JP2012156951A - Image reading system and image reader - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image reading system and an image reader, which have less opportunity of user designation of a right-side or left-side.SOLUTION: MFP 100 reads a double spread original (S102), and divides image data thereof (S103). A direction decision image is detected from the image data which is read, and an opening direction is determined based on the detection image as automatic determination (S105). When the opening direction cannot be determined even if reading of all originals is terminated (S141: NO), the opening direction of the original is inquired of the user (S142). A page order of the divided image data is decided in accordance with determination after determination of the opening direction of the original, and the image data is registered in a file in the page order (S108, S143).

Description

  The present invention relates to an image reading system and an image reading apparatus for reading a document. More specifically, the present invention relates to an image reading system and an image reading apparatus that read a document in a spread state and determine whether the document is opened left or right.

  Conventionally, an image reading apparatus that reads a bound document such as a book in a spread state has been put into practical use. The image reading apparatus divides the read image data of the document at the binding unit, and creates an electronic file for two pages based on the divided image data.

  As an image reading apparatus that reads a spread original (a two-page original), for example, there is an image reading apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1. In the image reading apparatus of Patent Document 1, when dividing the image data of a spread document, whether the vertical writing is horizontal writing is automatically recognized, and whether the right opening or the left opening is specified. Then, the printing order is determined according to the specific result.

JP-A-5-298477

  However, the conventional technique described above has the following problems. That is, depending on the content of the document, automatic discrimination may not be possible. For example, in the technique of Patent Document 1, when an image of a document is a drawing, it cannot be determined whether vertical writing is horizontal writing, and as a result, it is not possible to specify whether it is right-opening or left-opening. In this case, it is necessary to ask the user whether to open right or left, and have one specified. It is desirable to reduce the burden on the user as much as possible.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems of the prior art. That is, an object of the present invention is to provide an image reading system and an image reading apparatus with few user-specified opportunities for right opening or left opening.

  In order to solve this problem, an image reading system includes a reading unit that reads a spread document, a dividing unit that divides image data of the spread document read by the reading unit, and a plurality of spread document groups that belong to a group of spread documents. Based on the detection of a direction determination image for determining the opening direction of a predetermined document from image data based on the images of a plurality of read originals, the opening direction of the document of the spread document group is determined. An automatic determination unit that performs determination, an automatic determination unit that determines a document opening direction of the spread document group based on an input from a user when the automatic determination unit cannot determine the opening direction of the document, and the automatic determination Determining the page order of the image data divided by the dividing unit according to the opening direction of the original determined by the manual determining unit or the manual determining unit It is characterized in that it comprises and.

  The image reading system of the present invention divides the image data after reading a spread original. Then, a plurality of spread originals belonging to a group of spread originals are read, and the opening direction of the originals of the spread originals is determined. In the determination of the opening direction, first, as automatic determination, a direction determining image is detected from image data based on a plurality of document images, and the opening direction is determined based on the detected image. Examples of the direction determination image include a page number, a character string (vertical writing and horizontal writing), and a language. If the opening direction of the document cannot be automatically determined using a plurality of image data as judgment materials, the user manually determines the opening direction of the document. After determining the document opening direction, the page order of the divided image data is determined according to the determination. The document opening direction may be determined from image data based on the image of the spread document, and the image data used as the determination material may be the data before or after the division. The determination of the opening direction of the document is not limited to one appearance of the direction determination image, but may be derived from reliability such as the number of appearances and the appearance ratio.

  In other words, the image reading system of the present invention is configured to make a manual determination by inquiring the user when the opening direction of the document cannot be automatically determined from a plurality of image data. According to this configuration, even if it is not possible to determine automatically from the image data of the first spread original, if it can be determined automatically from the image data of the second and subsequent spread originals, the user's There is no need for help. Therefore, the present invention has few opportunities for seeking user assistance.

  Further, the determination unit of the image reading system of the present invention determines retrospectively the page order of the read image data of the spread document group according to the document opening direction determined by the automatic determination unit or the manual determination unit. Good. According to this configuration, it is possible to arrange the page order in the entire document group, and a sense of unity is generated as image data of the spread document group.

