JP3513256B2 - Image forming apparatus and control method thereof - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus for reading an original image and forming an image on a recording medium based on an image signal, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus having an image processing function and a character recognition function. Is.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A printer having an original image reading unit and an external image signal input unit, which is an example of a conventional image forming apparatus, performs various correction processes on an input electric image signal to convert it into an optical image signal. An optical image signal is formed on the surface of the photoconductor to form an electrostatic image on the surface of the photoconductor, which is developed by a developing device and transferred to a recording medium such as a recording medium to fix the image.

Characters written in a fixed font,
Alternatively, a high recognition rate has been obtained for limited character types such as numbers. In addition, by making character candidates, misrecognition is prevented and the recognition rate is negotiated.

[0004]

When performing character recognition on an image signal of an image-processed character portion, it may be recognized as an image or may not be recognized depending on the content of the image processing performed. May occur.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of effectively utilizing the character recognition function of the apparatus and capable of high-quality character recording. It is a thing.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, an image forming apparatus is configured as in the following (1) and (2), and a method of controlling the image forming apparatus is described in the following (3). )
Through (7). (1) against the input image trimming and variable magnification processing
An image forming apparatus having a plurality of functions including an image processing function for performing image processing such as processing, and a character recognition function for performing character recognition processing on an input image, and a prohibition processing registration unit for registering prohibition processing, A selection unit that selects a function to be executed from the plurality of functions that the image forming apparatus has, a detection unit that detects the function selected by the selection unit, the image processing function and the character recognition function, and
When the image processing function is selected, the above image processing function is implemented.
It is possible to make it possible from the image processing function and the character recognition function.
When the character recognition function is selected, the character recognition device
The image processing function and the character recognition device.
Both functions of the brain is selected, and, inhibiting process registered by the inhibition processing registration means in the case of image processing, the two aircraft
Prohibit the execution of the image processing function of the Noh
Enables the recognition function to execute the image processing function and the character
When both recognition functions are selected and the prohibition process registered by the prohibition process registration means is character recognition process
In addition, prohibit the execution of the character recognition function of the above two functions
And a control means for enabling the image processing function to be executed ,
An image forming apparatus comprising: (2) A reading unit that reads an original image and outputs an image signal, an image input / output control unit that outputs an image signal based on an external input, and an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium based on each image signal. Preparation, trimming and
An image forming apparatus having an image processing function for performing image processing such as double processing and a character recognition function , and selecting means for selecting a function to be executed, and detection means for detecting the function selected by the selecting means. And the image processing function and the sentence
When the image processing function is selected from the character recognition function,
The image processing function is executable, and the image processing function is
If the character recognition function is selected from the character recognition functions,
In that case, when the character recognition function is executable and both the image processing function and the character recognition function are selected ,
First of all, to execute the character recognition function,
An image forming apparatus , comprising: a control unit that enables the image processing function after the execution of the character recognition function. (3) against the input image trimming and variable magnification processing
A method of controlling an image forming apparatus having a plurality of functions including an image processing function for performing image processing such as processing and a character recognition function for performing character recognition processing on an input image, wherein a prohibition process registration for registering a prohibition process is performed. The image processing apparatus includes a step, a selection step of selecting a function to be executed from the plurality of functions of the image forming apparatus, and a detection step of detecting the function selected in the selection step.
The image processing function is selected from the function and the character recognition function.
The image processing function is executed,
From the image processing function and the character recognition function, the character recognition function is
When selected, enables the character recognition function,
Both the image processing function and the character recognition function are selected.
Is, and, if the inhibition processing registered by the inhibition processing registration steps of the image processing, the execution of the character recognition function to inhibit execution of the image processing functions of the both functions
Enables both the image processing function and the character recognition function
Capacity is selected, and, if the prohibition processing prohibition process registered by the registration step is a character recognition process, before Symbol executing the image processing function to inhibit execution of the character recognition function of both functions A method for controlling an image forming apparatus, which enables the image forming apparatus. (4) In the method of controlling an image forming apparatus according to (3), when the prohibition process is not registered in the prohibition process registration step, both the image processing function and the character recognition function are performed in the detection step. A method of controlling an image forming apparatus, wherein when a selection is detected, one of the two functions registered as an initial setting is prohibited and the other function is prioritized. (5) In the image forming apparatus control method according to (3), the image forming apparatus inputs an image from a document reading device. (6) In the image forming apparatus control method according to (3), the image forming apparatus inputs an image from an external device. (7) In the image forming apparatus control method according to (3), the image forming apparatus has a plurality of modes including a copy mode and a mode for inputting an image from an external device. Control method.

