JPH0670139A - Facsimile equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To attain the transmission of a long original and the recording with use of the full width of the roll paper by magnifying a read original image in the variable power based on the calculated variable ratio. CONSTITUTION:In a variable power processing mode, the width X' of the roll paper is sent to a variable power processing part 40 from a main control part 39. The X'/X value (X: original width) is calculated at the part 40. Then the image data compressed and stored in a RAM 34 are expanded again at a signal expanding part 37. The expanded image at a undergo the electric and analogous magnification with the variable power X'/X. Then the magnified image data are compressed again and transmitted. Thus an original having width X and length Y in transmitted as the image data having width X' and length Y' (=X'/X).Y) in accordance with the receiver side. At the receiver side, the receiver image data are stored in the RAM 34 via a circuit control part 36 and a transmission control part 35 and also expanded by the part 37. These expanded data are recorded on the recording paper by a print head.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a facsimile machine equipped with a facsimile function in an electrophotographic digital copying machine, and more particularly, to an image reader for reading an image with a document placed on a document table. The present invention relates to a copier / facsimile combined machine that can be used in two operation modes: a copy mode in which a read image is copied and a facsimile mode in which the read image is transmitted to a facsimile device of the other party.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an electrophotographic digital copying machine is capable of processing read image data appropriately.
Practical application is promoted because an extremely clear copy image can be obtained. Since the image data read by the image reader is data that can be transmitted, a facsimile function is installed to make it a dual-purpose copier / facsimile machine. Is actually on the market.

[0003]

By the way, the image reader of the digital copying machine needs to be able to copy a thick original such as a book. Therefore, the original is placed on the original table and is scanned. It is of a stationary type and is different from an image reader of a type which is provided in a normal facsimile apparatus and which reads a document while feeding it. In the latter ordinary facsimile apparatus equipped with a movable document reader, the width of the document (length in the main scanning direction) is detected and the document image is adjusted according to the width of the recording paper set on the receiver side. Enlarge or reduce and send.

On the other hand, a copier / facsimile machine equipped with an image reader fixed on the platen is basically treated as a standard size, and therefore the width and length of the document (in the sub-scanning direction) are set. The size of the original detected (width x
Length). For example, width 100mm x length 300mm
When reading the original document, since the length is substantially the same as the length of A4 size, the size is determined to be A4 based on the length. That is, the paper size of the A series has a width-to-length ratio of 1: √.
2, the ratio is larger than this (eg 1:
2) In the case of a document, the size is determined based on the length. Therefore, for a 100 mm x 300 mm original,
The image is read as A4 size, and an A4 size document image is recorded on the receiver side. In that case, if a roll paper having a width equal to the width of A4 size (210 mm) is set on the receiver side, the original image will be recorded within the width of half or less of the recording paper. Since there is no margin in, it looks unnatural, and if it contains fine characters, the characters will be crushed and difficult to read. For this reason, in a certain commercially available model, an image reader for reading a long original is provided in addition to an image reader fixed on the original table. However, providing two types of image readers complicates the apparatus and reduces the cost. It will be that much higher.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, when roll paper is set in a receiving facsimile, roll paper is not restricted in its length direction, and therefore, when a long document is transmitted, a long paper is sent. A basic object of the present invention is to provide a digital copier / facsimile machine in which the original image is scaled based on the original width and the original image can be reproduced by using the full width of the roll paper. For this reason, the present invention is provided with an image reader of a fixed platen type for placing a document on the platen and scanning the document, detecting the width and length of the placed document, and setting a plurality of preset document readers. In a facsimile machine that also serves as a digital copying machine, which is adapted to discriminate a suitable size from among the sizes, the information about the recording paper from the facsimile on the receiving side is used to identify whether the roll paper is set or not. When the roll paper is set in the facsimile on the receiving side, the zoom ratio X ′ / X is calculated from the width X ′ of the roll paper and the width X of the document. A facsimile apparatus comprising: a calculating unit; a scaling unit that scales a read original image based on the calculated scaling ratio; and a transmitting unit that transmits the scaled image to a receiving facsimile. provide Than it is. A second invention of the present application is a facsimile system including a transmitting-side facsimile apparatus equipped with an image reader of a fixed platen type, and a receiving-side facsimile apparatus using roll paper as recording paper. , And a means for transmitting the width X of the original document together with the image data, while the facsimile machine on the receiving side calculates a magnification ratio X '/ X from the width X'of the roll paper and the width X of the original document, and transmits the same. There is provided a facsimile system including a scaling means for electrically scaling the received image data at a scaling ratio X '/ X.

