversely affecting the reading of the document and without being restricted by the position where the document is placed on the document table. it can.

1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an image reading unit in the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment. It is a figure which shows the scanning area | region containing the 5 original document arranged on the platen glass of an image reading part. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a setting screen for a division copying function by the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the division copying function performed by the image forming apparatus. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an operation unit and a display unit in the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment. (A)-(f) is the figure used in order to demonstrate the procedure for setting the vertical line and horizontal line in a scanning area | region. It is a flowchart which shows other embodiment of the said division copying function by an image forming apparatus. (A), (b) is a figure which shows an example of the procedure at the time of dividing | segmenting a scanning area | region into a some rectangular area by a division | segmentation copying function. (A), (b) is a figure which shows the procedure at the time of synthesize | combining two of the some rectangular area divided | segmented by the division | segmentation copying function. (A), (b) is a figure which shows the procedure at the time of dividing | segmenting the scanning area | region where the big original document is arrange | positioned into several rectangular area | regions, and extracting a part of image of an original document.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment is an MFP (multifunction peripheral) having a plurality of functions such as a copy function, a printer function, a scanner function, and a facsimile function. The image forming apparatus 10 includes an image reading unit 11 and an image forming unit 12.

  The image reading unit 11 includes a scanner that optically reads a document, and generates image data indicating an image of the document.

  The image forming unit 12 prints an image indicated by the image data generated by the image reading unit 11 on the recording paper P. The image forming unit 3M for magenta, the image forming unit 3C for cyan, and the image forming unit 3C for yellow An image forming unit 3Y and a black image forming unit 3Bk are provided. In each of the image forming units 3M, 3C, 3Y, and 3Bk, the surface of the photosensitive drum 4 is uniformly charged, the surface of the photosensitive drum 4 is exposed, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 4. The electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 4 is developed into a toner image, and the toner image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 4 is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 5. As a result, a color toner image (image) is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 5. This color toner image is secondarily transferred onto the recording paper P conveyed through the first conveyance path 8 from the paper supply unit 7 in the nip region N between the intermediate transfer belt 5 and the secondary transfer roller 6.

  Thereafter, the recording paper P is heated and pressurized by the fixing device 15, the toner image on the recording paper P is fixed by thermocompression bonding, and the recording paper P is discharged to the discharge tray 17 through the discharge roller pair 16.

  When recording an image on the back side of the recording paper P, the discharge roller pair 16 is temporarily stopped and then reversely rotated, and the recording paper P is conveyed from the discharge roller pair 16 to the second conveyance path 9. The recording paper P is returned to the nip portion N of the first conveyance path 8, whereby the front and back of the recording paper P are reversed, and an image is recorded on the back surface of the recording paper P.

  FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a mechanical configuration of the image reading unit 11 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the image reading unit (an example of an image reading device in claims) 11 includes a document cover 20 and a scanner unit 30. A hinge is provided on one side of the upper surface of the scanner unit 30, and the document cover 20 is supported by the hinge so as to be opened and closed, so that the user can open and close the document cover 20.

  When the document cover 20 is opened, the platen glass (document table) 31 of the scanner unit 30 is opened so that the document can be placed on the platen glass 31. When the document cover 20 is closed, the document cover 20 is closed. Thus, the document placed on the platen glass 31 is pressed. In the scanner unit 30, the light of the light source 32 </ b> A of the carriage 32 is transmitted through the platen glass 31 while moving the carriage 32 and the optical system unit 33 at a constant speed in the sub-scanning direction X (direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction Y). Light that irradiates the document and is reflected by the document is reflected by the mirror 32C of the carriage 32. Further, this light is reflected by the mirror 33A and the mirror 33B of the optical system unit 33 and is incident on the CCD sensor 35 through the condenser lens 34. The CCD sensor 35 scans the image of the document in accordance with the above-described movement. Reading is repeated at each position in the sub-scanning direction X for each line extending in the direction Y.

  FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing the main internal configuration of the image forming apparatus 10. As shown in FIG. 3, the image forming apparatus 10 includes a control unit 41, a display unit 42, an image memory 43, an operation unit 44, a touch panel 45, an image reading unit 11, an image forming unit 12, and a storage unit. 46.

