JPH0595453A - Digital copying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To hold the secrecy of image data in a memory with the memory as an original preserving device by permitting access to the image data only when a user ID is coincident with a user ID stored in a management table. CONSTITUTION:Data read by an image reading part 801 are inputted to an encoder part 802 after correcting the characteristic of an optical system and the sensitivity dispersion of a CCD or the like. On the other hand, an ID card reading part 809 reads the user ID from an ID card inputs it to a control part 800 and at the control part 800, the user ID is stored in the management table of a storage part 806 after being matched with copy conditions and an image data storage address in a code storage part 806. This user ID is decoded by a decoder part 803 and outputted through an image output part 805 after selectively executing a half tone processing and a simple binarizing processing at an image processing part 804. When corresponding data are erased from the management table, the image data stored in the storage part 806 are cleared.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a digital copying apparatus which encodes image data once, stores it in a memory, decodes it, and outputs it. More specifically, it is possible to secure the confidentiality of the image data stored in the memory. Digital copying apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the recent development of semiconductor technology and expansion of fields of use, memory capacity and cost reduction, image data encoding / decoding, and image data encoding / decoding have become faster. With the development of a processor that can be performed, a digital copying apparatus that encodes image data once, stores it in a memory, decodes it, and outputs it has been developed. This device compresses image data so that the memory can be efficiently used by compressing it, thereby increasing the cost of the device without increasing the size of the memory device. Instead, the image data read by the scanner can be held in the memory. Further, it is possible to hold a sufficient number of original image data in the memory with a small amount of memory.

With the advent of such a digital copying apparatus, one or a plurality of originals are handled as one file, the memory is used as an original storage device, and image data (file) is held in the memory, which is necessary. It has become possible to read out and print according to.

[0004]

However, in the conventional digital copying apparatus, if the memory is simply used as a storage device, anyone can easily output the image data in the memory, so that the important document is leaked to another person. Or it may be erased. In other words, there is a problem that confidentiality cannot be maintained because there is no particular restriction on access to the image data in the memory.

Further, in the conventional digital copying apparatus,
When the memory is simply used as a storage device, frequently used image data is stored in the memory, so that printing can be performed at any time without preparing an original, greatly improving the convenience of the copying apparatus. However, since anyone can easily erase the image data in the memory, there is a problem that it cannot be used as a stable function.

Further, since only the image data is stored in the above-mentioned memory, there is a problem in that when the printout is made at a later date, it may not be possible to output under the same copy condition as when the printout was performed.

Further, in the conventional digital copying apparatus, since the concept and function of using the above-mentioned memory as a document storage apparatus have not been established, there is a problem that operability and convenience are poor.

In the conventional digital copying apparatus,
In order to store a plurality of image data in the memory and select and output the image data in the memory as necessary, each image data is given an identifier such as a name, number, or symbol in advance. Every time, the desired image data must be specified by selecting these identifiers.
There is also a problem in that the user must remember the image data and the identifier by comparing them in order to reliably output the desired image data.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and it is a first object of the present invention to use a memory as a document storage device and to securely keep image data in the memory confidential.
The purpose of.

Further, the present invention has been made in view of the above, and it is possible to use a memory as a document storage device and always print under the same copy conditions as when stored in the memory. The second purpose.

A third object of the present invention is to improve the operability and convenience of using the memory as a document storage device.

Further, the present invention has been made in view of the above, and it is a fourth aspect that desired image data can be easily and surely selected from the image data stored in the memory.
The purpose of.

[0013]

In order to achieve the first object, the present invention comprises a reading means for electrically reading an original, and an encoding means for encoding the read image data.
An ID card is provided in a digital copying apparatus including a code storage unit that stores image data encoded by the encoding unit and a decoding unit that decodes the encoded image data stored in the code storage unit. To user ID
The ID information reading means for reading the document, the coded image data stored in the code storage means when the document is read by the reading means, and the user ID read by the ID information reading means are matched and stored in the management table. In the subsequent processing, the user I read by the ID card reading means
The present invention provides a digital copying apparatus provided with a control means for permitting access to image data only when D and the user ID stored in the management table match.

In order to achieve the above first and second objects, the present invention further comprises a reading means for electrically reading an original,
Encoding means for encoding the read image data, code storage means for storing the image data encoded by the encoding means, and decoding for decoding the encoded image data stored in the code storage means In a digital copying apparatus including an encoding unit, an ID information reading unit that reads a user ID from an ID card, and encoded image data stored in a code storage unit when the document is read by the reading unit and the document. The specified copy condition and the user ID read by the ID information reading means are matched and stored in the management table. In the subsequent processing, the user ID read by the ID card reading means and the management table are stored. A digital copying apparatus provided with a control means for permitting access to image data only when the user ID matches It is intended to provide.

In order to achieve the first, second and third objects of the present invention, in the above-mentioned configuration, the control means reads the user I read by the ID card reading means.
The present invention provides a digital copying apparatus in which all the image data in which D and the user ID stored in the management table match each other are displayed through the display means and can be selected through the operation means.

