JP3647224B2 - Image processing method and apparatus - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image processing method and apparatus for inputting an image signal of a document image and processing the document image in accordance with the orientation of the document image.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, copying machines can be made more efficient by attaching accessories such as an automatic document feeder and an automatic collating device. In addition, digital copiers have been developed, and more advanced functions are realized by handling images as digital information. For example, a copier having a reduced layout function is sold. An example in which this reduced layout function is combined with a duplex function, a binding margin function, and a staple function is shown in FIG.
[0003]
In FIG. 17, reference numerals 1201, 1202, 1203, 1204,... Indicate a plurality of documents, and when these are set in the orientation shown in the automatic document feeder (hereinafter referred to as DF), the front side is indicated by 1205, The back side is laid out as indicated by reference numeral 1206, a binding margin is added thereto, and a desired position is stapled and copied. In the figure, “1”, “2”, “3”, “4”,..., “8” correspond to the order of the originals, that is, the pages of the originals.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, the conventional example has the following problems. That is, for example, when a vertically written document such as 1207, 1208, 1209, 1210,... Is set upward and copied, the front side is laid out as 1211 and the back side is laid out as 1212. For this reason, a vertically written sentence is laid out very unnaturally. Further, the binding margin position and the staple position are also positions that are not practical.
[0005]
Such a situation is often caused by the fact that the orientation of each original image is not accurately determined. For example, the probability that a certain original orientation is “leftward” or “horizontal writing” is the highest, and the next is substantially the same. If the probability is considered to be “downward” or “vertical”, it happens to have the second probability “downward” Occurs when "" is the correct answer.
[0006]
The present invention has been made in view of the above conventional example, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image processing method and apparatus capable of efficiently discriminating the orientations of document images based on a plurality of input document image signals.
[0007]
Another object of the present invention is to efficiently process a plurality of document images by analogizing the orientation of the subsequent document image based on the determination of the orientation of the leading document image when processing a plurality of document images. An object is to provide an image processing method and apparatus.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
  In order to achieve the above object, the image processing apparatus of the present invention comprises the following arrangement. That is,
  Image input means for inputting image signals of a plurality of document images;
  The orientation of the original image is determined based on the image signal of the first original image input by the image input means.FirstA determination means;
  Second determination means for determining the orientation of the document image based on an image signal of the document image for each predetermined number of document images input by the image input means;
  SaidFirstAnalogizing the orientation of the subsequent document image according to the orientation of the document image determined by the determining meansAt the same time, the analogy result of the orientation of the subsequent document image is updated based on the determination result by the second determination unit.Analogy means,
  And processing means for processing an image signal of the subsequent document image based on the orientation of the subsequent document images analogized by the analogy means.
[0009]
  In order to achieve the above object, the image processing method of the present invention comprises the following steps. That is, an image input process for inputting a plurality of document image signals;
  The orientation of the first document image is determined based on the image signal of the first document image input in the image input process.FirstA determination process;
  A second determination step of determining the orientation of the document image based on the image signal of the document image for each predetermined number of document images input in the image input step;
  SaidFirstAnalogize the orientation of the subsequent document image corresponding to the orientation of the document image determined in the determination step.At the same time, the analogy result of the orientation of the subsequent document image is updated based on the determination result of the second determination step.Analogy process,
  An image processing step of processing image signals of a plurality of document images in accordance with the orientation of the document image estimated in the analogy step.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0011]
[Embodiment 1]
Hereinafter, as a preferred embodiment, a detailed description of a copying machine will be given. The present invention is not limited to this embodiment.
[0012]
[Device overview]
FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration of the copying machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.