  The display unit 42 includes a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic EL (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) display, and the like. The display unit 42 displays a scan area where the document reading is performed by the image reading unit 11 under the control of the control unit 51.

  The image memory 43 temporarily stores a read image obtained by reading an original by the image reading unit 11.

  The operation unit 44 includes hard keys such as an enter key and a start key.

  A touch panel 45 is disposed on the screen of the display unit 42. The touch panel 45 is a so-called resistive film type or capacitive type touch panel, and detects contact (touch) of a user's finger or the like with the touch panel 45 together with the contact position on the display screen of the display unit 42, and the contact position. A detection signal indicating the coordinates is output to the control unit 41. The touch panel 45 and the operation unit 44 are examples of an input unit in the claims.

  The touch panel 45 receives an input of a position designation instruction that designates the position of the vertical line and the position of the horizontal line that divides the scan area displayed on the display unit 42 into a plurality of arbitrary rectangular areas arranged in the vertical and horizontal directions, for example. Accepted based on the user's touch operation on the display screen.

  The storage unit 46 is a large-capacity storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive).

  The control unit 41 includes a processor, a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and the like. The processor is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an MPU, or an ASIC. The control unit 41 functions as the control unit 51 and the image processing unit 54 when the control program stored in the ROM or the storage unit 46 is executed by the processor. Note that each of the above-described configurations of the control unit 41 may be configured by a hardware circuit without depending on the operation of the processor based on the control program.

  The control unit 51 governs overall operation control of the image forming apparatus 10. In addition, the control unit 51 controls the display unit 42 to display a setting item input screen, an information input screen, or an operation guidance for the image forming apparatus 10 necessary for the image forming process.

  The image processing unit 54 performs various types of image processing on the read image obtained by reading the document by the image reading unit 11. For example, the image processing unit 54 reads the read image obtained by reading the document by the image reading unit 11 at each of the rectangular areas at the position of the vertical line and the position of the horizontal line indicated by the position designation instruction received by the touch panel 45. Divide into The image processing unit 54 creates a file for each of the divided images. The control unit 51 stores the created file in the storage unit 46 or the like. Alternatively, the control unit 51 causes the image forming unit 12 to form an image on a separate recording sheet P for each of the divided divided images.

  Next, the division copying function by the image forming apparatus 10 will be described. For example, the image forming apparatus 10 performs the following processing when executing the division copying function. As shown in FIG. 4, five originals G1 to G5 are placed on the platen glass 31 of the image reading unit 11 and are arranged in the vertical direction (main scanning direction) Y and the horizontal direction (sub-scanning direction) X. It shall be arranged along. In this case, the control unit 51 causes the image reading unit 11 to read the scan area S in accordance with the document reading instruction input by the user operating the operation unit 44. The control unit 51 displays an image (including the originals G1 to G5) indicating the scan area S obtained by the reading on the display screen of the display unit 42.

  In this state, the user touches the touch panel 45 to set two vertical lines V1, V2 and a horizontal line H1 for the scan area S on the display screen of the display unit 42, and each vertical line Vl. , V2 and the horizontal line H1 form a plurality of rectangular regions R1 to R6 arranged in the vertical and horizontal directions. At this time, the vertical lines Vl and V2 and the horizontal line H1 can be set so that the images of the originals G1 to G5 are included in different rectangular areas. In this way, the image processing unit 54 divides the image indicating the scan region S into images indicating the respective rectangular regions partitioned by the vertical lines Vl and V2 and the horizontal line H1. When the user operates the operation unit 44 or the touch panel 45 to input a print instruction, the control unit 51 causes the image forming unit 12 to input the divided images divided for each rectangular area, that is, the images of the originals G1 to G5. Images are formed on different recording sheets P one by one.

  The image forming apparatus 10 also has a divided image creation function. When executing the divided image creation function, the image forming apparatus 10 uses the image processing unit 54 to divide the image into rectangular images separated by vertical lines and horizontal lines, similarly to the divided copy function. Thereafter, the image processing unit 54 creates a file for each of the divided divided images. The control unit 51 stores the created file in the storage unit 46 or the like.

