JP2007034040A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a glossy image by determining the necessity of the use of transparent toner in a non-character area and using the transparent toner only for desired images, in such a case that all images in an area determined to be a non-character area do not need to be glossy but images of, for example, a graph or diagram attached to a material for presentation needs to be non-glossy. <P>SOLUTION: When a document in which requirement of high image quality printing is forecast is scanned, original image information is automatically stored into a main body or the hard disk of a net work without making a user conscious of it. This makes it possible to provide high image quality printing in which image deterioration due to a generation copy from that time onwards is prevented. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a high-quality MFP having a transparent toner.

  Conventional MFP with transparent toner determines the image area of the scanned image as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-265287, and uses a transparent toner only for the non-character area, providing a glossy image only for the non-character area. Has been.

As a conventional example, for example, Patent Document 1 can be cited.
JP-A-5-265287

  However, it is not always desirable to have a glossy image for all the images determined to be non-characters. For example, a non-glossy image is desired in a graph or drawing of a presentation material. It is a problem to determine whether or not transparent toner is used in the character area, and to provide a glossy image using the transparent toner only for a desired image.

  According to the present invention, the above-mentioned problems are solved by taking the following means.

  Image reading means for reading an image, separation means for separating an image read by the reading means into a character area and a non-character area, a photographic image determination means for determining whether the non-character area separated by the separation means is further a photographic image, Whether or not transparent toner is used in the non-character area by enabling the gloss means for adding gloss to the non-character area determined to have a photographic image quality when the photo image determining means determines that the image is a photographic image Therefore, it is possible to provide a glossy image by using a transparent toner only for a desired image.

  By using the image processing of the present invention, it is determined whether the image needs glossiness even in the non-character area, and only the image determined to require glossiness uses a transparent toner to provide a glossy image. It became possible to do.

  Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 2 shows a network system configured according to this embodiment.

  200 in the figure is an Internet communication network. A web server 201 is connected to the Internet 200 and provides a specific service to Internet users. Reference numeral 202 denotes an electronic money server that performs a settlement process between a financial institution and a consumer client. Reference numeral 204 denotes a service provider that performs connection processing between a personal user terminal and the Internet 200. A firewall 203 connects the inside of the LAN 2011 shown below and an external communication network (Internet 200), and performs security management and the like. Reference numeral 210 denotes the device management servers 211 to 214 and 220 connected via the LAN 2011. Reference numeral 211 denotes a file server, which allows a plurality of users connected via a LAN to share data.

  An image forming apparatus 220 such as a digital copying machine mainly has an image input / output function. In this image forming apparatus 220, 140 is an operation unit for a user to perform various operations, 10 is an image scanner for reading an image in accordance with instructions from the operation unit 140 and the personal computers 212 and 213, and 20 is a personal computer 212 and 213. Or a printer that prints data from the file server 211 on paper.

  A controller unit 30 controls input / output of image data to the scanner 10 and the printer 20 based on instructions from the operation unit 140 and the personal computers 212 and 213. For example, control is performed such that image data captured by the scanner 10 is stored in a memory inside the controller, output to the personal computers 212 and 213, or printed by the printer 20. A printer 214 can print image data from the personal computers 212 and 213 and the file server 211 on a recording medium. 212 and 213 are personal computers connected as terminal devices. Information provided from the web server 201 can be browsed via the Internet 200, and image data can be output to the image forming apparatus 220 and the printer 214.

  In the above configuration, the LAN 2011 is connected to the Internet through the firewall 203, but a configuration in which a firewall is connected through the service provider 204 may be used.

  The appearance of the image processing apparatus of the present invention is shown in FIG.

  The scanner unit 10 as an image input device irradiates a document image with a lamp, reads it with a CCD line sensor (not shown), and converts it into an electrical signal to process it as image data. The original paper is set on the original feeder 142, and when the apparatus user gives a reading start instruction from the operation unit 140, the feeder 2072 feeds the original paper one by one and performs an original image reading operation.

  The printer unit 20, which is an image output device, is a part that converts image data into an image on paper. In the specification of this patent, an electrophotographic method using a photosensitive drum or a photosensitive belt will be described. An ink jet system that prints an image directly on a sheet by ejecting ink from a minute nozzle array may be used. The activation of the printing operation is started by an instruction from a controller (described later) inside the apparatus. The printer unit 20 has a plurality of paper feed stages so that different paper sizes or different paper orientations can be selected, and has paper cassettes 2101, 2102, 2103, 2104 corresponding thereto. Further, the paper on which the image is formed is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 132.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the PWM unit and the laser generation unit of the image forming apparatus of the present invention. Details of the operation will be described with reference to the drawings.

