JPH01290371A - Picture processing unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To store a series of originals by their contents by adopting the constitution such that an identification paper sheet is inserted to sections of originals to be carried and the picture information of the said original is stored in a different storage means for each color of the identification paper sheet. CONSTITUTION:When a series of originals are supplied to a picture processing unit by an automatic original carrier means, a picture read section stores the read picture in a storage means. A color detection section SE5 detects a color of an identification paper sheet inserted to each section of the series of originals to be carried at the readout. The color of the detected identification paper is discriminated by a color discrimination section 42 and the discriminated color information is inputted to a CPU via an ADF controller 41. When the color information is prescribed color of identification paper, the CPU gives the picture information of a series of the originals supplied in succession to the identification paper sheet to a different storage means, where the information is stored.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an image processing device that sequentially reads image information from a series of documents with different contents using an automatic document feeder (hereinafter referred to as ADF). When supplying image information to a device, identification paper is inserted between documents with different contents as a separation between a series of documents, and if the identification paper is transported and supplied by the ADF, it will not be transported and supplied thereafter. The image information storage means for inputting and storing a series of original documents for each color of the identification paper is different for storing the information.

``Prior art j'' In an image processing device, depending on the content of the image information to be read, the image information storage means may be different and each content is stored separately. In order to sequentially supply a series of different originals, read the image information, and store the image information by switching the storage means for each content, it is necessary to distinguish between the series of originals and a series of originals with different contents.

Conventionally, the number of sheets was counted for each series of originals in advance.

Enter the specified number of documents into the ADF, etc., and send the specified number of originals to the ADF.
The operator detects that the image information has been conveyed and supplied to the reading means, and upon this, the operator switches to input the image information to a predetermined image information storage means.

``Problem to be Solved by the Invention'' As mentioned above, it is not an easy task to accurately count the number of sheets for each series of manuscripts with different contents, and it is not an easy task to accurately count the number of manuscripts for each series of manuscripts with different contents. When a series of manuscripts with different contents are sequentially read at once by a reading means, even if the number of sheets of the manuscript is accurately counted, the incorrect number of sheets of the previous manuscript will be the same as the number of sheets of the subsequent manuscript. As a result, inconveniences arise, such as not being able to read each document all at once and store them separately in a predetermined storage means.

However, in order to distinguish each series of originals, it is only necessary to recognize the last page of the original or the first page of the following original, and there is no need to count all the sheets.

The present invention has been made with attention to the above-mentioned points, and therefore, when an identification paper is inserted into a break in a series of originals, and the color of the identification paper is detected by the color detection means, image information is generated for each color. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image processing apparatus in which input data is input and stored separately by switching storage means.

"Means for solving the problem" Specific means for achieving the above purpose include at least the following:
The apparatus includes an image information reading means for reading image information of a document, a plurality of image information storage means for inputting and storing read image information, and a search means for searching stored image information in response to a search command from a control unit. In an image processing device, an automatic document conveying means that sequentially feeds a series of documents to an image information reading means, a detection means that detects the color of an identification paper inserted at a separation between the documents to be conveyed, and a color detection signal. When it is determined that the color of the identification paper is a predetermined color, the read image information of a series of documents supplied subsequent to the identification paper is input into an image information storage means set for each predetermined color. The invention is characterized in that it is provided with an input means for inputting information.

"Function" As clarified in the description of the above-mentioned specific means, in the present invention, identification paper is inserted between each series of originals, and the identification paper is sequentially supplied to the image information reading means by the automatic document conveying means. When the color is determined to be a predetermined color by the color detecting means, the read image information of a series of documents following the identification paper is input to and stored in the image information storage means set for each predetermined color.

"Example" Embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a system block diagram of an image processing apparatus according to the present invention.

