JP2004328444A - Image processor and method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processor and a method capable of switching color copy and monochrome copy according to user's needs to an original judged as a monochrome original or a color original. <P>SOLUTION: The image processor is provided with a reading means 3 for reading the original and acquiring image data, a judgment means 1 for judging whether the original is the monochrome original or the color original based on the image data obtained by the reading means, an output means for outputting this judgment result and a changing means 2 for changing the judgment result outputted by the output means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and method applied to a color copying machine.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-268379 discloses this type of image processing apparatus. This apparatus has an ACS (Automatic Color Select) determination function for automatically determining the type of a document such as a color document or a monochrome document, and a function for changing conditions for the ACS determination. Further, there is also known a copying machine which performs copying by designating either color copying or monochrome copying of a document without determining the type of the document.
[0003]
The function of automatically determining the type of a document includes a method that has one determination value as an ACS determination condition and determines that the document is a monochrome document or a color document. This determination value is composed of the number of continuous color pixels in the image data of the document, the number of color pixels in an arbitrary area, and the like. In addition, there is a method that has two determination values as ACS determination conditions and determines that a document is one of a monochrome document, a color document, and an intermediate document between them.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the above technique, when it is determined that a document is a monochrome document or a color document based on one determination value, the document is copied in monochrome or color according to the determination result. However, in this case, when the original has few color portions, it is determined that the original is a monochrome original, and the original may be copied in monochrome that does not meet the user's desire.
[0005]
On the other hand, when determining whether a document is a monochrome document, a color document, or an intermediate document based on the two determination values, whether to copy in monochrome or color only for the document determined as the intermediate document is determined. There is known a method that can be manually specified by a user. In this case, the user cannot specify whether to copy a monochrome document or a color document in monochrome or color. However, some documents, such as a document with underlines and color characters, are determined to be a color document, but some users want to treat it as a monochrome document and copy in monochrome to reduce the copy cost.
[0006]
As described above, in the conventional example, the mechanism for switching between color copying and monochrome copying for a document determined to be a monochrome document or a color document in accordance with the needs of the user is insufficient, and does not meet the needs of the user. There was something.
[0007]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an image processing apparatus and method capable of switching between color copying and monochrome copying of a document determined to be a monochrome document or a color document according to the needs of the user.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the problem and achieve the object, an image processing apparatus and method according to the present invention are configured as follows.
[0009]
The image processing apparatus according to the present invention reads a document and obtains image data, and determines whether the document is a monochrome document or a color document based on the image data obtained by the reading device. Means, output means for outputting the determination result, and changing means for changing the determination result output by the output means.
[0010]
The image processing method of the present invention reads a document, acquires image data, determines whether the document is a monochrome document or a color document based on the image data, and outputs a result of the determination. The output judgment result can be changed.
[0011]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0012]
(First Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image processing apparatus applied to a color copying machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The color copying machine has an electronic sorting function of reading a plurality of originals and performing a copying process.
[0013]
In FIG. 1, a control panel 1 (control panel) 2, a scanner 3, a monochrome / color image processing section 4, a storage section 5, a print image processing section 6, and a printer 7 are connected to the control section 1. The scanner 3 is connected to a storage unit 5 via a monochrome / color image processing unit 4. The storage unit 5 is connected to the printer 7 via the print image processing unit 4.
[0014]
The control unit 1 includes a CPU. The control panel 2 has a display unit 21 composed of a liquid crystal touch panel and an operation unit (not shown). The monochrome / color image processing section 4 is formed of an ASIC. The scanner 3 comprises a color CCD. The scanner 3 includes a document feeder, and can process a plurality of documents at a time.
[0015]
FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure of the image processing apparatus having the above-described configuration. In this flowchart, an ACS determination process is performed on the read image data of each document, and a determination result of a document determined as a color document is displayed and can be changed. This operation is performed under the control of the control unit 1.
[0016]
In step S <b> 1, the scanner 3 sequentially performs pre-scanning (reading) on a plurality of originals set by the user, and outputs each obtained image data to the monochrome / color image processing unit 4. In step S2, the monochrome / color image processing unit 4 performs an ACS determination on each image data, and outputs the determination results to the control unit 1 and the storage unit 5. Further, the monochrome / color image processing section 4 outputs each image data to the storage section 5.
