JPH0446460A - Image communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To output a halftone image and a text image both equally beautiful by transmitting a signal which indicates the characteristic of an image recorder from the side of the image recorder before image data communication. CONSTITUTION:A manuscript is converted to a signal by a photoelectric conversion part 31 equipped with a linear CCD sensor 6 of a read-out part 1, and binarized prescriptively by one of processing parts 32a-32d. Then, the manuscript is encoded in a system such as an MH or an MR by a compression part 33, and stored in a memory 34. The connection with the side to be called is operated by a transmission controlling part 35, and the signal in the memory 34 is transmitted through a line connecting part 36 to a line by a prescribed process. When the control part 35 receives a request for connection from a calling side, the line is connected, and the signal is received and stored in the memory 34. The signal in the memory 34 is decoded by an expanding part 37, and converted to a signal capable of being outputted. Then, the signal which indicates the kind and characteristic of the image recorder is transmitted from the side of the image recorder to the side of a picture transmitting device before the image data communication, and the signal which is in accord with the characteristic of the image recorder is prepared at the side of the picture data transmission.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] This invention relates to an image communication system, and more particularly to an image communication system that outputs characteristic signals of an image recording section.

[Prior Art] Conventional thermal type and electrostatic photographic type facsimile machines are commercially available. In these facsimiles, before the image transmitting device sends the image signal data to the image recording device, the image recording device inputs the recording paper size, transmission speed, compression/
Data regarding the decompression mode, etc. is output to the image transmitting device in advance, and image data is output from the image transmitting device in accordance with the data.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Image signal recording methods are different between thermal type faxes and electrophotographic recording type faxes (abbreviated as PPF = Plain Paper Fax).

In PPP, an image is formed by compressing toner with heat and pressure. In general, adjustments are made so that an overall larger image is formed. If the image being sent is a text image consisting mainly of text images, it will consist mainly of lines, so even if the dots that make up the lines are crushed, it will not interfere with reading the text. When a halftone image is received, the density of the output image is increased.

In other words, it becomes blackish and it becomes difficult to represent gray areas. For this reason, in the past, there was a problem that a desired image could not be output depending on the type of image to be transmitted.

This invention was made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide an image communication system that can output both halftone images and text images equally and beautifully.

[Means for Solving the Problems] An image communication system according to the present invention includes an image transmitting device that outputs an image transmitting signal and an image recording device that outputs an image in response to the transmitting signal from the image transmitting device. Prior to transmitting image data, the transmitting device outputs a signal representing the characteristics of the image recording device, and after receiving the characteristics of the image recording device, the image transmitting device transmits an image signal matching the characteristics.

[Operation] In the image communication system according to the present invention, since a signal representing the characteristics of the image recording device is sent from the image recording device side prior to image data communication, the image data transmitting side transmits a signal that matches the characteristics of the image recording device. is prepared.

[Example] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing an outline of a document reading section 1 for transmission and a printing section 11 for reception of a laser facsimile apparatus.

In the document reading section 1, a light source 3 illuminates the document on a platen 2 while a scanner 4 moves to scan the document. The light reflected from the original is reflected by a mirror, passes through a lens 5, and enters a linear CCD sensor (for example, 8 pixels/mm) 6. The output signal of the linear CCD sensor 6 is digitized as explained later, and then binarized. Note that if reading is performed using a moving document type, the configuration becomes simpler.

In the printing unit 11 , a laser optical system 12 controls the light emission of a laser diode in response to a received signal, and the light is incident on a photoreceptor 13 . Then, development, transfer, and fixing are performed using a well-known electrophotographic process, and the received signal is printed on plain paper.

The contents of the reading and printing operations described above are similar to those of conventional laser printers, so a detailed explanation thereof will be omitted.

Next, an outline of the operation of the facsimile machine will be explained with reference to FIG. First, the operation when making a call will be explained. The photoelectric conversion section 31 including the linear CCD sensor 6 of the reading section 1 converts the original into an electrical signal. Next, the converted electrical signal is subjected to predetermined binarization processing (simple binarization processing, dither processing, etc.) by one of the processing units 32a to 32d, and is converted into a binarized time series signal. Ru. Next, the data is encoded by the compression unit 33 using a method such as MH, MR, or the like. The encoded signal is then stored in code memory 34. The transmission control unit 35 establishes a connection with the called party, and the signal in the memory 34 is transferred to the line connection unit 3 according to a predetermined procedure.
6 to the line.

Next, the operation at the time of reception will be explained. Line connection section 36
When the transmission control section 35 receives a connection request from the calling side through the transmission control section 35, the line is connected, a signal is received, and the signal is stored in the code memory 34.