[0013]
In FIG. 2, reference numeral 200 denotes an automatic document feeder (hereinafter referred to as DF), which automatically feeds a plurality of stacked documents one by one, and sequentially sets the front surface or back surface of each document on the document table 201. be able to. Since the specific configuration is already well known, detailed description is omitted. On the DF 200, a plurality of originals to be read are set. Documents set on the DF 200 are fed one by one by the DF 200 and placed on the document table 201. Reference numeral 202 denotes a document illumination lamp having, for example, a halogen lamp, which exposes a document placed on the document table glass 201 from below. Reference numerals 203, 204, and 205 denote scanning mirrors that are accommodated in an optical scanning unit (not shown), and guide reflected light from the original to the CCD unit 206 while reciprocating. The CCD unit 206 includes an imaging lens 207 that forms an image of reflected light from a document on an image sensor 208 such as a CCD, an image sensor 208 such as a CCD, a CCD driver 209 that drives the image sensor 208, and the like. An image signal output from the image sensor 208 is converted into, for example, 8-bit digital data, and then input to the controller unit 239. Reference numeral 210 denotes a photosensitive drum which is discharged by a pre-exposure lamp 212 in preparation for image formation. Reference numeral 213 denotes a charger that uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 210. Reference numeral 214 denotes an exposure unit, which is composed of, for example, a semiconductor laser and exposes the photosensitive drum 210 to form an electrostatic latent image based on image data processed by the controller unit 239 that performs image processing and overall control of the apparatus. To do. A developing device 215 stores a black developer (toner). A pre-transfer charger 219 charges the toner image developed on the photosensitive drum 210 by applying a high voltage before transferring the toner image onto a sheet. Each of 220, 222, and 224 is a paper feeding unit, and the transfer paper is fed into the apparatus by the rotational driving of the corresponding paper feeding rollers 221, 223, and 225. The transfer sheet is temporarily stopped at the position where the registration roller 226 is disposed, and is written again with the timing of writing with the image formed on the photosensitive drum 210. A transfer charger 227 transfers the toner image developed on the photosensitive drum 210 onto a transfer sheet to be fed. A separation charger 228 separates the transfer sheet after the transfer operation by the photosensitive drum 210. At this time, toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 210 without being transferred is collected by the cleaner 211.
[0014]
A conveyance belt 229 conveys the transfer sheet after the transfer process to the fixing device 230, and is fixed by, for example, heat. Reference numeral 231 denotes a flapper, which switches the transfer path of the transfer sheet on which the fixing process has been completed, and controls whether copying is completed and discharged to the outside of the apparatus or discharged to the intermediate tray 237. Reference numerals 233 to 236 denote feed rollers which feed the transfer paper once the fixing process is completed to the intermediate tray 237 while being reversed (multiple) or non-reversed (both sides). Reference numeral 238 denotes a re-feed roller, which again conveys the transfer paper placed on the intermediate tray 237 to the position where the registration roller 236 is disposed. Reference numeral 232 denotes a staple sorter that performs collation and stapling of copied sheets. The controller unit 239 includes a microcomputer, an image processing unit, and the like, which will be described later, and performs the above-described image forming operation according to instructions from the operation panel 400.
[0015]
[Detailed Description of Controller 239]
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the controller unit 239 in the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment.
[0016]
In FIG. 3, reference numeral 301 denotes a CPU that controls the entire image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment, and sequentially reads and executes a program from a read-only memory 303 (ROM) storing a control procedure (control program) of the apparatus main body. ing. The CPU 301 is connected to each load via the CPU bus 302. Reference numeral 304 denotes a random access memory (RAM) which is a main storage device used as input data storage, a working storage area, or the like. Reference numeral 305 denotes an I / O interface unit, which is used by an operator to input keys, and an operation panel 400 that displays the state of the apparatus using liquid crystal and LEDs, and a motor that drives a paper feed system, a transport system, and an optical system 307, clutches 308, solenoids 309, and paper detection sensors 310 for detecting the conveyed paper, etc. are connected to each load of the device (further, the developing device 215 includes its developing device). A residual toner detection sensor 311 for detecting the amount of toner in 215 is arranged, and its output signal is input to the I / O port 305). A high-voltage control unit 315 outputs a high voltage to the above-described charger 213, developer 215, pre-transfer charger 219, transfer charger 227, and separation charger 228 in accordance with instructions from the CPU 301.
[0017]
An image processing unit 306 receives an image signal output from the CCD unit 206, performs image processing described later, and outputs a control signal for the laser unit 214 according to the processed image data. In this way, the photosensitive drum 210 is irradiated with the laser light output from the laser unit 214, and an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image data is formed on the photosensitive drum 210.
[0018]
[Image processing unit 306]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the image processing unit 306 of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment.
[0019]
In FIG. 1, an image signal converted into an electric signal by the CCD unit 206 is first corrected for variation between pixels by a shading correction circuit 101, and then subjected to second order differentiation in a 5 × 5 window, for example, in an edge enhancement circuit 102. And enhance the edges of the image. Further, the scaling circuit 103 performs data thinning processing at the time of reduced copying and data interpolation at the time of enlarged copying. Further, after being converted to a desired density by the density correction circuit 104, it is binarized by the binarization circuit 105. This binarization method may be a simple binary method, a screen method, an error diffusion method, or any other method. Further, the image signal binarized by the binarization circuit 105 is sent to the laser unit 206 or held in the page memory 108. Reference numeral 109 denotes an image data compression / decompression circuit, and 110 denotes a large-capacity memory such as a hard disk. The image data held in the page memory 108 is sequentially stored in the hard disk 110 after the amount of information is compressed by the compression / decompression circuit 110.