  In PWM, multi-valued image data separated into five colors, yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), black (K), and transparent (T), input from the controller, Images are formed through the sections. Reference numeral 801 denotes a triangular wave generator, and 802 denotes a D / A converter (D / A converter) that converts an input digital image signal into an analog signal. The signal from the triangular wave generator 801 and the signal from the D / A converter 802 are compared in magnitude by the comparator 803, and are sent to the laser driver 804 as shown in FIG. 16c. The laser beam is converted into a laser beam by each YMCKT laser oscillator 805.

  The polygon scanner 913 scans the respective laser beams and irradiates the respective photosensitive drums 917, 921, 925, 929, and 933.

  FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration in which the image forming apparatus of the present invention is applied to a 5-drum type color MFP. Details of the operation will be described with reference to the drawings.

  Reference numeral 913 denotes a polygon mirror which receives five laser beams emitted from five semiconductor laser oscillators 805. One of them scans the photosensitive drum 917 through the mirrors 914, 915, 916, the next one scans the photosensitive drum 921 through the mirrors 918, 919, 920, and the next one is 922, Scan the photosensitive drum 925 through 923, 924, scan the photosensitive drum 929 through the next one through 926, 927, 928, and scan the photosensitive drum 933 through the 930, 931, 932 through the next one. Scan.

  On the other hand, 938 is a developing device that supplies yellow (Y) toner, forms a yellow toner image on the photosensitive drum 917 in accordance with the laser beam, and 939 is a developing device that supplies magenta (M) toner. According to the laser beam, a magenta toner image is formed on the photosensitive drum 921, and 940 is a developing unit that supplies cyan (C) toner. According to the laser beam, a cyan toner image is formed on the photosensitive drum 925. , 941 is a developing device that supplies black (K) toner, forms a black toner image on the photosensitive drum 929 in accordance with the laser beam, and 942 is a developing device that supplies transparent (T) toner, According to the laser beam, a transparent toner image is formed on the photosensitive drum 933. The toner images of the above five colors (Y, M, C, K, T) are transferred to the sheet, and a full color output image can be obtained.

  The sheet supplied from any of the sheet cassettes 944 and 945 and the manual feed tray 946 passes through the registration roller 947 and is sucked onto the transfer belt 948 and conveyed. In synchronism with the timing of paper feeding, toner of each color is developed in advance on the photosensitive drums 917, 921, 925, 929, and 933, and the toner is transferred to the sheet as the sheet is conveyed. The sheet on which the toner of each color is transferred is separated and conveyed by the conveyance belt 949, and the toner is fixed to the sheet by the fixing device 950. The sheet that has passed through the fixing device 950 is once guided downward by a flapper 953, and after the trailing edge of the sheet has passed through the flapper 953, the sheet is switched back and discharged. As a result, the sheets are discharged in a face-down state, and are in the correct order when printed in order from the first page.

  The five photosensitive drums 917, 921, 925, 929, and 933 are arranged at equal intervals with a distance d, and the sheet is conveyed at a constant speed v by the conveying belt 949. As a result, the five semiconductor lasers 805 are driven.

  The configuration of the operation unit 140 is shown in FIG. The LCD display unit 1032 has a touch panel sheet affixed on the LCD, displays a system operation screen, and transmits position information to the controller unit 30 when a displayed key is pressed. This will be described later with reference to FIG. The numeric keypad 1028 is used to enter numbers such as the number of copies. A start key 1029 is used when starting a document image reading operation. A stop key 1030 is used to stop an operation in progress. A reset key 1031 is used when initializing settings from the operation unit.

  Reference numeral 1023 denotes a guide key. When the key is not understood, an explanation of the key is displayed. 1024 is a copy mode key which is pressed when copying. Reference numeral 1025 denotes a fax key, which is pressed to make settings related to fax. 1026 is a file key which is pressed when outputting file data. Reference numeral 1027 denotes a printer key, which is used to make settings relating to print output from an external device such as a computer.

  Reference numeral 1031 denotes a voice guide key. When performing voice guidance, the key can be pressed to make a setting, and when setting is turned off, the setting can be canceled by pressing again.