[0007]

[0008]

With the above construction, simultaneous processing by the respective functions of the image processing means having the image processing function and the character recognition means having the character recognition function is prevented for the character portion of the document, and the processing order is determined. By enabling one or the other, image signal processing suitable for forming a character image can be performed, and high-quality character recording can be performed.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the arrangement of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The reader unit 1 reads an image of a document and outputs image data corresponding to the document image to the printer unit 2 and the image input / output control unit 3. The printer unit 2 records an image according to the image data from the reader unit 1 and the image input / output control unit 3 on recording paper. The image input / output control unit 3 is connected to the reader unit 1, and includes a facsimile unit 4, a file unit 5, a computer interface unit 7, a formatter unit 8,
The image memory unit 9 and the core unit 10 are included.

The facsimile section 4 decompresses the compressed image data received via the telephone line, transfers the decompressed image data to the core section 10, and compresses the image data transferred from the core section 10. Then, the compressed compressed image data is transmitted via the telephone line. In the facsimile section 4,
The hard disk 12 is connected, and the received compressed image data can be temporarily stored.

A magneto-optical disk drive unit 6 is connected to the file unit 5, and the file unit 5 is the core unit 1.
The image data transferred from 0 is compressed and stored in the magneto-optical disk set in the magneto-optical disk drive unit 6 together with the keyword for searching the image data. Further, the file unit 5 searches the compressed image data stored in the magneto-optical disk based on the keyword transferred via the core unit 10, reads out the searched compressed image data, decompresses the decompressed image data, and decompresses the decompressed image. The data is transferred to the core unit 10.

The computer interface section 7 is a personal computer or a workstation (PC / PC).
This is an interface between the WS) 11 and the core unit 10.

The formatter unit 8 expands the code data representing the image transferred from the PC / WS 11 into image data which can be recorded by the printer unit 2, and the image memory unit 9 temporarily stores the data transferred from the PC / WS 11. It is something that is memorized.

As to the core unit 10, which will be described later, the core unit 10 flows data among the reader unit 1, the facsimile unit 4, the file unit 5, the computer interface unit 7, the formatter unit 8 and the image memory unit 9. Is to control.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the reader unit 1 and the printer unit 2.

The document feeding device 101 of the reader unit 1 feeds one by one from the last page of the document onto the platen glass 102, and after the document reading operation is completed, the platen glass 102 is fed.
The above original is ejected. When the document is conveyed onto the platen glass 102, the lamp 103 is turned on and the scanner unit 104 is started to move to expose and scan the document. Light reflected from the original at this time is reflected by the mirror 1.
CC by 05, 106, 107 and lens 108
It is guided to a D image sensor (hereinafter referred to as CCD) 109. In this way, the image of the scanned original is CCD109.
Read by The image data output from the CCD 109 is subjected to predetermined processing and then transferred to the printer unit 2 and the core unit 10 of the image input / output control unit 3.

The laser driver 221 of the printer unit 2 drives the laser emission unit 201, and causes the laser emission unit 201 to emit laser light according to the image data output from the reader unit 1. This laser light is applied to the photosensitive drum 2.
02, and a latent image corresponding to the laser beam is formed on the photosensitive drum 202. The developer is attached to the latent image portion of the photosensitive drum 202 by the developing device 203. Then, at a timing synchronized with the start of laser beam irradiation, recording paper is fed from either the cassette 204 or the cassette 205 and conveyed to the transfer unit 206, and the developer attached to the photosensitive drum 202 is transferred onto the recording paper. To do. The recording paper on which the developer is placed is conveyed to the fixing unit 207, and the developer is fixed on the recording paper by the heat and pressure of the fixing unit 207. The recording sheet that has passed through the fixing unit 207 is discharged by a discharge roller 208,
The sorter 220 stores the discharged recording paper in each bin and sorts the recording paper. Note that the sorter 220 stores the recording paper in the uppermost bin when the sorting is not set. When double-sided recording is set, the recording paper is conveyed to the discharge roller 208, the rotation direction of the discharge roller 208 is reversed, and the flapper 209 guides the recording paper to the re-feeding conveyance path. When multiplex recording is set, the flapper 209 guides the recording sheet to the re-feeding conveyance path so as not to convey it to the discharge roller 208. The recording sheet guided to the re-feeding conveyance path is transferred to the timing transfer unit 206 described above.
Is fed to.