[0020]
The original set on the DF 200 is sequentially sent to and read on the original table 201, and is sent to the compression / decompression circuit 109 via the binarization circuit 105 and the page memory 108 described above. The compression / decompression circuit 109 compresses the sent image signal and sends it to the hard disk 110. The hard disk 110 sequentially holds a plurality of compressed image signals sent thereto. Further, the compressed image signals held in the hard disk 110 are sequentially read out from the hard disk 110, decompressed by the compression / decompression circuit 109, once sent to the page memory 108, and then to the laser unit 214. And image formation is performed.
[0021]
The data compression / decompression method in the compression / decompression circuit 109 is not particularly limited, and any method may be used. Here, as the merit of compressing the image data, the amount of information per image signal of one page is reduced, the document of many pages is held in the hard disk 110, and the time required for accessing the hard disk 110 is reduced. There are two purposes to improve the productivity of the device.
[0022]
In the control such as the reduced layout described above, the image data is temporarily stored in the page memory 108, and after editing is performed on the page memory 108, the edited image data is output to the laser unit 214. The editing operation in the page memory 108 is performed by controlling an address signal and an enable signal given to the page memory 108 by the memory control circuit 107.
[0023]
On the other hand, 106 is a document orientation detection means for judging the orientation (up / down / left / right) of the document placed on the document table 201 and whether the document is vertically written or horizontally written. The result is held in the TAG memory 111.
[0024]
On the other hand, the CPU 301 reads the determination result held in the TAG memory 111 and gives an instruction to the memory control circuit 107 based on the read result, and the memory control circuit 107 edits the image on the page memory 108 based on the instruction from the CPU 301. Or the direction in which the document is placed (up / down / left / right) and whether the document is written vertically or horizontally is given to the memory control circuit 107 based on an instruction from the operator. In this way, the memory control circuit 107 edits image data on the page memory 108 based on an instruction from the CPU 301.
[0025]
[Description of Operation Panel 400]
FIG. 4 is an external view of the operation panel 400 of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
[0026]
In FIG. 4, 401 is a numeric keypad for setting the number of copies and other necessary numerical values, and 401-1 is a copy start key for instructing a copy start. A large-sized liquid crystal touch panel 403 displays keys on the liquid crystal, and the operator can instruct a desired operation by pressing the displayed keys with a finger. Reference numerals 404 to 413 are portions related to the present embodiment among the keys displayed on the liquid crystal touch panel 403. Here, description of keys not directly related to the present embodiment will be omitted.
[0027]
Reference numeral 404 denotes a key group for setting the orientation of the document, which is used to specify the orientation of the document with respect to the operator. The upward specification key 406, the downward specification key 407, and the left direction specification are used. A key 408, a right-pointing designation key 409, and an automatic determination key 410 are provided. When the operator selects any of the keys 406 to 410 and depresses it, the display of the selected key is highlighted to clearly indicate that the key is selected. In the example of FIG. 4, “upward” is designated.
[0028]
Here, when any of 406 to 409 is selected, the apparatus control is performed assuming that the document is placed in each direction, and when the automatic determination of 409 is selected, the apparatus is controlled. Control is performed on the assumption that the orientation determined by the document orientation detection unit is designated.
[0029]
Further, reference numeral 405 denotes a key group for setting designation of the character arrangement of the original, and for specifying whether the original is a vertical writing original or a horizontal writing original. A horizontal writing specification key 411, a vertical writing specification key 412, And an automatic determination key 413. When the operator selects any of these keys 411, 412, and 413 and presses it, the display of the selected key is reversed, and it is clearly indicated that the key is selected. In FIG. 4, “horizontal writing document” is designated. Here, when one of the keys 411 and 412 is selected, the apparatus is controlled assuming that the original is written vertically and horizontally in each direction, and “automatic determination” 413 is selected. Is controlled on the assumption that the character arrangement determined by the document orientation detection means incorporated in the apparatus is designated.
[0030]
[Control example by specifying orientation]
FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a control example of reduced layout double-sided copying in the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. This control is performed as an image editing operation on the page memory 108 based on the control of the memory control circuit 107 according to an instruction from the CPU 301.
