JP2003143375A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming device that can detect a direction of an original in matching with a requirement of an operator. SOLUTION: The image forming device is provided with an image input means that receives an image signal of a plurality of pages, an image forming means that forms an image of the image signal on a medium, a control means that controls image forming by the image forming means, an original direction decision means that decides a direction of a plurality of the placed originals to provide an output of a decision result corresponding to the originals and a means for revising a decision time of the decision means, and the decision means outputs the decision result on the basis of the decision time.

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 such as a copying machine or a printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, copying machines have been able to improve work efficiency by mounting accessories such as an automatic document feeder and an automatic collator. Further, a digital copying machine has been devised, and more advanced functions have been realized by treating images as digital information.

For example, a reduced layout function, a double-sided function,
FIG. 12 shows an example in which the binding margin function and the staple are combined.

In FIG. 12, 1201, 1202, 1
203, 1204, ... Are a plurality of originals, and when these are set in the orientation shown in the automatic document feeder (hereinafter, FD), they are laid out like 1205 on the front side and 1206 on the back side. , The binding margin is added, and the desired position is stapled and copied. In the figure, "1",
"2", "3", "4", ... "8" correspond to the order of the originals, that is, the pages of the originals.

However, 1207, 1208, 120
When a vertically-written document such as 9, 1210, ... Is set upward, the front side is laid out like 1211 and the back side is laid out as 1212, which makes it very unnatural as a vertically written sentence. It will be laid out. Further, the binding margin position and the staple position are also positions that are not in practical use.

Similarly, 1213, 1214, 1215,
When a vertically written document such as 1216, ... Is set leftward, the front side is laid out as 1217 and the back side is laid out as 1218.
When a vertical document such as 1,1222, ... is set, the front side is laid out as 1223 and the back side is laid out as 1224. In any case, the layout, the binding margin, the staple position, etc. There was a problem that it was not practical. Furthermore, the orientation in which the original is placed (top, bottom, left, and right)
However, there are various other combinations depending on the type of the document (horizontal writing or vertical writing), and a layout that does not conform to practical use, binding margins, and stapling are often performed.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a process has been performed in which a document placed by an operator is automatically detected and copied in the best orientation.

[0008]

However, the above-mentioned conventional example has the following problems.

In other words, even if the operator puts the originals in the same direction, if the orientations of the originals are automatically detected, it is possible to perform a lot of processing time by surely performing the direction determination processing for each original. It hangs.

Therefore, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, when the orientation of a document is automatically detected, the operator sets a determination time and detects the orientation of the document based on the selected determination time. By setting the judgment time longer by the operator, processing that prioritizes the recognition rate can be performed. Conversely, by setting the judgment time shorter by the operator, the processing that prioritizes productivity can be performed. Therefore, it becomes possible to detect the orientation of the document in accordance with the operator's request, and it is conceivable that the above-mentioned problem will be solved.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of detecting the orientation of a document in accordance with the operator's request.

[0012]

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides an image input means for inputting image signals of a plurality of pages, an image forming means for forming an image of the image signals on a medium, and the image. Control means for controlling the image formation of the forming means, document orientation determining means for determining the orientations of the plurality of documents and outputting a determination result corresponding to the documents, and means for changing the determination time in the determining means. And a determination result is output based on the determination time.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<First Embodiment> When the document orientation is automatically detected, the orientation of the document requires a processing time until the detection result is output. In the present embodiment, the operator selects the length of the determination time, and the detection operation is terminated at the determination time.

Here, the determination time can be set in two ways, the minimum and the maximum. The minimum determination time is the time X (ms) from the scan start timing of the original to the scan start timing of the next original (top to top time of the original), and the maximum determination time is X + α (ms). When the determination time has elapsed, the operation is terminated and the determination result is output even if the detection operation is performed. When the minimum judgment time is selected, the result of UNKNOWN (original orientation detection failed) may appear because the original orientation judgment time for one sheet is short, but the time required for original orientation detection can be shortened, and productivity can be reduced. Can be prioritized. Further, when the maximum judgment time is selected, the detection operation is performed using the long judgment time, so that it is possible to perform the processing in which the recognition rate of the document orientation detection is prioritized.