  A speaker 501 outputs a voice guide through the speaker. 502 is a handset that can be used to input voice and listen to voice guides.

  FIG. 6 is a basic screen displayed on the LCD display unit of the operation panel 140.

  Reference numeral 1001 denotes an extended function key. When this key is pressed, a mode such as double-sided copying, multiple copying, movement, binding margin setting, and frame erasing setting is entered. An image mode key 1002 enters a setting mode for shading, shadowing, trimming, and masking a copy image. Reference numeral 1003 denotes a user mode key, which can register a mode memory and set a standard mode screen for each user. Reference numeral 1004 denotes an applied zoom key, which enters a mode for independently scaling the X and Y directions of a document, and a zoom program mode for calculating a scaling factor from the document size and copy size. Reference numerals 1005, 1006, and 1007 denote an M1 key, an M2 key, and an M3 key, which are pressed when calling each mode memory. Reference numeral 1008 denotes a call key, which is pressed to call the copy mode that was previously set. An option key 1009 sets an optional function such as a film projector for copying directly from the film. Reference numeral 1010 denotes a sorter key for setting modes such as sort output and group output. Reference numeral 1011 denotes a mixed document key, which is pressed when setting A4 size and A3 size or B5 size and B4 size documents together in the document feeder. 1012 is an equal magnification key, which is pressed to set the copy magnification to 100%. Reference numerals 1014 and 1015 denote a reduction key and an enlargement key, respectively, which are pressed to reduce or enlarge the standard size. Reference numeral 1016 denotes a zoom key, which is pressed when performing non-standard reduction or enlargement in increments of 1%. A paper selection key 1013 is pressed when selecting a copy paper. 1018 and 1020 are density keys, and each time 1018 is pressed, a dark copy is made, and every time 1020 is pressed, a light copy is made. 1017 is a density display, and when the density key is pressed, the display changes to the left and right. Reference numeral 1019 denotes an AE key, which is pressed when a document having a dark background such as a newspaper is copied for automatic density adjustment. Reference numeral 1021 denotes a HiFi key, which is pressed when copying a document having a high halftone density such as a photographic document. Reference numeral 1022 denotes a character emphasis key which is pressed when it is desired to make a character stand out when copying a character original.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating configurations of the scanner 10 and the printer 20 in the image forming apparatus.

  751 is a CPU that controls the entire scanner 10, and sequentially reads and executes a program from a read-only memory 753 (ROM) that stores a control program. The CPU address bus and data bus are connected to each load via a circuit including a bus driver and an address decoder 752. In addition, it is connected to the CPU of the controller unit 30 for communication.

  Reference numeral 754 denotes a random access memory (RAM) as a main storage device used for storing input data, a working storage area, and the like. 755 is an I / O interface. Each load of a device such as a motor 756, a lamp 757, and a paper detection sensor 758 for detecting the transported paper is driven. Connected to.

  The image data read by the CCD unit 106 is transferred to the controller 30.

  Next, a CPU 701 controls the printer 20, and sequentially reads and executes a program from a read-only memory 703 (ROM) that stores a control procedure (control program). The address bus and data bus of the CPU 701 are connected to each load through the bus driver circuit and address decoder circuit of 702. Reference numeral 704 denotes a random access memory (RAM) which is a main storage device used for storing input data, a working storage area, and the like. Reference numeral 705 denotes an I / O interface, and motors 707, clutches 708, solenoids 709 for driving a paper feed system, a transport system, and an optical system, and paper detection sensors 710 for detecting the transported paper. Connected to each load of the device. The developing device 118 is provided with a toner residual detection sensor 711 for detecting the amount of toner in the developing device, and its output signal is input to the I / O port 705. Reference numeral 715 denotes a high voltage unit which outputs a high voltage to the above-described primary charger 113, developing device 118, pre-transfer charger 119, transfer charger 127, and separation charger 128 in accordance with instructions from the CPU 701.

  The image signal output from the CCD unit 106 is subjected to image processing, which will be described later, by the controller unit 30 and outputs control signals for 117 laser units according to the image data. The laser light output from the laser unit 117 irradiates and exposes the photosensitive drum 110, and the light emission state is detected by the beam detection sensor 713 which is a light receiving sensor in the non-image region, and the output signal is output to the I / O port It is input to 705.

