JP2808667B2 - Imaging device - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a micro printer for copying an image recorded on a microfilm onto recording paper.

2. Description of the Related Art Hereinafter, a description will be given of a microprinter that copies an image recorded on a microfilm onto recording paper as an example.

As the microfilm loaded in the reader printer, there are a case where a positive film is used and a case where a negative film is used. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a part of a microfilm M of a type wound up in a roll shape.
In this figure, a negative film microfilm in which the image information A such as characters recorded in each image frame F becomes transparent and the ground portion of the image frame F becomes black (dark portion) as shown by hatching. M is shown. The ground portion of the microfilm M other than the image frame F is transparent except for a search mark B such as a blip mark or a document mark.

When the information A recorded as such a negative image is reproduced on a recording sheet, a transparent image information A is formed by reversal development using an electrophotographic image forming apparatus having a photosensitive member.
Is positively reproduced on the recording paper. When the recorded image is reproduced on the recording paper, when the transparent ground portion of the microfilm M outside the image frame F is exposed to the photoconductor, the portion becomes black and is formed on the recording paper. Therefore, not only does the appearance of the printed image deteriorate, but also the toner consumption increases.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention Therefore, in consideration of the case where the microfilm M which has become the negative image shown in FIG. 13 is reproduced on recording paper,
A boundary E between a quadrilateral image frame F and a portion G of the image surrounding the image frame F where the image is not recorded (hereinafter referred to as a film ground portion) is set as a boundary, and the boundary line E is located outside the boundary line E. It is necessary to prevent the portion from being reproduced on the recording paper. By doing so, only the image information A is reproduced on the recording paper, so that not only the toner consumption can be reduced, but also the aesthetic appearance of the printed image is improved.

However, in order to prevent a portion outside the boundary line E from being printed, it is not only difficult to mask the outside from the position of the boundary line E with high accuracy due to the limitation of the positioning accuracy of the masking device. The accuracy of the sensor for finding the position must be improved to the micron order, and the practicality is high from the viewpoint of the cost of the optical sensor and the increase in cost due to the complexity of the control circuit processing the image information from the optical sensor. Absent.

Therefore, in order to reduce toner consumption and improve print quality within a practical range, the position of the edge of an image frame is detected using an optical sensor in which light receiving elements are arranged in units of millimeters. When an image is reproduced on recording paper in a state where the image formation is regulated by the masking device up to the position of the edge of the image frame detected in this way, a part of the film ground becomes a quadrangular frame in the reproduced image. May remain. The reason is that the boundary line E shown in FIG.
This is because there is a deviation between the edge of the image frame detected by the optical sensor and the detection pitch of the optical sensor.
Therefore, to prevent this frame from being completely reproduced on the recording paper, a masking device such as a shutter should be used.
This region should be erased so that no image outside the detection pitch including the inside from the position where the edge of the image is detected is formed. However, in the case where information is recorded up to the portion near the boundary line E in FIG. 13, masking to a position including the detection pitch of the optical sensor to surely erase this frame results in However, there is a possibility that even recorded image information is erased.

In order to solve such a problem, as shown in JP-A-62-200343, image information detected by an optical sensor is developed into a matrix by binarization, and a boundary line E
When information is recorded up to a portion close to, a part of the actual film ground is formed on the recording paper by the operation of the operator, that is, the film ground part is left as a frame, This ensures that the recorded information is reproduced without leakage. Further, when information is not recorded near the boundary line E, an attempt is made to completely erase the film background around the image by masking the image area.

However, in the technique disclosed in this publication, the operator must perform key operations while watching the image projected on the screen, and the operability of the reader printer is not good.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and image information such as characters recorded on a document is reliably recorded on recording paper, and the quality of an image formed on recording paper is improved. And to reduce toner consumption.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, the invention described in claim 1 is
Image forming means for forming an image on recording paper based on an image recorded on a document, output means for outputting an electric signal related to the image of the document, and an edge of the document based on the electric signal output from the output means Position detecting means for detecting the position of the document, and determining means for determining whether image information is present within a predetermined width from the edge of the document detected by the position detecting means based on the electric signal output from the output means. When the determining means determines that there is no image information within a predetermined width from the edge of the document, the image forming means regulates not to perform image formation outside the document and within a predetermined width from the edge of the document, Regulating means for regulating the image forming means so as not to form an image outside the document when the discriminating means determines that image information exists within a predetermined width from the edge of the document. An image forming apparatus.