(Description of Reader Unit) FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the reader unit 1.

The image data output from the CCD 109 is subjected to analog / digital conversion in the A / D / SH unit 110 and shading correction. A / D
The image data processed by the SH unit 110 is transferred to the printer unit 2 via the image processing unit 111, and is also transferred to the core unit 10 of the image input / output control unit 3 via the interface unit 113.

The CPU 114 controls the image processing unit 111 and the interface 113 according to the setting contents set by the operation unit 115. For example, when the copy mode in which the trimming process is performed by the operation unit 115 to perform copying is set, the trimming process is performed by the image processing unit 111 and the image is transferred to the printer unit 2. When the facsimile transmission mode is set on the operation unit 115, the control command is transferred from the interface 113 to the core unit 10 according to the image data and the set mode. Such a control program of the CPU 114 is stored in the memory 116, and the CPU 114 performs control while referring to the input from the memory 116. The memory 116 is a CPU
It is also used as a work area for 114.

(Description of Core Unit) FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the core unit 10.

The image data from the reader unit 1 is transferred to the data processing unit 121, and the control command from the reader unit 1 is transferred to the CPU 123. Data processing unit 1
Reference numeral 21 is for performing image processing such as image rotation processing and scaling processing. The image data transferred from the reader unit 1 to the data processing unit 121 is an interface according to a control command transferred from the reader unit 1. It is transferred to the facsimile unit 4, the file unit 5, and the computer interface unit 7 via 120.

Code data representing an image input via the computer interface 7 is transferred to the data processing unit 121 and then transferred to the formatter unit 8 to be expanded into image data, and this image data is transferred to the data processing unit. After being transferred to 121, it is transferred to the facsimile unit 4 and the printer unit 2.

The image data from the facsimile section 4 is transferred to the data processing section 121 and then to the printer section 2, the file section 5 and the computer interface section 7. Further, the image data from the file unit 5 is transferred to the data processing unit 121 and then to the printer unit 2, the facsimile unit 4, and the computer interface unit 7.

The reader unit 1, the printer unit 2, the facsimile unit 4, the file unit 5, and the computer interface unit 7 each have a connector and are connected to the connector of the core unit 4.

The CPU 123 performs the above control according to the control program stored in the memory 124 and the control command transferred from the reader unit 1. The memory 124 is also used as a work area for the CPU 123.

As described above, the core section 10 can be used as a center to perform a combination of functions such as reading an original image, printing an image, transmitting and receiving an image, storing an image, and inputting / outputting data from a computer. It is possible.

(Description of Facsimile Unit) FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the detailed arrangement of the facsimile unit 4.

The facsimile unit 4 is connected to the core unit 10 by the connector 400 and sends and receives various signals. Core part 10
When storing the binary information from the memory A405 to the memory D408, an image signal is input to the memory controller 404 via the connector 400, and the memory controller 404 controls the memory A405, the memory B406, and the memory C407. , Memory D 408, or a cascade connection of two sets of memories.

The memory controller 404 is the CPU 41
According to the instruction 2, the memory A405, the memory B406, the memory C407, and the memory D408 are controlled to store and read data.

The memory A405, the memory B406, the memory C407, and the memory D408 each have 2 Mbytes.
And has an image storage capacity of 400 dpi and stores an image corresponding to A4 at a resolution of 400 dpi. The timing generation circuit 409 includes the core unit 10
Control signals from (HSYNC, HEN, VSYNC, V
EN) to generate signals for performing the following two functions.

First, the image signal from the core unit 10 is stored in one of the memories A405 to D408,
Or the function of storing in two memories. The second is a function of reading out an image signal from any one of the memories A405 to D408 and transmitting it to the connector.

The dual port memory 410 is connected to the CPU 1003 of the core unit 10 via the connector 400. Each CPU uses this dual port memory 4
Commands are exchanged via 10.

The SCSI controller 413 interfaces with a hard disk connected to the facsimile section 4 of FIG. It stores the data when sending and receiving facsimiles.

The CODEC 441 reads out the image information stored in any one of the memories A405 to D408, encodes it according to a desired one of the MH, MR, and MMR systems, and then stores it in one of the memories A405 to D408. Is stored as encoded information. Also, the memory A4
05 to memory D 408, the coded information stored in the memory A 405 to the memory D 408 is stored as decoding information, that is, image information To do.