[0031]
That is, the layout, binding margin, stapling, and the like are controlled as follows according to the orientation of the document specified by the operation unit 400 or the automatic detection means (document orientation detection unit 106) and the vertical / horizontal writing. The
[0032]
That is, in FIG. 5, 501, 502, 503, 504,... Indicate a plurality of horizontally written originals placed upward, and set in the orientation shown in the automatic document feeder (DF) 200. The front side is laid out like 505 and the back side like 506, and further, a binding margin is added, copied, and stapled at a desired position. In the figure, “1”, “2”, “3”, “4”,..., “8” correspond to the order of the originals, that is, the pages of the originals. This is similar to the above-described conventional example (1201, 1202, 1203, 1204, 1205, 1206 in FIG. 17).
[0033]
On the other hand, 507, 508, 509, 510,... Indicate a plurality of vertically written originals placed upward, and when these are set in the orientation shown in the automatic document feeder 200, the table is as shown in 511. Further, the back is laid out as 512, and a binding margin is added and copied as shown in the figure, and stapled at a desired position.
[0034]
Similarly, in the case of left-facing vertically written originals 513, 514, 515, and 516, the front is laid out like 517 and the back is 518, copied with a binding margin added, and stapled at a desired position. The Similarly, in the case of left-facing horizontally written originals 519, 520, 521, and 522, the front is laid out like 523 and the back is like 524, copied with a binding margin added, and stapled at a desired position. .
[0035]
In the case of other combinations (not shown) such as a downward document, the layout, binding margins, and the like are controlled in the same manner, although the description is omitted.
[0036]
[Original Direction Detection Unit (Original Direction Detection Unit 106)]
The document orientation detection means determines the orientation of the document (up / down / left / right) and the character arrangement (vertical writing, horizontal writing) of the document. As described above, the operation unit In 400, when the original orientation is designated as “automatic judgment” and the character arrangement designation is designated as “automatic judgment”, the device control is performed assuming that the respective judgment results are designated by the user. Is done.
[0037]
6A to 6D are diagrams for explaining the detection of the document orientation, and FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining an example of the document orientation.
[0038]
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the document orientation determination process. The document orientation determination process according to the present embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS.
First, in step S1 of FIG. 8, the image signal of the document is input to the document orientation detection means 106. An example of the original image (image data) is shown in FIG. In step S2, the character area in the read image is extracted by character area separation. The separation of the character area is shown in FIG. That is, in FIG. 6B, a character area as shown by a rectangle in FIG. 6B is cut out by a cumulative histogram in the vertical / horizontal direction in the document shown in FIG. In step S3, a character is cut out from the character area as shown in FIG. In step S4, it is determined in character direction matching whether the character is facing up, down, left, or right. That is, as shown in FIG. 6D, the direction of the character is recognized by taking the degree of matching (matching degree) with the template obtained by rotating the character by 90 degrees. In the case of FIG. 6D, since the degree of matching of 0 degree is the largest, it is determined to be upward. In step S5, the document orientation is finally determined from the character arrangement cut out in step S3 and the character orientation recognized in step S4.
[0039]
For example, in FIGS. 7A to 7D, FIG. 7A shows an upward / horizontal writing original, FIG. 7B shows a leftward / horizontal writing original, and FIG. 7C shows a right / vertical writing. FIG. 7D shows an upwardly-oriented / vertically-written document.
[Simplification of judgment processing]
The document orientation detection process described above may be performed for all documents, but the processing can be further reduced by performing the process on a part of the documents.
[0040]
In FIG. 9, 1601, 1602, 1603, 1604,... Indicate documents that are read continuously, and 1606, 1607 indicate examples in which these documents are copied by performing reduced layout double-side processing. In general, as shown in the figure, the orientations of the documents are often aligned in advance, and after detecting the orientation of only the first page (ie, 1601), it is determined that all subsequent documents are in the same orientation. Copy outputs 1605 and 1606 can be obtained.
[0041]
Also, once for several of these continuous manuscriptsZOne document orientation may be detected. Further, the content of the process controlled by the detection result of the document orientation may be any one of layout, double-sided, binding margin, or any combination thereof.
[0042]
[About hard disk and TAG memory]
Next, the hard disk 110 and the TAG memory 111 will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0043]
In FIG. 10A, reference numeral 1400 denotes an address map in the effective use area of the hard disk 110. It is assumed that n pages of document images are stored in the hard disk 110 now. That is, 1401 is the image data for the first page, 1402 is the image data for the second page, 1403 is the image data for the third page, and 1408 is the image data for the nth page.