  A block diagram of the controller unit is shown in FIG. The controller unit 30 is connected to the scanner 10 as an image input device and the printer 20 as an image output device. On the other hand, the controller unit 30 is connected to a LAN 2011 or a public line (WAN) 2051 to input / output image information and device information. It is a controller. The CPU 2001 is a controller that controls the entire system. A RAM 2002 is a system work memory for operating the CPU 2002, and is also an image memory for temporarily storing image data. ROM 2003 is a boot ROM, which stores a system boot program. The HDD 2004 is a hard disk drive that stores system software, image data, software counter values, and the like. An operation unit I / F 2006 is an interface unit with the operation unit (UI) 140 and outputs image data to be displayed on the operation unit 140 to the operation unit 140. Also, it plays a role of transmitting information input from the operation unit 140 by the system user to the CPU 2001. Network2010 connects to LAN2011 and inputs / outputs information. A Modem 2050 is connected to the public line 2051 and inputs / outputs information. The voice input / output unit 500 performs control for outputting voice to the speaker, outputting voice to the handset, and inputting voice. The time measurement unit 2200 uses a real-time clock or the like, and measures time as a calendar. The scanner / printer communication I / F is an I / F for communicating with the CPUs of the scanner 10 and the printer 20. The above devices are arranged on the system bus 2007.

  Image Bus I / F2005 is a bus bridge that connects a system bus 2007 and an image bus 2008 that transfers image data at high speed, and converts the data structure. The image bus 2008 is configured by a PCI bus or IEEE1394. The following devices are arranged on the image bus 2008. A raster image processor (RIP) 2060 expands the PDL code into a bitmap image. The device I / F unit 2020 connects the scanner 10 and the printer 20 that are image input / output devices to the controller 30, and performs synchronous / asynchronous conversion of image data. A scanner image processing unit 2080 corrects, processes, and edits input image data. The printer image processing unit performs printer correction, resolution conversion, and the like on the print output image data. The image rotation unit 2030 rotates image data. The image compression unit 2040 performs compression / expansion processing of JPEG for multi-valued image data and JBIG, MMR, and MH for binary image data.

Hereinafter, each block in the controller unit 30 shown in FIG. 8 will be described.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a functional configuration of the scanner image processing unit 2080.

  The image (R, G, B) input from the scanner is frequency-converted by the input I / F unit 7001 according to the clock synchronization of the image processing unit 1064.

  When the scanner is a three-line sensor, there is an interline delay between RGB. In this case, the interline delay correction unit 7002 corrects the delay between the lines of each color.

  A sub-scanning offset correction unit 7003 corrects an offset in the sub-scanning direction due to chromatic aberration of the optical system.

  An image characteristic determination unit 7004 detects the edge of image data based on the type of document, determines the presence or absence of characters or the color of the input image, and stores characteristic information along with RGB image data. Output.

  A gamma correction unit 7005 and a direct mapping processing unit 7006 correct and output image data according to the input characteristics of the scanner. For example, the gamma correction unit 7005 corrects the dynamic range for each color, and the direct mapping processing unit 7006 corrects the color of the scanner.

  The image output from the direct mapping processing unit 7006 is input to the MTF correction unit 7007 and the specific image determination unit 7012. The MTF correction unit 7007 performs arithmetic processing for correcting the numerical aperture and chromatic aberration of the optical system in the main scanning direction.

  The specific image determination unit 7012 determines image data that is prohibited by law from being printed, such as securities, by pattern matching or the like.

  A spatial filter processing unit 7008 performs spatial filter processing such as edge enhancement and smoothing on the input image. The filtering process is adaptively performed according to the determination result of the image characteristic determination unit 7012 described above. For example, when the input image is determined to be a character, the edge is emphasized, and when it is determined to be a continuous tone image such as a photograph, smoothing is performed.

  In addition to obtaining a histogram of the input image, the histogram calculation unit 7009 converts the chromatic RGB input image into an achromatic ND image. In addition, a histogram 1 of an area determined as a non-character by the image area flag generated by the image characteristic determination unit is also created separately.

  A trimming / masking unit 7010 performs processing of a print image area, such as erasing input image data or erasing a book frame.

  The output I / F unit 7011 performs frequency conversion of image data and characteristic information from the scanner image processing clock to the system clock synchronization and outputs the result.

  The configuration of the printer image processing unit 2090 is shown in FIG. Image data RGB (or CMYK) output from the image processing unit 2080 shown in FIG. 9 is input to the printer image processing unit 2090, respectively.

  An input I / F unit 9001 converts the frequency of input image data in accordance with image processing clock synchronization for the printer.