CPU1 is ROM2. RAM3. Display block 4, image memory 5. Compression/decompression block 6, hard disk interface (hereinafter referred to as I/F)
7. Optical disk I/F8゜Keyboard I/F9. Su1rya+, I/F 10. ADFll and printer I/
Each is connected to F12 by a system bus. In addition, the display block 4° image memory 5. The compression/expansion block 6, optical disk I/F 8, and scanner I/FIO are connected via an image bus to exchange image information. Also,
The printer I/F 12 receives transmission of image information via the image bus. Furthermore, the display block 4 includes a CRT display device (hereinafter referred to as CRT) 13 and a hard disk I/O.
F7 has a hard disk 14, and optical disk I/F8 has four optical disk drives 1 (NO, 1 to NO, 17).
5 to 18, a keyboard 19 to the keyboard I/F 9, a scanner (hereinafter referred to as image league) 20 to the scanner I/F 10, and a printer 2 to the printer I/F 12.
Connect 1 to each.

The CPU 1 manages and controls the entire system according to a program stored in the ROM 2.

The RAM 3 is a memory used by the CPU 1 for work. The display block 4 includes a display memory and an image memory 5.
Image information transferred from the CRT 13, information written directly by the CPU 1, etc. are displayed on the CRT 13.

The image memory 5 is a memory that stores image information of at least one side, and stores image information transferred from the scanner I/FIO, and also stores the stored image information to the printer I/FIO.
The image information is transferred to /F12 or transferred to the compression/expansion block 6 for encoding, further expanded in the compression/expansion block 6, and then transferred. Further, the image information stored in the image memory 5 is directly read/written according to instructions from the CPU, and the image information is exchanged with the compression/expansion block 6, hard disk I/F 7, and optical disk I/F 8. Further, the image memory 5 has a length of 1 m and can be accessed from either the image bus or the system bus, as shown in the block diagram. The compression/expansion block 6 is composed of a compression section that encodes image information, and an expansion section that returns the encoded image information to the original image information.
The image information sent from the image memory 5 via the image bus is encoded and transferred to the optical disc I/F 8,
The encoded image information sent from /F8 via the image bus is decoded and transferred to the image memory 5 via the image bus. Also, hard disk ■/F7 is hard disk 1
4, the management information of the image information to be stored, the input keywords, etc. are transferred.

The optical disk I/F 8 selects one of the optical disk drives 15 to 18 and drives the optical disk according to a command sent through the system bus, and when registering image information, the image information is encoded in the compression/expansion block 6 and The image information transferred through the bus is sent to the optical disk, and when image information is searched, the encoded image information sent from the optical disk is transferred to the compression/expansion block 6. The keyboard I/F 9 sends various commands and data input from the keyboard 19 to the CPUI, and the CPU 1 manages the system accordingly.

Execute control. The scanner I/F 10 transfers the image information read by the image reader 20 to the image memory 5 via the image bus, and also transfers the image information read by the image reader 20 to the image memory 5 via the system bus.
In response to a command sent to the scanner I/FIO, the image reader 20 switches the reading mode to either the binary sparse scanning mode or the halftone scanning mode and reads the image information. Further, the printer I/F 12 transmits commands sent from the CPUI through the system bus to the printer 21, and converts display image information stored in the image memory 5 or the display memory of the display block 4 into a hard copy. Other ADFs are installed in the image reader 20, which is image information reading means.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a schematic structure of the ADF II.

The ADF II is installed on the top surface of the image reader 20 (hereinafter referred to as IR), and has a document conveying belt 31 along the document table glass 25, and belt drive rollers 32 arranged in front and rear.
A pair of document inspection rollers 35 separates and feeds the originals placed on the document feed tray 34 one by one, and the separated and fed originals are passed to the M document. A pair of document supply rollers 36 are provided to supply the conveyance belt 31, and a document discharge roller 37 is provided following the belt drive roller 32, and the document discharged by a document discharge guide 38 disposed in succession to the roller 37 is provided. A document discharge tray 39 is provided to receive the document. Further, on the front side of the document feed roller pair 35, there is a document empty sensor SEI that detects the presence or absence of a document on the document feed tray 34, and a separation sensor S that detects whether the document is fed separately one by one.
Further, in front of the document supply roller pair 36, a document width sensor SE3 for detecting the document size and a document width sensor SE3 for detecting whether the document is reliably fed to the document conveyance belt 31 by the document supply roller pair 36 are arranged. In addition to disposing a paper sensor SE4, a document color sensor SE5 is disposed in front of the guide port 33 to detect the color of the document being fed. Additionally, SE6 is an ejection sensor arranged on the original ejection guide 38 to detect ejection of the original.