[0044]
On the other hand, reference numeral 1410 in FIG. 10B also shows an address map of the effective area of the TAG memory 111. The TAG memory 111 holds the orientation in which a plurality of documents are set. That is, reference numeral 1411 denotes the first page original direction, 1412 denotes the second page original direction, 1413 denotes the third page original direction, and 1418 denotes the nth page original direction.
[0045]
What is characteristic here is that the image data held in the hard disk 110 and the document orientation held in the TAG memory 111 are stored in the same order in a one-to-one correspondence. That is, each document orientation stored in the TAG memory 111 of FIG. 10B described above is composed of 16 bits, held as shown in FIG. 11, and from the first candidate to the fourth in one word. The determination results up to the candidates are held.
[0046]
That is, among the 16 bits, the determination result of the first candidate is stored in bits 0 to 2, bit 1-0 represents the up / down / left / right document orientation, “00” is upward, “01” is right, “10” indicates downward and “11” indicates leftward. Bit 2 is a portion for holding whether the original is written vertically or horizontally, and is “1” for horizontal writing, and “0” for vertical writing.
[0047]
Similarly, the determination result of the second candidate is stored in bits 3 to 5, and bits 4-3 indicate the top, bottom, left, and right document orientations, “00” is upward, “01” is right, and “10” is Downward, “11” indicates leftward, and bit 5 is a portion that holds whether the original is vertical writing or horizontal writing. If “1”, horizontal writing is indicated, and “0” indicates vertical writing.
[0048]
Similarly, the determination result of the third candidate is shown in bits 6 to 8, the determination result of the fourth candidate is shown in bits 9 to 11, and the range of the nth candidate is valid in bits 12 to 13. Is stored, and according to the values of bits 13 and 12, “00” is valid up to the first candidate, “01” is valid up to the second candidate, “10” is valid up to the third candidate, “11” is the first It shows that up to 4 candidates are effective. Bit 14 is a spare part, and most significant bit 15 is a bit for parity check.
[0049]
What is characteristic here is that the stored data corresponds one-to-one between the hard disk 110 and the TAG memory 111, and the CPU 301 does not have to access the large address space of the hard disk 110. Therefore, it is only necessary to access in a small address space of the TAG memory 111, and the time required for accessing these data can be shortened.
[0050]
FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a process of performing reduced layout printing by determining the orientation of a plurality of continuous originals in the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment.
[0051]
First, in step S11, a document orientation determination process as shown in FIG. 8 is performed to determine the orientation of the images on the first page of a plurality of documents. Next, the process proceeds to step S12, and it is inferred that the orientation of the subsequent document image is the same. Next, the process proceeds to step S13 to check whether or not reduced layout printing is instructed.SpecialNormal printing processing (copying) is executed without doing anything.
[0052]
If a reduction layout, for example, 4-1 printing (reducing and printing four original images on one sheet) is instructed in step S13, the process proceeds to step S14 to reduce each original image (described above). In the case of 4-1 printing, four original images are reduced), and in step S15, the reduced original image is converted into the instructed layout, the original orientation determined in step S11, and the characters in the original image. Lay out as one image according to the arrangement direction ofThePrint (copy) the image. In step S16, it is checked whether the printing process for all the document images set in the DF 200 has been completed.The process returns to step S14 to execute the above-described processing.
The document orientation determination process in step S11 may be performed for each predetermined page, or for every four sheets or multiples of four in the case of, for example, 4-1 printing as described above.
[0053]
[Embodiment 2]
Hereinafter, a full color copying machine will be described in detail as Embodiment 2 of the present invention.
[0054]
[Device overview]
FIG. 13 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the color copying machine according to the second embodiment.
[0055]
In FIG. 13, reference numeral 900 denotes an automatic document feeder (hereinafter referred to as DF), which automatically feeds a plurality of set originals one by one, and sequentially places the front or back side of each original on a document table 901. can do. Since the specific configuration is already well known, detailed description is omitted. A plurality of documents 902 to be read are placed on the DF 900. These documents are fed one by one by the DF 900 and placed on the document table 901. A document on the document table 901 is irradiated from below by an illumination lamp 903, and the reflected light is incident on an optical system lens 907 through mirrors 904, 905 and 906, and an image is formed on the CCD 908. Further, the first mirror unit 910 including the mirror 904 and the illumination 903 is mechanically transported and driven in the direction of the arrow in the drawing by the motor 909, and the second mirror unit 911 including the mirrors 905 and 906 is indicated by the arrow in the same drawing. Driven in the direction at a speed V / 2, the entire surface of the original 902 is scanned.
