JPH04154274A - Image reader/recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to suppress memory capacity by reading, for each color, image information recorded in an original to be read, by recording read information on a recording paper, and by executing the above operation for each color. CONSTITUTION:When storing monochrome data of the content of 124 lines in either line memory 116A or line memory 116B, a color skip signal generating circuit 113 discriminates whether or not monochrome data of the content of 124 lines is all white. If black data is included, a control section 100 transfers monochrome data to a head drive circuit 106 via a switch 118. The head drive circuit 106 drives a thermal head 56 in accordance with monochrome data. Donor film is heated to record a monochrome image on a recording paper 20. In this case, a multicolor image consisting of black, red, and blue can be recorded and regenerated on recording paper 20. Hence, since image information for each color is sequentially stored in line memories 116A and 116B, the reader has only to have a memory for one type of color, thereby resulting in cost reduction.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an image reading/recording apparatus that reads color images recorded on a read document, color by color, and reproduces them on recording paper.

[Prior Art] For example, in the fields of printing and plate making, devices such as color scanners are used that convert a color image recorded on a read document into an electrical signal and then reproduce the signal. There is.

By the way, in such devices, it is common to separate the read color image, store it separately for each color, perform the desired image processing on each color, and then combine the images on recording paper for recording and reproduction. It is true.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the conventional apparatus, a storage means for storing color image information is required for each color of the read document. Therefore, when attempting to read a multicolor original and accurately reproduce it, a considerable amount of storage capacity is required and the apparatus becomes extremely expensive.

The present invention has been made in view of this type of problem, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an image reading/recording apparatus that has a small storage capacity for color image information read from a read document and can be made inexpensive.

[il! [Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention scans a multi-color read original that is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction in the main scanning direction, and reads image information recorded on the read original. a reading unit that reads each color; a storage unit that stores image information of only one color read by the reading unit; and a storage unit that stores the image information stored in the storage unit in the main scanning direction of recording paper that is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction. A recording unit that records and reproduces information for each color in a direction; and a recording unit that performs reading operation in the reading unit and recording operation in the recording unit repeatedly for a predetermined number of colors.

[Operations] In the image reading and recording apparatus according to the present invention configured as described above, image information recorded on a read document is read for each color and recorded on recording paper, and this operation is performed for each color. In this case, the storage means only needs to have a storage capacity for one color, and therefore it is possible to keep the storage capacity small.

Embodiments An embodiment of the image reading and recording device according to the present invention will be given.
A detailed description will be given below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In FIGS. 1 to 3, reference numeral 10 indicates an image reading and recording apparatus according to this embodiment. This recording device 10 is
A lower cover member 12 and an upper cover member 14 attached to the lower cover member 12 so as to be openable and closable are used as a casing, and the original to be read 16 is horizontally conveyed on the upper cover member 14 while being read. A reading section 18 (see FIG. 2) that photoelectrically reads the image recorded on the original document 16, and a recording section 22 (see FIG. 3) that enlarges the read image information and reproduces it on the recording paper 20. Equipped with

The upper cover member 14 is provided with a read original placement area 24 , and an end portion of the read original 16 placed in the read original placement area 24 enters into the scanner cover 26 .

As shown in FIG. 2, within this scanner cover 26, a pair of rollers 28 and 30 constituting a sub-scanning conveyance means are arranged with a predetermined distance apart. A tip position detection sensor 29 is provided to detect the tip position of the tip. Also, roller pair 2
A reading section 18 is housed below 8.30.

Note that the roller pair 28, 30 is driven by a motor 42.

The reading unit 18 includes a light source 32a for irradiating red illumination light onto the information surface of the original document 16 to be read, and a light source 32b for irradiating blue illumination light, and these light sources 32a, 32
b extends in the main scanning direction (direction of arrow Y) perpendicular to the sub-scanning direction (direction of arrow X) of the original document 16 to be read. The light emitted from the light sources 32a and 32b and reflected by the original to be read 16 is reflected by reflection mirrors 34 and 36 and is irradiated onto the CCD sensor 38.

As shown in FIG. 3, a roll-shaped recording paper 20, which is a thermal transfer paper, is housed in the lower cover member 12, and the end of the recording paper 20 is pulled out to the recording section 22 and transferred to the conveyor roller. 46 and nip rollers 48. The recording paper 20 and the conveyance roller 46 are rotationally driven synchronously via timing belts 52a and 52b connected to a motor 50.