The MODEM 414 has a function of modulating the coded information from the hard disk connected to the CODEC 411 or the SCSI controller 413 in order to transfer the coded information to the telephone line, and demodulates the information sent from the NCU 415 to obtain the coded information. And the encoded information is transferred to the hard disk connected to the CODEC 411 or the SCSI controller 413. The NCU 415 exchanges information with an exchange installed in a telephone office directly connected to a telephone line by a predetermined procedure.

The operation of one embodiment of facsimile transmission will be described.

The binary image signal from the reader unit 1 is input from the connector 400 and stored in the memory A 405 by the memory controller 404. The timing signal representing the timing to be stored in the memory A 405 is a timing signal from the timing signal from the reader unit 1.
It is generated in 09. The CPU 412 CODs the memory A 405 and the memory B 406 of the memory controller 404.
It is connected to the bus line 463 of the EC 411. CODEC
Numeral 411 reads the image information from the memory A 405, encodes it by the MR method, and encodes the encoded information in the memory B 406
Write in. CODEC4 image information of A4 size
When 11 is encoded, the CPU 412 connects the memory B 406 of the memory controller 404 to the CPU bus 462. The CPU 412 stores the encoded information in the memory B40.
The data is sequentially read from 6 and transferred to MODEM 414. MO
The DEM 414 modulates the coded information and NCU 41
Facsimile information is transmitted to the telephone line via the communication line 5.

Next, the operation of one embodiment of facsimile reception will be described.

The information sent from the telephone line is the NCU.
It is input to the facsimile unit 4 in a predetermined procedure by the NCU 415. Information from NCU 415
It enters the MODEM 414 and is demodulated. The CPU 412 is
Information from the MODEM 414 is stored in the memory C407 via the CPU bus 462. Information on one screen is memory C
When stored in 407, the CPU 412 outputs the data of the memory C 407 to the CODEC 411 by controlling the memory controller 404. CODEC411
Sequentially reads and decodes the encoded information in the memory C407 and stores it in the memory D408. The CPU 412 is the CPU 1 of the core unit 10 via the dual port memory 410.
23, and performs settings for printing out an image from the memory D 408 through the core unit 10 to the printer unit 2. When the setting is completed, the CPU 412 activates the timing generation circuit 409 and outputs the timing signal to the memory controller 404. Memory controller 4
04 reads the image information from the memory D 408 in synchronization with the signal from the timing generation circuit 409 and outputs it to the connector 400. From the connector 400 to the printer unit 2
The output to is as described in the description of the core section. However, the facsimile unit can also send and receive character code data.

(Explanation of File Section) FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the detailed structure of the file section 5. The structure and operation will be described with reference to FIG.

The file unit 5 is connected to the core unit 10 by the connector 500 and exchanges various signals. The multi-valued input signal is input to the compression circuit 503, where multi-valued image information is converted into compressed information and output to the memory controller 510. The output signal of the compression circuit 503 is output to the memory A 506 and the memory B 50 under the control of the memory controller 510.
7, memory C 508, memory D 509, or two sets of memories connected in cascade. The memory controller 510 is instructed by the CPU 516 to instruct the memory A 506, the memory B 507, and the memory C 5.
08, memory D509 is controlled to store and read data.

The memory A 506, the memory B 507, the memory C 508, and the memory D 509 each have 2 Mbytes.
And has an image storage capacity of 400 dpi and stores an image corresponding to A4 at a resolution of 400 dpi. The timing generation circuit 514 is provided in the core unit 10.
Control signals from (HSYNC, HEN, VSYNC, V
EN) to generate signals for performing the following two functions. One is a function of storing information from the core unit 10 in any one of the memories A506 to D509 or two memories. The second is a function of reading the image information from any one of the memories A506 to D509 and transmitting it to the decompression circuit 504.
The dual port memory 515 is the CPU 1 of the core unit 10.
23, connected to the CPU 516 of the file unit 5.
Each CPU exchanges commands via the dual port memory 515. The SCSI controller 519 interfaces with the external storage device 520 that is drive-controlled by the magneto-optical disk drive unit 6 connected to the file unit 5 in FIG. The external storage device 520 is specifically composed of a magneto-optical disk,
Accumulates data such as image information. CODEC 517
Reads out the image information stored in any of the memories A506 to D509 and outputs MH, MR, MMR.
After encoding by the method desired by the method, the memory A50
No. 6 to the memory D 509, and stored as encoded information. Also, after the encoded information stored in the memory A506 to the memory D509 is read out and decoded by a desired method of the MH, MR and MMR methods, the memory A506 to the memory A506 to
The decoded information, that is, image information is stored in one of the memories D509.

