JPH0548460B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus such as a copying machine or a facsimile machine.

In conventional copying machines and the like, especially when equipped with ADF, DF, etc., if a copying operation is performed without a document on the document table, a large amount of copy paper is lost.

In addition, in conventional copying machines, originals placed directly on the platen may be tilted or folded due to the wind pressure when lowering the original presser plate, resulting in unexpected copy mistakes or thick copies. With physical originals, it is difficult to place the originals directly, so the user has to recopy them many times, resulting in the inconvenience of wasting copy paper, toner, time, power, and the like.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it prevents unnecessary image processing operations from being performed even when the original is tilted, eliminates the inconvenience caused at that time, and has a simple configuration. The purpose is to improve operability.

That is, the present invention provides a placing table for placing a document, a sensor for reading an image of the document placed on the placing table, and a processing means for performing an image processing operation on an image signal output from the sensor. and a detection means for detecting the coordinates of at least two points on one side of the document placed at any position on the placement table based on the image signal output from the sensor, and a determining means for determining the amount of inclination of the original on the placing table; a prohibiting means for prohibiting the image processing operation of the processing means when the amount of inclination of the original determined by the determining means is equal to or greater than a predetermined value; To provide an image processing device having a canceling means for canceling a prohibition state of an image processing operation by the means and permitting execution of the image processing operation even if the amount of inclination determined by the determination means is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. It is something.

FIG. 1-1 shows the external appearance of a copying machine and its operating device which are one embodiment of the present invention. This device basically consists of two
It consists of two units, reader A and printer B. The reader A is also provided with an operating device A-1.

FIGS. 1-2 are structural sectional views of a copying machine which is an embodiment of the present invention.

The document is placed face down on document table glass 903, and its placement reference is on the back left side when viewed from the front.
The original is pressed onto the original glass by the original cover 904. The original is fluorescent lamp 902
The reflected light is reflected by mirrors 905 and 9.
07 and a lens 906, an optical path is formed to condense the light onto the surface of the CCD 901. The mirror 907 and the mirror 905 are designed to move at a relative speed of 2:1. This optical unit moves from left to right at a constant speed while applying a PLL using a DC servo motor. The moving speed is 180 mm/sec on the outward path while irradiating the original, and 468 mm/sec on the return path. The resolution in this sub-scanning direction is 16 lines/mm. The size of documents that can be processed is from A5 to A3, and the direction in which the document is placed is
A5, B5, and A4 are placed vertically, and B4 and A3 are placed horizontally. There are three return positions for the optical unit depending on the document size. The first point is A5,
For both B5 and A4, at 220mm from the document reference position,
The second point is B4, also at 364mm, the third point
The point is the same at 431.8mm on A3.

Next, regarding the main scanning direction, the main scanning width is the maximum horizontal width of A4 paper, 297 mm, depending on the orientation in which the document is placed. And in order to resolve this at 16pel/mm,
Since 4752 (=297 x 16) bits are required for the CCD, this device uses a 2628-bit CCD.
Two array sensors were used and driven in parallel. Therefore, from the conditions of 16 lines/min and 180 mm/sec, the main scanning period (=CCD accumulation time) is T=
1/v・n=1/180×16=347.2μsec. The transfer rate of the CCD is f=N/T=2628/347.2μsec=7.569MHz.

Next, referring to FIGS. 1-1 and 1-2, the outline of the printer placed under the reader will be described. The image signal processed by the reader section and converted into bit serial is input to the laser scanning optical system unit 925 of the printer. This unit consists of a semiconductor laser, a collimator lens, a rotating polygon mirror,
It consists of an Fθ lens and a tilt correction optical system. The image signal from the reader is applied to a semiconductor laser and undergoes electrical-to-optical conversion, and the diverging laser light is converted into parallel light by a collimator lens and irradiated onto a polyhedral mirror that rotates at high speed, thereby scanning the laser light onto a photoreceptor 908. do. The rotation speed of this polyhedral mirror is
It is rotating at 2600rpm. The scanning width is approximately 400 mm, and the effective image width is 297 mm (A4 horizontal size). Therefore, the signal frequency applied to the semiconductor laser at this time is approximately 20 MHz (NRz). Laser light from this unit is incident on photoreceptor 908 via mirror 924.