  Next, the divided copy function will be described in detail. First, when the user operates the operation unit 44 and inputs an instruction to execute the division copying function, based on the execution instruction, the control unit 51 displays a setting screen 60 for the division copying function as shown in FIG. 42 is displayed.

  As the setting screen 60 for the division copying function, a scan area display field 61 for displaying the scan area S, a document print setting field 62 for performing print settings for the image of the document, and vertical lines and horizontal lines for the scan area S are set. The control unit 51 displays a rectangular area setting field 63, a general print setting field 64, a preview button 65, a cancel button 66, and a start button 67.

  In the scan area display column 61, a scan area S including an image of each document read by the image reading unit 11 is displayed. Further, in the example in FIG. 5, the horizontal scale 71 indicating the horizontal separation distance from the origin and the vertical scale 72 indicating the vertical separation distance from the origin are displayed with the upper left corner of the scan area S as the origin. Is done.

  The horizontal scale 71 is for indicating the horizontal position of the vertical line V1, and the intersection of the vertical lines V1 intersecting the horizontal scale 71 is the horizontal position of the vertical line. That is, the horizontal position of the vertical line V <b> 1 is represented by the distance from the origin by the horizontal scale 71.

  Similarly, the vertical scale 72 is for indicating the vertical position of the horizontal line V2, and the intersection of the horizontal lines V2 intersecting the vertical scale 72 is the vertical position of the horizontal line. The vertical position of the horizontal line V <b> 2 is represented by a distance from the origin by the vertical scale 72.

  In the scan area display field 61, a composite button 73 and a non-composite button 74 are displayed.

  In the original print setting column 62, an arrangement order display box 75 for sequentially displaying the arrangement order of each rectangular area, a print setting item 76 for making print settings for an image of the original, and print settings for all originals are collectively displayed. An all apply button 78 to do is displayed.

  In the rectangular area setting field 63, a vertical line input field 63a for setting the position of the vertical line V1 and a horizontal line input field 63b for setting the position of the horizontal line V2 are displayed. In the vertical line input field 63a, a separation distance (V1, V2, etc.) indicating the position of the vertical line V1 is displayed, and an up / down button 81a for increasing / decreasing the separation distance and an instruction for adding a vertical line V1 are provided. An extension button 82a and a delete button 83a for instructing deletion of the vertical line V1 are displayed. Similarly, a separation distance (such as H1) indicating the position of the horizontal line V2 is displayed in the horizontal line input field 63b, an up / down button 81b for increasing or decreasing the separation distance, and an expansion button for instructing expansion of the horizontal line V2. 82b, a delete button 83b for instructing to delete the horizontal line V2 is displayed.

  In the general print setting column 64, a print number display box 84 for displaying the number of printed original images, an up / down button 85 for increasing / decreasing the number of prints, and an instruction for setting or not setting double-sided printing. Each check box 86a, 86b is displayed. When the check box 86a is selected, the control unit 51 receives an instruction to set double-sided printing.

  When the duplex printing is set, the control unit 51 causes the image forming unit 12 to form an image by distributing the image of the document included in the rectangular area to the front and back surfaces of the recording paper P according to the arrangement order of the rectangular areas.

  For example, when duplex printing is set, the control unit 51 records the image of the document included in the [1] -th rectangular area from the upper left side in FIG. 4 on the surface of the first recording sheet P, and the upper left side. The image of the document included in the [2] -th rectangular area is recorded on the back surface of the first recording sheet P, and the image of the document included in the [3] -th rectangular area from the upper left is recorded on the second sheet. The image forming unit 12 is operated so that the image is recorded on the front surface of the paper P and the image of the original is recorded on the front surface or the back surface of the recording paper P according to the arrangement order of the rectangular areas.

  The preview button 65 is for accepting an instruction for causing the image reading unit 11 to perform preview reading. The start button 67 is for receiving an instruction to print an image read by the image reading unit 11 and displayed as the scan area S in the scan area display column 61. The cancel button 66 is for accepting an instruction to cancel the setting of the division copying function.