  A background removal and ND conversion unit 9002 skips the background color of the input image data according to the image characteristic information, or converts RGB chromatic data into achromatic ND data.

  A luminance density conversion unit 9003 performs luminance density conversion of input data according to image characteristic information.

  A direct mapping processing unit 9004 converts RGB input data into C / M / Y / K / T color components of the printer engine in accordance with image characteristic information. Further, the use of the transparent toner is determined by using the histogram 1 created by the histogram calculation unit 7009 of the scanner image processing unit 2080, and the determination information is added to the image information. Here, FIG. 17-a1 is an image that is created by software for presentation and is not suitable for using transparent toner. On the other hand, FIG. 17-b1 is a picture of a natural landscape and is suitable for using transparent toner. Since both FIG. 17-a1 and FIG. 17-b1 are determined as non-character areas by the image area determination unit 409, histograms as shown in FIG. 17-a2 and FIG. 17-b2 are respectively generated by the histogram calculation unit 7009. . As a method of determining transparent toner using this histogram, mask up to the area from the darkest part to the part from the brightest area, and determine what percentage of the total number of pixels in the unmasked area Determine whether or not transparent toner is used. FIGS. 18-a and 18-b are obtained by masking the invalid areas of the histograms of FIGS. 17-a2 and 17-b2, respectively. For example, since the number of pixels shown in FIG. 18-a is 60% or less of all the pixels, the transparent toner is not used. On the other hand, since the number of pixels shown in FIG. 18B is 60% or more of all the pixels, the use of the transparent toner is determined such that the transparent toner is used. Here, the threshold for using transparent toner (percentage of all pixels) and the mask area are set from the operation unit 140.

  Reference numeral 9005 denotes an output color selection unit, which selects whether to output a signal subjected to image processing to the subsequent stage, when input data is RGB or CMYK.

  A color balance correction unit 9006 finely adjusts the color of an output image according to image characteristic information.

  Reference numerals 9007 to 9009 denote output gamma correction units that correct the dynamic range and tone curve of the output image. In the present embodiment, three types of gamma corrections A to C are simultaneously performed and output for each color.

  Reference numerals 9010 to 9012 denote halftone processing units that quantize the image data and perform gradation conversion of the output image. In this embodiment, 8-bit data input to the printer image processing unit is converted into 4-bit data. In general, screen processing, error diffusion processing, and the like are widely known as halftone processing methods, but in this embodiment, arbitrary three types of halftone processing are performed for each color.

  Reference numeral 9013 denotes a halftone processing selection unit which selects an optimum processing result for the output image processed by the above-described three types of halftone processing units according to image characteristic information.

  Reference numeral 9014 denotes a smoothing processing unit, which performs pattern matching processing that reduces shakiness of character edges and the like.

  Reference numeral 9015 denotes a specific information adding unit that performs a process of superimposing image information that can specify an output device in output image data.

  Reference numeral 9016 denotes an inter-drum delay control unit that passes through in a 1-drum apparatus, and in an apparatus of 4 or more drums, performs memory control that serves as an inter-drum delay buffer that holds an image until an output request is received from the printer engine. An apparatus having four or more drums has four printer image processing units 2080 shown in FIG. 10 and performs image processing in synchronization with each other.

  An output I / F unit 9017 performs frequency conversion for outputting an image in synchronization with the printer I / F clock.

  The configuration of the image compression unit 2040 is shown in FIG. The image bus I./F controller 2041 is connected to the image bus 2008 to control the bus access sequence, timing control for exchanging data with the input buffer 2042 and the output buffer 2045, and an image compression unit 2043 Control the mode setting for. The processing procedure of the image compression processing unit is shown below.