[0006]

[Advantageous Effects] According to the above configuration, in a digital copier / facsimile machine equipped with an image reader of a fixed platen type, it is possible to transmit a long original without a special movable image reader. It becomes possible, and moreover, recording can be performed by using the full width of the roll paper, and the functionality and versatility of this type combined machine can be improved. Further, according to the second invention of the present application, since the scaling processing is performed on the receiving side, iterative processing of compression-expansion-compression for scaling can be omitted, and the processing time can be shortened accordingly. it can.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. (A) Configuration of Facsimile Machine FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a facsimile machine that can also be used as a digital copying machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. This facsimile device includes a printer unit 11 and an A installed above the printer unit 11.
The reading section (image reader) 1 with the DF device 20 is roughly divided into an operation panel 50 on the ADF device 20.
And a telephone 60 are provided. First, the operation of the reading unit 1 with the ADF device 20 will be described. The document placed on the document tray 22 of the ADF device 20 is detected by the document sensor 21, and is fed one by one to a predetermined position on the document glass 2 by the rollers 23 and 24 and the conveyor belt 25. Next, the scanner 4 is moved and scanned while irradiating the document on the platen glass 2 with the light source 3. The reflected light from the document is sequentially reflected by the mirrors 7a, 7b, 7c and enters the linear CCD image sensor 6 via the lens 5. The output signal of the linear CCD image sensor 6 is digitized and then binarized, as will be described later in detail.
After the reading of the original image is completed, the original document is conveyed by the conveyor belt 25
Then, the sheet is discharged onto the sheet discharge tray 27 by the discharge roller 26.

On the other hand, in the printer section 11, the laser optical system 12 controls the emission of the semiconductor laser in response to the received facsimile signal, and the laser beam is reflected by the mirror 14 and then enters the photoconductor 13. To do. Next, development, transfer and fixing are performed by a well-known electrophotographic process, and an image of a facsimile signal is printed on plain paper. Since the reading operation and the printing operation in the reading unit 1 and the printer unit 11 are the same as those in the conventional electrophotographic laser printer, detailed description thereof will be omitted here. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the facsimile apparatus of FIG. 2, the image reading unit 31 includes the linear CCD image sensor 6 shown in FIG. 1, reads a document image, converts it into an image signal, and outputs the image signal to the signal processing unit 32. The signal processing unit 32 performs analog / digital conversion processing on the input image signal, performs data correction processing such as γ conversion processing, and then performs binarization processing to convert it into binary image data and outputs the signal. Output to the compression unit 33. Next, the signal compression unit 33
Compresses the input binary image data by a predetermined encoding method such as a known MR encoding method or MH encoding method, and then randomly accesses the image data to be transmitted after the compression processing. Memory (hereinafter referred to as RAM)
34.