Storage of file information by the external storage device 520 will be described.

The 8-bit multi-valued image signal from the reader unit 1 is input from the connector 500 to the compression circuit 503. The compressed image signal is stored in the memory controller 5
Input to 10. The memory controller 510 uses the signal from the core unit 10 to generate a timing signal in the timing generation circuit 514, and stores the image signal compressed in accordance with this signal in the memory A506. CPU516
Causes the memory controller 510 to output the data in the memory A 506 and the memory B 507 to the CODEC 517. The CODEC 517 encodes the compressed information from the memory 506 by the MR method and writes the encoded information in the memory B507. When the CODEC 517 finishes the encoding, the CPU 516 sequentially reads the encoded information from the memory B 507 and transfers it to the SCSI controller 519. The SCSI controller 519 is
The encoded information 572 is stored in the external storage device 520.

Next, a description will be given of how information is taken out from the external storage device 520 and output to the printer unit 2.

Upon receiving the information retrieval / printing command, the CPU 516 receives the encoded information from the external storage device 520 via the SCSI controller 519 and transfers the encoded information to the memory C508. When the transfer of the encoded information to the memory C508 is completed, the CP
The U 516 controls the memory controller 510 to convert the data in the memory C 508 and the memory D 509 to C
Output to ODEC517. The CODEC 517 sequentially decodes the encoded information from the memory C 508, and then transfers the encoded information to the memory D 509. If scaling such as enlargement / reduction is necessary when outputting to the printer unit 2, the scaling circuit 511 outputs D
The contents of the memory D509 are scaled under the control of the MA controller 518. The CPU 516 communicates with the CPU 23 of the core unit 10 via the dual port memory 515,
Settings for printing out an image from the memory D509 through the core unit 10 to the printer unit 2 are performed. When the setting is completed, the CPU 516 activates the timing generation circuit 514 and outputs the timing signal to the memory controller 510.
Output to. The memory controller 510 reads the decoded information from the memory D509 in synchronization with the signal from the timing generation circuit 514, outputs it to the expansion circuit 504, and expands the information. The output signal of the expansion circuit 504 is output to the core unit 10 via the connector 500. The output from the connector 500 to the printer unit 2 is as described in the description of the core unit 10. However, in this file part, recording / searching by character code data is also possible.

(Description of Computer Interface Unit) FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the computer interface unit 7. The configuration and operation will be described with reference to FIG.

Connector A700 and connector B701
Is a connector for a SCSI interface. The connector C702 is a Centronics interface connector. The connector D703 is an RS232C interface connector. The connector E707 is a connector for connecting to the core unit 10.

The SCSI interface has two connectors (connector A700, connector B701),
When connecting a device having a plurality of SCSI interfaces, a connector A700 and a connector B701 are used for cascade connection. When the image input / output control unit 3 and the computer are connected one-to-one, the connector A
Connect 700 to the computer with a cable, and connect to connector B
Connect a terminator to 701 or connect to connector B70
1 and the computer are connected with a cable, and connector A70
Connect a terminator to 0. Information input from the connector A700 or the connector B701 is SCSI / I.
/ F-A704 or SCSI I / F-B708. SCSI I / F-A704 or SC
The SI / I-F-B 708 outputs data to the connector 707E after performing a procedure according to the SCSI protocol. The connector E707 is connected to the CPU bus of the core unit 10, and the CPU 123 of the core unit 10 is connected to the SCSI / I / F connector (connector A700,
The information input to the connector B701) is received. When outputting the data from the CPU 123 of the core unit 10 to the SCSI connector (connector A700, connector B701), the procedure is reversed.

Centronisk interface 705
Is connected to the connector C752, receives data in accordance with the procedure of the determined protocol, and then the connector E707
Output to. The connector E707 is the CPU of the core unit 10.
It is connected to the bus, and the CPU 123 of the core unit 10
The information input to the Centronics I / F connector (connector C702) from the CPU bus is received.

The RS232C interface 706 is
It is connected to the connector C703, receives data according to the procedure of the determined protocol, and outputs the data to the connector E707. The connector E707 is connected to the CPU bus of the core unit 10, and the CPU 123 of the core unit 10 is the CPU.
From the bus RS232C I / F connector (connector D
The information input in 703) is received. C of the core part 10
When outputting the data from the PU 123 to the RS232C I / F connector (connector D703), the procedure reverse to the above is performed.