Figure 3; ↓ is a schematic block diagram of ADFII,
On the CP and Ul system buses of the image processing device of the present invention,
ADF controller 4 connected via command line
1, a document empty sensor SE1, a separation sensor SE2.
Document width sensor SE3. Original paper feed sensor SE4. Detection signals from the M document color sensor SE5 and the discharge sensor SE6 are input.

The detection signal of the original color sensor SE5 is input to the color discrimination section 42, the color is discriminated, and the color information is input to the ADF controller 41. The ADF controller 41 outputs control signals for the motor Ml for driving the belt drive roller 32, the motor M2 for driving the document feed roller pair 35, and the motor M3 for driving the document feed roller pair 36 to each driver. .

Various commands are sent from the CPU via the command line connected to the system bus, and the ADF II is controlled by the ADF controller 41 in association with the operations of the rR20 and other devices.
The originals placed on the yK document ejection tray 3 are transported one by one onto the document table glass 25 of the lR2O, and when the image information of the originals has been read by the scan operation of the lR2O, the originals placed on the yK document ejection tray 3 are
9, and the next original is conveyed and supplied onto the original platen glass 25. This process is repeated.

Further, the color information obtained by the color discrimination section 42 is sent to the CPUI via the command line by the ADF controller 41.

The structure and basic operation of ADFII and 1R2O are already known.

Next, the original color sensor SE5 placed in ADFII
This section describes color detection for original documents.

The document color sensor SE5 is a well-known semiconductor color sensor that manipulates the color spectrum of incident light to output an R output for red, a G output for green, and a blue output as shown in FIG. In this case, output B output. Further, in the case of black, three outputs of R, G, and B are output simultaneously, and in the case of white, none of the three outputs is output.

Also, use two of the three colors red, green, and blue to create the fifth
As shown in the figure, when a document colored in front and rear portions A and B in the front and rear halves of the conveyance direction is conveyed by the ADFll and passed below the document color sensor SE5, the sensor S
The R, G, and B outputs of the E5 change over time depending on the color of the document. For these color components, by inputting a combination of output changes over time due to the passing of the portions to the color discrimination section 42, it is possible to detect how the document has been color-coded.

The number of cases in which two colors are extracted from three colors, overlap is allowed (in this case, the entire surface is colored), and the front and rear halves of the document are color-coded is an overlapping permutation in which two colors are extracted from three. Therefore, 31"I 2 = 3" = 9 pieces.

Therefore, in a series of originals conveyed and supplied to lR2O by the ADFII, the originals of the aforementioned colors are inserted, this is detected by the original color sensor SE5, and the detection signal changes over time as the originals are conveyed. By combining these signals, nine different types of signals can be output to the color discrimination section 42.

Therefore, the color to be inserted between a series of documents is determined by determining the meaning of the identification paper as an identification paper, as shown in FIG. The information is mapped as shown in the figure. In this case, the document containing the image information to be read is generally white, and the written characters are black, so l
The color of the document to be read by R2O is determined by the document color sensor S.
The color detection signal of E5 becomes white or black.

By using this different color information as a control signal in the image processing device, it is possible to automatically prompt the setting of keywords for each section of a series of originals with different contents, and to automatically prompt the setting of keywords for each section of a series of documents with different contents. Disk drive 15-18
The image information reading mode of lR2O can be automatically switched from the full-surface binary reading mode to the full-surface intermediate rN4 reading mode by automatically switching and storing the image information, or by distinguishing between text and photographic originals.