For example, the photoreceptor 908 is composed of three layers: a conductive layer, a photosensitive layer, and an insulating layer. Therefore, process components are arranged thereto which make it possible to form an image. 909 is a front static eliminator, 910 is a front static eliminator, 911 is a primary charger, 912 is a secondary charger, 913 is a front exposure lamp, 914 is a developer,
915 is a paper feed cassette, 916 is a paper feed roller, 9
17 is a paper feed guide, 918 is a registration roller,
919 is a transfer charger, 920 is a separation roller, 92
1 is a conveyance guide, 922 is a fixing device, and 923 is a tray. The speed of the photoreceptor 908 and the conveyance system is 180 mm/sec, which is the same as the forward path of the reader. Therefore, the speed of copying using a combination of reader and printer is 30 A4 sheets/minute. Further, printers use a separating belt on the front side to separate the copy paper that is in close contact with the photosensitive drum, but because of this, an image corresponding to the width of the belt is missing. If a signal is placed over that width, it will be developed, and the toner will stain the belt and stain subsequent sheets of paper. The belt width of 8 mm is designed to cut off the video electrical signal for print output. Also, if toner adheres to the leading edge of the copy paper, it may become fused when it is fixed.
It may wrap around the fixing roller and cause a jam.
Similarly, the electrical signal is cut off on the reader side to prevent toner from adhering to the 2mm width at the leading edge of the paper.

FIG. 2 is a detailed diagram of the operating device A-1 of FIG. 1-1. This operation section is roughly divided into three blocks. 100 is a general-purpose key section of a conventional copying machine. 101 is an enter key, 102 is a copy start key, and 103 is a numeric keypad. 10
4 is a clear reset key, 105 is a numerical data display, and 106 is an original selection key. Reference numeral 200 denotes a soft key section for the user to create a copying function as desired. Reference numeral 201 indicates function keys (soft keys SKE1 to SK6), and reference numeral 202 indicates a liquid crystal display for displaying various messages, labels of the soft keys 201, and other modes and data.

Reference numeral 300 denotes a preset key section for registering, combining, and rereading a copy/transmission function arbitrarily created by the user using the soft key section 200. In order to label the preset key section 300 with the name of a function created by the user, it is structurally possible to write a label. Since there are six preset keys, the user can register six types of functions. Further, 303 is a preset key display for displaying the preset location, and 301 is a standard mode (same size reset mode return) key, which is one of the reset keys.

Figure 3 shows the display 202 and function key 2.
Details of 01 are shown. The display 202 uses a 5×7 dot matrix liquid crystal display for 32 characters.

An enlarged view of one character (within the dotted line) in FIG. 3 is shown in FIG. In Figure 4, 1 is a liquid crystal display 5 that displays characters.
×7 dot part, 2 shows cursor 5
×1 dot part.

FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of the liquid crystal display in this embodiment. 3 is a CPU which judges the key data from the key input section 5 and sends a display liquid crystal address and display character data to the liquid crystal driver 4 through the D line.

A detailed explanation of the reader unit will be provided. 13th
The figure shows the system block diagram of the reader unit.

1-1 and 1-2 are respective CCDs, 33 is a CCD driver circuit that drives the CCD and performs standard processing on its output, and 34 is a shift memory circuit that performs further trimming, shifting, etc. on the output of the driver circuit 33. , 35 is a data serial/parallel converter for performing protocol (pre-communication) with the printer;
6 is programmed by a microcomputer that inputs and outputs various control data to each block via the bus line BUS, and performs coordinate detection, tilt judgment, etc. described later.
It has ROM and data RAM. 37 is a sequence driver that controls the optical system movement sequence for sub-scanning, and inputs signals from a home position sensor 37a, an image tip detection sensor 37b, and a print start position sensor 37c provided on the movement path of the optical system;
It controls paper feeding, registration, sub-scanning DC motor 37d, and exposure lamp 37e on the printer side. Each sensor is composed of a photointerrupter that is activated by the arrival of a light shielding cam provided on the block of the first mirror 7. 38 is a unit 38 of the operation section A-1.
Bus interfaces 38 and 39 for inputting and outputting data corresponding to a are bus interfaces for inputting and outputting data corresponding to a communication key/display unit 39a (not shown).