<Second Embodiment> In the first embodiment, the determination time can be set only to the minimum and the maximum, but in the present embodiment, the document orientation determination time can be changed in multiple stages, and the operator So that you can make detailed settings. Similar to the first embodiment, the minimum determination time is the time X (ms) from the scan start timing of a document to the scan start timing of the next document (document top to top time), and the maximum determination time is X + α (ms). And The period from the minimum time to the maximum time is divided in units of 100 ms, and the operator can change the determination time in multiple stages during that period.

[Description of Apparatus Outline] FIG. 2 shows an external view of a copying machine as an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 200 denotes an automatic document feeder (hereinafter referred to as DF) which automatically feeds a plurality of originals one by one and sequentially sets the front and back sides of each original on the original table. You can Since its specific configuration is already known, detailed description is omitted.

In FIG. 3, a plurality of originals to be read are placed on the DF 200. The documents set on the DF 200 are fed one by one by the DF 200 and placed on the document table 201. Reference numeral 202 denotes a document illumination lamp including a halogen lamp, for example, which exposes a document placed on the document table glass 201. 203, 20
Reference numerals 4, 205 denote scanning mirrors, which are housed in an optical scanning unit (not shown) and guide light reflected from the document to the CCD unit 206 while reciprocating.

The CCD unit 206 is an image forming lens 207 for forming an image of reflected light from a document on the CCD, an image pickup device 208 composed of the CCD, and a C driving the image pickup device 208.
It is composed of a CD driver 209 and the like. Image sensor 2
The image signal output from 08 is converted into, for example, 8-bit digital data, and then input to the controller unit 239.

Reference numeral 210 denotes a photosensitive drum, which is precharged by a pre-exposure lamp 212 in preparation for image formation. 21
3 is a charger, which uniformly charges the photosensitive drum 210. Reference numeral 214 denotes an exposure unit, which is composed of, for example, a semiconductor laser or the like, exposes the photosensitive drum 210 based on image data processed by a controller unit 239 that performs image processing and control of the entire apparatus, and forms an electrostatic latent image. .

Reference numeral 215 denotes a developing device, which is a black developer (toner).
Is housed. A pre-transfer charger 219 applies a high voltage before the toner image developed on the photosensitive drum 210 is transferred to a sheet. 220, 222, and 224 are paper feeding units, and the transfer paper is fed into the apparatus by driving the paper feeding rollers 221, 223, and 225, and is temporarily stopped at the position where the registration roller 226 is disposed, and the photosensitive drum 210 is moved. It is re-fed after the timing of writing with the image formed on the sheet is taken.

Reference numeral 227 denotes a transfer charger, which is the photosensitive drum 2
The toner image developed in 10 is transferred to the transfer sheet fed. A separation charger 228 separates the transfer sheet, which has completed the transfer operation, from the photosensitive drum 210. The toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 210 without being transferred is collected by the cleaner 211.

A conveyor belt 229 conveys the transfer sheet after the transfer process to the fixing device 230 and fixes the transfer sheet by, for example, heat. A flapper 231 switches the transport path of the transfer sheet for which the fixing process has been completed, and controls the transfer path to either eject the sheet to the outside of the machine or to dispose the intermediate tray 237.

Numerals 233 to 236 are feeding rollers, which feed the transfer paper, which has once been subjected to the fixing process, to the intermediate tray 237 after reversing (multiplexing) or non-reversing (both sides). 238
Is a re-feeding roller, and conveys the transfer sheet placed on the intermediate tray 237 again to the position where the registration roller 236 is provided. A staple sorter 232 performs collation of stapled sheets and staple binding. The controller unit 239 includes a microcomputer, an image processing unit, and the like, which will be described later, and performs the image forming operation according to an instruction from the operation panel 400.

[Detailed Description of Controller Unit] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the controller unit 239 in the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

Reference numeral 301 denotes C for controlling the entire image processing apparatus.
A PU, which sequentially reads and executes programs from a read-only memory 303 (ROM) that stores a control procedure (control program) of the apparatus body. The CPU 301 is connected to each load via the CPU bus 302.
A random access memory (R) 304 is a main memory used as a storage area for input data, a storage area for work, and the like.
AM).