The invention according to claim 2 is an image forming means for forming an image on a recording sheet based on an image recorded on a document, and determining whether image information exists within a predetermined width from an edge of the document,
When image information is present, regulating means for regulating image formation of a portion corresponding to an area outside the document, and when not present, regulating means for regulating image formation corresponding to a portion outside the document and within a predetermined width from the document end. An image forming apparatus having the image forming means, the information of the image frame recorded on the microfilm is enlarged and projected,
The enlargement-projected image is reproduced on a recording paper, and further includes a light-receiving unit that receives the enlarged-projected image and outputs an electric signal, wherein the restricting unit controls an electric signal output by the light-receiving unit. Based on this, the position of the edge of the image frame on the microfilm is detected, and further, it is determined whether or not image information exists within the image frame having a predetermined width from the edge of the image frame. And an image forming apparatus for controlling the image formation inside the image frame having the predetermined width, and restricting the image formation outside the image frame region when the image frame exists.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when image information exists within a predetermined width from the edge of the document, the image formation of a portion corresponding to an area outside the document by the image forming means is regulated by the regulation means,
The image forming means forms an image on recording paper based on the document image. Further, when image information does not exist within a predetermined width from the edge of the document, the image forming unit controls the image forming corresponding to a portion outside the document and a portion within a predetermined width from the document end by the restricting unit. Performs image formation on recording paper based on a document image further inside a predetermined width from the document end.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image recorded on the microfilm projected on the image receiving body, the edge of the image frame is detected by the optical sensor, and further, information is recorded near the boundary of the image frame. Is determined. If the information is not recorded near the boundary of the image frame based on the result of the determination, the image forming area regulating unit determines from the edge of the image frame that the information is determined not to be recorded by the signal from the control unit. Image formation up to the inside of the range is automatically regulated. Thus, the ground portion of the film is not reproduced at all on the recording paper. Further, if the information is recorded inside a predetermined range from the edge of the image frame, the image forming area restricting means automatically restricts the image formation up to the position determined to be the edge of the image frame. Even if information is recorded at a position near the boundary between image frames, the information is reliably reproduced on the recording paper without being erased.

Examples Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on examples.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the internal structure of a reader printer according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows an optical system of the reader printer shown in FIG.

Table 11 attached to reader printer housing 10
Is provided with a film carrier 12, and the carrier 12 is loaded with the microfilm M. A light source 13 is built in the housing 10, and light transmitted from the light source 13 through the microfilm M is applied to a screen 14 installed on the upper front of the housing 10. A projection lens 15 is located above the carrier 12, and a projection lens 15
Prism 16 for inverting the image passing through 15 upside down
Is located. Above the prism 16, a scanning mirror 17 that is rotatable in the direction shown by the arrow is located. In addition to switching between the reader optical path and the printer optical path by the scanning mirror 17, printing is also performed. Sometimes, the image of the microfilm M is scanned. In order to reflect the image reflected by the scanning mirror 17 toward the screen 14, a reflection mirror 18 is fixed to the optical path of the reader system.

Further, between the photosensitive drum 20 for copying the image of the microfilm M on the recording paper and the scanning mirror 17,
Reflection mirrors 21, 22, and 23 forming a printer optical path are mounted. A known image forming unit of an electrophotographic system is incorporated around the photosensitive drum 20, but is not shown. However, the photosensitive drum 20 forms a part of the image forming unit 20a.

To project the image recorded on the microfilm M onto the screen 14 by the reader printer having the above structure, the scanning mirror 17 is rotated to the position of the reader system optical path. Thereby, the light from the light source 13 irradiates the microfilm M, and the image recorded on the film is projected on the screen 14 via the projection lens 15, the prism 16, the scanning mirror 17, and the reflection mirror 18.

In order to print the read image projected on the slycoon 14 on the recording paper 19, the scanning mirror 17 is switched to the printer optical path position. Thus, the image of the microfilm M irradiated by the light source 13 is exposed to the photosensitive drum 20 via the projection lens 15, the prism 16, the scanning mirror 17, and the mirrors 21 to 23. At this time, the photosensitive drum
In synchronization with the rotation of 20, the scanning mirror 17 rotates, and the slit light is irradiated on the photosensitive drum 20.