The interface signals for this reader are shown on the right. When connecting to a printer, connect connectors JR1, JR2, JR3, and JR4 to connectors JP1, JP2, JP3, and JP4 on the printer side, which will be described later. Connector JR1, JR2, JR when setting the reader/printer and communicating with the outside.
Once the signal that originally goes to 3 is put into the communication interface module 40a, it is sent from the communication interface.
It is designed to connect to JR1, JR2, and JR3. JR4 is directly connected to printer JP4.

Incidentally, the CPU in the microcomputer 36 plays a central role in controlling the reader unit. The role of this CPU is to control key/display, sequence control, optical fiber communication protocol, printer protocol, and to control various counters in the image processing circuit such as discrete trimming. In accordance with image processing instructions from the display unit, presetting a certain calculated value, detecting coordinates, determining inclination, issuing a warning, etc. The CCD driver 33 controls the power supply and timing to drive the two CCDs.
1-1 and 1-2, and receives a photoelectrically converted serial signal of the original image from the CCD according to the timing, amplifies this signal, performs analog-to-digital conversion, and converts it into a binary value. It has the following. The shift memory 34 has two
The two series of binarized image signals for each CCD are converted into a single serial signal without overlapping, and the various timing signals mentioned above, including the serial VIDEO signal of 4752 bits per line and CLK, are generated. This is the place to do it. The serial-to-parallel converter 35 is an interface unit with the CPU that converts a serial signal for a protocol with the printer into a parallel signal and can be directly connected to a bus line of the CPU. The sequence driver 37 is an interface for the three sensors provided on the optical system, a fluorescent lamp drive circuit for the light source, a drive circuit for the sub-scanning DC motor, and a PLL for speed control.
Built-in circuit. Bus interfaces 38 and 39 are interfaces between the operation keys, the 5×7 dot 20-digit liquid crystal driver circuit, and the CPU bus line BUS. There is an optional communication interface module 40a and a bus interface 40 for connecting the CPU and performing protocols.

Next, automatic document position detection will be explained.

FIG. 6-1 shows a state in which a document is placed on the document table of the reader A shown in FIGS. 1-1 and 1-2.

In Figure 6-1, in this case, the coordinates of four points from the reference coordinate SP on the document table, where the main scanning direction is X and the sub-scanning direction is Y, are (X ₁ , Y ₁ ), (X ₂ , Y ₂ ),
(X ₃ , Y ₃ ) and (X ₄ , Y ₄ ) are detected by moving the optical system for pre-scanning during a drum pre-rotation operation period for placing the photoreceptor 908 in a standard state such as pre-cleaning. This allows the size and position of the document to be determined. This allows the optical system scan stroke during multi-copying to be determined and a desired cassette to be selected. The document cover 904 is placed so that image data outside the area where the document is placed is always black data.
(Fig. 1-2) has been mirror-finished. The pre-scanning includes main scanning and sub-scanning to cover the entire glass surface, followed by scanning for printing. The sub-scanning speed of pre-scanning is faster than that during printing.

Furthermore, the coordinates of the above four points enable determination of the presence or absence of a document, determination of folding, determination of inclination, and automatic scaling and centering of the copy paper in accordance with the desired copy paper, which will be described in detail later.

The logic for detecting the coordinates is shown in the circuit diagram of FIG. 6-2. Image data binarized by pre-scanning
VIDEO is input to shift register 501 in 8-bit units. When the 8-bit input is completed, the gate circuit 502 checks whether all of the 8-bit data is a white image, and if Yes, outputs 1 to the signal line 3. After starting scanning the original, the F/F 504 is set when the first 8-bit white appears. This F/F is reset in advance by VSYNC (image leading edge signal). From then on, the following
Leave it set until VSYNC comes. F/F
504 is set, the value of the main scanning counter 551 at that time is loaded into the latch F/F 505. This becomes the X coordinate value. Also, the value of the sub-scanning counter 550 at that time is loaded into the latch 506. This becomes the Y ₁ coordinate value. Therefore P ₁ (X ₁ , Y ₁ )
is found.