Further, in order to achieve the fourth object of the present invention, the reading means for electrically reading the original, the coding means for coding the read image data, and the coding means are used for coding. In a digital copying apparatus including code storage means for storing image data and decoding means for decoding encoded image data stored in the code storage means, image data stored in the code storage means There is provided a digital copying apparatus including a display unit for confirming and displaying the image data when selecting a predetermined image data from the display unit, and an operation unit for performing a display operation of the image data displayed on the display unit. It is a thing.

[0017]

In the digital copying apparatus of the present invention, when a document is read, the coded image data stored in the code storage means and the user ID read by the ID information reading means are matched and stored in the management table. In the subsequent processing, access to the image data is permitted only when the user ID read by the ID card reading means and the user ID stored in the management table match. In other words, confidentiality is ensured by prohibiting access to image data whose user IDs do not match.

Further, the image data, its copy condition and the user ID are matched and stored in the management table,
In the subsequent processing, confidentiality is ensured and copying is ensured by permitting access to the image data only when the user ID read by the ID card reading unit and the user ID stored in the management table match. Increase the reliability of the conditions.

Further, the user ID read by the ID card reading means and the user I stored in the management table.
By displaying all the image data matching D with the display means and making them selectable through the operation means, the image data held in the code storage means can be easily handled.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the digital copying apparatus of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Details of the encoding unit, the decoding unit, and the code storage unit (main part of the present invention), image data storage processing,
Also, a detailed operation sequence of the output process will be described in detail.

Schematic Structure of Digital Copying Apparatus FIG. 1 shows a schematic structure of a digital copying apparatus according to the present embodiment.
0, automatic document feeder (ADF) 200, sorter 3
00 and a double-sided reversing unit 400.

FIG. 2 shows the construction of the copying apparatus main body 100, which comprises a scanner section, a writing section, a photoconductor section, a developing section, a paper feeding section, and the like. Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of each of these units will be described in detail.

[Scanner Unit] The scanner unit includes a reflecting mirror 10.
1, a first light source 102, and a first mirror 103 equipped with a first mirror 103 and moving at a constant speed; and a second mirror 10.
4 and a third mirror 105, and a second scanner that follows the first scanner and moves at a speed half that of the first scanner. An original (not shown) on the contact glass 106 is optically scanned by the first scanner and the second scanner, and a reflection image thereof is color filter 107.
1-dimensional fixed image pickup device 10
Image on 9.

As the light source 102, a fluorescent lamp or a halogen lamp is used, but a fluorescent lamp is generally used because of its stable wavelength and long life. In this embodiment, the reflecting mirror 101 is attached to one light source 102, but two or more light sources 102 may be used. Since the fixed image pickup device 109 described above has a constant sample clock, the fluorescent lamp will adversely affect the image unless it is lit at a higher frequency.

The fixed image pickup device 109 is generally a CC
D is used. Since the image signal read by the fixed image pickup device (hereinafter, referred to as CCD image pickup device) 109 is an analog value, analog / digital (A / D) conversion is performed,
Various kinds of image processing (for example, binarization processing, multi-value processing, gradation processing, scaling processing, editing processing, etc.) are performed on the image processing board 110, and converted into digital signals as a set of spots.

In order to obtain color image information, in the present embodiment, a color filter 107 that allows only the necessary color information to pass through is arranged so that it can be taken in and out along the optical path guided from the document to the CCD image pickup device 109. The color filter 107 is moved in and out in accordance with the scanning of the original, and the functions such as multiple transfer and double-sided copy are activated each time, and various kinds of copies can be created. Also, the marker on the original image can be read in the copy mode.

[Writing Unit] The image information after the image processing is
In the writing unit, the data is written on the photosensitive drum 111 in the form of a set of light spots by raster scanning of laser light.
A He-Ne laser is conventionally used as this laser light source. The wavelength of He-Ne laser is 633 nm.
The laser light source itself is very expensive, and since the laser light source itself cannot be directly modulated, there are inconveniences such as a complicated device. With the increase in sensitivity of the photoconductor in the long wavelength region, inexpensive semiconductor lasers capable of direct modulation have been used. Also in this embodiment, this semiconductor laser is used as a laser light source.

3 (a) and 3 (b) are a plan view and a side view of this writing section, in which the laser light emitted from the semiconductor laser 112 is converted into a parallel light flux by the collimator lens 113, and the aperture 114 is used. It is shaped into a light beam with a fixed shape. The shaped laser light enters the polygon mirror 116 in a form compressed by the first cylinder lens 115 in the sub-scanning direction.

The polygon mirror 116 has an accurate polygonal shape and is rotated by a polygon motor 117 in a fixed direction at a fixed speed. This rotation speed is the rotation speed of the photosensitive drum 111, the writing density, and the polygon mirror 11.
It is determined by the number of faces.

The reflected laser light incident on the polygon mirror 116 is deflected by the rotation of the polygon mirror 116. The deflected laser light is reflected by the fθ lens 118.
A and 118b are sequentially incident. fθ lens 118a, 1
Reference numeral 18b converts scanning light having a constant angular velocity so as to scan the photoconductor drum 111 at a constant speed, and forms an image so as to form a minimum light spot on the photoconductor drum 111, and further has a face tilt correction mechanism. ing.