In order to prevent a portion of the slit light from the microfilm M recorded by the negative image that does not need to be reproduced on the recording paper 19 from being irradiated on the photosensitive drum 20, all the shutters 25 and the side shutters 26 are provided. It is provided in a portion of the reader system optical path between the two mirrors 22 and 23. Therefore, these shutters constitute an image forming area regulating means for the negative film.

Fig. 3 shows the details of all the shutters 25,
The mounting member 30 fixed in the housing 10 is provided with a support shaft 31 extending in a direction parallel to the rotation center axis of the photosensitive drum 20 with respect to the slit light. A shutter blade 32 is rotatably mounted. This support shaft 31 is orthogonal to the optical axis O of the slit light shown in FIG. The shutter blade 32 has a base end 32a.
And a light-shielding part 32b bent from the tip of the light-shielding part 32b. The light-shielding part 32b has a vertical dimension in FIG. And

An electromagnetic actuator 33 fixed to the mounting member 30 in order to rotate the shutter blade 32 and set it to a blocking position shown by a solid line and a retracted position shown by a two-dot chain line in the drawing.
The plunger 34 and the bracket 35 fixed to the shutter blade 32 are engaged. When the electromagnetic actuator 33 is energized, the plunger 34 retreats and the shutter blades
32 is a retract position, and when the power is cut off, it becomes a cutoff position.

The side shutter 26 is, as shown in FIG.
Two shutter blades 26a and 26b are provided to shield portions of the slit light corresponding to both ends of the photosensitive drum 20. FIG. 4 shows details of one of these.

A shutter blade 26a is fixed to a rotating shaft 40 rotatably mounted in the housing 10. In order to drive the rotation shaft 40, a gear 44 rotated by a stepping motor 43 mounted in the housing 10 meshes with a semicircular gear 42 mounted on one end of the rotation shaft 40. ing. Pivot axis
An operation member 45 is fixed to the shutter 40 in the same phase as that of the shutter blade 26a, and when the shutter blade 26a comes to the reference position A indicated by the two-dot chain line with the rotation of the rotation shaft 40, the operation is performed. The tip of the member 45 enters the slit of the position detector 46 having the photoelectric detection element. The signal from the position detector 46 detects that the shutter blade 26a has reached the reference position.

FIG. 5 shows all shutters 25 and side shutters 26 described above.
FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing the operation state of FIG. 5, in which blocking of slit light and exposure are regulated by the operation of all shutters 25, and the exposure area is controlled by rotation of shutter plates 26a, 26b of side shutter 26. Rotation position A of shutter plate 26a
The position where the slit light corresponding to D reaches the photosensitive drum 20 is indicated by the same reference numeral.

As shown in FIG. 1, just below the screen 14,
An optical sensor, that is, an automatic masking sensor (AM sensor) 50 is provided, and the optical sensor 50 has a length substantially corresponding to the width of the screen 14 as shown in FIG. Immediately below the optical sensor 50, an image density detection sensor (AE sensor) 51 for detecting the density of the original image for controlling the exposure illuminance is provided.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an eraser LED 52 for erasing an unnecessary portion for printing when a positive film is loaded is provided adjacent to the photosensitive drum 20 as an image receiving body. is set up. Therefore,
The LED 52 constitutes an image forming area regulating means for a positive film.

FIG. 6 is a view showing a part of the optical sensor 50. A light receiving element 50a composed of a photodiode or the like is provided on a substrate 53 at a constant pitch P, for example, at intervals of 6 mm in the illustrated embodiment, for a total of 2.
Four are arranged linearly. This optical sensor 50 is
Scanning is performed during the switching from the reader optical path to the print optical path by the scanning mirror 17, and a projected image is received.
Then, each light receiving element 50a outputs an analog signal according to the intensity of the received light, and the CPU binarizes the data. Regardless of whether the loaded microfilm M is a negative film or a positive film, the microfilm is developed in a virtual matrix in the memory, and if the image portion is black, a signal of “1” is obtained. If it is white, the signal is "0".