  Further, the automatic determination unit of the image reading system of the present invention may perform a process of determining the opening direction of the original after reading all the originals of the spread original group. By reading all the originals, more judgment materials are used for judging the opening direction of the originals. Therefore, it can be expected to improve the accuracy of determining the opening direction of the document.

  The image reading system according to the present invention further includes a memory for storing image data based on an image of a spread original read by the reading unit, and the determination unit is a document determined by the automatic determination unit or the manual determination unit. The page order of the image data stored in the memory may be determined according to the opening direction. According to this configuration, the process of determining the order retroactive is unnecessary, and the process can be simplified.

  In addition, the image reading system includes a second manual determination unit that determines a document opening direction of the two-page spread document group based on an input from a user when the free space of the memory becomes a predetermined value or less. Good. When the memory is insufficient, other processing of the image reading system may be adversely affected. Therefore, it is preferable to determine the opening direction of the document at an early stage.

  In the image reading system of the present invention, the generating unit generates a file for storing a plurality of image data, and the generating unit outputs the image data divided by the dividing unit in the order of pages determined by the determining unit. It is good to provide the registration part registered into the produced | generated file. In a file in which a plurality of image data can be registered, it is preferable that the page order is appropriate for the user.

  Further, the present invention provides a reading unit that reads a spread document, a dividing unit that divides image data of the spread document read by the reading unit, and a plurality of read documents that are read and read from a plurality of spread document groups. An automatic determination unit for determining an opening direction of the original of the spread original group based on detection of a direction determination image for determining a predetermined opening direction of the original from image data based on an image of the original; When the determination unit cannot determine the opening direction of the document, it is determined by the manual determination unit that determines the opening direction of the document of the spread document group based on the input from the user, and the automatic determination unit or the manual determination unit. And a determining unit that determines a page order of the image data divided by the dividing unit in accordance with the opening direction of the original document. It contains.

  According to the present invention, an image reading system and an image reading apparatus are realized that have few user-specified opportunities for right opening or left opening.

1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of an MFP according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state where an ADF of the MFP shown in FIG. 1 is opened. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing an internal configuration (AA cross section of FIG. 1) of the image reading unit of the MFP shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the MFP shown in FIG. 1. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of book scan processing (first form) of the MFP. It is a figure which shows an example of the image data of a facing document. 5 is a flowchart (part 1) illustrating a procedure of MFP book scan processing (second embodiment); 10 is a flowchart (part 2) illustrating a procedure of MFP book scan processing (second embodiment).

  DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments embodying an image reading apparatus according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the present embodiment, the present invention is applied to a multi-function peripheral (MFP) having a scan function, a print function, and a file output function.

[MFP configuration]
As shown in FIG. 1, MFP 100 of this embodiment includes an image forming unit 1 that prints an image on a sheet, and an image reading unit 2 (an example of a reading unit) that reads an image of a document. The image forming method of the image forming unit 1 may be an electrophotographic method or an ink jet method. Further, even if a color image can be formed, it may be dedicated to a monochrome image.

  The MFP 100 further includes, on the front side thereof, an operation panel 40 including a button group 41 including various buttons (for example, buttons for a start key, a stop key, and a numeric keypad) and a display unit 42 including a liquid crystal display. ing. The button group 41 and the display unit 42 allow the operation status to be displayed and the operation input by the user to be performed.

[Configuration of Image Reading Unit]
Next, the configuration of the image reading unit 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3. 1 and 2 show the appearance of the image reading unit 2, and FIG. 3 shows the internal configuration of the image reading unit 2.

  The image reading unit 2 includes a main body unit 10 that reads an image and an automatic document feeder (ADF) 20 that automatically conveys a document. The ADF 20 is located above the main body 10 and has one side connected to the main body 10 so as to be rotatable with respect to the main body 10. Therefore, the image reading unit 2 can open and close the upper surface of the main body unit 10 by the ADF 20 (see FIG. 2). That is, the ADF 20 also serves as a cover that covers the upper surface of the main body 10.