Also, each time 1 is output to the signal 503, the value from the main scanning is loaded into the latch 507. This value is immediately stored in clutch 508 (until the next 8 bits enter shift register 501). The value from the main scan when the first 8 bits of white appear is latch 5.
08, the latch 510 (this
The comparator 509 compares the data with the data (which is set to "0" at the time of VSYNC). If the data in latch 508 is greater, then the data in latch 508, that is, the data in latch 507, is greater than the data in latch 508.
10. Also, at this time, the value of the sub-scanning counter is loaded into the latch 511. This operation is processed until the next 8 bits enter shift register 501. Like this, latch 508 and latch 5
If data No. 10 is applied to the entire image area, the maximum value of the original area in the X direction remains in the latch 510.
The coordinates in the Y direction at this time remain in the latch 511. This is the P ₂ (X ₂ , Y ₂ ) coordinate.

The F/F 512 is an F/F that is set when 8-bit white appears for the first time in each main scanning line, and is reset by the horizontal synchronizing signal HSYNC, set at the first 8-bit white, and held until the next HSYNC. When the F/F 512 is set, the value of the main scanning counter is set in the latch 513, and is loaded into the latch 514 until the next HSYNC. Then, a latch 515 and a comparator 516 compare the magnitude.
The latch 515 is set in the X direction at the time of VSYNC occurrence.
The max value is preset. If Latch 5
If the data in latch 514 is greater than the data in latch 514, signal 517 becomes active and the data in latch 514, that is, latch 513, is
15. This operation is HSYNC−
This is done between HSYNCs. If the above comparison operation is performed for the entire image area, the minimum value of the document coordinates in the X direction remains in the latch 515. This is
_X3 . Also, when the signal line 517 outputs,
The value from the sub-scan is loaded into latch 518.
This becomes _Y3 .

The latches 519 and 520 are 8 in the entire image area.
Each time a bit white appears, the value of the main scanning counter and the value of the sub-scanning counter at that time are loaded. Therefore, when the document pre-scanning is completed, the count value at the time when 8-bit white appears last remains on the counter. This is (X ₄ , Y ₄ ).

The above eight latches 306, 311, 320,
318, 305, 310, 315, 319) data lines are connected to the CPU bus line,
The CPU will read this data at the end of the previous scan. And among these data, X ₂ ,
The areas X ₃ , Y ₁ , and Y ₄ are determined as document areas, and trimming processing is performed when scanning the document for printing.

Also, as shown in Figures 7-1 and 7-2, X ₁ ,
Another possible method is to determine the areas X ₄ , Y ₂ , and Y ₃ as document areas and perform trimming processing. If the original is only slightly tilted, use this method.
By performing trimming in the areas X ₁ , X ₄ , Y ₂ , and Y ₃ , it is possible to obtain a copy output without losing much of the information of a normal original and omitting the surrounding black areas.

Fig. 7-1 shows the case where Y ₂ > Y ₃ and Fig. 7-2 shows the case where Y ₃ > Y ₂ . If there is no original, X ₁ = X ₄ = 0 because white cannot be detected, and this results in
The CPU can know that there is no manuscript.

In addition, if a separate dedicated CCD is installed for document detection,
The detection scanning time is sufficient, and the start of the regeneration process can be accelerated.

Next, document tilt detection will be explained.

The document position coordinates (X ₁ , Y ₁ ) set in each latch in Figure 6-1 detected by the method described above,
Calculate the slope using (X ₂ , Y ₂ ), (X ₃ , Y ₃ ), and (X ₄ , Y ₄ ) as follows. This is done by the program shown in the flowchart of FIG.