Hereinafter, the operation of the image processing apparatus, which inserts identification paper between the documents automatically conveyed and supplied to the 1R2O by the ADFll and is controlled based on the color information, will be explained with reference to a flowchart.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the main routine of the image processing apparatus.

In step Sl (steps will be omitted below), each I/F
, confirm the operation of each block such as display block 4,
Initial settings are performed to check the connection and enable work, then in S2 the operator selects and inputs a work menu by operating the keyboard 19, and in S3 the menu is determined and various works are performed.Menu No. If it is 1, a registration operation is performed to read and store the image information (S4
), if it is 2, a search operation is performed to read out the stored image information based on the keyword (S5), and if it is 3, it performs post-processing and ends (S 6). If! t
The information registered in each disk is processed so that it does not disappear even if the computer is activated and the power is turned off.

FIGS. 8(a) and 8(b) are flowcharts showing the registration work routine.

First, when the ADFII transports and supplies the first sheet of a series of originals set on the original document feed tray 34 to the lR2O in the Sll, the original color sensor SE5 arranged in the ADFll
detects the color of the document, the detection signal is input to the color discrimination section 42, and color information is output from the discrimination section 42 to the CPUI via the ADF controller 41. In the following S12, the CPU determines whether or not the identification sheet is for selecting an optical disk drive based on the output color information. If YES, the CPU sends a command to the optical disk I/F according to the color coding of the identification sheet. A predetermined optical disk drive is selected and a preparatory operation for writing image information is started (S13), and then the process proceeds to S14, where the identification paper is ejected by the ADF II and the second original is fed. N in S12
o, that is, if the first document is not an identification sheet for selecting a disk drive, it means that the optical disk drive for writing image information has not been selected.
In S15, an error is displayed on the CRT 13 to warn the operator. Subsequently, in S16, the first document supplied to the lR2O is ejected by the ADFII, and the process ends.

In the above S14, when the second document is supplied to the lR2O, the color of the document is detected by the document color sensor SE5, and is outputted as color information to the CPUI in the same manner as above, and then the color information is detected in S17. It is determined whether the document is an identification paper that has been assigned a full-scale binary reading mode or a full-scale halftone reading mode for specifying the image information reading mode, and if YES. CPU
1 specifies one of the reading modes for lR2O by a command (S18), and in the following S19, ADFI
I ejects the identification paper and feeds the third subsequent document.

If it is determined in step S17 that the second document is not an identification sheet for designating a reading mode, it is determined that the second document is a document containing image information to be registered on the optical disk. but,
Since the identification paper for specifying the reading mode is not detected, the reading mode of lR2O is set to the default (no identification paper) full-page binary reading mode by the CPU command (S20).In the following S21, the CPUI
U1 performs the image information reading operation of lR2O for the scanner I/FIO and stores the read image information in the image memory 5.
Send a command to transfer to. In response to this command, the lR2O scans the document conveyed and supplied by the ADFII onto the document table glass 25, reads image information, and converts it into an electrical signal. Furthermore, the above-mentioned S18. The processing of the reading mode (full-scale binary reading or full-scale halftone reading mode) specified in S20 is performed by the image processing unit (not shown) in lR2O, and the sequentially processed image information is sent via the scanner I/FIO. The image memory 5, which is sent to the image memory 5 via the image bus, sequentially stores image information output from the lR2O in response to commands from the CPUI. S
In step 22, the identification paper that indicates optical disk drive selection is detected by SL2, so when reading the subsequent series of manuscripts, the operator is instructed to set a new keyword in accordance with CPLI 1. The command prompts the CRT 13 by displaying, for example, ``This is a new manuscript, please enter a keyword.'' The operator inputs a new keyword from the keyboard 19 according to the CRT display (S23).