  The main body 10 includes contact glasses 11 and 12 on the upper surface thereof. Further, an image sensor 15 that reads an image of a document is provided inside the main body 10 and below the contact glasses 11 and 12. In the image sensor 15, optical elements are arranged in a line in the main scanning direction (depth direction in FIG. 3), and the reflected light from the document is converted into an electrical signal and output. As the image sensor 15, for example, a CIS (Contact Image Sensor) or a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) is applicable.

  The image sensor 15 is slidably supported with respect to the slide shaft 13. The slide shaft 13 extends in the sub-scanning direction (left-right direction in FIG. 3), and both ends are fixed to the housing of the main body 10. Therefore, the image sensor 15 is provided so as to be movable in the left-right direction in FIG.

  The ADF 20 includes a document tray 21 on which a document before reading is placed and a discharge tray 22 on which the document after reading is placed. Specifically, the document tray 21 is disposed above the discharge tray 22. In addition, a substantially U-shaped transport path 25 that connects the document tray 21 and the discharge tray 22 is provided inside the ADF 20 as a path for transporting the document. Further, the ADF 20 is provided with an opening 23 on the lower surface thereof so that the document pressing plate 24 is exposed from the opening 23. The document pressing plate 24 faces the contact glass 12 with the ADF 20 closed.

  The ADF 20 takes out the originals placed on the original tray 21 one by one, and conveys the originals to a position facing the contact glass 12 (hereinafter referred to as “ADF glass 12”) of the main body 10. Specifically, the document is passed between the document pressing plate 24 and the contact glass 12. Thereafter, the document is discharged onto the discharge tray 22.

  Further, as a document reading method using the image sensor 15, there are a flat bed (document fixed scanning) method and an ADF (document moving scanning) method. In the case of the flat bed system, the document is placed on the contact glass 11 (hereinafter referred to as “FB glass 11”). In this state, the image sensor 15 moves in the sub-scanning direction, and at that time, the image of the document is read line by line in the main scanning direction. On the other hand, in the case of the ADF method, a plurality of documents are collectively placed on the document tray 21. Then, the image sensor 15 moves to a position facing the ADF glass 12 and is fixed. In this state, the document is conveyed by the ADF 20 to a position below the document pressing plate 24 and facing the ADF glass 12, and at that time, an image of the document is read line by line in the main scanning direction.

  For example, when reading a bound document such as a book, the ADF 20 is opened as shown in FIG. 2, and the document is set in a spread state, and set on the FB glass 11 with the reading surface facing downward. Then, the image sensor 15 moves in the sub-scanning direction with the user holding the document while the ADF 20 is opened, thereby reading the document.

[Electric configuration of MFP]
Next, the electrical configuration of the MFP 100 will be described. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the MFP 100 includes a control unit 30 including a CPU 31, a ROM 32, a RAM 33, an NVRAM (Non Volatile RAM) 34, an ASIC 35, a network interface 36, and a USB interface 38. Yes.

  The ROM 32 stores various control programs and image processing programs for controlling the MFP 100, various settings, initial values, and the like. The RAM 33 is used as a work area for reading various control programs, or as a storage area for temporarily storing image data of a document read by the image reading unit 2 and image data sent via the network interface 36. The The NVRAM 34 is a non-volatile storage means, and is used as a storage area for storing various settings, image data, and the like.

  The ASIC 35 is electrically connected to the image forming unit 1, the image reading unit 2, the operation panel 40, an open / close sensor 45 that detects the opening of the ADF 20, and the like. For example, the ASIC 35 acquires a signal of image data from the image reading unit 2. In addition, a signal for creating a desired image is output to the image forming unit 1. In addition, signals of various buttons input to the button group 41 are received. In addition, a signal indicating the content to be displayed on the display unit 42 is output.