The laser light that has passed through the fθ lenses 118a and 118b is guided to the synchronization detection sensor 120 by the synchronization detection mirror 119 outside the image area, and after a certain time has elapsed from the time when a synchronization signal for issuing a cue signal in the main scanning direction is issued, the image Data is 1
Lines are output, and this is repeated thereafter to form one image.

[Photosensitive Member] A photosensitive layer is formed around the photosensitive drum 111. Semiconductor laser light (wavelength 780
nm) as a photosensitive layer sensitive to an organic photoconductor (O
PC), α-Si, Se-Te, etc. are known, and an organic photoconductor (OPC) is used in this embodiment. Generally, in the case of laser writing, a negative / light that illuminates the image area.
Positive (N / P) process and positive that shines light on the background
There are two types of positive (P / P) processes, and in the present embodiment, the former N / P process is adopted.

The charging charger 121 is of a scorotron type having a grit on the photoconductor side, uniformly (-) charges the surface of the photoconductor drum 111, and irradiates the image forming portion with a laser beam to adjust the potential of the portion. Drop it. Then, the background portion of the surface of the photoconductor drum 111 is -750 to -800.
V, the image portion has a potential of about −500 V, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 111. This is applied to the developing roller by the developing units 122a and 122b from -500 to -60.
A bias voltage of 0 V is applied to attach (-) charged toner to make the electrostatic latent image visible.

[Developing Section] In the color copying apparatus of this embodiment, as shown in the drawing, a main developing device 122a and a sub developing device 122b.
It is equipped with two developing devices. In the case of a single black color, the sub-developing device 122b and the toner replenishing device 123b are removed. In the present embodiment having two developing devices, black toner is put in the toner replenishing device 123a paired with the main developing device 122a, and color toner is put in the toner replenishing device 123b paired with the sub-developing device 122b. During color development, the development is selectively performed by changing the position of the main pole of the multicolor developing device.

This development is performed by the color filter 107 of the scanner.
It becomes possible to perform multi-function color copying and color editing in combination with the reading of color information by switching, multiple transfer of paper conveyance system, and double-sided copying function. For development of three or more colors, a method of arranging three or more developing devices around the photosensitive drum 111,
There is a revolver system in which three or more developing devices are rotated and switched.

The image visualized by the developing devices 122a and 122b is transferred onto the recording paper, which has been synchronized and sent to the photosensitive drum 111, from the back surface of the paper by being charged with (+) by the transfer charger 123. To be done. The transferred recording paper is subjected to AC neutralization by a separation charger 124 which is integrally held with the transfer charger 123, and the photosensitive drum 1
Separated from 11.

On the other hand, the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 111 without being transferred onto the recording paper is cleaned by the cleaning blade 12.
5 scraped off from the photosensitive drum 111 and collected by the attached tongue 126. Further, the photosensitive drum 111
The potential pattern remaining in the area is erased by irradiating the static elimination lamp 127 with light.

[Sheet Feeder] In the present embodiment, a plurality of cassettes 128a, 128b, 128c are provided, and the recording paper which has been transferred once is passed through the re-feeding loop 129 to enable double-sided copying or re-feeding. ing.

A plurality of cassettes 128a, 128b, 12
When one of the cassettes 8c is selected and a predetermined start button is pressed, the paper feed rollers (130a, 130b, 130c) near the selected cassette
Is rotated and is fed until the leading edge of the recording paper hits the registration roller 131. At this time, the registration roller 131
Is stopped, the rotation is started at the timing of the image position formed on the photosensitive drum 111, and the recording paper is fed to the periphery of the photosensitive drum 111. After that, the toner image on the recording paper is transferred at the transfer portion, and the separation / transport portion 132
The toner image transferred by suction is fixed on the recording paper by a fixing roller composed of a pair of heat roller 133 and pressure roller 134.

The recording paper transferred in this manner is guided to the paper exit on the sorter 300 side (see FIG. 1) by the switching claw 135 during normal copying. On the other hand, during multiple copy,
The direction is not changed by the switching claws 136 and 137, passes through the lower sheet re-feeding loop 129, and is guided to the registration roller 131 again.

Further, during double-sided copying, the copying apparatus main body 10
There are two cases, that is, the case of only 0, and the case of using the double-sided reversing unit 400 (see FIG. 1). Here, the former case will be described. The recording paper guided downward by the switching claw 135 is further guided downward by the switching claw 136, and then sent by the switching claw 137 to a tray (not shown) further below the re-feeding loop 129. By reversing the roller 138, it is fed again in the opposite direction, and by switching the switching claw 137, it is guided to the sheet refeeding loop 129 and fed to the registration roller 131.