The expansion section 37 decodes the signal in the code memory 34, and the decoded signal is converted into a signal that can be output by the recording section 38.

Next, the contents of the processing section will be explained. Four processing units are prepared in parallel as processing units that digitally process the image data obtained by the photoelectric conversion unit 31. Here, for example, each processing section is as follows. That is, processing section 1
For example, is a processing section for text images, processing section 2 is a processing section for thermal/thermal transfer printers, and processing section 3 is a processing section for P.
This is a processing section for the PF, and the processing section 4 is a processing section for the in-house printer.

Next, the contents will be explained. For example, since the processing section 1 is a processing section for text images, black and white data is created simply depending on whether it is larger or smaller than a threshold value (simple binarization processing). Since the processing unit 2 has very good dot reproducibility as a characteristic of the printer on the receiving side, the number of black dots per unit area and the gradation correspond linearly. In electrophotographic recording devices, dots are reproduced larger than in thermal printers, and the reproduced image tends to be too dark, especially in high-density areas of halftone images. The number and gradation are not linear,
As the density of the original image becomes higher, the data for transmission is created so that the number of dots per unit area becomes smaller than in the processing by the processing section 2. The processing unit 4 associates the number of black dots with the gradation level for the in-house printer.

Here, each processing section may include a multi-value data generation processing section and a color data generation processing section.

The control section 39 processes the above signals in response to instructions from the operation display section.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the operation display section 51. FIG.

The transmission key 52 is a key for starting transmission. 5
The TOP key 53 is a key for stopping transmission midway. Various keys ("1", "2",... "9", "0"
”, “*”, r#J) 54 are keys used to set, clear, register, etc. a telephone number. The halftone key 58 is a key for selecting whether to perform binarization processing or halftone processing (dither processing, etc.) on the read image data.

Figure 4 shows the CPU 71 that controls the facsimile machine.
It is a block diagram of the surroundings. The CPU 71 is a working R
It is connected to AM72 and a timer clock IC73.

Further, the CPU 71 is connected to the key matrices 52 to 58 of the operation display section 51 and the LCD display section 59, and is also connected to each control section (see FIG. 2).

Figures 5A and 5B show the R built in the CPU 71.
FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an OM area. The device code is set at address ADI in the ROM area. The device code indicates the type of recording device, and as shown in FIG. 5B, the device code and the type correspond.

For example, device code 1 indicates a thermal/thermal transfer type facsimile, device code 2 indicates a laser beam printer type facsimile (L B P), and device code 3 indicates a proprietary facsimile, such as a facsimile made in-house. . If the device code is other than 1 to 3 above, it is, for example, undetermined.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the main flow of the CPU 71 that controls the facsimile. In step S1, C
Initial settings are performed after the PtJ71 is reset. In step S2, input/output processing of the CPU 71 is performed in two ways. In addition, a selection is made as to whether or not to perform halftone processing. In step S3, the control mode indicating the control state is checked and the program branches depending on each control mode value. If the control mode value is 0, the program advances to step S4, if it is 1, it advances to step S5, if it is 2, it advances to step S6, and if it is 3, it advances to step S7. In the standby mode of step S4, the device waits for an incoming signal by key operation or reception.

When the device is performing reception processing, the reception mode routine of step S5 is performed. If the device is performing transmission processing, the program proceeds to the transmission mode routine of step S6. When other processing is to be performed, the program proceeds to another processing routine represented by step S7. After each process ends, the program returns to step S2.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of input/output processing (step S2). At step 5301, the halftone flag is checked. This flag is initially set to "0", and depending on this value, execution of halftone processing, which will be described later, is selected. When the halftone flag is "0", the program proceeds to step 5302, and when it is "1", the program proceeds to step 53.
The process advances to step 04, and changes to selection or non-selection of halftone processing are accepted. In step 5302, the ON edge (change from OFF state to ON state) of the halftone key 58 is checked, and when the ON edge is detected, the program proceeds to step 5.
The program proceeds to step 303, where the halftone flag is set to "1", and the program proceeds to step 3306. If no ON edge is detected, the program directly advances to step 8306. In step 5304, the ON edge of the halftone key 58 is checked. When ON edge is detected,
The program proceeds to step 5305, sets the halftone flag to "0", and proceeds to step 8306. If no ON edge is detected, the program directly advances to step 5306. In step 8306, other key and sensor input processing and load output processing are performed.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of standby mode processing. At steps 5101 and 5103, the presence or absence of an incoming signal and the input of the transmission key 58 are checked. If there is an incoming signal, the program proceeds to step 5102, sets the control mode to 1, and returns. When the transmission key 58 is turned on, the program advances to step 5104, sets the control mode to 2, and returns. If there is no signal, the program proceeds to step 5105 and performs other processing.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation in reception mode. In step 5200, the value of the internal state in the receive mode is determined, and according to that value, the program executes in step 52.
01.21L221.231.241.251. When the internal state is 0, the program proceeds to step 5201, and the facsimile connection procedure is executed. In step 5202, it is determined whether the connection is completed, and if it is not completed, the process returns as is. If it is completed, the internal state is updated in step 5203, and the device code is sent in step 5204, and the process returns.