  Next, the divided copy function by the image forming apparatus 10 will be described in more detail. FIG. 6A is a flowchart showing the division copying function performed by the image forming apparatus 10. FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating an operation unit and a display unit in the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  The control unit 51 causes the display screen of the display unit 42 of the image forming apparatus 10 to display a plurality of touch keys 91a to 91h and the like associated with each function of the image forming apparatus 10 as illustrated in FIG. 6B. It shall be. In this state, when the user touches the touch key 91h corresponding to the “split copy function” and this touch operation is received by the control unit 51 through the touch panel 45, the control unit 51 executes the split copy function (application program). Start (S101). Then, the control unit 51 causes the display unit 42 to display a division copying function setting screen 60 as shown in FIG. 5 (S102).

  When the divided copy function setting screen 60 shown in FIG. 5 is displayed on the display unit 42, when the user touches the preview button 65, the control unit 51 accepts a document reading instruction. The control unit 51 causes the image reading unit 11 to read an image of the scan area S (S103). Thereby, in the example shown in FIG. 4, the image of the scan region S including the originals G1 to G5 is read. The control unit 51 displays the image of the scan area S including the originals G1 to G5 read by the image reading unit 11 in the scan area display column 61 on the setting screen 60 for the division copying function (S104).

  Subsequently, for example, in order to set the positions of the two vertical lines V1 and V2 in the image indicating the scan area S, the user sets up and down buttons 81a and extension buttons 82a in the vertical line input field 63a of the rectangular area setting field 63. When these operations are received by the image processing unit 54 through the touch panel 45, the image processing unit 54 processes the image data indicating the scan region S in the image memory 43, and each of the scan regions S in the scan region S is processed. Two vertical lines V1 and V2 are set at the input position. Similarly, when the user operates the up / down button 81b and the expansion button 82b of the horizontal line input field 63b to input the position of the horizontal line H1 in the scan area S, these operations are received by the image processing unit 54 through the touch panel 45. The image processing unit 54 processes the image data indicating the scan area S in the image memory 43, and sets a horizontal line H1 at the input position in the scan area S. As a result, six rectangular regions R1 to R6 divided by the vertical lines V1 and V2 and the horizontal line H1 are formed (S105).

  The vertical line and horizontal line setting process in S105 will be described in more detail. When the touch panel 45 accepts that the user has touched the expansion button 82a in the vertical line input field 63a of the rectangular area setting field 63 on the setting screen 60, and the control unit 51 accepts a signal to that effect. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 6C (a), the unit 51 displays the separation distance (= 0) of the vertical line V1 in the vertical line input field 63a.

  Subsequently, when the touch panel 45 detects that the up / down button 81a has been touched by the user and a signal indicating that is received by the control unit 51, the control unit 51, as shown in FIG. 6C (b). The separation distance of the vertical line V1 is set by increasing / decreasing according to the content of the touch operation, and for example, the separation distance (= 10) of the vertical line V1 is displayed in the vertical line input field 63a according to the touch operation. Further, the control unit 51 displays the vertical line V1 at the position of the separation distance in the scan area S of the scan area display column 61.

  Similarly, when the touch panel 45 detects that the additional button 82a in the vertical line input field 63a has been touched again, and the control unit 51 receives a signal indicating that, the control unit 51 displays the information shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, the separation distance (= 0) of the vertical line V2 is displayed in the vertical line input field 63a. Furthermore, when the touch panel 45 detects that the up / down button 81a has been touched and a signal indicating that is received by the control unit 51, the control unit 51 displays the vertical line V2 as shown in FIG. 6C (d). Is set to be increased or decreased according to the content of the touch operation, and the vertical line V2 is displayed at the position indicated by the separation distance in the scan area S of the scan area display column 61 according to the touch operation.

  Furthermore, when the touch panel 45 detects that the expansion button 82b in the horizontal line input field 63b has been touched and a signal indicating that is received by the control unit 51, the control unit 51, as shown in FIG. 6C (e). In the horizontal line input field 63b, the separation distance (= 0) of the horizontal line H1 is displayed. When the touch panel 45 detects that the up / down button 81b has been touched and a signal indicating that is received by the control unit 51, the control unit 51 displays the horizontal line H1 as shown in FIG. 6C (f). The separation distance is set to be increased or decreased according to the content of the touch operation, and a horizontal line H1 is displayed at the position of the separation distance in the scan area S of the scan area display column 61.