305 is an I / O interface,
The operator performs key input and displays the status of the device such as liquid crystal, LED
Operation panel 400 that displays using, paper feed system, transport system,
Motors 307 and clutches 30 for driving the optical system
8, solenoids 309, paper detection sensors 310 for detecting the conveyed paper, etc. are connected to respective loads of the apparatus. Further, a residual toner sensor 311 for detecting the amount of toner in the developing device 215 is arranged in the developing device 215, and an output signal thereof is input to the I / O port 305.

A high-voltage unit 315 outputs a high voltage to the charging device, the developing device, the pre-transfer charging device, the transfer charging device, and the separation charging device in accordance with instructions from the CPU.

An image processing unit 306 receives an image signal output from the CCD unit 206, performs image processing described later, and outputs a control signal for the laser unit 214 according to the image data. Laser unit 214
The laser light output from the laser irradiates the photosensitive drum 210.

[Image Processing Unit] FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of the image processing unit 306.

The image signal converted into an electric signal by the CCD unit 206 is first processed by the shading correction circuit 1.
After the variation between pixels is corrected by 01, the edge enhancement circuit 102 performs secondary differentiation in, for example, a 5 × 5 window to enhance the edge of the image.

Further, in the scaling circuit 103, data is thinned out during reduced copy and data is interpolated during enlarged copy. Further, after the desired density is converted by the density correction circuit 104, it is binarized in the binarization circuit. The binarization method may be a simple binary method, a screen method, an error diffusion method, or another method. The binarized image signal is sent to the laser unit or held in the page memory 108.

Reference numeral 109 is an image data compression / expansion circuit, and 110 is a large capacity memory including a hard disk. The image data held in the page memory 108 is sequentially stored in the hard disk 110 after the information amount is compressed by the compression / expansion circuit 109.

The original set in the DF 200 is successively sent and read on the original table and sent to the compression / expansion circuit 109 via the binarization circuit 105 and the page memory 108.
The compression / expansion circuit 109 compresses the sent image signal and sends it to the hard disk 110. Hard disk 1
In 10, the plurality of transmitted compressed image signals are sequentially held.

Further, the compressed image signal held in the hard disk 110 is sequentially read from the hard disk, expanded by the compression / expansion circuit, and then sent to the page memory and then sent to the laser unit 214. Image formation is performed.

The method of data compression and decompression in the compression / decompression circuit 109 is not particularly limited, and any method may be used. Here, as an advantage of performing image compression, the amount of information per image signal of one page is reduced, the document of more pages is held on the hard disk, and the time required for accessing the hard disk is reduced. There are two purposes of improving productivity.

The above-described control of the reduced layout is once stored in the memory 108, then edited in the memory and output to the laser unit. Editing work on the memory is performed by controlling an address signal and an enable signal given to the memory 109 by the memory control circuit 107.

On the other hand, 106 is a document orientation detecting means,
It is means for determining the orientation of the original (upper, lower, left, and right) and whether the original is vertical writing or horizontal writing, and holds the determination result in the TAG memory 111.

Further, the CPU 301 uses the TAG memory 111.
The judgment result stored in the memory is read, and the memory controller is instructed based on the read judgment result.
The editing operation of the image on the memory 108 is performed based on the instruction of U301, or the orientation (upper, left, right) of the document placed based on the instruction of the operator and whether the document is vertical writing or horizontal writing To the memory controller, and the memory controller edits the image on the memory 108 based on the instruction of the CPU 301.

[Description of Operation Panel 400] FIG. 4 is an external view of the operation panel 400.

In FIG. 4, reference numeral 401 is a ten key for setting the number of copies and other necessary numerical values, and 401-1 is a copy start key for instructing copy start. Four
A large-sized liquid crystal touch panel 03 displays keys on the liquid crystal, and the operator performs a desired operation by imprinting the displayed keys with a finger. 404 to 413 are related parts. A description of keys that are not directly related to the present invention will be omitted.

Reference numeral 404 is a key group for setting the orientation of the original, which is used to specify the orientation of the original with the operator as a reference.
6, a downward designation key 407, a leftward designation key 408, a rightward designation key 409, and an automatic determination key 410.
The operator selects one of the keys 406 to 410 and presses the key to invert the display of the selected key, which indicates that the key is selected.

