JP2020088794A - Image reading apparatus, image forming apparatus, and image forming system - Google Patents

Abstract

To read an image of a three-dimensional object to accurately calculate the actual size of the three-dimensional object.SOLUTION: In an image forming apparatus 10, when an instruction to read an image of a three-dimensional object is input due to operation by an operation unit 12 or a touch panel 14, a control unit 21 adjusts the depth of field of an image reading unit 15 deeper than when an image of a document is read, causes the image reading unit 15 to read the image of the three-dimensional object, causes an image forming unit to record the image of the three-dimensional object on a recording paper, and detects the size of the three-dimensional object on the basis of the image of the three-dimensional object, and causes a storage unit 28 to store the image and the size of the three-dimensional object.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus, an image forming apparatus and an image forming system, and more particularly to a technique for forming an image of a three-dimensional object on a recording sheet.

In the image reading device, the image of the original is read by the image reading unit, and the image obtained by the reading is stored. Further, in the image forming apparatus, the image of the original is read by the image reading unit, the image of the original is formed on the recording paper by the image forming unit, and the recording paper is discharged to the tray. Therefore, the main use of the image reading apparatus is to read a two-dimensional plane image, and the main application of the image forming apparatus is to read a two-dimensional plane image and form it on a recording sheet.

In Patent Document 1, the ratio of the subject is determined from the brightness difference between the subject (three-dimensional object) and the background in the captured image, the distance from the CCD of the camera to the subject is read by the AF function, and the image is determined from the focal length of the zoom lens. The angle θ is calculated, and the size of the photographing region is calculated from the distance to the subject and the angle of view θ. When the captured image is recorded on the recording paper by the printer, the actual size of the object can be calculated from the size of the imaging area and the ratio of the object in the captured image even if the object on the recording paper is reduced.

JP, 2003-244501, A

Here, in Patent Document 1 described above, since the subject (three-dimensional object) is imaged by the camera and the captured image is recorded on the recording paper by the printer, it takes a lot of time from the image capturing of the subject to the recording. Also, the size of the imaging area is calculated from the distance to the subject and the angle of view θ. However, since a slight error in the distance or the angle of view θ greatly affects the accuracy of the size of the imaging area, the size of the imaging area It is hard to say that the accuracy of the actual size of the subject calculated based on is guaranteed.

On the other hand, in the image forming apparatus, the image of the original can be read by the image reading apparatus, and the image of the original can be formed on the recording paper by the image forming apparatus, which saves time and trouble. Further, since adjustment is performed in advance so as to match the size of the image of the document with the size of the image of the document formed on the recording paper, the document is read based on the size of the image of the document read by the image reading device. It is possible to guarantee the actual size of.

However, a device suitable for reading an image of a three-dimensional object by an image reading device and accurately calculating the actual size of the three-dimensional object has not been provided.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to read an image of a three-dimensional object and accurately calculate the actual size of the three-dimensional object.

An image reading apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention includes an image reading unit that reads an image of either a document placed on a platen or a three-dimensional object, and an instruction to read an image of the three-dimensional object that is operated by a user. An operation unit for inputting an image, a storage unit for storing an image of the three-dimensional object, and a depth of field of the image reading unit when an instruction to read the image of the three-dimensional object is input by operating the operation unit. Is set to a predetermined value deeper than the depth of field when the image of the original is read, and the image of the three-dimensional object is read by the image reading unit. A control unit that calculates the size of an object and stores the size in the storage unit together with the image of the three-dimensional object.

An image forming apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention is an image forming apparatus including the image reading device and an image forming unit that forms an image of the three-dimensional object read by the image reading unit on a recording sheet, The control unit causes the image forming unit to record an image of the three-dimensional object on a recording sheet.