The recording unit 22 includes a flat platen 54 and a thermal head (recording head) 5 mounted on a shuttle unit 58.
6. The thermal head 56 is configured to be moved by the shuttle unit 58 in the direction of arrow X, which is perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the roll-shaped recording paper 20 (direction of arrow Y).

The conveyance roller 46 and the nip roller 48 are connected to the recording paper ejection port 6.
8, and this recording paper ejection port 68 has a
A cutter means 70 is provided for cutting the recording paper 20 into a predetermined length.

A roll-shaped donor film 78 is accommodated on the recording section 22 via a cassette 76 . This donor film 7
8 is a timing bell) 86a, 8 which is wound around the supply core material 80 and the collection core material 82 and is connected to the motor 84.
6b, the recovered core material 82 and the donor conveying roller 64
a are rotationally driven in synchronization.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic configuration of a control circuit of the image reading/recording apparatus 1O described above.

This control circuit is controlled by the control section 100. The control unit 100 includes a drive circuit 102 for driving the motor 42 that transports the original to be read 16, a drive circuit 104 for driving the motor 50 that transports the recording paper 20, and a drive circuit 104 for driving the thermal head 56. Head drive circuit 106
are connected to each other, and other processing circuits shown below are also connected.

That is, the leading edge position detection sensor 29 disposed in the reading unit 18 is connected to the control unit 100 and supplies a leading edge position detection signal of the document 16 to be read to the control unit 100 . Further, a signal processing circuit 108 controlled by a control unit 100 is connected to the CCD sensor 38 . Signal processing circuit 1
08 converts image information of the read original 16 read by the CCD sensor 38 into a digital signal.

Connected to the signal processing circuit 108 is a line memory 110 that stores image information of the read original 16 read by the CCD sensor 38 for each scanning line. In addition, the front signal processing circuit 108 and the front line memory 110 include
A color identification binarization circuit 112 is connected which identifies the color of image information and outputs it as binary data.

The color discrimination binarization circuit 112 is connected to the line memo! J 116A and 116B are connected, and the color skip signal generation circuit 113 is also connected. In this case, row memories 116A and 116B each include a CCD
124 of the original document 16 read by the sensor 38
Image information for a line is stored as image information for one color.

Further, the color skip signal generation circuit 113 generates the row memo!
The controller 10 determines the presence or absence of image information in J 116A and 116B, and sends a color skip signal when there is no image information.
Output for 0.

A head drive circuit 106 is further connected to the row memories 116A and 116B via a switch 118.

FIG. 5 shows the configuration of the color identification binarization circuit 112. The color discrimination binarization circuit 112 includes a latch circuit 120 that latches line data D (R) supplied from the line memory 110 and obtained when the red light [32a is turned on;
It has a latch circuit 122 that latches line data D (B) supplied from the signal processing circuit 108 and obtained when the blue light source 32b is turned on. A complement converter 124 is connected to the latch circuit 120, which converts the line data D (R) into a complement according to a control signal. Complement converter 12
4 and the output of latch circuit 122 are supplied to adder 126.

The adder 126 calculates the sum of the line data D (R) or its complement converted line data D (R)'' and the line data D (B), and adds the sum data to the comparator 12.
8 and the binarization circuit 130. The comparator 128 compares the sum data and predetermined threshold data α, and the comparison result is sent to the complement converter 124 and the selector 1 as a control signal.
32 and gate 134. Further, the control signal is passed through an inverter 136 to a gate 138.14.
0 is also supplied.

Data regarding the positive/negative sign of the sum data in the adder 126 is supplied to the selector 132 as a control signal. The selector 132 selects predetermined threshold data β, r1δ based on the control signal from the comparator 128 and the control signal from the adder 126, and supplies the selected threshold data to the binarization circuit 130 as the threshold data of the sum data. Note that the control signal from the adder l26 is supplied to the gate 140 as well as to the gate 138 via the inverter 142. Furthermore, the binary data output from the binarization circuit 130 is
gates 134, 138, and 140, respectively.

On the other hand, the outputs of the gates 134, 138, and 140 are appropriately selected by the selector 144 and supplied to the switch 114 and the color skip signal generation circuit 113.

Next, the operation of the image reading and recording apparatus 10 configured as described above will be explained based on the flowchart in FIG. 6 and the diagram for explaining the reading operation of the original 16 in FIG. 7.

Here, in the following explanation, as shown in FIG.
An image consisting of three colors is recorded on the recording paper 20 using a donor film 78 in which black (K), red (R), and blue (B) inks are repeatedly arranged in this order in the transport direction indicated by the arrow. shall be taken as a thing.