In FIG. 4, the AUTO decision is shown as specified. When the automatic determination key 410 is selected, the determination time can be selected by pressing the orientation determination time key 411. Here, when any of the keys 406 to 409 is selected, the device control is performed assuming that the document is placed in each direction, and the automatic determination of the automatic determination key 410 is selected. , It becomes possible to select the document orientation determination time, and control is performed assuming that the orientation determined by the detection operation based on each determination time is designated.

Further, reference numeral 405 is a key group for setting the character arrangement of the manuscript, which designates whether the manuscript is a vertical manuscript or a horizontal manuscript, and a horizontal manuscript specifying key 412 and a vertical manuscript specifying key. 413 and automatic determination key 41
It consists of four. The operator selects any one of the keys 412 to 414 and presses the key to invert the display of the selected key, which indicates that the key is selected. In Figure 4,
The AUTO verdict is illustrated as specified.
Here again, if the automatic determination key 414 is selected,
By pressing the orientation judgment time key 415, the judgment time can be selected.

Here, when any of the keys 412 and 413 is selected, the device control is performed assuming that the document is written vertically and horizontally in each direction, and the automatic determination of the automatic determination key 414 is performed. When is selected, the determination time can be selected, and control is performed assuming that the character array determined by the detection operation based on each determination time is designated.

[Example of Control According to Original Orientation Designation] FIG. 5 shows an example of reduced layout double-sided control. This control is performed by the CPU 301
Based on the control of the memory control circuit,
This is performed as an image editing operation on the memory 108.

Depending on the orientation of the original document designated by the operation unit or the automatic detection means and the vertical writing / horizontal writing, the layout and the binding margin staple are controlled as follows.

That is, in FIG. 5, 501, 502, 5
Reference numerals 03, 504, ... denote a plurality of horizontally-written originals placed upward, and when these are set in the direction shown in the automatic document feeder (hereinafter, DF), the front side is shown as 505. Is laid out as in 506, a binding margin is added, and a desired position is stapled to make a copy. In the figure, "1", "2", "3", "4", ...
“8” corresponds to the order of the originals, that is, the pages of the originals.

On the other hand, 507, 508, 509, 510,
... are a plurality of vertically written originals placed upward, and when these are set in the orientation shown in the automatic document feeder (DF), the front like 511 and the back like 512. The copy is laid out, the binding margin is added, and the desired position is stapled.

Similarly, left-sided vertical writing originals 513, 51
In the case of 4,515,516, like the table 517,
The back side is laid out like 518, a binding margin is added, and a desired position is stapled to make a copy. Similarly, left-sided horizontal writing originals 519, 520, 521, 52
In the case of 2, the front side is laid out as in 523 and the back side is laid out as in 524, a binding margin is added, and a copy in which a desired position is stapled is made.

Although not described in the case of a combination (not shown) such as a downward document, the layout and the binding margin stapler are similarly controlled.

[Original Orientation Detecting Means] The original orientation detecting means determines two orientations of the original (top, bottom, left, writing, horizontal writing), and as described above. When the automatic determination of the orientation of the original is designated and the automatic determination of the character arrangement is designated in the operation unit, the apparatus control is performed assuming that each determination result is designated.

FIG. 6 shows an explanatory view of document orientation detection, and FIG.
Shows the processing flow.

First, at 801 in FIG. 8, the image signal of the original is input to the detecting means 106. This image is shown in Figure 6.
601. Next, in 802, only character portions in the read image are extracted by character area separation. This image is shown at 602.

That is, according to the cumulative histogram in the vertical direction / horizontal direction in the document shown in (a), a character area shown by a rectangle in (b) is cut out. Further, in 803, 6
As indicated by 03, a character is cut out from the character area. 80
In the character direction matching of No. 4, it is determined whether the character faces up, down, left or right. That is, as indicated by 604, the direction of the character is recognized by matching the template rotated by 90 °. In the case of 604, since the matching degree of 0 ° is the largest, it is determined to be upward.

Furthermore, in the document trunk determination of 805, the
A final judgment is made from the character array cut out in 3 and the direction of the character recognized in 804. For example, in FIG. 7, 701 is upward / horizontal writing, 702 is left / horizontal writing, 703 is right / vertical writing, and 704 is upward / vertical writing.