The transmission control unit 35 includes a modulation / demodulation device,
The carrier wave signal is modulated by a predetermined modulation method by the image data stored in M34, and the modulated facsimile signal is transmitted to the facsimile machine of the other party through the line control unit 36 and the telephone line 30, and at the same time, the facsimile signal of the other party is transmitted. The facsimile signal received from the facsimile apparatus via the telephone line 30 and the line control unit 36 is demodulated and converted into image data, which is then stored in the RAM 34. Line control unit 36
Is equipped with a dialer and a network control unit (NCU), and performs predetermined telephone line connection processing and disconnection processing, respectively, at the time of transmitting a facsimile signal to a facsimile machine of the other party and at the time of receiving a facsimile signal from the facsimile machine of the other party. When the telephone 60 is connected to the line controller 36 and a telephone mode for making a call using the telephone 60 is set, the line controller 36 connects the telephone 60 to the telephone line 30. The signal decompression unit 37 receives the RAM 34.
The image data stored in is read, and the read image data is subjected to decompression processing that is the reverse of the processing of the signal compression unit 33, converted into an image signal, and output to the printer head 38. The printer head 38 performs the printing operation for each print sheet as described above according to the input image signal.

The main control section 39 performs processing of the facsimile machine as will be described later in detail based on an operator's instruction input using the operation panel 50, and also provides instruction information to the operator and the status of the facsimile machine. The information is output to the operation panel 50 and displayed. As will be described later in detail, the scaling processing section 40 detects information about the recording paper (roll paper, cut paper, etc.) set in the receiving side facsimile device (not shown) and the set original. Width,
The image signal sent from the signal processing unit 32 is scaled as necessary in relation to the length, and the scaled image signal is output to the RAM 34. Note that the block diagram shown in FIG. 2 is for operation as a facsimile, and in the digital copy mode, signal compression and signal decompression are not performed, so the signal compression unit 33 and the signal decompression unit 37 are unnecessary. Becomes The operation in the digital copy mode is basically different from the facsimile mode except that the signal is not compressed or decompressed and the transmission control unit 35, the line control unit 36, or the like does not perform transmission or reception. Since it does not exist, detailed description will be omitted.

(B) Operation Panel FIG. 3 is a front view of the operation panel 50 of the facsimile apparatus shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, the operation panel 50 includes a key matrix 51 and three light emitting diodes (hereinafter, referred to as LEDs) 8 for displaying the set read image density.
1, 82 and 83, three LEDs 84, 85 and 86 for displaying the set image print density, and an LED 87 for displaying that the facsimile mode is set.
And L to display that the phone mode has been set.
An ED 88 and a liquid crystal display device (hereinafter, referred to as LCD) 61 for displaying a message to the operator are provided.

The key matrix 51 is a document tray 22.
A transmission key 52 for instructing to read an image of a document placed on the document and converting it into a facsimile signal to transmit, a stop key 53 for instructing to stop the reading process, the transmitting process or the receiving process, A numeric keypad 54 for a telephone, which is composed of numeral keys from 0 "to" 9 ", an asterisk key" * ", and a sharp key"#"and is used for setting a facsimile number and a telephone number of the other party, and an operation currently being set. One-touch key 55 for instructing dialing of a pre-registered facsimile number or telephone number according to the mode, and a density switching key 56
A density switching key 57, a mode switching key 58 for switching to either the facsimile mode or the telephone mode, and a registration mode process for registering a facsimile number or a telephone number in advance on the one-touch key 55. A registration key 59 for instructing is provided. In this embodiment, as the one-touch key 55, twelve one-touch keys "00" to "11" are provided. Here, by pressing the mode switching key 58 once, the currently set facsimile mode can be set to the telephone mode, or the currently set telephone mode can be set to the facsimile mode. If the mode switching key 58 is pressed again,
The digital copy mode is set. Also, the density switching key 5
By pressing 6, the reading density of the image can be set to either normal, fine, or super fine, and by pressing the density switching key 57, the reading density of the image can be dark, normal, or light. Can be set to either.

(C) Main Control Section FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the main control section 39 of FIG. 2 and the operation panel 50 of FIG. 4, a main controller 39 includes a central controller (hereinafter, referred to as CPU) 71 that controls the operation of the facsimile apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and a CP.
A read-only memory (hereinafter referred to as ROM) 72 for storing a system program for the U71 and data necessary for executing the system program, and control parameters, flags and various necessary for executing the system program. RAM 73 for storing the data of
A clock circuit 74 for clocking the current time, and a timer circuit 75 for clocking a predetermined time and outputting an interrupt signal to the CPU 71 when the clock is completed.