(Description of Formatter Unit) FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the formatter unit 8. The configuration and operation of the formatter unit 8 will be described with reference to FIG.

The data from the computer interface unit 7 described above is discriminated by the core unit 10. If the data is the data relating to the formatter unit 8, the core unit 1
The CPU 123 of 0 transfers data from the computer to the dual port memory 803 via the connector of the core unit 10 and the connector 800 of the formatter unit 9.
The CPU 809 of the formatter unit 8 receives the code data sent from the computer via the dual port memory 803. The CPU 809 sequentially develops this code data into image data, and through the memory controller 808, the memory A 806 or the memory B 807.
Transfer the image data to. The memory A806 and the memory B807 each have a capacity of 1 Mbytes, and one memory (memory A806 or memory B807) has a capacity of 30.
A resolution of 0 dpi can be applied up to A4 paper size. In the case of supporting up to A3 size paper at a resolution of 300 dpi, the memory A806 and the memory B807 are cascade-connected to develop image data.

The above memory control is performed by the memory controller roller 808 according to an instruction from the CPU 809. When it is necessary to rotate a character or a graphic when developing the image data, the image data is rotated by the rotation circuit 804 and then transferred to the memory A 806 or the memory B 807.

Next, the CPU 809 communicates with the CPU 123 of the core unit 10 via the dual port memory 803 to set the mode in which the image information is output from the memory A 806 or the memory B 807. CPU 123 of core unit 10
Is the CPU of the reader unit 1 via the communication circuit in the core unit 10.
The print output mode is set in the CPU 114 by using the communication function built in 114.

When the print output mode is set, the CPU 123 of the core unit 10 activates the timing generation circuit 802 via the connector of the core unit 10 and the connector 800 of the formatter unit 8. Timing generation circuit 80
2 generates a timing signal for reading image information from the memory A 806 or the memory B 807 to the memory controller 808 according to the signal from the core unit 10. The image information from the memory A 806 or the memory B 807 is input to the memory controller 808. The output image information from the memory controller 808 is transferred to the core unit 10 via the connector 800. The output from the core unit 10 to the printer unit has been described in the description of the core unit 10 and will not be described.

(Description of Image Memory Unit) FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the configuration and operation of the image memory unit 9, which will be described with reference to FIG.

The image memory unit 9 is connected to the core unit 10 by the connector 900 and exchanges various signals. The multi-valued image signal input via the connector 900 is stored in the memory 904 under the control of the memory controller 905. The memory controller 905 controls storage / readout of data with respect to the memory 904 according to an instruction from the CPU 906. The memory 904 has a capacity of 32 Mbytes and stores an image corresponding to A3 with a resolution of 400 dpi and 256 gradations. The timing generation circuit 902 controls the control signals (HSYNC, HEN, VSYNC) from the core unit 10.
C, VEN) to generate signals to achieve the following two functions. One is a function of storing the information from the core unit 10 in the memory 904, and the second is a function of reading the image information from the memory 904 and outputting it to the connector. The dual port memory 903 is connected to the CPU 123 of the core unit 10 and the CPU 906 of the image memory unit 9. Each CPU exchanges commands via the dual port memory 903.

Image information is stored in the image memory unit 9,
An example of transferring this information to a computer will be described.

The 8-bit multi-valued image signal from the reader unit 1 is input from the connector 900 and the memory controller 9
It is input to 05. The memory controller 905 stores the multi-valued image signal in the memory 904 according to the timing signal generated by the timing generation circuit 902 by the signal from the core unit 10. The CPU 906 sequentially reads the image information from the memory 904 by the memory controller 905 and transfers it to the dual port memory 903. The CPU 123 of the core unit 10 reads the image information of the dual port memory 903 of the image memory unit 9 and transfers this information to the computer interface unit 7. Transferring information from the computer interface unit 7 to the computer is omitted because it has been described above.

Next, an example of outputting the image information sent from the computer to the printer unit 2 will be described.

The image information sent from the computer is sent to the core unit 10 via the computer interface unit 7. The CPU 123 of the core unit 10 is the CPU
The image information is transferred to the dual port memory 903 of the image memory unit 9 via the bus and the connector 900.