[Hard Disk and TAG Memory] Referring to FIG. 14 and FIG.
The TAG memory 111 will be described.

In FIG. 14, reference numeral 1400 is an address map in the effective use area of the hard disk, and it is assumed that an image of an original of n pages is stored in the hard disk. That is, 1401 is the image signal of the first page, 1402 is the image signal of the second page, 140
3 is the image signal of the 3rd page, 1404 is the image signal of the 4th page, 1405 is the image signal of the 5th page, 1406 is the image signal of the 6th page, and 14
07 is an image signal of the 7th page, which will be omitted in the middle,
Reference numeral 1408 denotes an image signal of page n−1,
Is the image signal of the nth page.

On the other hand, 1410 is also the TAG memory 11
3 is an address map of 1 effective area. TAG memory 1
11 holds the set orientations of a plurality of originals. That is, 2401 is for the original of the first page,
Reference numeral 402 denotes the second-page original document orientation, 2403 denotes the third-page original document orientation, 2404 denotes the fourth-page original document orientation, 2405 denotes the fifth-page original document orientation,
2406 is for the 6th page original, and 2407 is 7
2408
Is for the (n-1) th page original, and 2408 is for the nth page original.

Here, a characteristic feature is that the image signals held in the hard disk 110 and the orientations of the originals held in the TAG memory are stored in the same order in a one-to-one correspondence. Each document orientation of the TAG memory in FIG. 14 is composed of 16 bits and is held as shown in FIG. 15, and holds the determination results from the first candidate to the fourth candidate.

That is, in 16 bits, bit2 to bi
t0 is the determination result of the first candidate, bit1-0 represents the orientation of the document in the vertical and horizontal directions, 00: upward, 01: rightward,
10 indicates downward, 11 indicates left, and bit2 is a portion that holds whether the document is in vertical writing or horizontal writing. If 1 is horizontal writing, 1 is vertical writing. Similarly, bit5
~ Bit3 is the determination result of the second candidate, and bit4-3
Represents the orientation of the original document vertically, horizontally, 00: upward, 01: rightward, 10: downward, 11: leftward, and bit5 is a portion for holding whether the original is in vertical writing or horizontal writing, and if 1 is horizontal writing, If 1, it means vertical writing. bit8 ~
bit6 is the determination result of the third candidate, bit7-6 represents the orientation of the original document in the vertical and horizontal directions, 00: upward, 01; rightward, 10; downward, 11; It is a portion to be held, and if it is 1, it is written horizontally, and if it is 1, it is written vertically.

Bits 11 to 9 are the determination results of the first candidate, and bit 10-9 represents the orientation of the original document in the upper, lower, left, and right directions, 00: upward, 01: rightward, 10: downward, 1
1; indicates leftward, and bit 11 is a portion for holding whether the document is in vertical writing or horizontal writing. If 1 is horizontal writing, 1 is vertical writing.

Further, the bits 13-12 indicate the range up to which the nth candidate is effective. Depending on the value of bits 13-12, 00: valid up to the first candidate, 01: valid up to the second candidate, 10: valid up to the third candidate, 11: valid up to the fourth candidate.

Bit 14 is a spare part, and is the highest b.
it15 is a bit for parity check.

A characteristic feature is that the hard disk 110 and the TAG memory have a one-to-one correspondence, and the CPU of the TAG memory does not need to access a large address space on the hard disk. Accessing a small address will suffice, which contributes to improving the productivity of the device.

[General Description of Apparatus] FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a color copying machine according to the present invention. In FIG. 9, 900 is an automatic document feeder (DF), which automatically prints a plurality of originals. It is possible to feed the sheets one by one and sequentially set the front and back sides of each original on the original table. Since its specific configuration is already known, detailed description is omitted.

In FIG. 9, a plurality of originals 902 to be read are placed on the DF 900. The manuscript is D
The sheets are fed one by one by the F900 and placed on the document table 901. A document 902 on the platen 901 is illuminated by a light 903.
The image is formed on the CCD 908 by the optical system 907 through the mirrors 904, 905 and 906. Further, by the motor 909, the mirror 904 and the illumination 9
The first mirror unit 910 including 03 is mechanically driven at a speed V, and the second mirror unit 911 including mirrors 905 and 906 is driven at a speed V / 2 to generate an original 902.
Is scanned over the entire surface.