Each coordinate value has X ₃ (X ₁ , X ₄ )X ₂ , Y ₄
Since there is a relationship (Y ₂ , Y ₃ )Y ₁ , the distance in the X direction l ₁ and the distance in the Y direction between point P ₁ and point P ₂ shown in FIG.
m ₂ is given by l ₁ =X ₁ −X ₂ and m ₂ =Y ₂ −Y ₁ , respectively. Therefore, the slope of the side L ₁ connecting points P ₁ and P ₂ is
Since tanα ₁ = m ₂ /l ₁ or tanβ ₁ = l ₁ /m ₂ , the CPU calculates m ₂ /l ₁ or l ₁ /m ₂ , but considering the shortening of calculation time, max(l ₁ , _m2 )/min
(l ₁ , m ₂ ), and when m ₂ l ₁ , that is, when tanα ₁ is calculated, the flag SEL1 in the RAM area is set to 0, and when l ₁ > m ₂ , that is, when tanβ ₁ is calculated, the flag SEL1 is set to 0. 1, the calculation result max(l ₁ , m ₂ )/
Store min(l ₁ , m ₂ ) in RAM area TAN1. Similarly _{, the slope max(l 2 ,}
m ₄ )/min (l ₂ , m ₄ ) for TAN2 and SEL2, side
The slope of L ₃ max (l ₃ , m ₁ )/min (l ₃ , m ₁ ) is TAN
3 and SEL3, slope of side L ₄ max (l ₄ , m ₃ )/min
(l ₄ , m ₃ ) is stored in TAN4 and SEL4 to obtain the slope of each side. If min(li, mj), that is, the divisor is 0, the corresponding side Li is parallel to the X or Y axis, so we do not perform division and store 0 in TAN to make it parallel, that is, straight. . Since the coordinate values Xi and Yj are obtained in units of 1 mm, the minimum value of the divisor is 1, and the maximum value of the dividend is 432 from the maximum scan width, so the maximum value of the quotient is 432, and the minimum value is 1. As a result of the quotient, the remainder will be discarded.

Also, when TAN = 255, the tilt is approximately 89.775 degrees, or approximately 0.225 degrees, which is almost imperceptible to humans as the tilt of the original on the document table. Therefore, securing 1 BYTE is sufficient for TAN, and 256 or more is 255.

Now, assuming that the manuscript is rectangular, in Figure 8, α ₁ = α ₂ = α ₃ = α ₄ , β ₁ = β ₂ = β ₃ = β ₄ , so TAN1 = TAN2 = TAN3 = TAN4 Next, TAN1 to TAN4 are used as data for determining the inclination.
Any one of them may be used.

Considering reading errors and practical convenience,
Adopting maxTAN as data for tilt judgment,
A method may be considered in which it is sufficient that the one most parallel to the axis among L ₁ to L ₄ is parallel.

In addition, in order to correspond to a conventional copying machine, it is OK if the back side or left side when facing the document table, that is, _L1 or _L3 , is parallel, and this is used as data for determining the inclination.
A method using TAN1 or TAN3 may also be considered.

Furthermore, a method can be considered in which all sides must be parallel using minTAN as data for determining inclination.

The data TAN for inclination determination selected in the above method can be said to be more parallel to the axis as it is excluding 0. Therefore, an appropriate threshold ALFA is set for TAN and TANALFA or
When TAN=0, it is not tilted, TAN<
When it is ALFA, it is determined that it is tilted. ALFA is 0
The value is ~255, and naturally the higher the value, the more severe the judgment will be.

Below, the slope of side L ₁ is used as data for determining the slope.
Inclination of TAN 1 and side L ₃ The procedure for determining the inclination, warning, and display in a case using TAN ₃ will be explained. FIG. 10 shows the flow. Power on
The post-copy mode is standard mode (11th -
3), any copy mode is set by a key input other than copy start in the main operation unit 100, preset unit 300, and soft key unit 200, and if there is a copy start key input, the copy mode is set to detect the document position coordinates. A preliminary scan is performed. As a result, eight coordinates X ₁ to X ₄ indicating the document position detected by the circuit of FIG. 6-2,
Load Y ₁ to _{Y 4} from each latch to the CPU via the data bus. If X ₁ =X ₄ =O, it is determined that there is no original, and the 11th
-1 Warning display 1 as shown in Figure 1 and informs the operator that there is no document. A detailed explanation will be omitted, but while this warning display 1 is displayed, soft key input will not be accepted, and although not shown, this warning display 1 will not be accepted after a certain period of time or when the clear key 104 is displayed.
By inputting , the screen returns to the basic display shown in FIG. 11-3. On the other hand, if X ₁ ≠ 0, X ₄ ≠ 0, it is determined that the document has been detected, and the above algorithm is used to indicate TAN1 and SEL1, which indicate the inclination of side L ₁ , and the inclination of side L ₃ .
Set TAN3 and SEL3.

