JP2002229389A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming device realizing the simplification of operation in the case of forming the image of an irregular size original on recording paper and preventing the deterioration of quality in image formation. SOLUTION: An edit pad arranged on the original cover plate of the image forming device is defined as 1, an edit pen is defined as 2 and the irregular size original (irregular size paper) is defined as 3. Regular size recording paper 4 is assumed and shown by a broken line. When a reference point A and a diagonal point B on the edit pad 1 are touched by the edit pen 2, the pen touch detection part 24a of a coordinate input part 24 detects it and the controller 24b thereof arithmetically calculates the X and Y coordinates of the touched points so as to decide the length and breadth size of the irregular size paper. A CPU 12 discriminates the recording paper fit for the irregular size paper.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus which simplifies an operation for forming an image of an irregular size original on a recording medium and prevents a deterioration in image formation quality.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an auto document feeder (A) is used for a copying machine and a facsimile machine having a copying function.
DF) or a flatbed type document mounting table for reading is provided. The ADF is for automatically and continuously feeding a large number of read originals to an optical reading system and continuously reading an image from each original surface.

[0003] On the other hand, a flat bed type reading original placing table has a cover glass as a transparent original supporting plate, and a user places the reading originals one by one at a predetermined position on the cover glass. It is placed and read by an optical reading system. The reading method (FBS) using a flatbed type document table is generally called “book reading”.

An image forming apparatus such as a facsimile apparatus having such a copying function has a function of performing image scaling processing in order to enlarge or reduce a read image or a received image and record it on a recording paper (recording medium). Be prepared and add value. Further, a model having a function of rotating a read image or a received image to record on a recording sheet has been developed.

The recording paper on which an image is formed includes B5, A4
There are fixed-size sheets, such as regular-size sheets and letter-size sheets, and the sizes of these fixed-size recording sheets are stored in the ROM in advance. For this reason, when forming an image of a fixed size original (standard size paper) on a recording paper,
A recording sheet of a standard size suitable for the document size is automatically set.

[0006] Even when the automatic processing cannot be performed, a fixed size recording sheet can be set by a simple operation such as key input. Further, even when an image is formed on a fixed-size recording sheet by performing a scaling process for enlarging or reducing a fixed-size document, the processing can be performed by a simple operation of simply setting the recording sheet size.

As described above, image processing of a fixed size original can be performed by a simple operation. However, in some cases, it is necessary to form an image on an original of an irregular size. When an image of an irregular size document is formed, the recording paper may be shifted to one side or the set recording paper may be too small. For this reason, it is necessary to set a recording sheet having a size such that an image is appropriately formed, and to perform a reading process while aligning the recording sheet with a document.

When the size of the document is smaller than the size of the recording paper, a blank portion other than the document reads the back surface of the pressing plate. For this reason, portions other than the original may be blackened on the recording paper and an image may be formed, and the quality of image formation is degraded.

Further, when the original is enlarged or reduced, the following various processes are required. First, the vertical and horizontal sizes of the document are measured, and the enlargement / reduction size is calculated in consideration of a margin so that an image of the document can be formed on recording paper. Next, the recording paper is set. Subsequently, the vertical and horizontal enlargement / reduction sizes obtained as described above are input by a key operation.

[0010]

As described above, when an image of an original of an irregular size is formed on a recording sheet, a complicated operation is required, and the quality of image formation may be deteriorated. There was a problem.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and simplifies an operation for forming an image of an irregular-size original on a recording medium and prevents image quality from deteriorating. The purpose is to provide the device.

[0012]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus, comprising: a coordinate detection unit configured to detect a coordinate of a reference point and a diagonal point of a document; Vertical / horizontal size calculating means for calculating the vertical / horizontal size of the document based on the coordinates of the document, recording medium determining means for determining a size of a recording medium suitable for the vertical / horizontal size of the document, and an image of the document on the determined recording medium. This is achieved by providing a configuration including an image forming unit to be formed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus of the first aspect, the coordinate detecting means is provided on a document pressing plate of the image reading means.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first or second aspect, there is provided a scaling ratio setting unit for setting a scaling ratio of an image based on the determined size of the recording medium. It is characterized by having been provided.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the length and width of the original can be determined by operating the coordinate detecting means, the size of the irregular-size original can be obtained by a simple operation. Further, since a recording medium suitable for the size of the document is determined and the image of the document is formed on the recording medium, the process of forming an image of the document of an irregular size on the recording medium is simplified.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the coordinate detecting means is provided on the document pressing plate of the image reading means. Therefore, space for installing the coordinate detecting means can be saved, and the operability of the coordinate detecting means can be improved.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a magnification setting means for setting a magnification of an image based on the determined size of the recording medium. For this reason, it is possible to form an image of a document on a recording medium at an optimum magnification. Therefore, no extra margin is generated on the recording medium, and the quality of image formation can be prevented from deteriorating.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing a control device of the image forming apparatus of the present invention. Next, this block diagram will be described.