Reference numeral 912 denotes an image processing circuit section, which processes the read image information as an electric signal, temporarily holds it in the image memory, and outputs it as a print signal.

The print signal output from the image processing circuit unit 912 is sent to a laser driver (not shown) to drive four semiconductor lasers (not shown).

A polygon mirror 913 receives four laser beams emitted from four semiconductor lasers (not shown). One of them is mirror 914,915,91
6 to scan the photosensitive drum 917, the next one scans the photosensitive drum 921 via the mirrors 918, 919, 920, the next one scans the photosensitive drum 925 via the mirrors 922, 923, 924, The next one is the mirror 926,9
The photosensitive drum 929 is scanned after passing through 27 and 928.

On the other hand, reference numeral 930 is a developing device for supplying yellow (Y) toner, which is responsive to laser light to the photosensitive drum 9
17 is a developing device that forms a yellow toner image, and 931 is a developing device that supplies toner of magenta (M) toner, and forms a magenta toner image on the photosensitive drum 921 according to the laser beam. ) Is a developing device that supplies toner, and forms a cyan toner image on the photosensitive drum 925 according to the laser beam.
k) is a developing device that supplies toner, and forms a black toner image on the photosensitive drum 929 according to the laser beam.

As described above, the toner images of four colors (Y, M, C, Bk) are transferred onto the paper, and a full-color output image can be obtained. It is a developing device to supply, according to the laser light,
The sheet fed by the sheer sheet cassette 934, 935 or the manual feed tray 936 onto the photosensitive drum 925 is adsorbed on the transfer belt 938 via the registration roller 937 and conveyed. The photosensitive drums 917, 921, 925, and 929 are synchronized in advance with the paper feed timing.
Toners of respective colors have been developed, and the toner is transferred to the paper as the paper is conveyed.

The sheet to which the toners of the respective colors have been transferred is separated and conveyed by the conveying belt 939, the toner is fixed on the sheet by the fixing device 940, and in the case of single-sided copying, the sheet is discharged to the sorter / stapler 941. In the case of copying, the paper is discharged to the double-sided path 942.

In the case of double-sided copying, the sheet discharged from the fixing device 240 to the double-sided path 942 is reversed by the reversing path 943, and is held on the double-sided tray 945 via the transport section 944. The sheet held in the double-sided tray 945 is fed again, and the registration roller 93 is used to form an image on the back side.
After passing 7, the toner is adsorbed on the transfer belt 938 and conveyed.

Similar to the front side, the photosensitive drums 917, 921, 925, and 9 are preliminarily synchronized with the timing of paper feeding.
Toners 29 of the respective colors are developed on the sheet 29, and as the sheet is conveyed, the sheet is separated after the toner is transferred to the sheet.
The sheet is conveyed by the conveyor belt 939, and the fixing device 940.
Then, the toner is fixed on the sheet, and the sheet is discharged to the sorter / stapler 941 in the same manner as the one-sided copy.

The sorter / stapler 241 can perform collation and stapling of ejected copies. Since the specific configuration is already known, the description thereof will be omitted.

Reference numeral 946 denotes an operation unit, which is equivalent to the operation unit 400 of the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

[Flow of Image Signal] FIG. 10 shows the flow of the image signal.

Reference numeral 908 is a CCD sensor, and the read images are red (R), green (G), and blue (B).
Are output as digital signals for each of the three color components.

A masking circuit 1012 converts the input (R0, G0, B0) signal into a standard (R, G, B) signal by the operation of the following equation.

However, cij (i = 1, 2, 3, j = 1,
2, 3) are constants peculiar to the apparatus in consideration of various characteristics such as the sensitivity characteristic of the CCD sensor / spectral characteristic of the illumination lamp.

Reference numeral 1004 denotes a brightness / density conversion unit, which is RA
It is composed of a lookup table of M or ROM, and calculation is performed as in the following equation.