An image forming system according to an aspect of the present invention is an image forming system including an image forming apparatus and a server connected to the image forming apparatus via a network, wherein the image forming apparatus is mounted on a document table. Between an image reading unit that reads an image of a placed document or a three-dimensional object, an operation unit that is operated by a user and inputs an instruction to read an image of the three-dimensional object, and the server through the network. When the instruction to read the image of the three-dimensional object is input by the operation of the operation unit and the first communication unit that performs data communication with, the depth of field of the image reading unit is set to read the image of the document. When set to a predetermined value deeper than the depth of field to read the image of the three-dimensional object by the image reading unit, calculate the size of the three-dimensional object based on the image of the three-dimensional object, A first control unit for transmitting the image and the size of the three-dimensional object from the first communication unit to the server, wherein the server is the three-dimensional object transmitted from the image forming apparatus through the network. Second communication unit that receives the image and the size of the three-dimensional object, a storage unit that stores the image and the size of the three-dimensional object received by the second communication unit, and the storage unit that stores the image and the size of the three-dimensional object. And a control unit for permitting reading of the image and the size of the three-dimensional object and prohibiting change or overwriting of the image and the size of the three-dimensional object.

According to the present invention, it is possible to read an image of a three-dimensional object and accurately calculate the actual size of the three-dimensional object.

1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an image forming system of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the image forming apparatus of this embodiment. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing an image reading device in the image forming apparatus. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of the image reading apparatus, showing a state in which a document feeding unit is opened. It is a perspective view showing a state where a fish body as a three-dimensional object is placed on the second platen glass of the image reading apparatus. 7 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for reading an image of a fish body and recording it on a recording paper, and transmitting the image of the fish body from an image forming apparatus to a server. It is a figure which shows the initial screen displayed on the display part of an image forming apparatus. It is a figure which shows the mode selection screen displayed on the display part of an image forming apparatus. It is a figure which shows the input screen displayed on the display part of an image forming apparatus. It is a figure which shows the image of the fish body recorded on the recording paper.

Hereinafter, an image reading apparatus, an image forming apparatus, and an image forming system according to embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image forming system Sy of the present embodiment is configured by connecting the image forming apparatus 10 and the server 30 via a network N. The image forming apparatus 10 is an example of the image reading apparatus in the claims.

In the image forming system Sy, the image forming apparatus 10 is, for example, an MFP (multifunction peripheral) having a plurality of functions such as a copy function, a printer function, and a scanner function. The image forming apparatus 10 includes a display unit 11, an operation unit 12, a communication unit 13, a touch panel 14, an image reading unit 15, an image forming unit 16, an image memory 17, an image processing unit 18, a control unit 19, a storage unit 28, and the like. Is equipped with. These components can transmit/receive data or signals to/from each other via a bus.

The image reading unit 15 and the image forming unit 16 will be described in detail later.

The display unit 11 is composed of a liquid crystal display (LCD: Liquid Crystal Display), an organic EL (OLED: Organic Light-Emitting Diode) display, or the like.

The operation unit 12 includes hard keys such as a numeric keypad, a decision key, and a start key.

A touch panel 14 is overlaid on the screen of the display unit 11. The touch panel 14 detects a touch (touch) of the user's finger or the like on the touch panel 14 together with the touch position, and inputs a user instruction to the screen of the display unit 11. Therefore, the touch panel 14 plays a role as an operation unit for inputting a user operation on the screen of the display unit 11.

The communication unit 13 is a communication interface including a communication module such as a LAN chip. The communication unit 13 is connected to the server 30 via the network N and performs data communication with the server 30.

The image processing unit 18 converts the image of the document read by the image reading unit 15 into a bitmap and stores it in the image memory 17. Further, the image processing unit 18 performs various image processing such as shading correction on the image in the image memory 17.

The storage unit 28 includes a large capacity SSD (Solid State Drive), a HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and the like, and stores various data and programs.

The control unit 19 includes a processor, a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and the like. The processor is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), or the like. The control unit 19 functions as the control unit 21, the display control unit 23, and the communication control unit 24 when the control program stored in the ROM or the storage unit 28 is executed by the processor. The above-mentioned components of the control unit 19 may each be configured by a hardware circuit without depending on the operation based on the above-mentioned control program.

The control unit 19 controls the overall operation of the image forming apparatus 10. The control unit 19 is connected to the display unit 11, the operation unit 12, the communication unit 13, the touch panel 14, the image reading unit 15, the image forming unit 16, the image memory 17, the image processing unit 18, the storage unit 28, and the like. In this case, operation control of each of the above-mentioned components and transmission/reception of signals or data to/from each of the components are performed.