Continuation (In S24, the image information stored in the image memory 5 is written to the optical disk. In this case, the CPU 1 causes the image information currently stored in the image memory 5 to be sequentially transferred to the compression/expansion block 6. The CPU also instructs the image information transferred to the compression/expansion block 6 to be compressed using a predetermined method and transferred to the optical disk I/F 8.
8, the optical disk drive selected in 913 above should be driven and the image data input to the optical disk I/F should be registered on the optical disk according to each of the 6 or more commands that instruct it to write sequentially onto the optical disk. Image information is written. At this time, "management information" indicating which part of the optical disc the image information was written to is stored at the optical disc I/F 8.
It is sent from CPU1.

Further, in S25, the CPU 1 writes the keyword entered by the operator's keyboard in step 323 and the image information "management information j" written in step 824 to the hard disk 14.

In this case, the CPUI sends a command to the hard disk I/F 7 so that the hard disk 14 stores the keyword and management information J sent from the CPU. Store keywords and "management information".

Next, in S26, the original on which the image information has been written in S24 is ejected, and in the process of feeding the next original, the original color sensor SE5 detects the color of the original, and the color information based on this detection signal is It is sent to CPU 1 in the same way as described above. In S27, based on the color information sent to the CPUI, it is determined whether or not the document is an identification paper that means the end of the document. If YES, the process advances to S28, and the ADFII
ejects the identification paper by the cpUl command. In the subsequent S29, since the registration of image information of a series of documents with the same keyword has been completed, the CPU 1 transmits a command to cancel the selection of the optical disk drive to the optical disk I/F 8. Upon receiving this command, the optical disc I/F 8 stops the operation of the optical disc drive. The document empty sensor SEI detects whether another document is set on the document feed tray following the series of documents for which image writing has been completed in S30, and the detection signal is sent to the ADF at C'PUI. The document is sent via the controller 41, and the CPU 1 determines whether or not there is a next document. If there is a next document, the process returns to the Sll; if there is not, the routine ends. If it is determined in S27 that the document is not finished, it is determined in S26 whether the fed document is an identification paper that indicates the designation of the reading mode (full-page binary reading mode or full-scale halftone reading mode). 331), if No, the image information of the document should be registered on the optical disk, and the document is read using the current reading mode.

If YES, change the reading mode of 1R2O to the reading mode indicated by the identification paper (532), and eject the identification paper (333). S21, S24 and S2
The image original is read by the lR2O by the same operation as in 5, and the read image information is sequentially written to the optical disk, and "management information" is written to the hard disk 14. - Since this is an image writing process for a series of manuscripts,
Said S12. The keyword input process in S13 is omitted. From 326 to 326 until it is determined that the manuscript is finished in S27.
The routine of S36 is repeated and lR2 is set by ADFll.
The image information of the document that is automatically fed and ejected to O is read.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the search work routine.

In S51, the operator inputs a search keyword using the keyboard 6. Subsequently, in S52, it is determined whether there is an instruction to end the search, and if there is an instruction, this search work routine is ended. If not, the process advances to S53, and the management information stored in the hard disk is read out and searched based on the input search keyword. If the corresponding document is not found as a result of the search (No> in S54, the process advances to keyword input). Return and if the corresponding document is found (YES in S54)
S) displays the document list on the CRT 13 (S)
55 >, then in S56 a document to be read from the optical disk is selected from the document list, and then it is determined whether the search is completed and the search operation is continued (No in S57).
If the search is completed (YES in S57), the optical disk drive in which the document selected in S58 is stored is selected based on the management information J, and the corresponding optical disk The image information is read out from the CRT 13 and displayed on the CRT 13 (S59), and the search operation is performed as described above.