An output masking / UCR circuit portion 106 is a portion for converting the M1, C1, Y1 signals into Y, M, C, Bk signals which are toner colors of the image forming apparatus, and is calculated by the following equation. It

However, aij (i = 1, 2, 3, 4, j =
1, 2, 3, 4) are device-specific constants in consideration of various tint characteristics of the toner. Further, Bk1 = min (C1, M
1, Y1) (4) Based on the above equations (1), (2) and (3), C1, M1 and Y based on R, G and B signals read by the CCD sensor.
1, Bk1 are C, M based on the spectral distribution characteristics of the toner,
The Y and Bk signals are corrected and output.

On the other hand, 1005 is a character / line drawing detection circuit, which is a character / line drawing detection circuit for judging whether or not each pixel in the original image is a part of a character or a line drawing and for generating a judgment signal TEXT. Reference numeral 107 denotes a compression / expansion circuit, which is an image signal (R, G, B) and a character / line drawing determination signal TEXT.
Are stored in the memory 108 after being compressed and the amount of information is reduced, and the image signals (R, G, B) and the character / line drawing determination signal T are stored according to the data read from the memory 108.
This is to extend EXT. The image compression / expansion circuit is well known and will not be described here.

The image signal read by the CCD 908 is
After passing through the masking circuit 1012 and the brightness / density conversion unit 1004, the data is written in the memory 1008 after being compressed by the compression / expansion circuit. Further, the character / line drawing determination signal TEXT determined by the character / line drawing determination circuit 1005 is also written in the memory 1008 after being compressed by the compression / expansion circuit. 100
In 8, a series of image signals of a plurality of pages is written.

Reference numeral 1009 denotes an original orientation detecting means equivalent to 106, which detects the orientation of the read original, that is, whether the original is placed vertically or horizontally and whether the original is vertically or horizontally written. And output the result,
The result is written in the TAG memory 1010 similar to.
As in the first embodiment, the image signal held in the image memory 1008 and the detection information held in the TAG memory 1010 have a one-to-one correspondence for each page.

A memory controller 1010 reads the detection result detected by the document orientation detecting means from the TAG memory 1010 as in the first embodiment, or according to the orientation and character arrangement of the document designated by the operation unit 956. Controls the layout of an image when writing an image signal in the image memory. That is, by controlling the initial value and up / down of the address counter at the time of image writing, the writing position and the transposition are controlled.

Further, the data read from the memory 1008 is expanded by the compression / expansion circuit 1007, sent in accordance with the image forming timing of the copying machine, and the P (not shown)
It is sent to the laser driver through the WM circuit. The timing chart is shown in FIG.

In FIG. 11, the image read by the CCD 908 is written in the memory 108 at the timing indicated by 1101. Further, the image data written in the memory 108 is 1102, 1103, 11
It is read at the timings indicated by 04 and 1105. The timing relationships shown by 1102, 1103, 1104 and 1105 are read out at time d / v intervals as shown in the figure. Here, d is an interval between four drums arranged at equal intervals, and v is a speed of the sheet conveyed by the conveyor belt.

[Document Orientation Detecting Means] FIG. 13 shows a block diagram of the document orientation detecting means 1009.

R which is an image signal based on the read original
The GB signal is held in the memory unit 1302 after the ND (monochrome), thinning, and digitized information amount is sufficiently reduced by the thinning circuit 1301. Next, the memory 13
The CPU 1303 accesses the image information stored in 02 to determine the orientation of the document and whether to write vertically or horizontally. The specific determination method is the same as that of the embodiment of the copying machine, and the description thereof is omitted.

[Character / Line Drawing Judgment Circuit] Since this kind of circuit is well known, its explanation is omitted.

[Example of Reduced Layout Duplex Control] Since the description has been given with reference to FIG. 12 in the description of the embodiment of the copying machine,
A description of this will be omitted.

Depending on the orientation of the document detected by the document orientation detecting means and the vertical writing / horizontal writing, the layout and the binding margin stapler are controlled as follows.

That is, in FIG. 3, 301, 302, 3
Denoted at 03, 304, ... are a plurality of horizontally written originals, and when these are set in the orientation shown in the automatic document feeder (DF), the front is 305 and the back is 306. Is laid out, a binding margin is added, and a desired position is stapled to make a copy.
In the figure, "1", "2", "3", "4", ...
“8” corresponds to the order of the originals, that is, the pages of the originals. This is the above-mentioned conventional example (1201, 1202, 12 in FIG. 12).
03, 1204, 1205, 1206).