The CPU 906 is a dual port memory 9
The image information from 03 is transferred to the memory 904 via the memory controller 905. When the image information has been transferred to the memory 904, the CPU 906 communicates with the CPU 123 of the core unit 10 via the dual port memory 903 to print an image from the memory 904 through the core unit 10 to the printer unit 2. Make settings. When the setting is completed, the CPU 906 causes the timing generation circuit 9
02 is activated and a timing signal is output to the memory controller 905. The memory controller 905 synchronizes with the memory 90 in synchronization with the signal from the timing generation circuit 902.
The image information is read from No. 4 and output to the connector 900. The output from the connector 900 to the printer unit 2 is omitted because it has been described in the description of the core unit 10.

(Explanation Regarding Setting and Prohibition of Processing Procedure) The characteristic operation / control of the embodiment of the present invention having each of the above-mentioned configurations will be described below.

[Operation When Setting Processing Procedure] FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view of the operation panel arranged in the reader unit. When a function (facsimile, file, scanner, etc.) other than copy is selected on the operation panel shown in the figure, the image corrected by the A / D / SH section 110 of the reader section 1 shown in FIG. The image data is sent to the connector of the core section 10 connected by a cable. When the CPU 123 of the core unit 10 detects that both the image processing and the character recognition are selected, the input multi-valued image data is temporarily stored in the memory 904 of the image memory unit 9. The image memory CPU 906 performs character recognition by binarizing this image.

The character recognition processing in the image memory unit 9 will be described in detail below with reference to FIG.

The CPU 906 has a function equivalent to that of the binarization circuit of the core section 10. First, binarization processing is performed on the image data stored in the memory 904. next,
Character cutting processing is performed on the binary image. In the character cutting process, a circumscribing rectangle of a character image for each character is obtained, and the character image data having the size of the rectangle is stored in the memory 904.
This is done by memorizing.

Next, a recognition process is performed on the character image data that has undergone the character cutting process. In the recognition process, first, the normalization process of the position, inclination, line width, density, etc. is performed. Then, a feature vector based on the outline feature is extracted from the normalized cut-out character image data. Then, the obtained feature vector is matched with the standard pattern vectors of all the recognition target characters in the prepared recognition dictionary, and the character code corresponding to the most probable standard pattern is used as the recognition result, and the memory 90
Store in 4.

The CPU 906 detects the end of the above-mentioned character recognition and then shifts to image processing, where the multi-valued image stored in the memory 904 of the image memory unit 9 is processed. However, regarding this processing, the CPU 90
Reference numeral 6 has a processing function equivalent to that of the image processing unit 111 included in the reader unit 1, and duplicate description will be omitted.

[Operation when Processing is Prohibited] The operation panel shown in FIG. 10 has a prohibited processing registration key portion as shown in FIG. When a function (facsimile, file, scanner, etc.) other than copy is selected on the operation panel, the image corrected by the A / D / SH unit 110 of the reader unit 1 in FIG. 3 is processed by the external I / F switching circuit. The image data is sent to the connector of the core unit 10 connected by a cable. C of the core part 10
When the PU 123 detects that both the image processing and the character recognition are selected, either one of the processing is prohibited, and the CPU 906 of the image memory unit 9 performs the image processing or the character recognition. Stored data in the memory 904.

A detailed description will be given below with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When it is detected in S1201 that a plurality of processes of image processing and character recognition are selected, it is first confirmed whether or not the inhibition process is registered (S12).
02). If the prohibition process is registered, it is further determined what the prohibition process is (S1203).

If the prohibition processing is image processing, the image processing is prohibited and only character recognition is executed (S1204).
If the prohibition process is character recognition, the character recognition is prohibited and only image processing is executed (S1205). However, S12
If the prohibition process is not registered in 02, the process (character recognition in this embodiment) registered as the initial setting is prohibited, and the image process is prioritized.

By the above operation, the image memory unit 9
Image-processed multi-valued image data and character code data stored in the memory 904 of the image memory unit 9
Is sent to the core unit 10 via the connector 900 and input to the connector having the selected function. To the connector 400 of the facsimile unit 4 when the facsimile is selected, to the connector 500 of the file unit 5 when the file is selected, to the connector E707 of the computer I / F unit 7 when the scanner is selected. It is input, and the processing described in each of the above explanations is performed.

[0078]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When the image processing and the character recognition processing are simultaneously selected for the character portion of the document, a plurality of processings can be executed by setting the processing procedure without lowering the character recognition rate.