By using this optical sensor 50, the first image is reproduced before the image is reproduced on the recording paper 19 by the photosensitive drum 20.
By rotating the scanning mirror 17 shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 2, by discriminating the boundary position between the ground portion of the microfilm M and the image frame in the image recorded on the microfilm M, Only the area that needs to be reproduced is detected.

FIGS. 7 (A) and 7 (B) show that an image projected on the screen 14 using the microfilm M on which a negative image is recorded is received by the optical sensor 50 line by line.
FIG. 3 is a diagram in which the CPU binarizes and maps the image density of an area corresponding to the entire screen 14 in a matrix. The illustrated embodiment shows a map having 21 rows in the horizontal direction and 24 columns in the vertical direction. In the figure, "1" indicates a bright portion (transparent portion of the film), and "0" portion corresponds to a dark portion (black) and is white. Therefore, in this case, the portion indicated by the two-dot chain line R is a region to be reproduced on the recording paper, that is, a region for exposing the photosensitive drum 20 to light.

However, in the microfilm shown in FIG. 7A, as apparent from the image data, no image information is recorded near the boundary line in the image frame. In the microfilm shown in the figure, image information Aa is recorded near the boundary line in the image frame. Therefore, when the information in the image frame shown in FIG. 7A is reproduced on the recording paper 19, since this microfilm is a negative film, the entire shutter 25 and the side shutter 26 are used to reproduce the image. Row corresponding to edge of piece
By masking up to rows D1 and D2 on the inner side of the image frame than C1 and C2, and similarly masking up to the columns B1 and B2 on the inner side of columns A1 and A2, the edge of the image frame can be obtained. Is not reproduced as a frame on the recording paper, but only the recorded information is reproduced. In the case where information is not recorded near the boundary line in the image frame in this way, the masking, that is, the image formation is restricted to that portion, for example, the row C1 detected by the light receiving element of the optical sensor 50, that is, This is because these actual boundaries, that is, the line E in FIG. 13, may be located between the edge of the image frame and the vicinity of the line D1, that is, the vicinity of the boundary within the image frame.

On the other hand, when the information in the image frame shown in FIG. 7B is reproduced on the recording paper 19, as in the case shown in FIG. When the light is shielded by the masking shutter up to the rows D1 and D2 corresponding to and the columns B1 and B2, the light receiving element of the optical sensor 50 is
Since information is recorded up to the portion near the boundary line in the image frame detected by 50a, there is a possibility that the information portion is also erased. Therefore, when the optical sensor 50 detects that information is recorded in the vicinity of the boundary line in the image frame, the position outside the edge including the position of the edge of the image frame detected by the optical sensor is detected. Shield. In other words, as shown in FIG. 7 (B), if the information Aa is recorded in the portion of the column B1 corresponding to the vicinity of the boundary line in the image frame, the column A1 is included without blocking the column B1. Erase outside of it. The above-mentioned masking shirt 2
In 5, 26, a shielding position is set for each pitch of the light receiving elements.

As a result, the information recorded in the image frame is reliably reproduced on the recording paper, and when no information is recorded near the boundary line in the image frame, only the information portion is completely reproduced automatically. In addition, the amount of toner used can be reduced.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a control circuit of the present invention. The signal from each detection element 50a in the optical sensor 50 is sent to an AM sensor output circuit 60, and is amplified and input by an amplifier incorporated therein. Sent to output port 61. The optical sensor 50 is provided by the A / D converter provided at the input / output port 61.
Is digitized and sent to the AM CPU 62. Similarly, the signal from the image density detection sensor 51
It is sent to the CPU 62 via the sensor output circuit 63. The data from the optical sensor 50 is stored in a binarized state in the RAM as a recording medium.

From a control CPU 64 connected to the AM CPU 62, an all-shutter drive mechanism 66, a printer control mechanism 67, a lens magnification detection mechanism 68, a mirror rotation mechanism 6 via an input / output port 65.
9. Control signals are sent to the searcher control mechanism 70, the AM button detection circuit 71, the zoom button detection circuit 72, the print button detection circuit 73, and the side shutter drive mechanism 74.

Next, the operating state of the reader printer of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 9 to 12 showing the control process of the present invention.