On the other hand, 307, 308, 309, 310,
Is a plurality of vertically written originals placed upward, and when these are set in the original orientation device (DF) in the direction shown in the figure, the front side is like 311 and the back side is like 312. A copy is laid out, a binding margin is added, and a desired position is stapled.

Similarly, left-sided vertical writing originals 313, 314,
In the case of 315 and 316, the front side is laid out like 317, the back side is laid out like 318, a binding margin is added, and a desired position is stapled to make a copy.
In the case of left-sided horizontal writing originals 319, 320, 321, 322, the front side is laid out like 323, the back side is laid out like 324, a binding margin is added, and a desired position is stapled to make a copy.

In the case of a combination not shown in the drawing, for example, in the case of a downward document or the like, although the explanation is omitted, the layout, the binding margin staple, and the like are similarly controlled.

[0101]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, image input means for inputting image signals of a plurality of pages, image forming means for forming the image signals on a medium, and the image. Forming means, a control means for controlling image formation,
An original orientation determination unit that determines the indefinite period when the plurality of originals are placed and outputs a determination result corresponding to the original, and a unit that changes the determination time in the determination unit, Since the above is output, it is possible to obtain the effect that the orientation of the document can be detected according to the operator's request.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an image processing unit of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a controller unit of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an operation panel of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of reduced layout double-sided control.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the principle of detecting the orientation of a document.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the principle of detecting the orientation of a document.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the principle of detecting the orientation of a document.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a controller unit of the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a timing chart of the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of reduced layout double-sided control.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a document orientation detecting unit of the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is an address map of a hard disk and a TAG memory.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a data format stored in a TAG memory.

[Explanation of symbols]

106 document orientation detecting means 107 memory control unit 110 hard disk 111 TAG memory 200 Automatic document feeder (DF) 232 Staple Sorter 306 Image processing unit 400 operation panel

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F term (reference) 2H027 DA38 DB10 ED29 FA24 FB05                       FB11 FD01 FD08 ZA07                 2H076 BA87 EA01 EA21                 5C072 AA05 BA20 RA04 RA05 RA06                       UA08 UA11 UA18 XA01 XA04

Claims (16)

[Claims] 1. An image input unit for inputting image signals of a plurality of pages, an image forming unit for forming an image of the image signals on a medium, a control unit for controlling image formation of the image forming unit, and the plurality of units. A document orientation determining unit that determines the orientation of the document and outputs a determination result corresponding to the document, and a unit that changes the determination time in the determination unit, and outputs the determination result based on the determination time. An image forming apparatus characterized by the above. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the input unit optically inputs document image data and converts the image data into an electric signal. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the document orientation determining unit determines whether the document is placed vertically, horizontally or horizontally. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the document orientation determination unit determines whether the document is a vertical document or a horizontal document. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination time can be changed by selection by an operator. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the elapse of the determination time is given by a predetermined measuring unit. 7. The measuring means starts measuring the elapsed time after the judging means starts the judging processing, and the processing of the judging means continues at the time when the time is measured until the judging time elapses. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the processing is aborted if it is. 8. The image output means is an image output means for outputting images on both sides of a medium, and the control means controls the orientation of an image output on the medium. Image forming apparatus. 9. The image output means is an image output means for laying out and outputting a plurality of images on one medium, and the control means controls the layout order of the images to be output on the medium. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus. 10. The image output means is an image output means for outputting an image with a binding margin on a medium, and the control means controls the position of the binding margin on the medium. The image forming apparatus according to item 1. 11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image output unit is an image output unit that staples a medium, and the control unit controls a staple position on the medium. 12. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a document automatic feeding unit for automatically feeding a plurality of documents. 13. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the memory means for temporarily holding the image signal reads the held image signal and forms an image on the medium. 14. A means for compressing an image signal, a means for expanding a compressed image signal, a plurality of image signals compressed by the compression means, held in the memory means, and read from the memory means. 14. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an image is formed by the image forming unit after the compressed image signal is expanded by the expanding unit. 15. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image formation is full-color image formation. 16. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image formation is monochrome image formation.