  Settings for image compression control are performed from the CPU 2001 to the image bus I / F controller 2041 via the image bus 2008. With this setting, the image bus I / F controller 2041 performs settings necessary for image compression (for example, MMR compression and JBIG expansion) for the image compression unit 2043. After making the necessary settings, the CPU 2001 again permits image data transfer to the image bus I / F controller 2041. In accordance with this permission, the image bus I / F controller 2041 starts transferring image data from each device on the RAM 2002 or the image bus 2008. The received image data is temporarily stored in the input buffer 2042, and the image is transferred at a constant speed in response to an image data request from the image compression unit 2043. At this time, the input buffer determines whether image data can be transferred between both the image bus I / F controller 2041 and the image compression unit 2043, reads the image data from the image bus 2008, and reads the image compression unit 2043. When it is impossible to write an image to the image, control is performed so as not to transfer data (hereinafter, such control is referred to as handshaking). The image compression unit 2043 temporarily stores the received image data in the RAM 2044. This is because several lines of data are required depending on the type of image compression processing to be performed, and several lines of image data are prepared in order to compress the first one line. This is because the image cannot be compressed unless it is empty. The image data subjected to the image compression is immediately sent to the output buffer 2045. The output buffer 2045 performs handshaking with the image bus I / F controller 2041 and the image compression unit 2043 and transfers image data to the image bus I / F controller 2041. The image bus I / F controller 2041 transfers the transferred compressed (or expanded) image data to each device on the RAM 2002 or the image bus 2008. This series of processing is repeated until there is no processing request from the CPU 2001 (when the required number of pages has been processed), or until a stop request is issued from this image compression unit (when an error occurs during compression or decompression). It is.

  The configuration of the image rotation unit 2030 is shown in FIG. The image bus I / F controller 2031 is connected to the image bus 2008 to control the bus sequence, control to set a mode or the like in the image rotation unit 2032, and timing to transfer image data to the image rotation unit 2032 Take control. The processing procedure of the image rotation unit is shown below.

  Settings for image rotation control are performed from the CPU 2001 to the image bus I / F controller 2031 via the image bus 2008. With this setting, the image bus I / F controller 2041 performs settings necessary for image rotation (for example, image size, rotation direction, angle, and the like) for the image rotation unit 2032. After making the necessary settings, the CPU 2001 again permits image data transfer to the image bus I / F controller 2041. In accordance with this permission, the image bus I / F controller 2031 starts transfer of image data from each device on the RAM 2002 or the image bus 2008. Here, the size of the image to be rotated is set to 32 × 32 (bit), and the image transfer is performed in units of 32 bits when transferring the image data on the image bus 2008. The image to be handled is assumed to be binary).

As described above, in order to obtain a 32 × 32 (bit) image, it is necessary to perform the above unit data transfer 32 times, and it is necessary to transfer image data from discontinuous addresses. (See Figure 13)
The image data transferred by the discontinuous addressing is written in the RAM 2033 so that it is rotated at a desired angle at the time of reading. For example, if the rotation is 90 degrees counterclockwise, the 32-bit image data transferred first is written in the Y direction as shown in FIG. By reading in the X direction at the time of reading, the image is rotated.

  After the 32 × 32 (bit) image rotation (writing to the RAM 2033) is completed, the image rotation unit 2032 reads the image data from the RAM 2033 by the above-described reading method, and transfers the image to the image bus I / F controller 2031.

  The image bus I / F controller 2031 that has received the rotated image data transfers the data to each device on the RAM 2002 or the image bus 2008 through continuous addressing.

  Such a series of processing is repeated until there is no processing request from the CPU 2001 (when processing of the required number of pages is completed).

  FIG. 15 shows the configuration of the device I / F unit 2020. The image bus I / F controller 2021 is connected to the image bus 2008, and controls the bus access sequence and generates control and timing of each device in the device I / F unit 2020. Further, control signals for the scanner 10 and the printer 20 are generated. The scan buffer 2022 temporarily stores the image data sent from the scanner 10 and outputs the image data in synchronization with the image bus 2008. The serial-parallel / parallel-serial conversion 2023 arranges the image data stored in the scan buffer 2022 in order or decomposes and converts the image data into a data width that can be transferred to the image bus 2008. The parallel-serial / serial-parallel conversion 2024 decomposes the image data transferred from the image bus 2008 or arranges them in order, and converts the image data into a data width that can be stored in the print buffer 2025. The print buffer 2025 temporarily stores the image data sent from the image bus 2008, and outputs the image data in synchronization with the printer 20.

  The processing procedure at the time of image scanning is shown below. The image data sent from the scanner 10 is stored in the scan buffer 2022 in synchronization with the timing signal sent from the scanner 10. If the image bus 2008 is a PCI bus, when image data is 32 bits or more in the buffer, the image data is sent in 32 bits on a first-in first-out basis from the buffer to the serial-parallel / parallel-serial conversion 2023. Is transferred to the image bus 2008 through the image bus I / F controller 2021. If the image bus 2008 is IEEE1394, the image data in the buffer is first-in-first-out, sent from the buffer to the serial-parallel / parallel-serial conversion 2023, converted to serial image data, and then converted to serial image data through the image bus I / F controller 2021. Transfer on 2008.