When the start of printing is determined in step 80, the data from each light receiving element 50a is
Entered with 1. A threshold value for discriminating whether the received light is white or black is calculated in step 82, and the image data is binarized in step 83.

Based on the binarized data, the position of the upper and lower frames described above, the position of C1 and C2 in the case shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, that is, the position of the edge of the image frame is detected in step 84. Then, the positions of the left and right frames, in this case, the positions of A1 and A2, that is, the positions of the edges of the image frame are detected in step 85. Further, in step 86, it is determined whether or not information is recorded near the boundary line in the image frame, that is, the image edge is determined. Based on the position of the edge of the image frame detected in this way and information on whether or not information is recorded near the boundary line within the image frame, a portion that does not need to be reproduced on the recording paper is erased, Print processing is executed as shown in step 87.

Unnecessary portions can be erased by the side shutter 26 described above if the microfilm recorded as a negative image is loaded as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B. When the slit light corresponding to the upper and lower ends of the projected image is scanned by the opening / closing operation of all the shutters 25, the light is shielded, that is, masked.

Also, if a microfilm recorded as a positive image was loaded, a latent image was formed on the photosensitive drum 20 corresponding to the portion of the microfill that did not need to be reproduced on the recording paper. The portion is illuminated by the LED 52 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 to remove its charge. That is, the unnecessary row portion turns on all the LEDs, and the column portion turns on only the side portions corresponding to the unnecessary columns.

FIG. 10 shows the upper and lower frame determination shown in step 84 in FIG. 9,
That is, this is a diagram showing a subroutine for judging the upper and lower portions of the film contour portion. In step 90, the value of a counter CNT for counting the number of lines is set to O. Then, by searching the binarized image from the top row and executing steps 91 to 94, all are “1”, that is, the row where the projected image is a bright part, and the next row Search for the address of the line where all are not "1". In the case of FIGS. 7 (A) and 7 (B), that row is the edge of the image frame shown in row C1. In step 95, the value of this row is stored as the upper frame address WT. If "YES" is determined in the step 91, "O" is input as the address value. Next, in order to determine the position of the lower frame, steps 96 to 98 are executed. First, the address of a line where all of one line is "1" is searched, and this value is set as the lower frame address. Set in step 99.

By the same steps shown in FIG.
A search is made from the leftmost column in FIGS. 9A and 9B to find the position of the left and right frames, that is, the position of the edge of the image frame. In FIG. 11, parts common to the steps shown in FIG. 10 are denoted by the same step numbers with the symbol a.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a subroutine for judging an image edge shown in step 86 of FIG.

First, in step 101, is there data O in the column from the column next to the left frame address WL to the column immediately before the right frame address WR in the row WT + 1 below the above-mentioned upper frame address WT? It is determined whether or not. That is, in the case shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, it is determined whether or not information is recorded near the boundary line in the image frame in the portion between the B1 column and the B2 column of the D1 row. Is done. If no information is recorded in this part, "NO" is determined in step 101, and step 95 has already been performed.
The value of the upper frame address obtained in step is corrected inward by one line. Thus, the edge of the image frame is not reproduced at all on the recording paper. If information is recorded in this portion, the recorded image is reproduced without correcting the value WT of the upper frame address. In this case, the address value WT
Since the image formation is restricted only to the portion, the film ground portion may be partially reproduced depending on the detected edge 3 of the image frame and the position of the actual boundary line surrounding the image frame F. The recorded image information is not erased.

Similarly, in steps 103 and 104, it is determined whether or not information is recorded in the vicinity of the boundary line in the lower image frame in FIGS. 7A and 7B, that is, in row D2. , The value WB of the lower frame address is corrected to the inside. Step 1
At 05 and 107, it is determined whether or not information is recorded in the vicinity of the boundary line in the image frame, and if it is recorded, similarly,
In step 106, the left frame address WL is obtained.
Then, the right frame address WR is corrected.

Note that the optical sensor, that is, the AM sensor 50 is not limited to a position directly below the screen 14 as shown in FIG.
, It can be set at any position in the reader optical path or print optical path.