The control unit 21 plays a role as a processing unit that executes various processes. Further, the display control unit 23 has a function of controlling the display operation of the display unit 11. The communication control unit 24 has a function of controlling the communication operation of the communication unit 13.

Next, in the image forming system Sy, the server 30 is a workstation, for example, and includes a display unit 31, an operation unit 32, a communication unit 33, a storage unit 38, and a control unit 39. These components can transmit/receive data or signals to/from each other via a bus.

The display unit 31 is composed of a liquid crystal display, an organic EL, or the like.

The operation unit 32 is a keyboard or pointing device operated by a user.

The communication unit 33 is a communication interface, is connected to the image forming apparatus 10 and the like through the network N, and transmits and receives data to and from the image forming apparatus 10 and the like.

The storage unit 38 is a large-capacity storage device such as an HDD and an SSD, and stores various application programs and various information.

The control unit 39 is composed of a processor, a RAM, a ROM and the like. The control unit 39 functions as the control unit 41, the display control unit 43, and the communication control unit 44 when the control program stored in the ROM or the storage unit 38 is executed by the processor. It should be noted that each of the above components of the control unit 39 may be configured by a hardware circuit without depending on the operation based on the above control program.

The control unit 39 controls the overall operation of the server 30. The control unit 39 is connected to the display unit 31, the operation unit 32, the communication unit 33, the storage unit 38, and the like, and controls the operation of these constituent elements and sends or receives signals or data to or from the constituent elements. Send and receive.

The control unit 41 plays a role as a processing unit that executes processing according to the operation of the operation unit 32. The display control unit 43 has a function of controlling the display operation of the display unit 31. The communication control unit 44 has a function of controlling the communication operation of the communication unit 33.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the image forming apparatus 10. The image forming apparatus 10 includes an image reading unit 15 and an image forming unit 16.

The image reading unit 15 has an image sensor that optically reads the image of the document, and the analog output of the image sensor is converted into a digital signal to generate image data representing the image of the document. This image data is stored in the image memory 17, and various processes are performed by the image processing unit 18.

The image forming unit 16 prints an image represented by the image data in the image memory 17 on a recording sheet, and includes an image forming unit 3M for magenta, an image forming unit 3C for cyan, and an image forming unit 3Y for yellow. , And an image forming unit 3Bk for black. In each of the image forming units 3M, 3C, 3Y, and 3Bk, the surface of the photosensitive drum 2 is uniformly charged, the surface of the photosensitive drum 2 is exposed, and the electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 2. Is formed, the electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 2 is developed into a toner image, and the toner image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 2 is primarily transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 5. As a result, a color toner image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 5. This color toner image is secondarily transferred onto the recording paper P conveyed from the paper feed section 4 through the conveyance path 8 in the nip region N between the intermediate transfer belt 5 and the secondary transfer roller 6.

After that, the recording paper P is heated and pressed by the fixing device 9, the toner image on the recording paper P is fixed by thermocompression bonding, and the recording paper P is further discharged to the discharge tray 27 through the discharge roller 7.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the image reading unit 15 of this embodiment. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the image reading unit 15, showing the document feeding unit 50 in an open state.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the image reading unit 15 includes a document feeding unit 50 and a reading unit 60. The document feeding unit 50 is provided on the upper surface of the reading unit 60 so as to be openable and closable by a hinge or the like, and when the document feeding unit 50 is opened, the first platen glass 61 and the second platen glass 62 of the reading unit 60 are provided. When the document feeding unit 50 is closed, the document cover 51 of the document feeding unit 50 is placed on the second platen glass 62 when the document is opened and the document can be placed on the second platen glass 62. Hold down the original MS that has been printed.

The document feeding unit 50 includes a document cover 51, a document feeding tray 52, a pickup roller 55, a transport roller 56, a paper discharging roller 57, a document discharging tray 58, and the like.

The reading unit 60 includes a first platen glass 61, a second platen glass 62, a carriage 64, an optical system unit 65, an imaging lens 66, a CCD (Charge Coup Device) 67, and the like.