First, when initializing, set the donor film 78 to black (K).
) is set as the recording start position on the recording paper 20. Then, the original to be read 16 is caused to enter the pair of rollers 28 from the original to be read placement portion 24 .

When the leading edge position detection sensor 29 disposed between the pair of rollers 28 and 30 detects the leading edge of the document 16 to be read, first, only the light source 32a that outputs red illumination light is turned on in step S.
1) The CCD sensor 38 scans the original to be read 16 in the main scanning direction (arrow Y direction) (step S2). In this case, image information obtained by photoelectric conversion by the CCD sensor 38 is converted into digital data by the signal processing circuit 108,
It is stored in the line memory 110 as line data D (R).

Next, only the light source 32b that outputs blue illumination light is turned on (step S3), and an image of the same scanning line scanned by the light source 32a is read (step S4), and the signal processing circuit 108 digitally converts the image into a digital image. data and is supplied to the color discrimination binarization circuit 112 as line data D (B).

In the color identification binarization circuit 112 (FIG. 5), the line data D (R) and D (B) are used to identify the color of the image information (step 35) and to binarize the image information (
Step 36).

That is, the line data D (R) stored in the line memory 110 and the line data D (B) from the signal processing circuit 108 are stored in the latch circuits 120 and 122.
is latched to.

Next, the line data D (R) is sent to the complement converter 124
It is complement-converted by , and is supplied to the adder 126 as line data D(R)9. Therefore, the adder 126 calculates the sum of the line data D(R)'' and D(B), that is, the difference between the line data D(R) and D(B), and the comparator 128 and The signal is supplied to the binarization circuit 130.

Here, line data D (R) and D (B) are
Image information obtained by illuminating the read original 16 with red illumination light and image information obtained by illuminating it with blue illumination light are respectively configured. In this case, the output level of each line data D (R) and D (B) will generally vary depending on whether the image information is white (W>, black (K), red (R), or blue (B)). 1. Note that r HJ indicates that the output level is high, and "L" indicates that the output level is low.

Table 1 Therefore, when the difference data output from the adder 126 is small, it is white (W) or black (K) image information, and when the difference data is large in one direction, it is red (R) image information. If the difference data is large in the child direction, it can be identified as blue (B) image information.

Therefore, the comparator 128 compares the predetermined threshold data α and the difference data, and when the difference data is small, the image information is determined to be white (W) or black (K) data, and the control is set to “1”. The signals are provided to complement converter 124, selector 132, inverter 136 and gate 134.

The complement converter 124 supplied with the control signal "1" supplies the line data D (R) from the latch circuit 120 as it is to the adder 126 without performing complement conversion. In this case, adder 126 adds line data D (R) and D (B), and this added data is supplied to binarization circuit 130 . On the other hand, the selector 132 selects the threshold data δ according to the control signal “1”.
is supplied to the binarization circuit 130. Note that this threshold data δ is set to a threshold level for determining whether the added data is white or black.

The binarization circuit 130 generates binary data from the addition data from the adder 126 and the threshold data δ from the selector 132, and supplies this to gates 134, 138, and 140. In this case, since the gates 138 and 140 are inactive by the "0" control signal supplied via the inverter 136 and 142, the binary data is supplied to the selector 144 via the gate 134. be done.

Further, if the difference data is large from the comparison result of the comparator 128, the image information is determined to be red (R) or blue (B),
A control signal of "0" is used by the complement converter 124 and the selector 132.
, are supplied to inverter 136 and gate 134.

In this case, the complement converter 124 converts the line data D, (R) from the latch circuit 120 into a complement and sends it to the adder 126.
The adder 126 supplies the difference data to the binarization circuit 130.
supply to. Further, the adder 126 outputs a control signal (D (R)≧D (B) “1” related to the sign of the difference data
”, if D(R)<D (B), selector 1
32. Therefore, when the line data D (R) is larger than the line data D (B), the selector 132 determines that the image information is red and supplies the threshold data β to the binarization circuit 130, and the line data D (R) is smaller than the line data D (B), it is determined that the image information is blue and the threshold data T is supplied to the binarization circuit 130.

Note that the threshold data β and T are set as threshold hold levels for determining whether the difference data from the adder 126 is white or red, white or blue.

The binarization circuit 130 generates binary data using the difference data from the adder 126 and the threshold data β or γ from the selector 132, and outputs the binary data to the gates 134.138.1.
Supply 40.