  When the touch panel 45 detects that the delete button 83a has been touched and a signal indicating that is received by the control unit 51, the control unit 51 scans the vertical line in the vertical line input field 63a and scans it. The vertical line in the region S is deleted. When the touch panel 45 detects that the delete button 83b is touched and a signal indicating that is received by the control unit 51, the control unit 51 detects the horizontal line separation distance in the horizontal line input field 63b and the scan area S. The horizontal line is deleted.

  For example, when the control unit 51 causes the vertical lines V1, V2, and the horizontal line H1 to be displayed at positions designated by the user in the scan area S displayed in the scan area display field 61 by the above operation, at this time, the image The processing unit 54 sets the vertical lines V1 and V2 and the horizontal line H1 at the position in the scan region S. In the example shown in FIG. 4, in this case, the images of the originals G1 to G5 are arranged in five rectangular areas R1 to R5, respectively, and one rectangular area R6 is blank.

  Thereafter, the user performs a touch operation on a portion of the display screen of the display unit 42 that displays the scan area S, and designates an image portion to be printed. For example, the user sequentially performs a touch operation on the rectangular regions R1, R2, R3, R4, and R5 among the five rectangular regions R1 to R5 divided by the vertical lines V1 and V2 and the horizontal line H1. When accepted, the control unit 51 accepts the image indicated by the rectangular areas R1, R2, R3, R4, and R5 on which the touch operation has been performed as a print target (S108). Further, the control unit 51 changes the background color of the designated rectangular area and displays it on the display unit 42 at each designation. This makes it easy for the user to recognize that the image of the document in the designated rectangular area is to be printed. Note that one rectangular area R6 that is blank is not designated, and is therefore excluded from the file creation target or the print target.

  Further, the control unit 51 stores the order in which the rectangular areas are designated as the order in which the image forming unit 12 performs image formation, and displays the order in the arrangement order display box 75 of the document print setting field 62. During the display of the arrangement order of the rectangular areas, the control unit 51 corresponds to the number displayed in the arrangement order display box 75 according to the operation of the operation unit 44 or the touch panel 45 by the user based on the print setting item 76 by the user. Print settings for the image in the rectangular area (designation of paper cassette to be used, designation of monochrome / color printing, designation of additional rotation angle, etc.) are accepted (S109). When the user performs a touch operation on all the application buttons 78, based on the instruction input thereby, the control unit 51 applies the print setting item 76 to all the images indicated by the respective rectangular areas that are accepted as print targets. The print setting accepted by the operation is accepted (S109).

  When the user touches the up / down button 85 in the general print setting field 64 and designates the number of printed images of the documents G1 to G5 included in the five rectangular areas R1 to R5, the designation is made by the control unit. 51, the control unit 51 displays the designated number of prints in the print number display box 84. In addition, the control unit 51 receives a setting for either double-sided printing or single-sided printing by a touch operation on the check box 86a or the check box 86b by the user. (S109)

  Thereafter, when the user touches the start button 67, the control unit 51 receives a print execution instruction, and the image processing unit 54 performs a process of dividing the image of the scan area S read by the image reading unit 11, Each image (divided image) indicating the rectangular regions R1, R2, R3, R4, and R5 accepted as print targets is created (S110).

  When the start button 67 is touched by the user and this touch operation is received by the image processing unit 54 through the touch panel 45, the image processing unit 54 displays an image indicating the scan region S in the image memory 43 as a rectangular region. The image is divided into images of rectangular areas R1 to R5. The control unit 51 forms an image of each of the divided rectangular areas R1 to R5 on the separate recording paper P in the image forming unit 12 (S111).

  According to the above-described embodiment, the problems in the prior art described in the background art section, that is, the problem of adversely affecting the document reading, and the position where the image in the scan area is divided are the documents on the document table The image read by the image reading unit 11 can be divided into a plurality of images by a simple operation without causing a problem of being restricted by the placement position. Further, according to the above-described embodiment, it is possible to form an image on a different recording sheet P for each of the divided images.