Next, a determination is made regarding SEL1 and SEL3.

SEL1 and SEL from Figure 12-1 to Figure 12-4
3 and the relationship between sides _L1 and _L3 will be shown and explained below.

As shown in Figure 12-1, SEL1 = SEL3 = 0 means that α ₁ and α ₃ in _Figure 8 are both 45° or more, and the CPU
It can be determined that the user is trying to place the side _L3 on the Y axis parallel to the X axis. Therefore, the larger both TAN1 and TAN3, or one of them is 0, the less tilted it is. Similarly, the 12th-
As shown in Figure 4, if SEL1=SEL3=1, side L ₁
The CPU judges that the operator is trying to place the side L ₃ parallel to the X axis and the side L 3 parallel to the Y axis, and TAN
1. The larger TAN3 is, or one is 0.
If so, it can be determined that it is placed more immediately.

However, in these cases, copying is enabled without displaying a warning. Otherwise, TAN1,
When TAN3 is smaller than ALFA, the power is displayed on the display 202 as shown in FIG. 11-2. 12th
If SEL1=0 and SEL3=1 as shown in Figure 2, α ₁ and β ₃ in Figure 8 are both smaller than 45°, that is, side L ₁ and side L ₃ are not orthogonal,
Therefore, it can be determined that part of the document is folded or that the document is not a normal rectangular document. Similarly, the first
As shown in Figure 2-3, when SEL1 = 1 and SEL3 = 0, α ₁ and β ₃ in Figure 8 are both larger than 45°, and in this case, side L ₁ and side L ₃ form an acute angle, and the original It can be determined that is not a rectangle.

From the above, in the flow shown in Figure 10, SEL
If 1 and SEL3 are not equal, a warning as shown in Figure 11-2 is displayed, but at this time the CPU determines whether the operator is trying to make side _L1 and side _L3 parallel to the X axis or the Y axis. Since it cannot be determined, the angle of inclination ("5°" in Figure 11-2) is not displayed. In particular, when SEL1=0 and SEL3=1, "Genkouoremagari" can be displayed. This display will appear after a certain period of time or when clear key 1 is pressed.
04 and returns to the basic display as shown in FIG. 11-3.

On the other hand, if SEL1 and SEL3 are equal, TAN1
Or determine whether either one of TAN3 is 0. For example, when SEL1=0 and TAN1=0, side L
1 is parallel to the Y axis, when SEL3=0 and TAN3=0, side L3 is parallel to the X axis, and when SEL1=1 and TAN
When 1=0, side L1 is parallel to the X axis, and SEL3=1
And when TAN3=0, it can be determined that side L3 is parallel to the Y axis, so regardless of the other sides, after performing editing calculations and data set, focusing on the side that is parallel to the axis. , execute the copy sequence.

When both TAN1 and TAN3 are not 0,
It is determined whether the larger one is larger than the tilt determination threshold ALFA. Choosing the larger of TAN1 and TAN3 means that either one is
The idea is that it only needs to be determined that it is parallel to the axis, which is practical. If max(TAN1, TAN
3) If it is ALFA, it is determined that the document is not tilted, and the copy sequence is executed after editing calculations and data setting.

On the other hand, even the larger TAN1 and TAN3
If it is smaller than ALFA, it is determined that the document is tilted, and a warning is displayed on the display 202 as shown in FIG. 11-2. The degree of inclination is the arctangent (degree) of the larger of TAN1 and TAN3 by 90
Expressed by subtracting from degree. For example max
When (TAN1, TAN3) is 11, the arctangent is 84.8° as shown in Figure 9, so display 2
02 is displayed as 90-84.8=5.2, that is, "5°". The table shown in FIG. 9 is stored in the ROM in advance. If the operator wants to correct the skew of the document, he or she can do so by looking at this value.