[0056]
Reference numeral 912 denotes an image processing circuit which processes the read image information as an electric signal, holds it on the image memory, and outputs it as a print signal. The print signal output from the image processing circuit 912 is sent to a laser driver (not shown) to drive four semiconductor lasers (not shown). A polygon mirror 913 receives four laser beams emitted from four semiconductor lasers (not shown). One of them scans the photosensitive drum 917 through the mirrors 914, 915 and 916, the next one scans the photosensitive drum 921 through the mirrors 918, 919 and 920, and the next one scans the mirror 922. , 923, 924 through the photosensitive drum 925, and the next one scans the mirror 926, 927, 928 through the photosensitive drum 929.
[0057]
On the other hand, a developing device 930 supplies yellow (Y) toner, and forms a yellow toner image by an electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 917 by laser light. A developing device 931 supplies magenta (M) toner, and forms a magenta toner image by an electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 921 by laser light. A developing unit 932 supplies cyan (C) toner, and forms a cyan toner image by an electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 925 by laser light. Reference numeral 933 denotes a developing device that supplies black (Bk) toner, and forms a magenta toner image by an electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 929 by laser light. The toner images of the four colors (Y, M, C, Bk) are sequentially transferred onto the paper, and a full color output image can be obtained.
[0058]
The paper fed from any of the paper cassettes 934 and 935 and the manual feed tray 936 is attracted onto the transfer belt 938 through the registration roller 937 and conveyed. Here, the toner images of the respective colors are developed in advance on the photosensitive drums 917, 921, 925, and 929 in synchronization with the sheet feeding timing, and the toner images are transferred to the sheet as the sheet is conveyed.
[0059]
The sheet on which the toner image of each color is thus transferred is separated from the final photosensitive drum 929 and conveyed by the conveying belt 939, and the toner is fixed on the sheet by the fixing device 940. In the case of single-sided copying, the paper is discharged to the sorter / stapler 941, and in the case of double-sided copying, the paper is discharged to the double-sided path 942 side.
[0060]
In the case of duplex copying, the sheet discharged from the fixing device 240 to the duplex path 942 is reversed by the reversing path 943 and is held on the duplex tray 945 through the transport unit 944. The sheet held on the double-sided tray 945 is fed again, and is sucked onto the transfer belt 938 through a registration roller 937 and conveyed to form an image on the back side. Similarly to the above-described printing on the surface of the paper, each color toner is developed in advance on the photosensitive drums 917, 921, 925, and 929 in synchronization with the paper feeding timing. At the same time, the toner is transferred to the paper. After the toner of each color is transferred in this way, the toner is separated from the photosensitive drum 929 and conveyed by the conveying belt 939. The toner is fixed on the sheet by the fixing device 940, and is discharged to the sorter / stapler 941 as in the case of single-sided copying. The
[0061]
The sorter / stapler 241 can perform collation and staple processing of the discharged copy. Since the specific configuration is already known, a description thereof will be omitted. Reference numeral 946 denotes an operation unit, which is equivalent to the operation unit 400 of the first embodiment described above, and a description thereof will be omitted.
[0062]
[Image signal flow]
FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining the flow of image signals in the color copying machine according to the second embodiment.
[0063]
In FIG. 14, reference numeral 908 denotes a CCD sensor, and a read image is output as a digital signal for each of three color components of red (R), green (G), and blue (B). A masking circuit 1012 converts an input (R0, G0, B0) signal into a standard (R, G, B) signal by an operation according to the following equation.
[0064]
[Expression 1]
[0065]
| R | | c11 c12 c13 | | R0 |
| G | = | c21 c22 c23 | = | G0 |
| B | | c31 c32 c33 | | G0 |
However, Cij (i = 1, 2, 3, j = 1, 2, 3) is a constant unique to the apparatus in consideration of various characteristics such as sensitivity characteristics of the CCD sensor 908 / spectral characteristics of the illumination lamp 903.
[0066]
Reference numeral 1004 denotes a luminance / density (LOG) conversion unit, which is configured by a look-up table such as a RAM or a ROM, and performs an operation as shown in the following equation.
[0067]
[Expression 2]
[0068]
C1 = -K.log10 (R / 255)
M1 = -K.log10 (G / 255)
Y1 = -K.log10 (B / 255)
Reference numeral 1006 denotes an output masking / UCR circuit unit which converts the M1, C1, and Y1 signals into Y, M, C, and Bk signals that are toner colors of the image forming apparatus, and calculates the following equation.