[ADF] FIG. 4 shows the configuration of the ADF 200. The ADF 200 automatically guides the originals one by one onto the contact glass 106 and automatically ejects them after copying. A stack of documents (not shown) placed on the document feed table 201 is aligned in the width direction of the documents by the side guides 202. The placed document is the paper feed roller 20.
At 3, the sheets are separated and fed one by one, and are conveyed to a predetermined position on the contact glass 106 by the rotation of the conveyor belt 204 and positioned.

When the copying of the predetermined number of sheets is completed, the original is discharged to the discharge tray 205 by the rotation of the conveyor belt 204 again. Although not described in detail, the side guide 20
By counting the position of 2 and the document feed time,
The document size is being detected.

[Sorter] FIG. 5 shows the structure of the sorter 300. The sorter 300 sorts the recording paper discharged from the copying apparatus main body 100 into, for example, page order, page by page, or a preset bin 30.
It is a device for selectively feeding 1a to 301x. The recording paper conveyed by a plurality of rollers rotatably driven by the motor 302 has the selected bin 30 selected by switching a claw (not shown) near the entrance of each bin 301a to 301x.
1a to 301x.

[Double-Sided Reversing Unit] FIG. 6 shows the structure of the double-sided reversing unit 400. As described above, the copying apparatus main body 100 side can only perform double-sided copying for each sheet.
By attaching the double-sided reversing unit 400, double-sided copying can be performed collectively.

When performing a double-sided copy collectively for a plurality of sheets, in the copying apparatus main body 100 (see FIG. 2), the recording paper which has been fixed is transferred to the double-sided reversing unit 400 via the switching claws 135 and 136. Sent. The recording paper that has entered the double-sided reversing unit 400 is accumulated on the tray 402 by the paper discharge roller 401. At this time, the recording paper is aligned vertically and horizontally by the feed roller 403 and the side alignment guide 404. The recording sheets stacked on the tray 402 are re-fed by a re-feeding roller 405 at the time of back side copying. At this time, the recording paper sent to the copying apparatus main body 100 side is
The switching claw 136 and the switching claw 137 (see FIG. 2) directly guide the sheet to the refeeding loop 129.

Overall Configuration of Control System FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the control system in the digital copying apparatus according to this embodiment. In the figure,
Reference numeral 701 is a main control board for controlling the entire digital copying apparatus, 702 is an ADF control board for controlling the ADF 200, 703 is a sorter control board for controlling the sorter 300, and 704 is a control for the double-sided reversing unit 400. A double-sided control plate, 705 is a paper feed control plate for performing various controls of the paper feed unit,
Reference numeral 706 represents an application system, 707 represents sensors such as a fixing sensor, a density sensor, and a registration sensor.
Reference numeral 708 denotes fans such as an APL fan and an exhaust fan,
9 is a counter such as a total counter or a key counter,
A fixing thermistor 710 detects the surface temperature of the fixing roller.

Further, 711 is an LD control plate for controlling the semiconductor laser 112, 712 is a PWM control plate, 713 is a drive plate for driving the polygon motor 117, 714 is a drive plate for driving the main motor 714a, and 715 is a fixing roller. Fixing heater and thermal fuse for preventing overheating, 71
6 is an AC drive plate that serves as an AC power source for a fixing heater, 7
Reference numeral 17 denotes a DC power source that rectifies the AC from the AC driver 716 into DC and serves as a drive source for each DC driving component. Reference numeral 718 denotes toner replenishment SOL (solenoid) of the developing unit, contact of the cleaning blade 125 with the photosensitive drum 111, and 718. Blade SOL (solenoid) for separating operation, first to third
Pickup SOL (solenoid), first and second lock S
OL (solenoid), 719 is a registration CL (clutch) for drivingly transmitting to the registration rollers 131, a rising relay CL
(Clutch), 1st to 3rd sheet feeding CL (clutch), 720
Is a sensor related to the sheet feeding unit, 721 is an intake fan, 722
Is a conveyance fan for sucking the recording paper of the separation conveyance unit 132.

Further, 723 is each sensor of the sorter 300, 724 is a drive motor for rotationally driving each roller of the sorter 300, and 725 is each bin 301a of the sorter 300.
Solenoids for switching the recording paper entry to 301x, solenoids 726 of the double-sided reversing unit 400,
727 is a clutch of the double-sided reversing unit 400, 728
Is a jogger motor for aligning sheets of the double-sided reversing unit 400, 729 is each sensor of the double-sided reversing unit 400, 730 is each sensor of the ADF 200, and 731 is AD.
F200 solenoids, 732 is a motor that rotationally drives each transport roller of the ADF 200, and 733 is an ADF2
A switch for detecting the set state of 00 and a switch for changing the paper thickness of the document, and 734 is a display unit for displaying the number of documents of the ADF 200, a jam condition, and the like.

Reference numeral 735 is a scanner motor for scanning and driving the scanner unit, 736 is a rotary encoder connected to the drive shaft of the scanner motor 735, 737 is a lamp control circuit for controlling the lighting of the light source 102, and 738 is a sub-scanning drive mechanism. HP sensor for detecting the reference position of 739, 739
Is ADFSOL (solenoid), 740 is APSSOL
(Solenoid), 741 is a fluorescent lamp heater and a thermistor for temperature control, 742 is a charging charger 123, a separation charger 124, and a developing bias electrode (not shown).
It is a high-voltage power supply that applies high-voltage power to. 744 is C
An image processing unit (IPU) that receives an input from the CD image sensor 109.