If the internal state is 1, the program proceeds to step 52.
11, the transmitted image data is transferred to the code memory 34. In step 5212, it is determined whether the transfer has been completed, and if it is not completed, the process returns as is; if it is completed, the internal state is updated in step 5213 and the process returns.

If the internal state is 2, proceed to step 5221;
Perform the disconnection procedure. In step 5222, it is determined whether or not the disconnection is complete. If the disconnection is not completed, the process returns. If it is completed, the internal state is updated in step 5223 and the process returns.

When the internal state is 3, the program proceeds to step 823.
1, the number of remaining pages that must be output is determined, and if the remaining pages are O, the internal state is set to 01 and the control mode is set to O in steps 5232 and 5233, and the process returns. The fax machine will now return to standby mode. If the remaining pages are not 0, the program returns to step 5234.5.
The process advances to 235, expands the contents of the code memory 34, updates the internal state, and returns.

If the internal state is 4, the program goes to step 52.
41. Proceed to 5242, execute printing, update internal state, and return.

If the internal state is 5, the program goes to step 52.
The process proceeds to step 5251, where it is determined whether or not printing has been completed. If printing has not been completed, the process returns. When it is completed, the internal state is set to 3 at step 5252, and the process returns.

FIG. 1O is a flowchart showing the operation of the transmission mode. In step 5400, the value of the internal state in the transmission mode is determined, and according to the value, steps 5401 and 5411
．． 5431.

If the internal state is 0, the program proceeds to step 54.
01, the facsimile connection procedure is executed. In step 3402, it is determined whether the connection is completed, and if it is not completed, the process returns as is; if it is completed, the internal state is updated in step 5403 and the process returns.

When the internal state is 1, step 5411.541
The halftone flag and device code are determined at 2.5413.5414. If the halftone flag is 0, processing section 1 is selected in step 5415. If the device code is 1, step 8
At 416, processing section 2 is selected. If the device code is 2, processing unit 3 is selected in step 5417. If the device code is 3, processing unit 4 is selected in step 5418. If neither is the case, processing unit l is selected in step 5419. Thereafter, the program proceeds to step 5420, transmits the image data, updates the internal state in step 5421, and returns.

If the internal state is 2, the program goes to step 54.
Proceed to step 31 to perform the cutting procedure. In step 5432, it is determined whether or not the cutting is completed. If it is not completed, the process returns, and if it is completed, the process proceeds to steps 5433 and 543.
At step 4, the internal state is set to 0, the control mode is set to 0, and the program returns. The fax machine will now return to standby mode.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, the types of image recording devices,
Since a signal representing the characteristics is sent from the image recording device side to the image transmitting device side prior to image data communication, a signal matching the characteristics of the image recording device is prepared on the image data transmitting side.

As a result, it is possible to provide a facsimile device that can output both halftone images and text images beautifully.

Further, if the image transmitting device and the image recording device are machines having the same characteristics, the image is formed using the same process as in the normal copy mode, so that a beautiful image can be easily obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing the outline of a laser facsimile device, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an outline of the operation of the facsimile, FIG. 3 is a plan view of the operation display section, and FIG. 5A and 5B are block diagrams around a CPU 71 that controls a facsimile machine.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the main flow of the CPU that controls the facsimile, and FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing input/output processing. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the standby mode, FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the reception mode, and FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the transmission mode. 32a to 32d are processing units 1
~Processing section 4.33 is a compression section, 34 is a code memory, 35 is a transmission control section, 36 is a line connection section, 37 is an expansion section, 38 is a recording section, 39 is a control section, 51 is an operation display section, 71 is a c.
ptr. In the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts. Figure Figure

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] An image communication system comprising an image transmission device that outputs an image transmission signal and an image recording device that receives the transmission signal from the image transmission device and outputs an image, the image recording device comprising: Before the image transmitting device transmits the image data, the image transmitting device outputs a signal representing characteristics of the image recording device, and after receiving the characteristic signal, the image transmitting device adjusts the image to match the characteristics of the image recording device. An image communication system that outputs signals.