  The processing procedure at the time of image printing is shown below. When the image bus 2008 is a PCI bus, the 32-bit image data sent from the image bus is received by the image bus I / F controller, sent to the parallel serial / serial / parallel conversion 2024, and the number of input data bits of the printer 20 Are stored in the print buffer 2025. When the image bus 2008 is IEEE1394, the serial image data sent from the image bus is received by the image bus I / F controller, sent to the parallel serial / serial / parallel conversion 2024, and the number of input data bits of the printer 20 is It is converted into image data and stored in the print buffer 2025. Then, in synchronization with the timing signal sent from the printer 20, the image data in the buffer is sent to the printer 20 in a first-in first-out manner.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing details of the voice input / output unit 500.

The voice input / output unit 500 is a circuit that outputs voice data input from the CPU 2001 via the system bus 2007 from the speaker 501 or the handset 502 and voice data input from the handset 502 to the CPU 2001 of the controller unit 30. It consists of a circuit that inputs via the system bus 2007.
Reference numeral 501 denotes a speaker that outputs an analog signal input from the amplifier 528 as a voice. Reference numeral 502 denotes a handset that outputs an audio signal of an analog signal input from the amplifier 527, outputs an analog signal input to the audio to the amplifier 537, and outputs an on-hook / off-hook detection signal of the handset 502 to the register control unit 513. . 511 is a bus I / F control unit that inputs a control signal to the timing control unit 512 to generate read / write timing to the FIFOs 521 and 531, and exchanges audio data between the system bus 2007 and the FIFOs 521 and 531. Do. In addition, the CPU 2001 also performs an interrupt to the CPU 2001 based on the read / write to various registers of the register control unit 513 and the interrupt signal input by the interrupt generation unit 515. Reference numeral 512 denotes a timing control unit that controls read / write timing to the FIFOs 521 and 531 according to a control signal of the bus I / F control unit 511, a control register of the register control unit 513, and a status register. In addition, addresses indicating the write positions and read positions of the FIFOs 521 and 531 are provided as counter registers of the register control unit 513, and count-up control is also performed. 513 is a register controller, bus I / F controller 511, timing controller 512, amplifier ON_OFF controller 514, interrupt generator 515, A / D, D / A controller 516, data converters 522, 524, It includes status registers, control registers, and counter registers used by 532 and 534, the interpolation unit 523, and the thinning-out unit 533, and also controls these registers. As an example of this control, ON / OFF of the status register is switched by the on-hook / off-hook detection signal input from the handset 502, or the status register is set when the counter register indicating the write position and read position of the FIFOs 521 and 531 reaches the FIFO size. Or setting up a status register indicating the end of processing of the voice input / output unit 500. An amplifier ON_OFF control unit 514 performs ON_OFF control of the amplifiers 527, 528, and 537 according to the control register of the register control unit 513. This control register is controlled by the CPU 2001 via the bus I / F control unit 511. In some cases, ON_OFF control is performed by a status register indicating on-hook or off-hook. An interrupt generation unit 515 generates an interrupt signal when the status of the status register of the register control unit 513 changes, and outputs an interrupt signal to the CPU 2001 via the bus I / F control unit 511. Here, examples of generating the interrupt signal include when the handset 502 detects on-hook and off-hook, when reading and writing of the FIFOs 521 and 531 is completed, and when processing of the voice input / output unit 500 is completed. Reference numeral 516 denotes an A / D, D / A control unit that performs sampling frequency change, ON_OFF control, and conversion start control of the D / A conversion unit 525 and the A / D conversion unit 535 in accordance with the control register of the register control unit 513. This control register is controlled by the CPU 2001 via the bus I / F control unit 511. In some cases, ON_OFF control is performed by a status register indicating on-hook or off-hook. Reference numerals 521 and 531 denote FIFO (First In First Out), which are buffer memories for audio data. Here, the FIFO may have a double buffer configuration. 522, 524, 532, and 534 are data conversion units, such as an interpolation unit 523 or a thinning-out unit 533, a data width used in data processing, a FIFO 521, 531 or a D / A conversion unit 525, an A / D conversion unit. This is a data conversion unit for matching the data width with 535. This conversion unit becomes unnecessary when all the data is processed with the same data width. Reference numeral 523 denotes an interpolation unit which interpolates data when the sampling frequency of the audio data is smaller than the sampling frequency in the D / A conversion unit 525 and the amount of data is small. Further, the interpolation method is changed according to the control register of the register control unit 513. This control register is controlled by the CPU 2001 via the bus I / F control unit 511. A D / A converter 525 converts a digital signal into an analog signal in accordance with the sampling frequency set by the A / D and D / A controller 516. Reference numerals 526 and 536 denote LPFs (Low Pass Filters), which are filters that cut high-frequency components. Here, the cut-off frequency of LPF526 is a frequency that is 1/2 or less of the sampling frequency of D / A converter 525, and the cut-off frequency of LPF536 is a frequency that is 1/2 or less of the sampling frequency of A / D converter 535. is there. Reference numerals 527, 528, and 537 are amplifiers that perform signal amplification, and ON_OFF is controlled by the amplifier ON_OFF control unit 514. Reference numeral 533 denotes a thinning unit, which thins out data when the sampling frequency of audio data is smaller than the sampling frequency of the A / D conversion unit 535 and the amount of data is small. Further, the thinning method is changed according to the control register of the register control unit 513. Reference numeral 535 denotes an A / D converter, which converts an analog signal into a digital signal according to the sampling frequency set by the A / D, D / A controller 516.