Further, the pitch P of the light receiving elements 50a of the optical sensor 50 can be set arbitrarily, and the pitch P may be set in units of several millimeters. In this case, it may be determined that the position adjacent to the edge of the detected image frame by one pitch of the light receiving element is near the boundary line in the image frame. If the presence or absence of information is detected with the edge as an edge, the presence or absence of the information near the boundary line in the image frame is determined by the element within two pitches or more depending on the masking, that is, the accuracy of the image forming area regulating means. You may do it. That is, the edge of the image frame which can be detected by the light receiving element of the optical sensor, the position near the boundary line in the image frame, and the mutual pitch can be arbitrarily set.

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is determined whether or not image information is present within a predetermined width from the edge of the original in the original. The image corresponding to the area corresponding to the area of the original is regulated, and when it does not exist, the image corresponding to the part outside the original and within a predetermined width from the original edge is regulated. Is reliably recorded on the recording paper, the quality of the image formed on the recording paper is improved, and the amount of toner consumption can be reduced.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the edge of the image frame of the microfilm is detected based on the output of the light receiving means, among the images recorded on the microfilm and enlarged and projected on the image receiving body. It is determined whether or not information is recorded in the vicinity of the boundary line, and if it is not recorded,
Since the image formation from the edge of the image frame to the inside of the image frame of a predetermined width is automatically regulated, the image of the ground portion of the film is not reproduced on the recording paper, and the amount of toner used is Reduction and improvement in print appearance quality can be achieved.

Also, when information is recorded near the boundary line in the image frame, the reproduction of the image outside the image frame, including the edge, is restricted. Is not erased, the information is surely reproduced, and a highly reliable copy image is obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing the internal structure of a reader printer according to one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing an optical system of the reader printer shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a side view showing drive means for operating all the shutters, FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing drive means for operating the side shutters, FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing a relationship between each shutter and a printer optical path, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a partially omitted perspective view showing an optical sensor. FIGS. 7A and 7B are maps each showing a relationship between an image projected on a screen and binary information obtained from the optical sensor. FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a control circuit of the present invention, FIG. 9 is a main flowchart showing control steps of the present invention, FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of upper and lower frame discriminating steps shown in FIG.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of the left and right frame discriminating step shown in FIG. 9, FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of the image edge discriminating step shown in FIG. 9, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a part of the microfilm formed. 13 ... light source, 14 ... screen, 15 ... projection lens, 20
...... Photoreceptor drum, 20a ... Image forming unit, 25 ... All shutters (image forming area restricting means), 26 ... Side shutter (image forming area restricting means), 50 ... Light sensor, 52 ... LED ( Image forming area restricting means), 62, 64: CPU, F: Image frame, G
…… Film base, M …… Microfilm.

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-62-200341 (JP, A) JP-A-62-200343 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G03B 27 / 32

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] An image forming means for forming an image on a recording sheet based on an image recorded on a document, an output means for outputting an electric signal related to the image of the document, and an electric signal output from the output means. Position detecting means for detecting the position of the edge of the document, and whether or not image information exists within a predetermined width from the edge of the document detected by the position detecting means based on an electric signal output from the output means Determining means for determining, and when the determining means determines that there is no image information within a predetermined width from the edge of the document, the image forming means does not perform image formation outside the document and within a predetermined width from the edge of the document. Regulated as
Regulating means for regulating so that the image forming means does not form an image outside the document when the discriminating means determines that image information exists within a predetermined width from the edge of the document. Imaging device. 2. An image forming means for forming an image on a recording sheet based on an image recorded on a document, determining whether image information exists within a predetermined width from an edge of the document, and determining whether the image information exists. An image forming apparatus having a regulating means for regulating image formation of a portion corresponding to an area outside the document when the document is not present, and regulating an image corresponding to a portion outside the document and a portion within a predetermined width from the document end when not present. The image forming means enlarges and projects information of an image frame recorded on a microfilm, and reproduces the enlarged and projected image on a recording sheet. A light-receiving unit that outputs a signal, wherein the regulating unit detects a position of an edge of the image frame on the microfilm based on the electric signal output by the light-receiving unit, and furthermore, determines a predetermined position from the edge of the image frame. Image information inside the image frame of width Discriminating whether or not there is a report, restricting the image formation outside the image frame and inside the image frame of the above-mentioned predetermined width when not present, and restricting the image formation outside the image frame area when it exists. An imaging device characterized by the above-mentioned.