JP2001251479A - Image processing apparatus and image processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processing apparatus and an image processing method which shorten a period needed to read an image and perform printing in a short time. SOLUTION: In a step S2, pre-scanning is performed, and the position and size of a document on an original platen are specified due to contour extraction, and in a step S3, real scanning is performed. Thus, a read distance can be made short in accordance with the length of an original in a vertical scanning direction on the original platen about the original whose size is relatively small by reading the image of the original in accordance with the specified position and size data. Then, a period needed to read the image can be shortened, and consequently, printing can be performed in a short time. Furthermore, because the original position and the original size on the original platen are specified by extracting the contours of the pre-scanned image, a special part or device does not have to be incorporated, the period needed to read the image can easily and reliably be shortened with a simple configuration and the printing can be performed in a short time.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and an image processing method, and more particularly, to converting an image of a document into an electric signal, reading the image, and printing the image on a print medium such as paper based on the read image data. The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and an image processing method for printing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known an image reading apparatus which moves a carriage equipped with a color image pickup means having a line sensor such as a CCD in parallel with a document surface and reads an image of the document.

[0003] For example, in the case of a flat bed type image reading apparatus, a platen made of a transparent plate such as glass for placing a document is provided on the upper surface of a box-shaped casing. A carriage that is moved by a driving device in parallel with the document table is provided. The carriage is provided with a light source and a color imaging unit. Irradiation light from the light source is reflected on the surface of the document on the document table, and is condensed on a color image pickup means by a condenser lens.

In the image reading apparatus as described above, when the read image data is finally printed out, the image is displayed on a monitor by using a processing device such as a personal computer, and a desired image is selected by a printer or the like. And prints it out on a print medium such as printing paper.

[0005]

When performing an image printing process using a personal computer, a user performs a command input operation specified by an operation system, and a print processing application program and a printer driver are stored therein. For example, it is necessary to take the data from a storage device such as a magnetic disk into the internal memory of the personal computer and make it executable.

However, there is a problem that it takes a long time to input a command or to take in a print processing application program and a printer driver, and it takes a long time to start up. In addition, there are many problems to be solved in order to make full use of a personal computer. For example, there are a large number of users who cannot use a computer even if they have a personal computer.These users print out an image read by an image reading device. Even if an attempt is made to install the software, there is a possibility that the installation itself is difficult or that a command input method cannot be understood.

Therefore, an image reading unit that converts an image of a document into an electric signal and reads the image, and an image printing unit that prints the image on a print medium such as paper based on the image data read by the image reading unit are provided. An image processing apparatus that prints an image based on image data read without connecting to a personal computer can be considered. In such an image processing apparatus, it is a general configuration that the image reading unit and the image printing unit have a two-story structure, the image reading unit is arranged in the upper stage, and the image printing unit is arranged in the lower stage.

However, in the image processing apparatus having the above configuration, the image of the document is read regardless of the position of the document on the document table and the size of the document, and the read image is printed. In addition, there is a problem that it takes a long time to read an image, and as a result, it takes a long time to print.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and has as its object to provide an image processing apparatus and an image processing method which shorten the period required for reading an image and execute printing in a short period of time. And

[0010]

According to the image processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention or the image processing method according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the position of the document and the size of the document on the platen are specified, and the specified position is determined. The image reading unit is controlled in the sub-scanning direction by irradiating the document with light according to the data and the dimension data, and the image printing unit is controlled based on the image data read by the image reading unit. For this reason, by reading the image of the original in accordance with the position of the original on the platen and the size of the original and executing printing of the read image, the sub-scanning of the original on the platen is performed for a relatively small original. The reading distance can be reduced according to the length in the direction. Therefore, it is possible to shorten a period required for reading an image,
As a result, printing can be executed in a short period of time.

According to the image processing apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention or the image processing method according to the fifth aspect, the position of the original on the platen and the original using the image read by the prescan for reading the image in advance. Since the size of the document is specified, it is not necessary to incorporate a special part or device for specifying the position of the document on the platen and the size of the document.
Therefore, it is possible to easily shorten the period required for reading an image with a simple configuration and execute printing in a short period of time.