8 and 9 are block diagrams of the electrical equipment control section of the digital copying machine according to this embodiment. The two diagrams are obtained by dividing one block diagram, and the two diagrams are connected to form one overall block diagram.

The control unit of the color copying machine has two CPUs, the CPU (a) controls the sequence and the CPU (b) controls the operation. The CPU (a) and the CPU (b) are connected by a serial interface (RS232C). Also, these two CPUs (a) and CPU
(B) constitutes the control unit 800 of the present invention described later.

First, the sequence control will be described.
The CPU (a) (hereinafter, referred to as a sequence) controls the timing of transporting the recording paper, and as shown in FIG. 9, a paper size sensor, a sensor for transporting the paper such as discharge detection and registration detection, A double-sided control plate 704, a high voltage power supply 742, a relay driver, a solenoid driver, a motor driver, a sorter control plate 703, an optical writing unit 743, etc. are connected.

Regarding the sensor, a paper size sensor for detecting the size and direction (direction) of the recording paper loaded in the paper feed cassette and outputting an electric signal according to the detection result, resist detection, paper discharge detection, etc. Signals are input from a sensor relating to the conveyance of the recording paper, a sensor that detects the presence or absence of a supply such as an oil end or a toner end, and a sensor that detects a machine abnormality such as a door open or a fuse blown.

Input / output signals for the double-sided control plate 704 include a motor for aligning the width of the recording paper, a paper feed clutch, a solenoid for changing the conveyance path, a paper presence sensor, and a side fence for aligning the recording paper width. There are home position sensors, paper transport sensors, and so on.

As drivers, there are a paper feed clutch, a registration clutch, a counter, a motor, a toner replenishing solenoid, a power relay, a fixing heater and the like.

The sequence and the sorter control plate 703 are connected by a serial interface, and the sorter control plate 703 conveys the recording paper at a predetermined timing according to a signal from the sequence and discharges the recording paper to each of the bins 301a to 301x. There is.

The fixing temperature, the photosensor input (P sensor input), the monitor input of the semiconductor laser 112, and the reference voltage of the semiconductor laser 112 are input to the analog input section (see FIG. 8). The fixing temperature is controlled on / off by an input from a thermistor in the fixing unit so that the temperature of the fixing unit becomes constant. As for the photosensor input, a photosensor pattern created at a predetermined timing is input by a phototransistor, and a toner replenishment clutch is turned on / off to control the toner density.

The A / D converter and the analog input section of the CPU are used as a mechanism for adjusting the power of the semiconductor laser 112 to be constant. This is a preset reference voltage (the output voltage of the semiconductor laser is 3 mW
Is set so that the semiconductor laser 112
It is controlled so that the monitor voltage when the lights up is the same.

The image processing board 110 generates timing signals for masking / trimming of image data, erasing, photosensor pattern of density sensor, etc., and outputs a video signal to the semiconductor laser 112. The gate array synchronizes the image data continuously transmitted in 2-bit parallel from the scanner unit with the synchronization signal PMSYNC from the optical writing unit 743, and further converts the image data into a 1-bit serial signal synchronized with the image writing position signal RGATE. And outputs it to the image processing board 110.

Next, operation-related control will be described below. The main CPU (b) controls a plurality of serial ports and a calendar IC. In addition to the sequence control sequence being connected to the plurality of serial ports, an operation unit 750, a scanner control circuit 700, an application circuit 706, an editor, etc. are connected.

In the operation unit 750, the key input information by the operator is serially transmitted to the main CPU (b), and the display unit is turned on by the serial reception from the main CPU (b). In the scanner control circuit 700, the scanner motor 73
Drive control, image processing, and serial transmission processing of information related to image reading to the main CPU (b);
Interface processing between the DF 200 and the CPU (b) is performed.

The application circuit 706 exchanges preset information through an interface with an external device (facsimile device, printer, etc.).
Further, the editor is image editing data (masking, trimming, image shift, etc.) input from the operation unit 750.
Is serially transmitted to the main CPU (b), and the content of image editing processing is input. The calendar IC reads the stored date and time from the main CPU (b) at any time,
The current time is displayed on the display unit of the operation unit 750, and timer control by setting the on time and the off time of the copying apparatus is executed.

Flow of Image Data FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing the flow of image data in the digital copying apparatus of this embodiment. The image reading unit 801
The device is composed of the scanner unit and the scanner control circuit 700 described above. Therefore, reading is performed by the CCD image pickup device 109, and the image data is output as serial data. The output image data is amplified to a predetermined level, A / D-converted, and subjected to shading correction for compensating for the characteristics of the optical system, the sensitivity variations of the CCD, etc., and then input to the encoding unit 802. ..