The carriage 64 includes an LED 64A that irradiates the original MS with light and a mirror 64C that reflects the light reflected by the original MS. The optical system unit 65 also includes a mirror 65A and a mirror 65B. The carriage 64 and the optical system unit 65 are provided so as to be capable of reciprocating along a rail in a sub scanning direction Y orthogonal to the main scanning direction.

In the image reading unit 15, when the document MS is set on the document feeding tray 52 of the document feeding unit 50, the carriage 64 and the optical system unit 65 are positioned as shown in FIG. In this state, the pickup roller 55, the transport roller 56, and the paper discharge roller 57 pull out the document MS from the document feed tray 52, transport it to the first platen glass 61, and further transport the document MS from the first platen glass 61. The document is conveyed to the document discharge tray 58 and discharged.

In the reading unit 60, the light from the LED 64A of the carriage 64 is applied to the original MS passing on the first platen glass 61, and the light reflected by the original MS is reflected by the mirror 64C of the carriage 64. Further, this light is reflected by the mirrors 65A and 65B of the optical system unit 65 and enters the CCD 67 through the imaging lens 66. The image pickup lens 66 forms an image of the original on the light receiving surface of the CCD 67, and the CCD 67 reads the image of the original MS.

When the document MS is placed on the second platen glass 62, the carriage 64 of the reading unit 60 and the optical system unit 65 are moved in the sub scanning direction Y while maintaining a predetermined speed relationship.

In the reading unit 60, the light from the LED 64A is applied to the original MS on the second platen glass 62, the light reflected by the original MS is sequentially reflected by the mirror 64C, the mirror 65A, and the mirror 65B, and the light is passed through the imaging lens 66. It is incident on the CCD 67, and the image of the original MS is read by the CCD 67.

Here, the control unit 21 controls the operation of the image forming apparatus 10 in the two-dimensional image mode and the three-dimensional image mode. In the image forming apparatus 10, the user operates the touch panel 14 to select one of the two-dimensional image mode and the three-dimensional image mode as described later in detail. The control unit 21 controls the operation of the image forming apparatus 10 in the mode selected by the user from the two-dimensional image mode and the three-dimensional image mode.

When the plane image mode is selected, the control unit 21 causes the reading unit 60 of the image reading unit 15 to pass through the first platen glass 61 or the image of the original placed on the second platen glass 62. The image of the original is stored in the image memory 17, the image processing unit 18 performs various processes on the image of the original in the image memory 17, and the image forming unit 16 forms the image of the original on the recording paper. The image forming apparatus 10 is caused to perform the operation of turning on.

When the stereoscopic image mode is selected, the control unit 21 reads the image of the solid object placed on the second platen glass 62 by the reading unit 60 of the image reading unit 15, and the image of the solid object is stored in the image memory 17. The image forming unit 10 performs various operations on the image of the three-dimensional object stored in the image memory 17, and the image forming unit 16 forms the image of the three-dimensional object on the recording paper. Let's do it. In this case, for example, the user opens the document feeding unit 50 of the image reading unit 15, places the fish body F on the second platen glass 62, and closes the document feeding unit 50 as shown in FIG. , The fish F is pressed by the document feeding section 50. In this state, the control unit 21 causes the reading unit 60 to read the image of the fish body F, and the image of the fish body F is stored in the image memory 17. The image processing unit 18 performs various types of processing on the image of the fish body F in the image memory 17. The image forming unit 16 forms an image of the fish F on recording paper.

Further, since the fish body F is a three-dimensional object and the whole body does not come into close contact with the second platen glass 62, in the three-dimensional image mode, the control unit 21 causes the image capturing lens 66 of the reading unit 60 of the image reading unit 15 to capture the object field. After the depth is set deep, the reading unit 60 starts reading the image of the fish body F. For example, the user operates the operation unit 12 or the touch panel 14 to set the depth of field used in the stereoscopic image mode, for example, the depth of field of the imaging lens 66 according to the thickness of the fish F, which is the planar image mode. When a depth of field that is deeper than the depth of field used for is input, the control unit 21 stores the input depth of field as the depth of field used in the stereoscopic image mode. Further, the image reading section 15 is provided with an actuator (not shown) for adjusting the depth of field (a diaphragm or the like) of the imaging lens 66. The controller 21 drives and controls the actuator of the imaging lens 66 to adjust the depth of field of the imaging lens 66 to the depth of field instructed by the operation of the operation unit 12 or the touch panel 14. As a result, the imaging lens 66 can clearly form an image of the fish body F on the light receiving surface of the CCD 67, and the CCD 67 can clearly capture the image of the fish body F.