According to the image processing apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention or the image processing method according to the sixth aspect, the position of the document on the document table and the size of the document are specified by reading the contour of the document. It is possible to easily and reliably specify the position of the document on the document table and the size of the document. Therefore, it is possible to simply and reliably reduce the period required for reading an image and execute printing in a short period of time.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 show an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an image processing apparatus provided with a carriage moving type flat bed type image reading unit and an ink jet type dark and light color image printing unit.

As shown in FIG. 2, the image processing apparatus 100
Is a housing 2, a scanner unit 20, a signal processing unit 10,
It comprises a printer unit 50, an operation unit 30, and a power supply unit 40. A carriage 3 of the scanner unit 20 described below;
The signal processing unit 10, the printer unit 50, and the power supply unit 40 are housed in the housing 2 as a housing. Scanner unit 20, signal processing unit 10, printer unit 50, operation unit 3
0 and the power supply unit 40 are separated by a main frame member 60 made of sheet metal.

The scanner unit 20 is provided with a document table 1 made of a transparent plate such as glass on the upper surface of a housing 2. A carriage 3 is provided inside the housing 2 as an image reading unit that can reciprocate in parallel to the document table 1 by a driving unit (not shown), and a light source 4 and a color imaging unit 5 are mounted on the carriage 3. ing. The light emitted from the light source 4 is reflected on the surface of the document 8 on the document table 1, reflected by a plurality of mirrors 6, and then condensed on the color imaging means 5 by the condensing lens 7. The color imaging means 5 is provided with a red (R:
Red), green (G: Green) and blue (B: Blu)
e) convert each light into an electric signal and output. The reflection from the plurality of mirrors 6 increases the optical path length from the document 8 to the condenser lens 7. At the end of the document table 1 in the direction of movement of the carriage 3, a white reference 9 having a highly reflective uniform reflection surface is provided. When reading a transparent original such as a photographic film, a second light source is provided above the original table 1 and the carriage 3 moves to read the transmitted light.

As shown in FIG. 4, the white reference 9 of the scanner section 20 is provided at one end of the document table 1, and the white reference 9 is set before the image reading of the carriage 3, that is, when the power of the carriage 3 is turned off or when the white It is arranged to overlap the initial position at the time of reference reading. The carriage 3 is electrically connected to the signal processing unit 10 shown in FIG. 2 by a flexible flat cable 31 described later. On the upper surface of the housing 2, near the reading origin 1 a of the document table 1, an origin position display unit 2
1 is provided. That is, the origin position display unit 21
It is provided on one end side of the carriage 3 at the white reference 9 and the initial position.

On the upper side of the housing 2 and on the side opposite to the original table with respect to the white reference 9 and the initial position of the carriage 3, the maintenance door 2 is provided.
The maintenance door 22 is an opening / closing door that connects or disconnects communication between the inside and the outside of the scanner unit 20. The maintenance door 22 has a projection (not shown), and this projection can be fitted into a hole (not shown) in the closed state of the maintenance door 22 shown in FIG. A light-shielding sensor (not shown) as a sensor is provided in the hole, and this light-shielding sensor is electrically connected to the control means 14 shown in FIG. Therefore, when the power is turned on, the control means 14 can detect whether or not the protrusion is fitted into the hole, that is, the open / closed state of the maintenance door 22 by the light-shielding sensor. Therefore, the control means 1
4 controls the carriage 3 in accordance with the open / close state of the maintenance door 22, and can move the carriage 3 to a retracted position indicated by a dotted line in FIG. 4 or an initial position indicated by a solid line in FIG. In this embodiment, when the maintenance door 22 is in the open state, the user inserts his hand through the opening to clean the white reference 9 and the platen 1, or removes the detachable partition 32 described later to remove the printer unit 50. It is configured to be able to maintain paper jams and the like in the inside.