  CPU 31 (an example of a division unit, an automatic determination unit, a manual determination unit, a determination unit, a second manual determination unit, a generation unit, and a registration unit) performs various functions such as an image reading function, an image forming function, and a file creation function in MFP 100. It performs operations for realizing functions and is the center of control. The CPU 31 controls each component of the MFP 100 via the ASIC 35 while storing the processing result in the RAM 33 or NVRAM 34 according to the control program read from the ROM 32. Further, for example, the CPU 31 processes the image data of the document read by the image reading unit 2 in accordance with a program read from the ROM 32.

  The network interface 36 is connected to a network, and data communication with another information processing apparatus (not shown) is possible via the network interface 36. The USB interface 38 is connected to a peripheral device (not shown) capable of USB connection, and data communication with an external peripheral device or the like is enabled via the USB interface 38.

[Book Scan Mode]
Next, the book scan mode of the MFP 100 will be described. In the book scan mode, a bound document such as a book is read in a spread state, and an electronic file for storing image data of the read document is created.

  In the book scan mode, a spread original (spread original) is read by the flatbed method. Specifically, when the book scan mode is selected by the user, a spread original is set on the FB glass 11, and the start key in the button group 41 is pressed, the MFP 100 reads the spread original.

  After reading the double-page spread document, the user is inquired whether to continue reading. When the continuation of reading is selected, the user sets a spread document of the next page on the FB glass 11 and waits for inputting a reading start instruction. When a reading start instruction is input, the newly set spread document is read. On the other hand, when the end of reading is selected, one or a plurality of image data read until the end is selected is created in a file format (for example, PDF file) that can store a plurality of image data. Do.

  In addition, when storing the image data of the spread document, the MFP 100 divides the image data of the spread document into two parts, a left page and a right page. Then, it is stored in a file as image data for two pages.

[Book Scan Processing]
[First embodiment]
Hereinafter, a procedure of book scan processing (an example of a division unit, an automatic determination unit, a manual determination unit, a determination unit, a second manual determination unit, a generation unit, and a registration unit) that realizes the operation in the book scan mode described above This will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This book scan process is executed when the start key in the button group 41 is pressed while the book scan mode is selected.

  In the book scan processing of the first embodiment, first, initial processing such as obtaining various initial settings and moving the origin of the image sensor 15 is performed (S101). As an initial setting, for example, there is a setting as to whether or not to erase the binding portion of the document and the shadow outside the frame for the image data after reading. The initial setting may be set by the user before starting the book scanning process and stored in the NVRAM 34 or the like, or may be set by the user at the time when S101 is executed. In the initial process, a file in an initial state where nothing is registered is generated.

  Next, the image reading unit 2 reads a document set on the FB glass 11 (S102). The read image data of the document is temporarily stored in the RAM 33.

  Next, the image data acquired by the image reading in S102 is analyzed and divided into a left page and a right page (S103). When a spread document is read, the image data of the spread document includes a black region 93 (corresponding to a “binding portion”) that vertically cuts through the center of the image data 9 of the spread document as shown in FIG. The left page and the right page can be divided, for example, by extracting the black area 93 and dividing it into image data 9L on the left page and image data 9R on the right page with the black area 93 as a boundary. Alternatively, the image data 9 of the document may be divided into left and right halves.

  Next, it is determined whether the double-page spread document to be read has left-right information that is information on whether the document is to be opened left or right (S104). The left / right information is stored after it is determined whether left-opening or right-opening in a left / right determining process (S105) described later. Therefore, it does not have left and right information at the beginning of reading. Therefore, when there is no left / right information (S104: NO), the image data (each image data after division in this embodiment) based on the spread original obtained by reading the image in S102 is analyzed to determine whether the image is to be opened left or right. It discriminate | determines (S105).

  In MFP 100, a direction determination image for determining whether to open left or right is registered in advance. Examples of the direction determination image include a page number, a character string (vertical writing and horizontal writing), and a language. In S105, a direction determining image is detected from each divided image data, and the opening direction of the spread original is determined based on the detected direction determining image. For example, when the direction determining image is a character string, it is determined that the text is opened right if it is vertical writing and left-open if it is horizontal writing. In addition, the language of the character is identified. For example, if the proportion of the alphabet is greater than or equal to a predetermined proportion, it is determined that the character is left open. In this case, if the proportion of the alphabet is less than the predetermined proportion, it may be opened to the right or may be a discrimination failure. If the direction determination image cannot be detected, the determination fails.