Further, the image of the fish body F read by the reading unit 60 is developed into a bitmap and stored in the image memory 17. The image processing unit 18 detects the contour of the image of the fish body F from this bitmap. The control unit 21 calculates the size of the fish body F based on the size of the bitmap, the size of the contour of the fish body F in the bitmap, and the size of the reading area by the reading unit 60 of the image reading unit 15. Since the correspondence relationship between the size of the bitmap and the size of the reading area by the reading unit 60 is adjusted and set in advance, the size of the fish body F can be accurately calculated.

In addition, the user can input input information such as a date by operating the operation unit 12 or the touch panel 14.

The image processing unit 18 combines the size of the fish F and its input information with the image of the fish F in the image memory 17. The image forming unit 16 forms an image of the fish body F on which the size of the fish body F and the input information are combined on the recording paper. Further, the communication control unit 24 transmits the image of the fish body F in which the size of the fish body F and the input information are combined, from the communication unit 13 to the server 30 through the network N.

The operation unit 12 and the touch panel 14 are examples of the operation unit in the claims.

Next, a processing procedure for reading such an image of the fish body F and recording it on a recording sheet, or transmitting the image of the fish body F from the image forming apparatus 10 to the server 30 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. A detailed explanation will be given with reference.

For example, assume that an initial screen G1 as shown in FIG. 7 is displayed on the display unit 11 of the image forming apparatus 10 (S101). On the initial screen G1, a plurality of function keys 71a to 71h associated with the respective functions are displayed. At this time, when the user performs a touch operation on the function key 71h for selecting and setting either the two-dimensional image mode or the three-dimensional image mode, the control unit 41 accepts the touch operation on the function key 71h through the touch panel 14 and displays it. The control unit 43 causes the display unit 11 to display the mode selection screen G2 as shown in FIG. 8 (S102).

On the mode selection screen G2, a key K1 indicating a plane image mode and a key K2 indicating a stereoscopic image mode are displayed. The user selects a plane image mode or a stereoscopic image mode by touching one of the keys K1 and K2. The control unit 41 accepts a touch operation on any one of the keys K1 and K2 through the touch panel 14, accepts an input of a planar image mode or a stereoscopic image mode corresponding to the touched key, and the accepted mode is the image reading unit. Set to 15. When the plane image mode or the stereoscopic image mode is selected, the display control unit 43 causes the display unit 11 to display the initial screen G1 shown in FIG. 7 again.

For example, when the flat image mode is selected (S103 “flat”), when the user sets the document on the image reading unit 15 and operates the start key of the operation unit 12, the control unit 21 operates as described above. The reading unit 60 of the image reading unit 15 reads the image of the document, the image processing unit 18 performs various processes on the image of the document in the image memory 17, and the image forming unit 16 records the image of the document. It is formed on paper (S104).

On the other hand, when the stereoscopic image mode is set (S103 “stereo”), the user operates the operation unit 12 or the touch panel 14 to set the depth of field of the imaging lens 66 according to the thickness of the fish F. In addition, the control unit 21 drives and controls an actuator (not shown) of the image pickup lens 66 to instruct the image pickup lens 66 to have a depth of field larger than that in the planar image mode, and the control unit 21 changes the image pickup lens 66 according to the thickness of the fish body F. The depth of field is adjusted to the instructed depth of field (S105). The user places the fish body F on the second platen glass 62 as shown in FIG. 5, and presses the fish body F with the document feeder 50. The controller 21 may drive and control another actuator (not shown) for adjusting the focus of the imaging lens 66 to adjust the focus position of the imaging lens 66 according to the thickness of the fish F.

Further, the control unit 21 sets a monochrome mode for forming the image of the fish body F read by the image reading unit 15 on the recording paper in monochrome, and forms the image of the fish body F on the recording paper in the monochrome mode. The image density, the contrast, etc. suitable for the above are set, and the monochrome mode, the image density, the contrast, etc. are instructed to the image processing unit 18 (106).