A frame member 33 is provided in an opening formed in the main frame member 60 and communicating with the scanner section 20 and the printer section 50. In this frame member 33,
A removable partition wall 32 made of a transparent member and detachable from the frame member 33 is provided. The removable partition wall 32 can move on a rail (not shown) of the frame member 33 in the same direction as the moving direction of the carriage 3. Removable partition 32
Is moved on the rail portion, thereby the detachable partition 32
Can be removed from the frame member 33, and the removable partition wall 32 can be attached to the frame member 33.

The flexible flat cable 31 has one end electrically connected to the carriage 3 and the other end electrically connected to the signal processing unit 10 shown in FIG. The flexible flat cable 31 has a plurality of conductive wires inside, and the conductive wires are covered with a coating for preventing a short circuit with another member. As the coating, a flexible film is used to secure the flexibility of the flexible flat cable 31. The flexible flat cable 31 has an intermediate portion between the connecting portion of the carriage 3 and the connecting portion of the signal processing unit 10 folded back, the folded portion 35 being sandwiched by the frame member 33, and being fixed to the main frame member 60. The flexible flat cable 31
A sufficient bending is provided between the connection portion of the carriage 3 and the folded portion 35. Further, the flexible flat cable 31 includes the folded portion 35 and the signal processing portion 1.
An L-shaped bent portion 36 is provided between the connection portion 0 and the connection portion 0.
The connection between the flexible flat cable 31 and the signal processing unit 10 is facilitated.

As shown in FIG. 3, the signal processing unit 10 includes an amplifier 11, an A / D conversion unit 12, and a shading correction unit 1.
3, a gamma correction unit 16, other correction units 17, and a control unit 14. The control means 14 as the specifying means, the first control means, and the second control means includes a CPU,
It is configured by a microcomputer including a RAM, a ROM, and the like.

The A / D converter 12 converts the data input from the color image pickup means 5 via the amplifier 11 into a digital signal and transfers the digital signal to the shading corrector 13. This digital signal is a signal indicating a numerical value from 0 to 1023 when, for example, the read gradation is 10 bits.
The shading correction unit 13 sets the white reference 9 before starting reading.
Using the data obtained by reading the data, the variation in the sensitivity of each element of the photoelectric conversion element array and the variation in the light amount of the light source 4 are corrected.
Then, the pixel data subjected to the shading correction is sent to the gamma correction unit 16. The gamma correction unit 16 performs gamma correction using a predetermined gamma function, and the A / D conversion unit 1
2 is converted into an image signal. The other correction unit 17 performs various conversions such as color correction, edge enhancement, and area enlargement / reduction.

The operation section 30 shown in FIG. 2 has an operation panel (not shown) exposed from the housing 2 to the outside. The operation panel has a print switch (not shown). When the print switch is turned on, the printer unit 5 connected to the scanner unit 20 via the signal processing unit 10 is turned on.
0 enables printing of an image. further,
When the image processing apparatus 100 is connected to a personal computer (not shown), the image data read by the scanner unit 20 is transferred to the personal computer by operating the operation unit 30 or the floppy (registered trademark) is used.
An image can be printed by the printer unit 50 based on image data stored in a computer-readable storage medium such as a disk, a CD-ROM, and a magneto-optical disk (MO).

The power supply section 40 has an A / C of 200 V or A / C
It has an inlet (not shown) capable of supplying / C120V and a power supply board (not shown) on which a power supply circuit is formed, and can supply power to the scanner unit 20, the signal processing unit 10, the operation unit 30, and the printer unit 50. it can.

The printer section 50 includes a paper feeding means (not shown) and a print head 51 as an image printing section. The print head 51 expands and contracts the volume of the ink chamber by applying a voltage to the pressure generating means in accordance with the drive signal from the control means 14 shown in FIG. 3, and the ink in the ink chamber is shown as ink droplets from the nozzles. It can be ejected on paper that does not. An ink tank (not shown) that stores six color inks of cyan (C), magenta (M), light cyan (c), light magenta (m), yellow (Y), and black (K). It includes six rows of nozzles (not shown) arranged perpendicularly to the direction in which the print head 51 moves. By using six color inks of cyan (C), magenta (M), light cyan (c), light magenta (m), yellow (Y) and black (K),
Extremely smooth gradation can be expressed, and the dots of the ink droplets can be made inconspicuous even in a portion having a high brightness, such as a skin color. A color image can also be printed by combining four colors of cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K). When printing black by superimposing the C, M, and Y inks, the K ink can be omitted.