  The following relates to this patent.

  The flow for determining whether or not to use transparent toner is shown below using FIG.

  In step 1, after the start of scanning, the image area determination unit of the scanner image processing unit performs image area determination, and adds it to the data image data for identifying the character part and the non-character part.

  In Step 2, if the transparent toner automatic determination mode is selected by the operation unit 140, the process proceeds to Step 3, and if not, the process proceeds to Step 7 and goes through the normal printing flow.

  In step 3, a histogram of the data determined to be non-character in step 1 is generated, and the information is sent to the transparent toner determination unit of the printer image processing unit.

  In step 4, the histogram mask information and the transparent toner determination threshold set from the operation unit 140 are read, and (1) the transparent toner determination threshold, (2) the total number of pixels in the histogram, (3) the masked pixels in the histogram Data for sending the number of pixels excluding to the transparent toner determination unit is generated.

  In step 5, the transparent toner is determined based on the information in step 4. If the transparent toner is used, the process proceeds to step 6; otherwise, the process proceeds to step 7.

  In step 6, transparent toner data is added to the image information. In the transparent toner automatic determination mode, the initial value of the transparent toner data T is “0”, but a desired data value is given here.

  Separately from the desired value, image processing may be performed separately to control the applied amount of transparent toner, or it may be simply 255 for 8-bit data.

  In step 7, normal image processing is performed and printing is terminated.

It is a figure which shows the structure of an audio | voice input / output unit. It is a figure which shows the network system containing the image processing apparatus of this invention. 1 is an external view of an image processing apparatus according to the present invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the whole structure of an image processing apparatus. It is a figure which shows an operation part. It is a figure which shows a LCD display. 2 is a block diagram illustrating configurations of a scanner 10 and a printer 20 in the image forming apparatus. FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of a controller unit. It is a figure which shows the block diagram of a scanner image processing part. 2 is a block diagram of a printer image processing unit. FIG. It is a figure which shows the block diagram of an image compression process part. It is a figure which shows the block diagram of an image rotation part. It is a figure which shows explanatory drawing of an image rotation process. It is a figure which shows explanatory drawing of an image rotation process. It is a figure which shows the block diagram of a device I / F part. It is a figure which shows the laser production | generation part of the printer part in an image forming apparatus. It is a figure which shows the example of an image containing a photograph, and its histogram. It is a figure which shows the example of a histogram mask. 6 is a flowchart showing a transparent toner determination flow.

Claims (5)

  Image reading means for reading an image, separation means for separating an image read by the reading means into a character area and a non-character area, a photographic image determination means for determining whether the non-character area separated by the separation means is further a photographic image, An image forming apparatus comprising: a gloss unit that adds gloss to a non-character area determined to have a photographic image quality when the photo image determination unit determines that the image is a photographic image.   As the photographic image determination means, a histogram of the non-character region is created, and when the number of pixels excluding pixels of an arbitrary density in the histogram reaches an arbitrary ratio of the total number of pixels in the histogram, The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a photographic image determination unit for determining.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein an arbitrary density of the histogram is set from an operation unit.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein an arbitrary ratio in the total number of pixels in the histogram is set from an operation unit.   2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein transparent toner is used as the gloss means.

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