[0017]
If the result of the ACS determination is a monochrome document in step S3, the control unit 1 sets the document type of the document to monochrome in the print image processing unit 6 in step S4. Next, in step S5, the print image processing unit 6 performs image processing for monochrome copying on the image data.
[0018]
In step S3, if the result of the ACS determination is a color document, in step S6, the control unit 1 displays on the display unit 21 of the control panel 2 that the determination result of the document is a color document as described later. In step S7, when the user instructs the display unit 21 of the control panel 2 to change the determination result, the control unit 1 changes the determination result to a monochrome original. In step S4, the control unit 1 sets the document type of the document to monochrome for the image processing unit 6 for printing. Next, in step S5, the print image processing unit 6 performs image processing for monochrome copying on the image data.
[0019]
In step S7, if the user does not instruct the determination result on the display unit 21 of the control panel 2, the determination result is not changed. Then, in step S8, the print image processing unit 6 sets the document type to color. Next, in step S9, the print image processing unit 6 performs color copy image processing on the image data.
[0020]
Thereafter, each image data is output from the print image processing unit 6 to the printer 7, and the printer 7 performs monochrome or color copying of each document.
[0021]
3 and 4 are diagrams showing display examples on the display unit 21 of the control panel 2. FIG. This display is performed in step S6. In the display example shown in FIG. 3, a list of, for example, 20 originals that have been prescanned can be displayed.
[0022]
In FIG. 3, the fact that all the results of the ACS determination for four documents are “COLOR” (color document) is highlighted. Other documents can be displayed by touching the arrow keys 31 and performing a scroll operation. When the user touches the corresponding “MONO” (monochrome original) display in the list, and the user wants to change the determination result to a monochrome original, the “MONO” is highlighted and the adjacent “COLOR” is not highlighted. Display.
[0023]
In this way, the result of the ACS determination is displayed for each pre-scanned document, and the user can change the determination result for the document determined to be a color document.
[0024]
In the display example of FIG. 4, information on, for example, 20 originals that have been prescanned can be displayed. In FIG. 4, the fact that the result of the ACS determination for one document is “COLOR” (color document) is highlighted. Other documents can be sequentially displayed by the user touching and operating the “PRE” key 41 or the “NEXT” key 42. When a user wants to change the determination result to a monochrome document during the display, when the user touches “MONO” (monochrome document), the “MONO” is highlighted and the adjacent “COLOR” is not highlighted. . Further, in FIG. 4, since a preview is displayed for the one document, a color portion and a monochrome portion in the document can be confirmed.
[0025]
By displaying a preview of each prescanned document in this way, the user can accurately determine whether the document should be copied in color or monochrome.
[0026]
In the above-described flowchart, only the document determined to be a color document is displayed on the display unit 21 and can be changed. However, depending on the setting, all documents or only the document determined to be a monochrome document can be displayed. In this way, the display / change target can be switched by the setting from the control panel.
[0027]
When the CCD for reading an image in the scanner 3 supports only RGB, after confirming and changing the result of the ACS determination by the user, the image processing corresponding to each document type is performed, and the copying operation is performed. I do. Instead of printing out with the printer 7, the image data can be output to an external device, for example, a personal computer.
[0028]
When the CCD for reading an image in the scanner 3 is a four-line CCD having a monochrome CCD sensor, the type of each document is determined by first performing a document reading operation and performing an ACS determination. Then, the original reading operation is performed again. At this time, based on the previous ACS determination, the CCD sensor is switched to color or monochrome for each document, and each document is read.
[0029]
This makes it possible to perform image processing without deteriorating image quality, without passing through an operation of creating monochrome image data from RGB data. Also, when performing a copying operation or outputting image data to the outside, it is possible to perform an optimal process in the copying machine by using the ACS determination result. Of course, when the above-described 4-line CCD is used, it is also possible to read a monochrome original using an RGB sensor.
[0030]
(Second embodiment)
The configuration of the image processing apparatus according to the second embodiment is the same as that of FIG.