In this case, gate 134 is rendered inactive by a "0" control signal supplied from comparator 128. Further, one of the gates 138 and 140 is made inactive by a control signal from the adder 126. Therefore, when the image information is red, the control signal is "1".
The binary data is supplied to a selector 144 via a gate 140. Further, when the image information is blue, the control signal is "0", and the binary data is
It is supplied to the selector 144 via the gate 138.

By the way, in the recording section 22, the donor film 78 has black ink set at the recording position. Control unit 10
0 first controls selector 144 to select black and white data from gate 134. Therefore, the color discrimination binarization circuit 112 converts only the black and white data from the image information read from the read document 16 into the line memo!
The data is transferred to J116A or J116B and stored (step 37).

When 124 lines of black and white data are stored in either the row memory 116A or 116B (step S8), the color skip signal generation circuit 113 determines whether all of the 124 lines of black and white data are white (step S9). ).

If black data is included, the control unit 100 transfers the black and white data to the head drive circuit 106 via the switch 118. The head drive circuit 106 drives the thermal head 56 according to the black and white data, heats the donor film 78, and records a black and white image on the recording paper 20 (step 51).
0).

On the other hand, the color skip signal generation circuit 113
If all of the black and white data stored in 6A or 116B is determined to be white, a color skip signal is supplied to the control 8100 (step 511). The control unit 100 causes the donor film 78 to be conveyed idly based on the color skip signal (step 512), and sets the next color, red, at the recording position (see FIG. 8). In this case, no image is recorded on the recording paper 20. Therefore, the recording section 22 enters a standby state for recording the next color.

Next, in order to record in red on the recording paper 20, the motor 42 is rotated in the reverse direction to move the read document 16 back by 124 lines (step S13.514), steps S1 to S1
Repeat step 4 (see Figure 7). In this case, the control unit 100 controls the selector 144 to select white and red data from the gate 140. Therefore, the color identification binarization circuit 112 converts only the white and red data from the image information read from the read original 16 into the line memo via the switch 114. 1
116A or 116B and stored (step 37).

Therefore, the recording section 22 records red on the recording paper 20 based on the white and red data (step 510).

Similarly, move the original 16 back by 124 lines and read the recording paper 2.
0 is recorded in blue (steps S1 to 512).

When the gold printing is completed for 124 lines of the recording paper 20 (step 513), the recording paper 20 is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction (arrow X direction) by 124 lines (step 515).
, the operations of steps S1 to S15 are performed until the reading document 16 is completed (step 516).

In the manner described above, images consisting of black, red, and blue can be recorded and reproduced on the recording paper 20. In this case, line memo! Since image information for each color is sequentially stored in J 116A and 116B, it is only necessary to have a storage capacity for one color, which is extremely economical. In addition, the reading original 16
If there is no color to be recorded, the donor film 78 is conveyed empty based on the color skip signal and no recording is performed, so that rapid processing is possible.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, the image reading and recording apparatus according to the present invention provides the following effects and advantages.

That is, the image information recorded on the read document is read for each color and recorded on recording paper, and this operation is performed for each color. In this case, the storage means stores only data when image information for one color is read, and the image information is recorded based on this data. Therefore, the storage capacity of the storage means is only required for one color, making it extremely economical.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the configuration of an image reading and recording device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partially sectional front view of the image reading and recording device, FIG. 3 is a vertical side view of the image reading and recording device, and FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the configuration of the control unit in the image reading and recording device; FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the color recognition binarization circuit in the control unit shown in FIG. 4; FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the processing in the control unit shown in FIG. 4. A flowchart of the operation, FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of reading a document in the image reading and recording apparatus, and FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of the donor film used in the image reading and recording apparatus. 10... Image reading and recording device 16... Reading original 18... Reading section 20... Recording paper 22... Recording section 38... CCD sensor 56... Thermal head 78... Donor film 100...Control unit 112...Color identification binarization circuit 113...Color skip signal generation circuit 116A, 116B...Row memory

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A reading unit that scans a multi-color read original that is transported in the sub-scanning direction in the main scanning direction and reads image information recorded on the read original for each color; a reading unit comprising: a storage unit for storing image information; and a recording unit for recording and reproducing the image information stored in the storage unit for each color in the main scanning direction of recording paper conveyed in the sub-scanning direction. An image reading and recording apparatus characterized in that a reading operation in a recording section and a recording operation in a recording section are repeatedly performed for a predetermined number of colors.