  After the determination in S105, it is determined whether the left opening or the right opening has been successfully determined (S106). In the determination of success / failure in S106, the success may be determined based on one success result, or the success may be determined if there are more than a predetermined number of success results. In the latter case, even if a success result is obtained in the process of S105, if a success result of a predetermined number of times or more is not accumulated, it is not regarded as a discrimination success in S106. Further, for the sake of more accuracy, it may be determined that the success is achieved if the ratio of the opening direction of one side is equal to or greater than a predetermined value after the successful result has been performed a predetermined number of times or more. Even in this case, even if a success result is obtained in the process of S105, if there is a success result of a predetermined number of times or more and the ratio of one opening direction does not become a predetermined value or more, it is considered that the determination is successful in S106. I will not be deceived.

  If it is determined that the determination has failed (S106: NO), the image data after the division in S103 is temporarily stored in the RAM 33 or NVRAM 34 (S121). Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the storage destination memory is full, that is, whether or not the free space of the memory is equal to or less than a threshold value (S122). If the memory is not full (S122: NO), the process proceeds to S109.

  If the memory is full (S122: YES), if the document reading is continued, the image data cannot be stored and there is a risk of losing the data. Therefore, the user is inquired whether the document is to be opened left or right (S123). After the opening direction is input from the user, the process proceeds to S107.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the determination is successful (S106: YES), or after the opening direction is manually input in S123, the determination result is stored as left and right information (S107). The stored left and right results are valid in the currently executing book scan process (that is, one job), and are erased when the book scan process ends.

  After the left and right information is stored in S107, or when the left and right information is already stored (S104: YES), the divided image data is registered in the file according to the left and right information (S108). That is, the page order of the image data before registration is determined according to the left and right information. Specifically, if left-open, the image data of the left page is registered before the image data of the right-hand page, and if it is right-open, the image data of the right-side page is registered as image data of the left-side page. Register before. After registration, the registered image data is erased from the memory.

  In S108, the image data stored in the memory when the determination fails (image data stored in S121) is also registered in the file according to the left and right information. That is, the page order of the image data whose registration in the file is suspended because the page order is indeterminate is determined retroactively to the image data stored first.

  After file registration in S108 or if the memory is not full in S122, it is determined whether there is a document of the next page (S109). The presence or absence of the next page is determined by inquiring the user. Note that if the start key is pressed within a predetermined time and a reading of the next document is instructed, it may be determined that there is a next page. If there is a next page (S109: YES), that is, if reading of a spread original is continued, the process proceeds to S102 to read the next page of the original.

  If there is already left / right information, the image data of the document on the next page is registered in the file according to the left / right information. When there is no left / right information, left / right discrimination is performed based on the image data. If the left / right information cannot be obtained, the image data is stored in the memory. Such a procedure is repeated, and when the left and right information is obtained, the image data stored in the memory is registered in the file.

  On the other hand, if there is no next page (S109: NO), it is determined whether there is left / right information (S141). If there is no left / right information (S141: NO), the image data remains stored in the memory, and the image data is not registered in the file. Therefore, the user is inquired whether the document is opened left or right (S142). Thereafter, the page order of the image data stored in the memory is determined according to the opening direction input by the user, and the image data is registered in the file in the page order after the determination (S143). After registration, the registered image data is erased from the memory. After S143, the book scan process is terminated.

  On the other hand, when there is left / right information (S141: YES), there is no image data stored in the memory, and there is no need to inquire the user about the opening direction. Therefore, the book scan process is terminated without making an inquiry to the user.