In this way, when there is no document, warning display 1 is displayed, and when the document is tilted, warning display 2 is displayed, and then
Execution of the copy sequence is temporarily blocked and a timer of T seconds is started. If there is no key input other than the copy start key input before this T second timer times out, and the copy start key is input again, the editing calculation is performed using X ₁ to X ₄ and Y ₁ to _{Y 4} . After setting the necessary data for copy execution, execution of the copy sequence is started and the main scan begins.

If another key is input or the timer counts up before the copy start key is input, the flow returns to the key check and coordinate detection routine at the beginning.

As described above, it is possible to realize a copying apparatus that does not make unnecessary copies when there is no original or when the original is tilted.

If you want to copy a document other than a rectangle, or if you want to intentionally tilt the copy, you only need to press the copy start key twice in succession.

By the way, if an ADF is installed, and both the ADF and the main unit have a copy start key, and the start key on the ADF side also starts the printer side, it is possible to set a document on the ADF, but accidentally copy from the main unit side. When I press the start key, the original is not fed and I end up making a lot of blank, useless copies. If the back of the ADF is mirror-like or dark-colored, as in this example, a preliminary scan is performed to detect the presence or absence of a document by starting copy on the main body side, and the absence of a document is detected and the ADF is scanned from the main body side. Can send document feed commands. Therefore, the ADF can also be started by starting the copy on the main body side, and unnecessary copying can be prevented.

As explained above, according to the present invention, the coordinates of at least two points on one side of the document are detected based on the image signal from the image reading sensor, the amount of tilt of the document is determined based on the detection output, and the tilt amount is determined based on the detected output. By prohibiting the image processing operation when the amount exceeds a predetermined value, and by canceling the prohibition state and allowing the execution of the image processing operation even if the document is tilted, the tilt of the document placed on the loading table can be prevented. When the amount is large, unnecessary image processing operations are not performed, and furthermore, image processing operations can be performed even when the amount of inclination of the original is acceptable or when the operator intentionally places the original at an angle. This will improve operability.

Furthermore, since the amount of inclination of the document is determined based on the output of the sensor that reads the document image, there is no need to provide a sensor for detecting inclination, which simplifies the configuration.

In addition, the coordinates of at least two points on one side of the document are detected based on the output of a sensor that reads the document image, and the amount of tilt is determined based on the detected output, so the document placed at any position on the document table can be The amount of inclination can be determined.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1-1 is a diagram showing the appearance of the entire copying machine which is an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 1-2 is a structural diagram of the entire copying machine which is an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 2 is the same as Fig. 1. 3 is a detailed view of the display 202 and function key 201 in the operating device of FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the display 202 of FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a detailed view of the display 202 of the operating device of FIG. The block diagrams of the liquid crystal display in this embodiment, Figures 6-1, 7-1, 7-2, and 8 are on the platen 903 of reader A in Figures 1-1 and 1-2. Figure 6-2 is a circuit diagram of automatic document position detection, and Figure 9 shows arctangent values and display 202.
Figure 10 is a diagram showing a summary flow of the copy sequence, Figure 11 is a diagram showing a table of tilt angles displayed in
-1 to 11-3 are diagrams showing display examples displayed on the display 202, and Figures 12-1 to 12-4 are diagrams showing the inclinations of side L1 and side L3 in Figure 8. 13th
The figure is a system block diagram, in which A is a reader, A-1 is an operating section, and 901 is a reading means.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A mounting table for placing a document; a sensor for reading an image of the document placed on the mounting table; and processing for performing image processing on an image signal output from the sensor. means, a detection means for detecting the coordinates of at least two points on one side of the document placed at an arbitrary position on the placement table based on the image signal output from the sensor; determining means for determining the amount of inclination of the original on the placing table; and prohibiting means for prohibiting the image processing operation of the processing means when the amount of inclination of the original determined by the determining means is greater than or equal to a predetermined value; The invention is characterized by comprising: a canceling means for canceling the prohibition state of the image processing operation by the prohibiting means and allowing execution of the image processing operation even if the amount of inclination determined by the determining means is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. Image processing device.