Further, the control unit 21 causes the display control unit 23 to display the input screen G3 of the input information as shown in FIG. 9 on the display unit 11 (S107). On this input screen G3, respective text boxes T1 to T6 for inputting input information such as fish species of the fish body F, weight, date, fishing spot, angler, and user identification information, an OK key K3, and cancel. Keys such as K4 are displayed. The user operates the operation unit 12 or the touch panel 14 to enter input information such as fish species of the fish body F, weight, date, fishing spot, angler, and user identification information in the respective text boxes T1 to T6. To operate the OK key K3. When the operation of the OK key K3 is detected by the touch panel 14, the control unit 21 stores the respective input information written in the text boxes T1 to T6 (S108). Further, the display control unit 23 causes the display unit 11 to display the initial screen G1 shown in FIG. 7 again.

Subsequently, when the user operates the start key of the operation unit 12 and the image reading instruction is accepted by the touch panel 14, the control unit 21 activates the image reading unit 15 and causes the reading unit 60 of the image reading unit 15 to operate. The image of the fish body F is read (S109). The image of the fish body F read by the reading unit 60 is a color image, which is developed into a bitmap and stored in the image memory 17. The image processing unit 18 converts the image of the fish F in the image memory 17 from a color image to a monochrome image in accordance with the instruction of S106, and further adjusts the image density, contrast, etc. of the image of the fish F (S110).

Further, the image processing unit 18 combines the fish type, weight, date, fishing spot, and angler of the fish body F input in the text boxes T1 to T5 with the image of the fish body F in the image memory 17. Further, the image processing unit 18 searches the storage unit 28 for a seal imprint corresponding to the user's identification information input in the text box T6, and synthesizes this seal imprint with the image of the fish body F in the image memory 17 (S111). .. The imprint is stored in advance in the storage unit 28 for each user in association with the identification information of the user.

Further, the image processing unit 18 detects the contour of the fish body F from the bitmap showing the image of the fish body F in the image memory 17. The control unit 21 calculates the size of the fish body F based on the size of the bitmap, the size of the contour of the fish body F in the bitmap, and the size of the reading area by the reading unit 60 of the image reading unit 15. Then, the image processing unit 18 combines the size of the fish body F with the image of the fish body F in the image memory 17 (S112).

Therefore, in the image of the fish body F in the image memory 17, the fish species, weight, date, fishing spot, angler, seal imprint, and size of the fish body F are combined.

The control unit 21 activates the image forming unit 16 and causes the image forming unit 16 to form an image of the fish F in the image memory 17 on the recording paper (S113).

As a result, the image IM of the fish body F as shown in FIG. 10, for example, is recorded on the recording paper. In the image IM of the fish body F shown in FIG. 10, the fish body F is recorded in monochrome, and the fish species, weight, date, fishing spot, angler, seal imprint, and size of the fish body F are recorded. There is. The image IM of the fish body F is generated by imitating the fish digging of the fish body F.

Further, the control unit 21 temporarily stores the image IM of the fish body F in the storage unit 28, and causes the communication control unit 24 to transmit the image IM of the fish body F from the communication unit 13 to the server 30 via the network N (S114).

In the server 30, when the image IM of the fish body F in which the input information and the size of the fish body F are combined is received by the communication unit 33 through the network N, the communication control unit 44 receives the image IM of the fish body F. The control unit 41 adds an image showing a preset guarantee mark (not shown) to the image IM of the fish body F, and stores the image IM of the fish body F with the image showing the guarantee mark in the storage unit 38. Remember. After that, the control unit 41 prohibits changing or overwriting the image IM of the fish body F in the storage unit 38 even if the image IM of the fish body F is read from the storage unit 38. As a result, it becomes impossible to falsify the image IM of the fish body F as a fish, and the content of the image IM of the fish body F is guaranteed.