Further, since the ID card reading unit 809 uses a known technique, its details are omitted, but the operation unit 750 is used.
It is arranged in the vicinity and reads the user ID from the ID card and transfers it to the control unit 800.

The control unit 800 has an ID card reading unit 809.
When the user ID is input from, the user ID is matched with the copy condition (for example, the number of copies, the document size, the copy size, the recording paper size, etc.) and the storage address of the image data in the code storage unit 806 to match the code storage unit. It stores in the management table provided in 806.

The encoding unit 802 encodes the image data using an encoding method such as discrete cosine transform (DCT) and writes the generated code in the code storage unit 806 which is a semiconductor memory. At this time, the scale factor, the quantization matrix, and the Huffman coding table used for coding are written as information in the header portion of the data of one page of the coded document. When the encoded data file is transferred to a computer or an image file for use, it is desirable to standardize the data file structure so that the data file structure can be used as it is. Thus, it is convenient to store in a separate management table. The image data stored in the code storage unit 806 is cleared when the corresponding data is deleted from the management table.

When outputting the data stored in the code storage unit 806, the data (code) is decoded by the decoding unit 803, and the image processing unit 804 selectively performs halftone processing and simple binarization processing. The image is output via the image output unit 805.

The image processing section 804 is composed of the image processing board 110 shown in FIG.
Reference numeral 5 corresponds to a [writing section], a [photosensitive section], and a [developing section] of the schematic construction of the digital copying apparatus.

In the above configuration, the code storage unit 80 simply encodes the image data for the flow of the image data.
The description will be made separately for the case of storing the image data in No. 6, decoding and outputting, and the case of storing the coded image data in the code storage unit 806.

In this embodiment, as a method of simply encoding image data and storing it in the code storage unit 806, and decoding and outputting it, the encoding unit 802 encodes it and stores it in the code storage unit 806. , A method of decoding and outputting the stored image data by a decoding unit 803, and a method of once encoding all image data by the encoding unit 802 and storing the encoded image data in the code storage unit 806, and then by the decoding unit There are two methods, a method of decoding in 803 and outputting.

First, in the case of decoding and outputting the image data of the original document that is currently being encoded, the decoding unit 803 uses the timing control of the control unit 800 to use it from the encoding unit 802 for the currently executing encoding. Received scale factor, quantization matrix, Huffman coding table,
The encoding unit 802 reads and decodes the data being written in the code storage unit 806 while encoding, obtains a reproduced image, and outputs the reproduced image to the image processing unit 804. The image processing unit 804 outputs the image data to the image output unit 805 by performing the processing necessary for forming an image by the electrophotographic method and the processing based on the instruction from the operator. Image output unit 805
Prints on the photosensitive drum 111.

On the other hand, when the image of the original document which has already been encoded and is written in the code storage unit 806 as a file of data for one page is output, the decoding unit 80
3 is a scale factor, a quantization matrix of the header part of the file by the timing control of the control unit 800,
The Huffman coding table and the coded image data are read from the code storage unit 806 and decoded to obtain a reproduced image and output to the image processing unit 804. The image processing unit 804 outputs the image data to the image output unit 805 by performing the processing necessary for forming an image by the electrophotographic method and the processing based on the instruction from the operator. Image output unit 805
Prints on the photosensitive drum 111.

Next, the case where the encoded image data is stored in the code storage unit 806 will be described. Control unit 800
Determines that the user inputs a user ID from the ID card reading unit 809 to store the image data of the corresponding document, the image data input via the image reading unit 801 is encoded by the encoding unit 802, and stored in the code storage unit 806. Store (store). At this time, the user ID, the copy condition, and the storage address of the image data in the code storage unit 806 are matched and stored in the management table. The decryption unit 80
3 is a scale factor, a quantization matrix of the header part of the file by the timing control of the control unit 800,
The Huffman coding table and the coded image data are read from the code storage unit 806 and decoded to obtain a reproduced image and output to the image processing unit 804. The image processing unit 804 outputs the image data to the image output unit 805 by performing the processing necessary for forming an image by the electrophotographic method and the processing based on the instruction from the operator. Image output unit 805
Prints on the photosensitive drum 111.

Details of Encoding Unit, Decoding Unit, and Code Storage Unit Next, with reference to FIG. 11, the encoding unit 802 and the decoding unit 8
03 and the code storage unit 806 will be described in detail.

The coding unit 802 of this embodiment uses the discrete cosine transform coding method as the coding method. First, the block reading unit 802a reads an image for each 8 × 8 pixel block as shown in FIG.
In 02b, it is converted into a DCT coefficient value. The DCT transform is defined by the equation (1). Here, x _ij is the original pixel and y _UV is the conversion coefficient.

[0077]

[Equation 1]

The coefficient output from the DCT transform unit 802b is linearly quantized by the quantizing unit 802c with a different quantizing step size for each coefficient to obtain a quantized coefficient. At this time, the quantization step size for each coefficient is obtained by multiplying the quantization matrix stored in the quantization matrix storage unit 807 by the scale factor value set by the scale factor control unit 808. The code amount or decoded image quality is controlled by changing the value of this scale factor. Here, the quantization matrix is adapted to finely quantize low-order coefficients in accordance with human visual characteristics, for example, as shown in FIG. For the quantized coefficient, the Huffman encoding unit 802d assigns a short code to a coefficient having a high appearance frequency and a long code to a coefficient having a low appearance frequency, thereby reducing the code amount as a whole, It is stored in the code storage unit 806.