The main control unit 39 further includes an external device interface circuit 76 connected to the respective units 31 to 38 and 40 shown in FIG. 2, and a key matrix interface circuit 77 connected to the key matrix 51 of the operation panel 50. The display unit interface circuit 78 is connected to the LEDs 81 to 88 and the LCD 61. In the main controller 39, the CPU 71, the ROM 72,
The RAM 73, the clock circuit 74, the timer circuit 75, the external device interface circuit 76, the key matrix interface circuit 77, and the display unit interface circuit 78 are connected to each other via an internal bus 79.
The RAM 73 stores various parameters, flags and data necessary for executing the system program.

(Facsimile transmission mode) Main controller 39
Controls the processing in the facsimile mode and the digital copy mode. Since the normal processing in each mode is well known, the description thereof is omitted here, and the facsimile transmission mode (magnification processing), which is a feature of the present invention, will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of processing in the facsimile transmission mode. First, in step S1, the document to be transmitted is set on the document tray 22 of the ADF device 20, and then the FAX number of the transmission destination is input using the number keys on the operation panel 50, and the FAX number is correctly input. After confirming, the send button 52 is pressed. When the send button 52 is pressed, the ADF device 20 is operated to send the document onto the document table 2, the scanning by the scanner 4 is started, the document is read by the CCD image sensor 6, and at the same time, the size of the document is detected (step S2).

The reading of the original is performed line by line in the main scanning direction, and the size of the original is detected at the same time. This detection method will be described with reference to FIG. Original cover, specifically A
The color of the DF belt 25 can be clearly distinguished from the original,
For example, it is a yellowish color, and scanning is performed from line 1 in the sub-scanning direction, and proceeds in the order of lines A → B → C → D → E. In the case of line A, it is assumed that all the pixels on the line are the color of the belt 25, and white pixels appear only after reaching line B. At that time, if the first white pixel is the a-th pixel and the last white pixel is the b-th pixel, (b−
a) Pixels correspond to the document width. If the scanning progresses to the line D and all the pixels are not white pixels, it means that the document is finished, so the (D−B) line corresponds to the length of the document. The value obtained (ba),
The width X and the length Y of the document are obtained by dividing (DB) by the resolution.

The image data read by the CCD sensor 6 is converted into binary data by the signal processing unit 32 line by line, compressed by the signal compression unit 33, and then stored in the RAM 34. The above document width and length can be detected by
The original width X and length Y obtained by the scaling processing unit 40 to which the signal processed by the signal processing unit 32 is input are obtained.
Are stored in the scaling processing unit 40. Next, step S
In step 3, the partner station is called, and if communication is possible, the process proceeds to step S4 to send the facsimile function of the sending side,
The code data indicating the function of the facsimile on the receiving side is received. The code data indicating the facsimile function on the receiving side is input to the main control unit 39 via the line control unit 36 and the transmission control unit 35. This code data includes data indicating whether the recording paper of the partner station is roll paper or cut paper, and its size (width X'in the case of roll paper). When the receiving side is not roll paper, it is a normal transmission operation, and therefore the process proceeds from step S5 to S7 to perform transmission.