  When the image forming apparatus 10 executes the divided image creation function, S101 to S108 and S110 are performed in the same manner as when the divided copying function is executed. After S110, the image processing unit 54 performs the divided image forming function. Create a file for each divided image. The control unit 51 stores the created file in the storage unit 46 or the like.

  Next, another embodiment of the division copying function will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing another embodiment of the division copying function. Note that description of the same processing as that of the above-described embodiment described with reference to FIG. 6A is omitted.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 8A, four originals G1 to G4 are arranged in the vertical direction Y and the horizontal direction X on the platen glass 31, and when this is read by the image reading unit 11, one sheet An image showing the scan area S can be divided into four rectangular areas R1 to R4 including four originals G1 to G4 by a vertical line and one horizontal line. At this time, for example, the margins of at least two rectangular regions R2 and R4 may be widened.

  The user operates the operation unit 44 to input an instruction to set two vertical lines V1, V2 and one horizontal line H1, as shown in FIG. 8B. In accordance with the instruction, the control unit 51 sets four rectangular areas R1, R2, R4, R5 including four originals G1 to G4 and blank rectangular areas R3, R6 for the scanning area S.

  Here, in the image showing the scan area S, the user sequentially touches, for example, two rectangular areas R3 and R6, and then touches the composite button 73 in the scan area display column 61, and these operations are performed on the touch panel. If accepted to 45, the image processing unit 54 accepts a compositing instruction to synthesize the two rectangular regions R3 and R6 (S106). As a result, the image processing unit 54 generates a combined rectangular area Ra formed by combining the two rectangular areas R3 and R6 (S107).

  For example, as shown in FIG. 9A, a long document G6 is arranged in two rectangular areas R3 and R6, and an image of the scan area S including the original G6 is read by the image reading unit 11. When an image showing the original G6 exists over the two rectangular areas R3 and R6, when the composite rectangular area Ra is created as described above, an image showing the long original G6 is also displayed in FIG. As shown in b), it is possible to fit in the combined rectangular area Ra.

  Thereafter, when the user touches the four rectangular areas R1 to R4 and the combined rectangular area Ra and inputs an instruction to specify the images of the four originals G1 to G4 and the long original G6 as print targets, The control unit 51 accepts images indicating the originals G1 to G4 and G6 as images to be printed (S108). Thereafter, when the user touches the start button 67, the control unit 51 instructs the print execution. The image processing unit 54 performs processing for dividing the image of the scan area S read by the image reading unit 11, and includes four images including the images of the originals G1 to G4 and G6 received as print targets. An image showing the rectangular areas R1 to R4 and the combined rectangular area Ra is created (S110). Then, the control unit 51 causes the image forming unit 12 to form images indicating the four rectangular areas R1 to R4 and the combined rectangular area Ra on different recording papers P (S111).

  According to the other embodiment, the size of each rectangular area to be divided can be adjusted according to the size of the document to be read. Convenience during printing is improved.

  When the image forming apparatus 10 executes the divided image creation function, S101 to S108 and S110 including S106 and S107 are performed in the same manner as when the divided copying function is executed, and after S110, the image processing unit 54 A file is created for each of the divided divided images. The control unit 51 stores the created file in the storage unit 46 or the like.

  Next, still another embodiment of the division copying function will be described. This will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 6A. In this embodiment, unless otherwise indicated, the same processing as that of the above-described embodiment described with reference to FIG. 6A is performed. For example, as shown in FIG. 10 (a), even when a large original Gb is placed on the platen glass 31, the entire image showing the original Gb is displayed on each image portion by the same operation as described above. It is possible to divide and form a necessary image portion on the recording paper P among the divided image portions.

  For example, as illustrated in FIG. 10B, when the user operates the operation unit 44 and inputs an instruction to specify two vertical lines V 1 and V 2 and two horizontal lines H 1 and H 2, the image processing unit 54. Accepts the instruction and sets nine rectangular regions R1 to R9 divided by the two vertical lines V1 and V2 and the two horizontal lines H1 and H2 (S105). Here, for example, when the user designates only the central rectangular area R5 on the image showing the scanning area S by touch operation, the control unit 51 displays the image of the document Gb included in the central rectangular area R5. The part is accepted as a print target (S108), and other rectangular areas R1 to R4 and R6 to R9 that are not specified are not accepted as print targets.