[Second form]
Next, another embodiment of the book scan process will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. In the book scanning process of the second embodiment, after all the originals have been read, the left and right determinations are performed for the image data. In this respect, until the left / right information is obtained, this is different from the first embodiment in which left / right discrimination is performed each time one original is read. In addition, about the process same as a 1st form, the same code | symbol as a 1st form is attached | subjected and description is abbreviate | omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 7, even in the book scan processing of the second embodiment, first, initial processing is performed (S101). Next, the original is read (S102). Then, the acquired image data is analyzed and divided into a left page and a right page (S103).

  Next, it is determined whether there is left / right information (S104). If left and right information is present (S104: YES), the page order of the divided image data is determined according to the left and right information, and the divided image data is registered in a file (S221). After file registration, the process proceeds to S109.

  On the other hand, if there is no left / right information (S104: NO), the image data after the division in S103 is temporarily stored in the RAM 33 or NVRAM 34 (S205). Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the storage destination memory is full (S206). If the memory is not full (S206: NO), the process proceeds to S109.

  If the memory is full (S206: YES), the user is inquired whether the document is to be opened left or right (S211). Then, the opening direction input by the user is stored as left and right information (S212). Then, the page order of the divided image data is determined according to the left and right information, and the divided image data is registered in a file (S221). After file registration, the process proceeds to S109. In this file registration, the image data stored so far is also registered in the file according to the left and right information. After registration, the registered image data is erased from the memory.

  After file registration in S221 or if the memory is not full in S206, it is determined whether there is a document of the next page (S109). If there is a next page (S109: YES), the process proceeds to S102, and the document on the next page is read.

  If the left and right information already exists, the image data of the document of the next page is registered in the file according to the left and right information. If left and right information does not exist, it is stored in memory. In the book scan processing of this embodiment, right and left information is not acquired unless the memory becomes full, and the divided image data is stored in the memory.

  On the other hand, if there is no next page (S109: NO), the process proceeds to S141 in FIG. 8 and it is determined whether there is left / right information (S141). If there is left / right information (S141: YES), the image data has already been registered in the file. Therefore, the book scan process is terminated.

  On the other hand, if there is no left / right information (S141: NO), all the image data acquired by reading the image in S102 and stored in S205 are analyzed, and it is determined for each image data whether it is left open or right open (S242). ). Thereafter, it is determined whether the left opening or the right opening has been successfully determined (S243). The determination of successful determination is successful if, for example, as a result of determining the opening direction for a plurality of image data, the ratio of one opening direction is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. When it can be determined that the left-opening or right-opening has been successfully determined without analyzing all the image data (for example, when the image data determined as one opening direction continues for a predetermined number of times, If the ratio of the number of image data discriminated as the opening direction to the total number of pages is greater than or equal to a predetermined value), one of the opening directions is regarded as the opening direction of the current job without analyzing all the image data. You may judge.

  If the determination is unsuccessful (S243: NO), the user is inquired whether the document is to be opened left or right (S251). After S251 or when the discrimination is successful (S243: YES), the page order of the image data stored in the memory is determined according to the left and right information, and the image data is registered in the file in the page order after the determination. (S244). After registration, the registered image data is erased from the memory. After S244, the book scanning process is terminated.

  In the second embodiment, since all the originals are read and it is discriminated whether to open left or right, there are a lot of judgment materials, and it can be expected to improve the accuracy of automatic discrimination. On the other hand, in the first embodiment, since the opening direction of the original is determined before all the originals have been read, registration of the image data into the file can be started early and the load on the memory is small.

  As described above in detail, MFP 100 according to the embodiment is configured to make a manual determination by inquiring the user when the opening direction of the original cannot be automatically determined even if a plurality of spread originals are read. Therefore, in the first embodiment, for example, even if it is not possible to make an automatic determination from the first spread original, if it can be determined from the second and subsequent spread originals by automatic determination, user assistance is sought. There is nothing. Therefore, the present invention has few opportunities for seeking user assistance. In the second embodiment, after all the spread originals are read, the entire original document group is automatically determined as a judgment material, and it is not a configuration that asks the user for assistance in determining each spread original. In addition, since automatic determination is performed using the entire document group as a determination material, the possibility of a determination failure is low. As a result, there are fewer opportunities for user assistance.