[0031]
FIGS. 5 and 6 are flowcharts showing the operation procedure of the image processing apparatus according to the second embodiment. In these flowcharts, after the result of the ACS determination is printed on a sheet of paper (with a page number addition function), an instruction from the user to change the determination result is received from the control panel. This operation is performed under the control of the control unit 1.
[0032]
In step S11 of FIG. 5, the scanner 3 performs pre-scanning (reading) on the document, and outputs the image data to the monochrome / color image processing unit 4. In step S12, the monochrome / color image processing unit 4 performs an ACS determination on the image data, and outputs the determination result to the control unit 1 and the storage unit 5. Further, the monochrome / color image processing section 4 outputs the image data to the storage section 5.
[0033]
If the result of the ACS determination is a monochrome document in step S13, the control unit 1 determines in step S14 that the image data of the print image processing unit 6 includes information indicating that the document has been determined to be a monochrome document, and information of the document. Add a page number. If the result of the ACS determination is a color original in step S13, the control unit 1 determines in step S15 that the image data of the print image processing unit 6 includes information indicating that the original is determined to be a color original and the original. Page number.
[0034]
Next, in step S16, the print image processing unit 6 creates preview image data from the image data, the determination information (monochrome original or color original), and the page number, and outputs the preview image data to the printer 7. In step S17, the printer 7 outputs a printed matter including a preview image of each document.
[0035]
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a printed matter output from the printer 7. In FIG. 7, the preview of each document is printed in monochrome or color, whether the document is a monochrome document or a color document is printed, and the page number of each document is printed.
[0036]
Next, in step S21 of FIG. 6, the control unit 1 displays on the display unit 21 of the control panel 2 that the determination result of each document is a color document or a monochrome document as shown in FIGS. . In step S22, when the user instructs to change the determination result on the display unit 21 of the control panel 2, the control unit 1 appropriately changes the determination result. In step S23, the printing image processing unit 6 performs image processing for monochrome copying or color copying on each image data based on the information of the determination result from the control unit 1, and outputs the image data to the printer. 7 is output. In step S24, monochrome or color copying of each document is performed by the printer 7.
[0037]
In this way, by printing out the result of the ACS determination, the user can easily change the determination result from the control panel while viewing the preview of each document and the printed matter with the page number added.
[0038]
The image processing apparatus according to each of the above embodiments can be applied to a copying machine having an electronic sorting function for reading a plurality of documents at a time and performing a copying operation, or a multifunction machine having means for taking in image data and outputting it to the outside. Then, by adopting a process of changing the ACS determination result with respect to the method of directly applying the result of the ACS determination to the output image, it is possible to provide a copying machine or the like that is highly convenient for the user. In addition, by switching the image processing method for each document to an optimum method in the apparatus, it is possible to improve the quality of an output product.
[0039]
Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and can be appropriately modified and implemented without changing the gist.
[0040]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image processing apparatus and method capable of switching between color copying and monochrome copying for a document determined to be a monochrome document or a color document according to the needs of the user.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image processing apparatus applied to a color copying machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure of the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a display example on a display unit of the control panel according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a view showing a display example on a display unit of the control panel according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the image processing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure of the image processing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a view showing an example of a printed matter output from a printer according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Control part 2 ... Control panel 21 ... Display part 3 ... Scanner 4 ... Monochrome / color image processing part 5 ... Storage part 6 ... Print image processing part 7 ... Printer 31 ... Arrow key 41 ... "PRE" key 42 ... "NEXT""Key

Claims (5)

Reading means for reading a document and obtaining image data;
Determining means for determining whether the document is a monochrome document or a color document based on the image data obtained by the reading unit;
Output means for outputting the determination result;
Changing means for changing the determination result output by the output means;
An image processing apparatus comprising: 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reading unit processes a plurality of documents collectively. 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output unit and the change unit include the same display unit. 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output unit includes a printer, and the change unit includes a display unit. Scan the original, get the image data,
Based on this image data, determine whether the original is a monochrome original or a color original,
Output this judgment result,
An image processing method characterized in that the output determination result can be changed.

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