[0069]
[Equation 3]
[0070]
| C | | a11 a12 a13 a14 | | C1 |
| M | = | a21 a22 a23 a24 | = | M1 |
| Y || a31 a32 a33 a34 | | Y1 |
｜ BK ｜ ｜ a41 a42 a43 a44 ｜ ｜ BK1 ｜
However, aij (i = 1, 2, 3, 4, j = 1, 2, 3, 4) is a constant unique to the apparatus in consideration of the color characteristics of the toner.
BK1 = min (C1, M1, Y1) (4)
As described above, the C1, M1, Y1, and BK1 signals based on the R, G, and B signals read by the CCD sensor 908 based on the mathematical expressions (2), (3), and (4) are based on the spectral distribution characteristics of the toner. The signals are corrected to C, M, Y, and BK signals and output.
[0071]
A character / line drawing detection circuit 1005 is a character / line drawing detection circuit that determines whether each pixel in the document image is a part of the character or line drawing and outputs a determination signal 1100. Reference numeral 1007 denotes a compression / decompression circuit (compression), which compresses the image signal (R, G, B) and the character / line drawing determination signal 1100, reduces the amount of information, and stores it in the memory 1008. Based on the read data, the image signal (R, G, B) and the character / line drawing determination signal 1100 are expanded. Any known technique may be used for the image compression / decompression method in the image compression / decompression circuit 1007.
[0072]
The image signal read by the CCD sensor 908 passes through the masking circuit 1012, the luminance / density conversion unit 1004, is compressed by the compression / decompression circuit 1007, and is written in the memory 1008. The character / line drawing determination signal 1100 determined by the character / line drawing determination circuit 1005 is also compressed by the compression / decompression circuit 1007 and then written into the memory 1008. A series of plural pages of image signals are written in the memory 1008. Reference numeral 1009 denotes a document orientation detection circuit, which is a means for detecting a document orientation equivalent to the document orientation detection circuit 106 of the first embodiment, and detects the orientation of the read document. It is determined whether the document is placed, whether the original is vertical writing or horizontal writing, and the result is output to the TAG memory 1011 and the result is written in the same manner as the TAG memory 111 described above. Here, as in the first embodiment, a one-to-one correspondence is taken for each page between the image signal held in the image memory 1008 and the detection information held in the TAG memory 1010.
[0073]
A memory controller 1010 reads the detection result detected by the document orientation detection circuit 1009 from the TAG memory 1010 as in the first embodiment, or the document orientation and characters designated by the operation unit 946. The layout controls the image layout when image data is written in the image memory 1008. That is, by controlling the initial value of the address counter at the time of writing image data and the address up / down, the writing position of the memory 1008 and the transposition are controlled.
[0074]
Further, the image data read from the memory 1008 is decompressed by a compression / decompression circuit (compression) 1007 and sent to a laser driver through a PWM circuit (not shown) according to the image forming timing of the copying machine.
[0075]
FIG. 15 shows an operation timing chart at that time.
[0076]
In FIG. 15, the image signal read by the CCD sensor 908 is written into the memory 1008 at the timing indicated by 1101. Further, the image data written on the memory 1008 is read for each color data at the timings indicated by 1102, 1103, 1104 and 1105. The relationship between the image data read timings indicated by 1102 (yellow), 1103 (magenta), 1104 (cyan) and 1105 (black) is executed at intervals of time d / v as shown in the figure. . Here, as already described, d is the interval between the four photosensitive drums 917, 921, 925, and 929 arranged at equal intervals as shown in FIG. 13, and v is the conveyance of the sheet conveyed by the conveyance belt 938. Is speed.
[0077]
[Original orientation detection means]
FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the document orientation detection circuit 1009 according to the second embodiment.
[0078]
The RGB signal, which is an image signal based on the read original, is converted into ND (single color), thinned out, and binarized by a thinning circuit 1301, and the amount of information is sufficiently reduced before being held in the memory 1302. Next, the CPU 1303 accesses the image information held in the memory 1302 to determine the orientation of the document and vertical / horizontal writing. Since the specific determination method is the same as that in the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted.
[0079]
Further, regarding the reduced layout double-side control in the second embodiment, as described with reference to FIG. 5 of the first embodiment, the document layout, binding margin, staple, and the like according to the detected document orientation. Etc. are controlled.
[0080]
Note that the present invention can be applied to a system including a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.), or a device (for example, a copier, a facsimile device, etc.) including a single device. You may apply to.
[0081]
Another object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium storing software program codes for implementing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus, and the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus stores the storage medium. This can also be achieved by reading and executing the program code stored in.
[0082]
In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.