Next, the operation of the image processing apparatus 100 having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. (1) The user places the document 8 on the document table 1 of the scanner unit 20. At this time, the original 8 is E-size, L-size,
If the original is a 2L-format, panoramic, eight-cut, six-cut or the like original, the original 8 is oriented in the portrait direction or landscape according to the reading origin 1a of the original table 1 as shown in FIG. Set in the direction. FIG.
As shown in (C), when reading a transparent original 18 such as a 35 mm strip negative film, the transparent original 18 is loaded into a dedicated film folder 19, and the origin of the reading range 21 of the transparent original unit provided with the second light source is read. Set according to 21a. As shown in FIG. 5D, when reading a transparent original 28 such as a positive film mounted on a slide frame 29, for example, the transparent original 28 is set at the origin of the reading range 21 of the transparent original unit provided with the second light source. 21
Set according to a.

(2) When execution of reading is instructed in step S1 shown in FIG. 1, a pre-scan is executed in step S2 shown in FIG.
Alternatively, the second light source is turned on, and FIGS. 5 (A), (B),
The carriage 3 is moved at a constant speed in the direction of the arrow Y shown in (C) and (D), that is, in the sub-scanning direction. At this time, the input resolution in the pre-scan is 50 dpi. In the pre-scan, the contour extraction and the inclination correction for automatically extracting the document size are mainly performed,
Image correction by automatic exposure is performed. Contour extraction and tilt correction extract the contour of the pre-scanned image,
Correct the inclination of the original. In the image correction by the automatic exposure, a gamma table for expressing the automatic exposure is generated in order to scan the optimum image in the main scan at the subsequent stage.
By the above-described outline extraction, the position of the document on the document table and the size of the document can be specified.

(3) In step S3 shown in FIG. 1, the main scan is executed so that the resolution of the captured image becomes 200 dpi or 600 dpi as the final print size, and contour extraction and inclination correction are performed. You.
In the contour extraction and the inclination correction, the contour of the main scanned image is extracted, and the inclination of the document is corrected. At this time, the contour extraction and inclination correction parameters obtained as a result of performing the contour extraction and inclination correction on the image acquired by the prescan are used. Therefore, an image can be read according to the position of the document on the document table and the size of the document. For example, in the case of the original 8 shown in FIG. 5A or 5B, the lower end 8 of the original 8 is moved from the reading origin 1a of the original table 1.
5C, the image is read in the arrow Y direction from the origin 21a of the reading range 21 to the lower end 19a of the exclusive film folder 19 in the case of the transparent original 18 shown in FIG. 3), the image is read in the direction of the arrow Y from the origin 21a of the reading range 21 to the lower end 29a of the slide frame 29. Here, FIG.
FIG. 5A is a comparison between FIG. 5A and FIG.
Compared with (B), the reading distance can be reduced by the difference in the length of the document 8 on the document table 1 in the sub-scanning direction. In other words, it is possible to reduce the time required for reading an image for a document having a relatively small size. And
An image of one line is read by each photoelectric conversion element array of the color image pickup means 5 by a drive signal generated every predetermined time,
In step S4 shown in FIG. 1, the pixel data is output to the signal processing unit 10.

(4) In step S5 shown in FIG. 1, the analog pixel data output to the signal
It is converted into digital pixel data by the D conversion unit 12,
The shading is corrected by the shading correction unit 13 and sent to the gamma correction unit 16. Then, gamma correction is performed by a predetermined gamma function.

(5) In step S6 shown in FIG. 1, the other correction unit 17 performs a color correction process on the RGB data to convert it into CMYK gradation bit image data for printing. Then, the obtained CMYK gradation bit image data is distributed to each data of light and shade by a light and shade ink table, and further subjected to halftone processing such as dither method, error diffusion, etc., and distribution of dark and light colors on a bit map for each color or The arrangement is determined, and a binary bitmap is created for each. The bitmap data subjected to the halftone process is temporarily stored in a predetermined area of the RAM of the control unit 14.