Further, in the server 30, when the communication unit 33 receives a transmission request for the fish body F from an external terminal device (PC or mobile terminal) T through the network N, the communication control unit 44 accepts the transmission request for the fish body F. The control unit 41 reads out the image IM of the fish body F from the storage unit 38 in response to the transmission request. Then, the communication control unit 44 transmits the image IM of the fish body F from the communication unit 33 to the external terminal device T via the network N. Therefore, the user of the external terminal device T can receive and browse the image IM of the fish body F stored in the storage unit 38 of the server 30. Further, the user can see that the image IM of the fish body F has not been tampered with by looking at the image IM of the fish body F to which the guarantee mark is added.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the reading unit 60 reads the image of the fish F while the image processing unit 18 reads the image of the fish F with the depth of field of the imaging lens 66 of the reading unit 60 of the image reading unit 15 being deepened. Of the image of the fish F, the control unit 21 calculates the size of the fish F, the input information is input by operating the operation unit 12 or the touch panel 14, and the image processing unit 18 displays the size of the fish F and the input information. The image of the fish body F is combined, and the image forming unit 16 forms an image of the fish body F on which the size of the fish body F and the input information are combined on the recording paper. Therefore, the image of the fish body F can be easily formed on the recording paper, and the accuracy of the size (actual size) of the fish body F can be guaranteed.

Further, the image of the fish body F in which the size and the input information of the fish body F are combined is transmitted from the image forming apparatus 10 to the server 30, stored in the storage unit 38 of the server 30, and can be viewed by the external terminal device T. Is managed by. Furthermore, since the modification or overwriting of the image IM of the fish F in the storage unit 38 is prohibited, the content of the image IM of the fish F is guaranteed.

In the above embodiment, the size and input information of the fish body F are combined with the image of the fish body F and stored in the storage unit 28 of the image forming apparatus 10 and the storage unit 38 of the server 30. The input information may be stored in the storage units 28 and 38 separately from the image of the fish body F.
<Modification 1>
In the first modification, the weight detection unit that detects the weight of the fish F is provided on the second platen glass 62 of the reading unit 60 of the image reading unit 15. As the weight detection unit, for example, a piezoelectric element can be applied, and the piezoelectric element is provided at the lower end portion of the second platen glass 62, and the fish body F placed on the second platen glass 62 by this piezoelectric element. Detect the weight of.

The control unit 21 detects the weight of the fish body F on the second platen glass 62 based on the detection output of the piezoelectric element. The image processing unit 18 combines the weight of the fish F with the input information and the size of the fish F into an image of the fish F. This eliminates the need for the user to measure or input the weight of the fish body F.
<Modification 2>
In the second modification, a translucent sheet (not shown) is detachably provided on the second platen glass 62 before the fish body F is placed on the second platen glass 62 of the reading unit 60 of the image reading unit 15. After the reading unit 60 finishes reading the image of the fish F, the translucent sheet is peeled off from the second platen glass 62 and removed. This translucent sheet prevents the second platen glass 62 from being soiled by the fish F.
<Modification 3>
In Modification 3, the control unit 21 of the image forming apparatus 10 determines the name of the fish indicated by the fish body F. For example, in S109, when the image of the fish F is read in color by the reading unit 60 of the image reading unit 15, the color image of the fish F read by the reading unit 60 (which may be a converted monochrome image) is displayed. It is stored in the memory 17. Further, the storage unit 28 stores the name of the fish and the fish body image in association with each of various types of fish. The control unit 41 performs pattern matching between the image of the fish body F stored in the image memory 17 and the fish body image of each fish stored in the storage unit 28 to match or approximate the image of the fish body F. The fish body image is detected, and the name of the fish associated with the detected fish body image is read from the storage unit 28. The control unit 41 uses the name thus read as the name indicating the fish type of the fish body F. Accordingly, even if the user does not manually input the fish species of the fish body F input in the text box T1 (even if the user does not know the fish species of the fish body F), the fish of the fish body F is displayed in the image of the fish body F. It is possible to synthesize a name that indicates a species.