In this embodiment, the scale factor value set by the scale factor control unit 808 is designated through the operation unit 750, and the operator can adjust the scale factor value from the outside. As a result, the operator can change the use efficiency of the memory of the code storage unit 806, adjust the image quality of the output image after encoding / decoding, and the like.

The DCT coefficient is, as shown in FIG.
The coefficient (0,0) indicates the average density of the block, and the other low-order coefficients near (1,0) and (0,1) are the low-frequency components of the block. The ratio is shown, and the higher the coefficient is, the more the high frequency component is included. Therefore, the coefficient of (0, 0) is called a DC component, and the other coefficients are called an AC component. Also, (1,
Coefficients in the u direction (main scanning direction) such as 0), (2, 0), (3, 0), ... Show the rate of change in density in the main scanning direction, and are (0, 1), (0, 2). , (0, 3), etc. in the v direction (sub-scanning direction) indicate the magnitude of the component in which the density change in the sub-scanning direction and the density change in the sub-scanning direction overlap.

When outputting an image, the code storage unit 806
The Huffman decoding unit 803d assigns the quantized coefficient value to the code, and the inverse quantization unit 803c inversely quantizes the value. At this time, the quantization step size in inverse quantization is obtained by multiplying the quantization matrix stored in the quantization matrix storage unit 807 by the value of the scale factor control unit 808, as in the case of encoding. DC output by the inverse quantizer 803c
The T coefficient is converted into image data by the inverse DCT conversion unit 803b and is output for each block by the block writing unit 803a. The image data output for each glock is a one-block line memory (not shown) (one block line is one column of blocks continuing in the main scanning direction, and since one block here is 8 × 8 pixels, there are eight lines). Is stored in the memory, and when the one-block line memory is full, the data is output line by line to the image processing unit 804 shown in FIG.

In the present embodiment, as described in the flow of image data, the encoded image data written in the code storage unit 806 is encoded while encoding the image data obtained by reading one original. It has the function of decoding with a delay of the number of lines corresponding to the required processing unit. Therefore, in order to realize this function, the code storage unit 806 includes two memories, that is, a dual port memory 806a capable of high-speed read / write access at the same time and a RAM 806b which is a battery-backed semiconductor memory. ..

The coded data is sent to the Huffman coding section 8
02d output from the multiplexer (MUX) 806
It is written in the dual port memory 806a via A of c. In parallel with writing, this data passes through A of the multiplexer (MUX) 806d, is read by the Huffman decoding unit 803d, is decoded, and is dequantized by the dequantization unit 803.
c, the inverse DCT conversion unit 803b, and the block writing unit 803a to output to the image processing unit 804. This is the path of image data in the case where one original is encoded and simultaneously decoded to form an image.

When the encoding of one original is completed, the encoded file of the original is completed in the dual port memory 806a. The point of completion is the time when the scanner unit of the copying apparatus operates to finish reading the document and the scanner starts returning to the reading start position. Since the original is not read during the returning, new image data is not input. Therefore, the encoding unit 802 stops operating. Multiplexer (MUX) 80 during this period
6c is switched to B, and the completed file is R in this path
Transfer to AM806b.

When an image of a file that has been encoded is formed, it is necessary to read the file from the RAM 806b. Therefore, the multiplexer (MUX) 806d is set to B.
Switch to. When decrypting this data, the parameters used for decrypting the header of the file to be read are obtained and processed.

In the present embodiment, the parameters necessary for the decoding process are directly sent from the encoding unit 802 to the decoding unit 803 when one original is encoded / decoded in parallel. However, this data is the dual port memory 806
Since the data is written in the header portion when the data is written in a, it may be read from the header portion and used in the decoding unit 803.

During the scanner return period at the time of reading the document, the dual port memory 806a to the RAM 8
The dual port memory 806a is not highly integrated, and thus the unit price per bit is high and the size of the code storage unit 806 is prevented from becoming large. Memory 806a
This is because the image data obtained by encoding the capacity of 1 is required to have a capacity of storing one page.

Specific Operations of Image Data Storage Process and Output Process Next, referring to FIGS. 15 to 18, the image data is stored in the RAM.
Storage processing as storage data in 806b and RAM8
The output of the image data stored in 06b will be described.

FIG. 15 shows a storage data management operation unit (operation means of the present invention) 751 provided on the operation unit 750, which is stored in a management table storing copy conditions and the like and a code storage unit 806. A liquid crystal display (display means of the present invention) 752 for displaying the image data being displayed,
Management table push button 753 for designating display of the management table, front / back push button 754 for designating information before / after information currently displayed in the management table, and management currently displayed The image selection push button 755 for designating the display of the image data in the code storage unit 806 corresponding to the information of the table, the information of the currently displayed management table, or the code storage unit 8
By pressing each push button in the display of the image data in 06, the up / down / left / right push button 756 for moving and displaying the position and the information of the currently displayed management table or the code A data clear push button 757 for designating deletion of the image data in the storage unit 806 and a cancel push button 758 for canceling the operation input up to the previous time and returning to the initial state are provided.