On the other hand, when the receiving side is roll paper,
The scaling processing of step S6 is performed. In the scaling processing, the width X ′ of the roll paper is first sent from the main control unit 39 to the scaling processing unit 40, and the scaling processing unit 40 calculates the value of X ′ / X. Next, the image data in the RAM 34 which has been compressed and stored in the RAM 34 is expanded again by the signal expansion unit 37, and when the expansion is completed, the image data is electrically scaled to a similar size. The scaling factor is X '/ X. Since the method of electric scaling is well known, detailed description will be omitted. The scaled image data is compressed again, and the image data is transmitted in step S7. Through the above processing, the original of width X and length Y is adjusted to the receiving side,
The image data having the width X ′ and the length Y ′ [= (X ′ / X) · Y] is transmitted. On the receiving side, the sent image data is sent to the RAM via the line control unit and the transmission control unit.
On the one hand, and on the other hand, it is expanded by the signal expansion part and recorded on the recording paper by the print head. In the case of roll paper, the cutter is activated by the end signal sent next to the original data, the roll paper is cut at the length Y ', and the paper is ejected onto the tray.

(Modification) In the above embodiment, the image data is transmitted after being scaled. However, the transmission side does not perform scaling, and the transmission side transmits the original width data X and length data Y. Then, the image data that is not scaled may be transmitted and the scaling process may be performed on the receiving side. The scaling process on the receiving side in this case will be described with reference to FIG. The roll paper width data X ′ on the receiving side is stored in advance in the main control unit 39 of the facsimile apparatus on the receiving side. Original width data X from sender
Is input via the line control unit 36 and the transmission control unit 35, the scaling processing unit 40 calculates a scaling ratio X ′ / X. The image data transmitted in a compressed state is first expanded by the signal expansion unit 37, and the expanded image data is expanded / contracted by the scaling unit 4.
At 0, electrical scaling is performed at a scaling factor X ′ / X, and the image data subjected to the electrical scaling is recorded on the roll paper by the printer head 38.

In this modified example, the magnification can be changed on the receiving side, so that the iterative process of compression-expansion-compression can be omitted for the purpose of changing the magnification, and the time required for the process can be omitted accordingly. In the above example, the entire original is sent, but only a part of the original can be sent in the facsimile mode by using the partial copy function (area designation by a marker or lever) used in digital copying machines. It may be possible to transmit. In that case, the width of the area for partial transmission (main scanning direction) is set to X,
The variable power ratio X '/ X may be calculated.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional explanatory diagram of a digital copier / facsimile machine to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the dual-purpose machine in a facsimile mode.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of an operation panel.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a main control unit in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure in a facsimile transmission mode.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory plan view showing a method of detecting a document size.

FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram of a receiving side facsimile.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 reading section 2 document table 4 scanner 6 CCD sensor 11 printer section 32 signal processing section 33 signal compression section 34 RAM 35 transmission control section 36 line control section 37 signal expansion section 38 printer head 39 main control section 40 scaling processing section

Front page continuation (72) Inventor Munehiro Nakatani 2-33 Azuchi-cho, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka, Osaka International Building Minolta Camera Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hideo Muramatsu 2-chome, Azuchi-cho, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka 3-13 No. 13 Osaka International Building Minolta Camera Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A document table fixed image reader for scanning a document by placing a document on a document table, detecting the width and length of a document placed, and setting a plurality of preset documents. In a facsimile machine that also serves as a digital copying machine, which determines the size to be matched from among the sizes, whether or not the roll paper is set is identified from the information about the recording paper from the facsimile on the receiving side. In some cases, when the roll paper is set in the facsimile on the receiving side and the identification means for detecting the width, the magnification ratio X ′ is calculated from the roll paper width X ′ and the document width X.
/ X, a scaling unit that scales the read original image based on the calculated scaling ratio, and a transmission unit that transmits the scaled image to the receiving-side facsimile. Facsimile machine. 2. In a facsimile system including a facsimile apparatus on the transmission side equipped with an image reader of a fixed platen type and a facsimile apparatus on the reception side using roll paper as recording paper, the facsimile machine on the transmission side has a document width X Is provided with the image data, the receiving side facsimile apparatus calculates a scaling ratio X ′ / X from the roll paper width X ′ and the document width X, and the transmitted image data is A facsimile system characterized in that it is provided with a scaling means for performing electrical scaling at a scaling ratio X '/ X.