In FIG. 2, the control device 11 has a control unit 12 for processing various signals and data. The control unit 12 is constituted by, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit).

The control unit 12 includes a line control unit (NCU) 1
4. Modem 15, Image memory 16, RAM 17, ROM
18, display unit 19, operation unit 20, reading unit 21, recording unit 2
2. The encoding / decoding unit 23 and the coordinate input unit 24 are connected.

The line control unit 14 is connected to the external line 13 and detects transmission of a dial pulse corresponding to the dial number of the other party and detection of an incoming call. The modem 15 modulates / demodulates data transmitted / received to / from a communication terminal device such as a facsimile machine of the other party, and connects to the line control unit 14.

The image memory 16 stores the image data of the read image.
And the received image data. The RAM 17 stores management data for reservation transmission or memory reception. The ROM 18 stores data and programs necessary for various operations of the image forming apparatus.

A display unit 19 using a liquid crystal display (LCD)
Displays various messages necessary for the operation of the image forming apparatus. An operation unit 20 including a start key, a stop key, a ten key, and other operation keys instructs various operations and stop of the image forming apparatus. The reading unit 21 reads an image of a document.

The reading section 21 includes an image processing circuit and a shading RAM for temporarily storing data obtained by the shading correction operation. The read image is subjected to various types of image processing by an image processing circuit, and then subjected to a binarization process.

The shading correction is a correction for compensating for variations in signal levels in a read image. In this correction, a correction coefficient of the signal level is obtained before reading the original surface, and the correction coefficient is read and the image data is read.
It is used for correcting the signal level of each pixel data in the data.

The recording section 22 prints an image on recording paper. The image is printed on both sides of the recording paper or on one side of the recording paper. Encoding / decoding unit 23
Encodes the image data of the read image by a predetermined encoding method, and decodes the received image data. Note that a clock unit may be provided in the control device 11 to count the current time, and the reception time may be stored in the communication management record using the output of the clock unit.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining the operation of the coordinate input unit 24 shown in FIG. In the embodiment of the present invention, an edit pad is arranged on a document pressing plate provided in an image reading unit of an image forming apparatus, and the vertical and horizontal sizes of a document of an irregular size are determined based on coordinate detection by an edit pen.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an edit pad arranged on a document pressing plate of the image forming apparatus, 2 denotes an edit pen,
Reference numeral 3 denotes an irregular-size original (irregular-type paper). Also,
The recording paper 4 of a standard size is virtually shown by a broken line. The coordinate input unit 24 includes a pen touch detection unit 24a and a controller 24b.

When a point on the edit pad 1 is touched with the edit pen 2, the pen touch detection unit 24a detects this. Thus, the edit pad 1 and the edit pen 2 function as pressure sensors. The controller 24 receives a signal from the pen touch detection unit 24a.
b calculates the X and Y coordinates of the touched point.

By touching the reference point A on the irregular size original 3 with the editing pen 2, the reference point A
Is input (0, 0). Next, the reference point A
Touch diagonal point B with edit pen 2
The coordinates (X, Y) of the diagonal point B are input.

By performing such an operation, the controller 24b instantly calculates the vertical size Ymm and the horizontal size Xmm of the irregular-size original 3.
The vertical and horizontal sizes of the irregular-size original 3 obtained by the controller 24b are stored in the RAM 17. The CPU 12 reads the vertical and horizontal sizes and determines the recording paper suitable for the original 3 of the irregular size. In this manner, it is possible to automatically determine the recording paper suitable for the original 3 of an irregular size.

When the image of the document 3 is formed on the recording paper, the back side of the pressing plate is read for the blank portion other than the document, but the image processing such as masking the portion other than the document white. Is applied. By performing such a process, portions other than the original are not stained with black, thereby preventing a deterioration in image formation quality.