  Note that this embodiment is merely an example, and does not limit the present invention. Therefore, the present invention can naturally be improved and modified in various ways without departing from the gist thereof. For example, the present invention is not limited to the MFP, and can be applied to any apparatus having an image reading function such as a copying machine, a scanner, and a FAX.

  In the embodiment, the MFP 100 itself (the image reading apparatus itself) divides the image data of the spread original, determines the opening direction, inquires about the opening direction, and determines the page order according to the opening direction. However, these processes may be performed by an apparatus other than the MFP 100. For example, in a system having a scanner and a PC, the scanner reads a spread original, and the PC divides the image data of the spread original, determines the opening direction, processes the inquiry of the opening direction, and determines the page order. You may comprise so that a determination process and a file creation process may be performed. Further, the PC may perform some of the above processes, and the scanner may perform the remaining processes.

  Further, in the embodiment, the image data of the spread original is divided and then left / right determination is performed as to whether it is left-open or right-open. However, the left-right determination may be performed before the image data is divided. In this configuration, when the right / left discrimination is not successful, the image data of the spread original before division may be temporarily stored.

  In the embodiment, the image data for which the page order is determined is registered in the file. However, the output destination of the image data for which the page order is determined is not limited to the file. For example, the data may be output to the image forming unit 1 and printed in an appropriate page order.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image formation part 2 Image reading part 11 FB glass 20 ADF
30 Control device 100 MFP

Claims (8)

A reading unit for reading a spread document;
A dividing unit for dividing the image data of the spread document read by the reading unit;
The two-page spread original group is read based on the fact that a plurality of two-page spread originals belonging to a group of two-page spread original groups are read, and a direction determining image for judging the opening direction of the original is detected from image data based on the read images of the plurality of originals. An automatic determination unit for determining the opening direction of the original,
A manual determination unit that determines an opening direction of the original in the spread original group based on an input from a user when the automatic determination unit cannot determine the opening direction of the original;
A determining unit that determines the page order of the image data divided by the dividing unit according to the opening direction of the document determined by the automatic determining unit or the manual determining unit;
An image reading system comprising: The image reading system according to claim 1,
The determination unit retrospectively determines the page order of the read image data of the spread document group according to the opening direction of the document determined by the automatic determination unit or the manual determination unit. . In the image reading system according to claim 1 or 2,
The image reading system according to claim 1, wherein the automatic determination unit performs a process of determining an opening direction of the document after reading all the documents in the spread document group. In the image reading system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A memory for storing image data based on an image of a spread document read by the reading unit;
The determining unit determines a page order of image data stored in the memory according to a document opening direction determined by the automatic determination unit or the manual determination unit. In the image reading system according to claim 4,
An image reading system, comprising: a second manual determination unit configured to determine an opening direction of a document of the spread document group based on an input from a user when the free space of the memory becomes a predetermined value or less. In the image reading system according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A generation unit for generating a file for storing a plurality of image data;
A registration unit that registers the image data divided by the dividing unit in a file generated by the generating unit in the page order determined by the determining unit;
An image reading system comprising: In the image reading system according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The dividing unit divides the image data of the spread document read by the reading unit into image data of the left page and image data of the right page,
If the opening direction is left-opening, the determining unit is in the order of image data of the left-side page and image data of the right-side page. If the opening direction is right-opening, the image data of the right-side page, An image reading system, wherein the page order is determined in the order of image data on the left page. A reading unit for reading a spread document;
A dividing unit for dividing the image data of the spread document read by the reading unit;
The two-page spread original group is read based on the fact that a plurality of two-page spread originals belonging to a group of two-page spread original groups are read and a direction determining image for judging the opening direction of the original is detected from image data based on the read images of the plurality of originals. An automatic determination unit for determining the opening direction of the original,
A manual determination unit that determines an opening direction of the original in the spread original group based on an input from a user when the automatic determination unit cannot determine the opening direction of the original;
A determining unit that determines the page order of the image data divided by the dividing unit according to the opening direction of the document determined by the automatic determining unit or the manual determining unit;
An image reading apparatus comprising:

Images