  When the control unit 51 receives a print execution instruction based on the touch operation of the start button 67 by the user, the image processing unit 54 divides the image indicating the scan area S and designates the rectangle specified as the print target. A divided image including only the image of the region R5 is created (S110). The control unit 51 causes the image forming unit 12 to form an image of the rectangular area R5 on the recording paper P (S111).

  According to the embodiment, the user can print only a desired image portion of the image of the scan area S read by the image reading unit 11 or only a desired image portion as a file by a simple operation. It is possible to leave.

  When the image forming apparatus 10 executes the divided image creation function, the process is performed up to S110 in the same manner as when the divided copy function is executed. After S110, the image processing unit 54 creates a file for each of the divided divided images. Create The control unit 51 stores the created file in the storage unit 46 or the like.

  The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example, in the above-described embodiment, when the divided copy function and the divided image creation function are executed by the image forming apparatus 10, the control unit 51 causes the image reading unit 11 to read the document, and then displays the image in the scan area S on the display unit. In this state, the image processing unit 54 accepts an instruction from the user and sets vertical and horizontal lines. The present invention is not limited to this embodiment. Without being limited to the above, when the control unit 51 does not cause the image reading unit 11 to read a document and the image of the scan area S is not displayed in the scan area display column 61 (for example, the control unit 51 Assuming that the image of the virtual scan area S is displayed on the display unit 42 using a white image), the image processing unit 54 accepts an instruction from the user and sets vertical and horizontal lines. Good. After the line and the horizontal line are set in this way, the control unit 51 causes the image reading unit 11 to read the document.

  Furthermore, in this case, after the control unit 51 receives a rectangular area to be printed based on an instruction from the user, only the area corresponding to the rectangular area to be printed in the scan area S is read. The document may be read by the unit 11. Thereby, the document reading operation by the image reading unit 11 can be shortened.

  The configuration and processing described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 10 are only an embodiment of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the configuration and processing.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image forming apparatus 11 Image reading part 12 Image forming part 41 Control unit 42 Display part 44 Operation part 45 Touch panel 46 Storage part 51 Control part 54 Image processing part P Recording paper

Claims (6)

An image reading unit for reading an image of a document placed on a document table;
A display unit for displaying an image indicating a scan area in which an original is read by the image reading unit;
An input unit that receives an input of a position designation instruction that designates positions of vertical lines and horizontal lines that divide the scan area displayed on the display unit into an arbitrary plurality of rectangular areas arranged in the vertical and horizontal directions;
An image processing unit that divides a read image obtained by document reading by the image reading unit into the rectangular regions at the positions of the vertical line and the horizontal line indicated by the position designation instruction received by the input unit; With
The input unit receives an input of a synthesis instruction for synthesizing two rectangular regions adjacent to each other among the rectangular regions.
The image processing unit, wherein the image processing unit synthesizes the two rectangular areas in accordance with the synthesis instruction received by the input unit. A control unit for controlling the operation of the image reading unit;
The control unit causes the display unit to display a read image obtained by reading the document by the image reading unit;
The input unit accepts an input of the position designation instruction in a state where the read image is displayed as the scan area on the display unit,
The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image processing unit performs the division based on the position designation instruction with respect to the read image obtained by document reading by the image reading unit. The input unit accepts an input of a target area designation instruction for designating a rectangular area as a target for creating a divided image by the image processing unit from the rectangular areas.
The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image processing unit sets an image of a rectangular area indicated by the target area designation instruction received by the input unit among the read images as an object of the divided image creation. A control unit for controlling the operation of the image reading unit;
The control unit causes the image reading unit to read each rectangular area divided by the position of the vertical line and the position of the horizontal line indicated by the position specifying instruction after the position specifying instruction is received by the input unit. The image reading apparatus according to claim 3.   The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image processing unit creates a file for each image indicated by each of the divided rectangular areas. An image reading apparatus according to claim 2 or 4,
An image forming unit for forming an image of a document on a recording sheet,
The control unit is an image forming apparatus that causes the image forming unit to perform image formation on different recording media for images indicated by the rectangular regions divided by the image processing unit.