Further, the contour shape of the fish body and the name of the fish body are stored in advance in the storage unit 28 for each of a plurality of types of fish bodies, and the image processing unit 18 calculates the fish body F based on the image of the fish body F stored in the image memory 17. The control unit 21 extracts the contour shape of the fish body F, and the control unit 21 matches or approximates to the contour shape of the fish body F extracted by the image processing unit 18 from the contour shapes of various fish bodies stored in the storage unit 28. It is also possible to detect the contour shape of No. 1 and read the name of the fish body corresponding to the detected contour shape of the fish body from the storage unit 28.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the image forming apparatus of the above-described embodiment, but the present invention can be applied to a copying machine or the like.

Further, the configuration and processing of the above-described embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 10 are merely embodiments of the present invention, and the present invention is not intended to be limited to the configuration and processing.

10 image forming apparatus 11, 31 display unit 12, 32 operation unit 13, 33 communication unit 14 touch panel 15 image reading unit 16 image forming unit 19, 39 control unit 21, 41 control unit 23, 43 display control unit 24, 44 communication control 28, 38 Storage Sy Image forming system

Claims (9)

An image reading unit that reads an image of either a document or a three-dimensional object placed on a document table,
An operation unit operated by a user to input an instruction to read an image of the three-dimensional object,
A storage unit for storing the image of the three-dimensional object,
When an instruction to read the image of the three-dimensional object is input by operating the operation unit, the depth of field of the image reading unit is predetermined to be deeper than the depth of field when reading the image of the document. The image reading unit to read the image of the three-dimensional object, calculate the size of the three-dimensional object based on the image of the three-dimensional object, and store the size together with the image of the three-dimensional object. An image reading apparatus including: a control unit that stores the image in a unit. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit stores the input information input by the operation of the operation unit in the storage unit together with the image and the size of the three-dimensional object. A weight detection unit that detects the weight of the three-dimensional object placed on the document table,
The image reading device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit stores the weight of the three-dimensional object detected by the weight detection unit in the storage unit together with the image and the size of the three-dimensional object. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit stores the color of the image of the three-dimensional object read by the image reading unit in the storage unit together with the image of the three-dimensional object and the size. The image reading device according to claim 1, wherein a translucent sheet is detachably provided on the document table. In the storage unit, fish names and fish body images are stored in association with each other for each type of fish,
The control unit detects a fish body image that matches or approximates the image of the fish body as the three-dimensional object read by the image reading unit from the fish body image of each fish stored in the storage unit, The image reading device according to claim 1, wherein the name of the fish associated with the detected fish body image is read from the storage unit. Further comprising an image processing unit for extracting the contour shape of the fish body based on the image of the fish body as the three-dimensional object read by the image reading unit,
In the storage unit, the contour shape of the fish body and the name of the fish body are stored for each of a plurality of types of fish bodies,
The control unit analyzes a contour shape of a fish body that matches or approximates the contour shape of the fish body extracted by the image processing unit from among the contour shapes of various fish bodies stored in the storage unit, and analyzes the contour shape. The image reading device according to claim 1, wherein the name of the fish body corresponding to the contour shape of the fish body is read out from the storage unit and acquired. An image reading apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
An image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming unit that forms an image of the three-dimensional object read by the image reading unit on a recording sheet,
The control unit causes the image forming unit to record an image of the three-dimensional object on a recording sheet. An image forming system comprising an image forming apparatus and a server connected to the image forming apparatus via a network,
The image forming apparatus,
An image reading unit that reads an image of either a document or a three-dimensional object placed on a document table,
An operation unit operated by a user to input an instruction to read an image of the three-dimensional object,
A first communication unit that performs data communication with the server through the network;
When an instruction to read the image of the three-dimensional object is input by operating the operation unit, the depth of field of the image reading unit is predetermined to be deeper than the depth of field when reading the image of the document. The image reading unit to read the image of the three-dimensional object, calculate the size of the three-dimensional object based on the image of the three-dimensional object, and calculate the image and the size of the three-dimensional object. A first control unit for transmitting from one communication unit to the server,
The server is
A second communication unit for receiving the image and the size of the three-dimensional object transmitted from the image forming apparatus through the network;
A storage unit that stores the image and the size of the three-dimensional object received by the second communication unit;
After the image of the three-dimensional object and the size are stored in the storage unit, a control unit that permits reading of the image and the size of the three-dimensional object and prohibits changing or overwriting the image of the three-dimensional object and the size. And an image forming system including.