[0083]
As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.
[0084]
Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (operating system) operating on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. A case where part or all of the actual processing is performed and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing is also included.
[0085]
Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion is performed based on the instruction of the program code. This includes a case where the CPU or the like provided in the board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.
[0086]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, when printing a plurality of pages of a document, the orientation of the plurality of documents is quickly determined, and printing is performed using a reduced layout or the like according to the determination result. Can do.
[0087]
Also, according to the present embodiment, the orientation of a plurality of documents is determined for the document of the first page, and the determination result is applied to the subsequent document image, thereby determining the orientation of the document at a higher speed. be able to.
[0088]
Further, according to the present embodiment, the image data of each document and the determination result of the orientation of the document can be managed in a smaller memory space, so that each document image can be extracted and edited more quickly. There is an effect.
[0089]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, there is an effect that it is possible to efficiently discriminate the orientations of the original images based on the input original image signals for a plurality of sheets.
[0090]
Further, according to the present invention, when processing a plurality of document images, it is possible to efficiently process a plurality of document images by analogizing the orientation of the subsequent document image based on the determination of the orientation of the leading document image. There is an effect.
[0091]
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing unit of a copier according to a first embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a controller unit according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 4 is an external view showing a configuration of an operation panel according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of reduced layout double-sided control according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the principle of document orientation detection in the present embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the orientation of a document.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing document orientation detection processing in the present embodiment.
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating determination of the orientation of a continuous document in the present embodiment.
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a data structure (A) of a hardware disk and a data structure (B) of a TAG memory in the first embodiment.
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a data configuration of a TAG memory according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing determination of the orientation of a continuous document and its printing process in the present embodiment.
FIG. 13 is a schematic sectional view showing a configuration of a color copying machine according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of an image processing unit according to the second embodiment.
FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining memory write and read timings according to the second embodiment;
FIG. 16 is a functional block diagram illustrating an image processing unit according to the second embodiment.
FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining a conventional technique.
[Explanation of symbols]
106 Document orientation detection means
107 Memory control circuit
110 hard disk
111 TAG memory
400 Operation panel

Claims (12)

Image input means for inputting image signals of a plurality of document images;
First determination means for determining the orientation of the original image based on the image signal of the leading original image input by the image input means;
Second determination means for determining the orientation of the document image based on an image signal of the document image for each predetermined number of document images input by the image input means;
Analogue means for estimating the orientation of the subsequent document image according to the orientation of the document image determined by the first determination means, and updating the analogy result of the orientation of the subsequent document image based on the determination result by the second determination means When,
Processing means for processing the image signal of the subsequent document image based on the orientation of the subsequent document images analogized by the analogy means;
An image processing apparatus comprising: An image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the analogy means image processing apparatus characterized by the direction of orientation and the following original image of the head of the document image is analogized to be the same. An image processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the determining means or more document images vertically written image, an image processing apparatus characterized by determining whether horizontal image. An image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image input means, image processing apparatus characterized by inputting read a plurality of document images placed on the document table. An image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further image comprising the image forming means for forming an image based on an image signal input by said image input means Processing equipment . An image processing apparatus according to claim 1, according to the orientation of the determined original image by the determination means, image processing, characterized by further comprising means for creating a reduced layout image of the plurality of document images Equipment . An image input process for inputting a plurality of document image signals;
A first determination step of determining the orientation of the leading document image based on the image signal of the leading document image input in the image input step;
A second determination step of determining the orientation of the document image based on the image signal of the document image for each predetermined number of document images input in the image input step;
Analogizing the orientation of the subsequent document image by analogy with the orientation of the document image determined in the first determination step, and updating the analogy result of the orientation of the subsequent document image by the determination result in the second determination step Process,
An image processing step of processing image signals of a plurality of document images according to the orientation of the document image estimated in the analogy step;
An image processing method comprising: An image processing method according to claim 7, wherein the analogy process image processing method characterized by determining to be the same as the direction of orientation of the head of the original image of the subsequent document image. An image processing method according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the determination further in step, the original image or vertically written image, an image processing method characterized by determining whether horizontal image. An image processing method according to claim 7, in the image input step, an image processing method characterized by inputting read a plurality of document images placed on the document table. An image processing method according to any one of claims 7 to 1 0, further comprising the image formation step of forming an image based on image signals input in the image input step Image processing method . An image processing method according to claim 7, according to the orientation of the first determination step in determining document image, an image, characterized by further comprising the step of creating a reduced layout image of a plurality of original images Processing method .

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