When a recording sheet of an arbitrary size is set, the reduction / enlargement ratio is automatically calculated based on the size of the document 3 obtained by the above calculation. For this reason, an image can be formed with the optimum size on the set recording paper, and no extra margin is generated. Therefore, in this regard, it is also possible to prevent the quality of image formation from lowering. Further, when the image rotation function is provided, the image is formed in an appropriate shape and direction by appropriately rotating the image depending on whether the recording paper conveyance direction is set in the portrait direction or the landscape direction. I can do it.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for detecting the size of an irregular-size original. Next, this flowchart will be described.

In step S1, a processing program is started.
In step S2, a reference point is input. Next, a diagonal point is input in the process of step S3. Step S3
Then, the X and Y coordinates of the diagonal points, that is, the document size, are calculated and stored in the storage unit. Subsequently, the reference point is input again in the process of step S4, and it is confirmed that the document size detection has been completed. Then, in step S5, the processing program ends.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for forming an image of an irregular size original on a recording sheet. Next, this flowchart will be described.

(1) The processing program is started in step S11, and it is determined in step S12 whether or not there is a reduction and enlargement. If the result of this determination is YES, processing for reduction and enlargement is performed in the processing of step S13. If the decision result in the step S12 is NO, a recording sheet is subsequently selected in a step S14. After the process in step S13, the process also proceeds to step S14.

(2) Next, the original is read in the processing of step S15, and then the editing processing is performed in step S16. In this editing processing, image rotation, correction of color misregistration, removal of stains in margins, and the like are performed. Next, the image is printed on the recording paper in the processing of step S17, and the processing program ends in step S18.

As described above, in the embodiment of the present invention, the edit pad 1 is arranged on the pressing plate of the image forming apparatus to constitute a coordinate input section for irregular-sized paper. For this reason, a special space for installing the coordinate input unit is unnecessary, and the space can be saved. Further, since the coordinate input unit is provided at a position close to the operation unit and the display unit of the image forming apparatus, the operability is also improved.

In the example of FIG. 1, the coordinate input unit is constituted by using the function of the pressure sensitive sensor by the edit pad 1 and the edit pen 2. In the present invention, a non-contact coordinate input unit, for example, an ultrasonic digitizer can be used instead of such a pressure-sensitive sensor.

In the above example, the image formation by the multifunction machine has been described.
The present invention is applicable even when a read image is formed on recording paper.

[0042]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the vertical and horizontal sizes of the original can be determined by operating the coordinate detecting means, the size of the irregular size original can be easily manipulated. Can be obtained by Further, since a recording medium suitable for the size of the document is determined and the image of the document is formed on the recording medium, the process of forming an image of the document of an irregular size on the recording medium is simplified.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the coordinate detecting means is provided on the document pressing plate of the image reading means. Therefore, space for installing the coordinate detecting means can be saved, and the operability of the coordinate detecting means can be improved.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the variable magnification setting means for setting the magnification of the image based on the determined size of the recording medium is provided. For this reason, it is possible to form an image of a document on a recording medium at an optimum magnification. Therefore, no extra margin is generated on the recording medium, and the quality of image formation can be prevented from deteriorating.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of image formation according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control unit of the image reading apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Edit pad 2 Edit pen 3 Document 4 Recording paper 11 Control device 12 Control part (CPU) 16 Image memory 21 Reading part 22 Recording part

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] March 27, 2001 (2001.3.2)
7)

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0001

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus which simplifies an operation for forming an image of an irregular size original on a recording medium and prevents a deterioration in image formation quality.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04N 1/393 F term (Reference) 2H027 DB09 DB10 DE07 FA04 FA05 FA06 FB07 FB12 FB13 FB19 GA20 GA34 5B047 AA01 BA02 CA14 CB09 CB10 CB12 CB16 5C072 AA05 BA02 BA09 LA03 LA07 RA04 RA08 RA20 UA20 XA01 5C076 AA21 AA22 CB02

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A coordinate detecting means for detecting coordinates of a reference point and a diagonal point of a document; a vertical and horizontal size calculating means for calculating a vertical and horizontal size of the document based on the coordinates of each point; An image forming apparatus comprising: a recording medium discriminating unit that discriminates a size of a recording medium that conforms to the size of the recording medium; and an image forming unit that forms an image of a document on the discriminated recording medium. 2. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said coordinate detecting means is provided on a document pressing plate of said image reading means. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a scaling ratio setting unit that sets a scaling ratio of an image based on the determined size of the recording medium. .