(6) In step S7 shown in FIG. 1, the CPU of the control means 14 sends a print preparation end signal to the printer unit 50, and checks the printing operation state of the printer unit 50. The printer unit 50 sends a print data transfer request signal to the CPU of the control device 14 when the printing operation is possible.

(7) In step S8 shown in FIG. 1, the CPU of the control means 14 executes DMA (Direct Memory Access)
The print control data and the bitmap data for each color are sequentially transmitted to the printer unit 50 by the transfer. The printer unit 50 prints an image with the print head 51 based on the print data sequentially taken out of the RAM of the control unit 14.

In one embodiment of the present invention described above, the position of the document on the platen and the size of the document are specified, the image of the document is read in accordance with the specified position data and size data, and the read image is printed. Execute Therefore, for a document having a relatively small size, the reading distance can be reduced according to the length of the document on the document table in the sub-scanning direction. Accordingly, the period required for reading an image can be shortened, and as a result, printing can be performed in a short period.

Further, in this embodiment, the position of the original and the dimensions of the original on the platen are specified using the image read by the prescan for reading the image in advance.
No special components or devices need to be incorporated to determine the position of the document on the platen and the size of the document. Therefore, it is possible to easily shorten the period required for reading an image with a simple configuration and execute printing in a short period of time.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the position of the original on the original plate and the size of the original are specified by extracting the outline of the prescanned image.
It is possible to easily and reliably specify the position of the document on the document table and the size of the document. Therefore, it is possible to simply and reliably reduce the period required for reading an image and execute printing in a short period of time.

In the embodiment of the present invention described above, the present invention is applied to the image processing apparatus 100 provided with the carriage moving type flat bed type scanner unit 20. The present invention can be applied to an image processing apparatus provided with a mirror moving type flat bed type scanner unit for moving a reflecting mirror group.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the present invention is applied to the image processing apparatus 100 including the printer unit 50 using the print head 51 of the ink jet system. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Also, the present invention can be applied to an image processing apparatus provided with a printer unit using various print heads such as a dot impact method.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of an image printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an image processing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are diagrams for explaining the operation of the image processing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIGS. 5A and 5B show a reflection original, and FIGS. FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Document stand 2 Case 3 Carriage (image reading part) 4 Light source 5 Color imaging means 6 Mirror 7 Condensing lens 8 Document 10 Signal processing part 14 Control means (identifying means, first control means, second control means) Reference Signs List 20 scanner unit 30 operation unit 40 power supply unit 50 printer unit 51 print head (image printing unit) 100 image processing device

Claims (6)

[Claims] An image reading section for irradiating the original with light, converting light reflected on the original surface or transmitted through the original surface into an electric signal, and outputting the electric signal; An image printing unit that prints an image on a print medium based on the image data read by the image reading unit; a specifying unit that specifies the position of the document and the size of the document on the platen; a position that is specified by the specifying unit First control means for irradiating the document with light in accordance with data and dimension data to control the image reading unit in the sub-scanning direction; and the image printing unit based on the image data read by the image reading unit. An image processing apparatus, comprising: second control means for controlling. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the specifying unit specifies a position of the document on the platen and a size of the document using an image read by a pre-scan for reading the image in advance. Image processing device. 3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the specifying unit reads an outline of the document. 4. An original is placed on an original platen, and the original is irradiated with light, light reflected on the original or transmitted through the original is converted into an electric signal to read an image, and the read image is printed. An image processing method for printing on a print medium as a step of specifying the position of the document on the platen and the size of the document, and applying the position data and the size data specified in the specifying step to the document. Irradiating light to control the image reading unit in the sub-scanning direction; and controlling the image printing unit based on image data read by the image reading unit. Method. 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein, in the specifying step, a position of the document on the platen and a size of the document are specified using an image read by a pre-scan for reading an image in advance. The image processing method described in the above. 6. The image processing method according to claim 4, wherein in the specifying step, an outline of the document is read.