Alternatively, by prohibiting the process designated by the user, the other process can be preferentially performed.

By setting the above processing procedure, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus capable of high-quality character recording.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a reader unit and a printer unit according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a reader unit according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a core unit according to an embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a facsimile unit according to an embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a file unit according to an embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a computer interface unit according to an embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a formatter unit according to an embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an image memory unit according to an embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of an operation panel arranged in the reader unit according to the embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a plan view showing an operation panel at the time of registration of prohibition processing according to an embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a procedure for prohibiting the processing of one embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Reader 2 Printer 3 Image Input / Output Control 4 Facsimile 5 File 7 Computer Interface 8 Formatter 9 Image Memory 10 Core 11 Personal Computer or Workstation 12 Hard Disk

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Eiji Ohara Eiji Ohara 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (56) References JP-A-5-37680 (JP, A) JP-A-5 -290208 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04N 1/00-1/00 108

Claims (7)

(57) [Claims] 1. A against the input image by trimming
An image forming apparatus having a plurality of functions including an image processing function for performing image processing such as scaling and scaling processing, and a character recognition function for performing character recognition processing on an input image. Means, a selecting means for selecting a function to be executed from the plurality of functions of the image forming apparatus, a detecting means for detecting the function selected by the selecting means, the image processing function and the character recognition function From the image processing
The image processing function can be executed when the function is selected.
The character recognition from the image processing function and the character recognition function.
When the function is selected, the character recognition function can be executed.
To, both functions are selected of the image processing function and the character recognition function
And the prohibition process registered by the prohibition process registration means is image processing, the image of the two functions
It is possible to execute the character recognition function by prohibiting the execution of processing functions.
To, both functions are selected of the image processing function and the character recognition function
Is, and, if the inhibition processing registered by the inhibition processing registration means of character recognition processing, the one of the two functions
Execution of the image processing function by prohibiting the execution of the character recognition function
An image forming apparatus comprising: a control unit that enables the image forming apparatus. 2. A reading means for reading an original image and outputting an image signal, an image input / output control means for outputting an image signal based on an input from the outside, and an image forming for forming an image on a recording medium based on each of the image signals. Means and trimming
An image forming apparatus having an image processing function for performing image processing such as image processing and scaling processing , and a character recognition function , and selecting means for selecting a function to be executed, and detecting the function selected by the selecting means. Detecting means for performing the image processing from the image processing function and the character recognition function
The image processing function can be executed when the function is selected.
The character recognition from the image processing function and the character recognition function.
When the function is selected, the character recognition function can be executed.
When both the image processing function and the character recognition function are selected , the character recognition function is executed first of the two functions, and the image processing function is executed after the execution of the character recognition function is completed. An image forming apparatus comprising: a control unit that enables execution. 3. A against the input image by trimming
A method of controlling an image forming apparatus having a plurality of functions including an image processing function for performing image processing such as image scaling processing and a character recognition function for performing character recognition processing on an input image, and registering prohibition processing. includes a prohibition process registration step, a selection step of selecting a function to be executed from the plurality of functions which the image forming apparatus has a detection step of detecting a selected function by the selecting step, wherein the image processing Image processing from the function and the character recognition function
The image processing function can be executed when the function is selected.
The character recognition from the image processing function and the character recognition function.
When the function is selected, the character recognition function can be executed.
To, both functions are selected of the image processing function and the character recognition function
Is, and, if the inhibition processing registered by the inhibition processing registration steps of the image processing, the execution of the character recognition function to inhibit execution of the image processing functions of the both functions
Possible, and both functions are selected of the image processing function and the character recognition function
It is, and, if the prohibition processing prohibition process registered by the registration step is a character recognition processing, the image processing function to inhibit execution of the character recognition function of the previous SL both functions <br/> method of controlling an image forming apparatus, characterized by the executable. 4. The method for controlling an image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein when the prohibition process is not registered in the prohibition process registration step, both the image processing function and the character recognition function are detected in the detection step. When it detects that is selected,
A control method for an image forming apparatus, wherein one of the two functions registered as an initial setting is prohibited and the other function is prioritized. 5. The method of controlling an image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the image forming apparatus inputs an image from a document reading device. 6. The method of controlling an image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the image forming apparatus inputs an image from an external device. 7. The image forming apparatus control method according to claim 3, wherein the image forming apparatus has a plurality of modes including a copy mode and a mode for inputting an image from an external apparatus. Device control method.