Figure 10.11 illustrates how the identification paper is used to read image information by the device of the present invention.
At the beginning of the document conveyed and supplied by the ADFll, there is an identification paper a whose A and B portions are both blue, as shown in FIG.
, select the optical disk drive 15 with No. 1, set the second identification paper with the A section in green and the B section in blue, specify the full-surface binary reading mode, and then press the identification paper. Next, set a series of originals, and at the end set identification paper C, which means the final original with A part red and B part red. It is possible to read a series of several originals in full-page binary reading mode, and register the read image information in the No. 1 optical disk drive 15. By setting the optical disk drive selection identification paper a, a display prompting the operator to set a new keyword when reading image information is displayed on the CRT 13.

Further, as shown in FIG. 11, portions A and B are colored blue in order from the beginning of the document being transported and supplied.

Identification paper a in green, identification paper b in green and blue, a series of manuscripts (any number of sheets), identification paper b in green and red, followed by another series of manuscripts (any number of sheets), green, By setting identification paper B, which is colored blue, a series of originals (any number of sheets), red at the end of I and identification paper C, which means the final original which is colored red, No. 3 optical disk drive 17 is selected, and The first series of documents is read in the full-page binary reading mode, then the reading mode is switched to the full-page intermediate 11 reading mode, and the last set of documents is read by switching to the full-page binary reading mode again. becomes possible. If you want to set keywords for each series of documents, just insert an optical disk drive selection identification sheet at the beginning of each document, and by using different color-coded identification sheets, a different optical disk drive will be automatically selected. can do.

In addition, keywords, file names, etc. for a series of manuscripts are stored in advance in the host device, and when a break in a series of manuscripts is detected, the keywords and file names of the next series of manuscripts are automatically stored on the hard disk. It is also possible to change the optical disk to be registered for each document by automatically switching to a predetermined optical disk drive.

Although we used two-color identification paper as identification paper, it is possible to obtain a large number of different color information by color-coding three or more colors or by arranging multiple original color sensors. Therefore, by using this as a control signal for the image information processing device, more detailed control can be performed.

"Effects of the Invention" As clarified in the explanation of the above-mentioned specific means and effects, the present invention has the following advantages: by inserting identification paper at the break between each series of manuscripts,
The image information is sequentially supplied to the image information reading means by the automatic document conveying means, and when the color of the identification paper is determined to be a predetermined color by the color detection means, the read image information of a series of originals following the identification paper is read for each predetermined color. Since the input data is input and stored in the image information storage means set to , if the contents of the manuscript have a certain relationship or have the same tendency, they can be input all at once to the same image information storage means. This has the advantage that systematic file management can be automatically performed by simply inserting identification paper of a predetermined color at the boundaries of a series of documents.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The accompanying drawings show embodiments of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a system block diagram of an image processing device, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the schematic structure of ADFII, FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of ADFll, and FIG. .5 is an explanatory diagram explaining the color detection of the original color sensor SE5, FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram explaining the color classification of the identification paper and its meaning, and FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the main routine of the image processing device. 8(a) and 8(b) are flowcharts showing the registration work routine, FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the search work routine, and FIGS. 10 and 11 are explanatory diagrams illustrating how the identification paper is used. 1,,, c p u, 81.2 optical disk I/F,
10, , Scanner I/F, 11, , AD F,
13,,,CRT, 15-18,,,No,1
~N014 optical disk drive, 20. ,,IRl
41. ADF controller, 42. , , color discrimination section, S E
L , , Original empty sensor, S E 5 , ,
, original color sensor, a, a', b, b', c,
,,identification paper. Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Conveyance direction Figure 6

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] At least an image information reading means for reading image information of a document, a plurality of image information storage means for inputting and storing the read image information, and a plurality of image information storage means for inputting and storing the read image information, and storing the stored image information in response to a search command from a control unit. In an image processing apparatus, the image processing apparatus is equipped with an automatic document conveying means for sequentially conveying a series of documents to the image information reading means, and a detection device for detecting the color of identification paper inserted at a separation between the documents to be conveyed. and when it is determined by the color detection signal that the color of the identification paper is a predetermined color, the read image information of a series of originals supplied subsequent to the identification paper is set for each predetermined color. An image processing device comprising an input means for inputting information to an image information storage means.