FIG. 16 shows a flow chart of the image data storage processing (image input). First, when the ID card is set in the copying apparatus, the user ID is read by the ID card reading unit 809 (S901). Next, it is determined whether or not there is a read document (S902). If there is a document, the user ID and the copy condition set via the operation unit 750 are recorded in the management table (S90).
3), the document is read by the image reading unit 801 (S90
4). Subsequently, encoding is performed (S905), the encoded data is stored in the image ring buffer (code storage unit 806) (S906), and the image input ends. At this time, the write address of the corresponding image data is recorded in the management table. After that, the input data is output based on the copy condition.

On the other hand, in S902, when there is no document to be read, the image ring buffer (code storage unit 80
Since the image data stored in 6) may be output, after the image output processing subroutine (S907) is executed, the process returns to S901.

17 and 18 are flowcharts of the image output processing subroutine of S907. here,
First, in order to determine whether to output the image data stored in the image ring buffer (code storage unit 806), it is determined whether the management table push button 753 is on or off (S910), and the management table push is performed. When the button 753 is off, the image ring buffer (code storage unit 8
Since the image data stored in 06) is not output, the processing ends. On the other hand, the management table push button 75
When 3 is on, the management table is displayed on the liquid crystal display 752 (S911). Next, when the image selection push button 755 is turned on, the averaged data of the corresponding image data is taken out from the image ring buffer (code storage unit 806), binarized, and expanded into a bit map,
Display on the liquid crystal display 752 (S913 to S91)
6). In S916, the up / down / left / right push buttons 756 can be used to move the display of the image data vertically and horizontally to display the image data. If the cancel push button 758 is turned on here,
The process returns to S910 (S917), and in the case of off, the ID number (user ID) stored in the management table is searched to determine whether the ID numbers match (S9).
18, S919). If they match, access to the corresponding image data is permitted, and the process proceeds to steps S920 to S924. If they do not match, access to the corresponding image data is prohibited, and the process returns to S910.

When the data clear push button 757 is turned on when the access to the corresponding image data is permitted, the current data (that is, the image data being processed) is displayed.
The information on the management table and the information on the image ring buffer (code storage unit 806) are deleted (S921). On the other hand, when the data clear push button 757 is off, the corresponding image data (here, encoded data) is extracted from the image ring buffer (code storage unit 806), decoded, and printed out. Yes (S92
2, S923, S924).

On the other hand, in S912, the image selection push button is o
In the case of ff, in other words, when the content of the management table displayed in S911 is not the desired data, the presence / absence of the management table change is selected according to the message displayed on the liquid crystal display 752 (S925). here,
When the change of the management table is selected, the copy condition can be changed (S926). If the management table is not changed, the front / back push button 754 can be used to search for data in the subsequent management table and data in the previous management table (S927-).
S930). Also, the cancel push button 758 is on.
If so, the process returns to S910.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the ID card is used to permit access (deletion and output) to the corresponding image data only when the user IDs match. It can be done reliably. Further, since the copy condition is registered in the management table, it is possible to print under the same copy condition as when inputting.

Furthermore, since the storage data management operation unit 751 is provided, the image data can be displayed and confirmed on the liquid crystal display 752, and the desired image data can be displayed because the predetermined push buttons can be used for selection and the like. Processing (deletion and output) can be performed without erroneous operation, and operability and convenience for the image data stored in the code storage unit 806 can be improved.

[0097]

As described above, in the digital copying apparatus of the present invention, the reading means for electrically reading the original, the coding means for coding the read image data, and the image coded by the coding means. In a digital copying apparatus including a code storage unit for storing data and a decoding unit for decoding the encoded image data stored in the code storage unit, ID information reading unit for reading a user ID from an ID card. When the document is read by the reading unit, the encoded image data stored in the code storage unit and the user ID read by the ID information reading unit are matched and stored in the management table. In the subsequent processing, Only when the user ID read by the ID card reading means and the user ID stored in the management table match, the image data is displayed. For and control means for permitting access, using memory (code storage section) 6 as storage device of the document, and the confidentiality of image data in the memory can be reliably performed.

Further, in the digital copying apparatus of the present invention, the reading means for electrically reading the original, the coding means for coding the read image data, and the code for storing the image data coded by the coding means. A digital copying apparatus comprising a storage means and a decoding means for decoding the encoded image data stored in the code storage means,
ID information reading means for reading a user ID from an ID card, coded image data stored in a code storage means when a document is read by the reading means, copy conditions designated for the document, and ID information reading The user ID read by the means is matched and stored in the management table, and in the subsequent processing, only when the user ID read by the ID card reading means and the user ID stored in the management table match, the image data is transferred. Since it is provided with the control means for permitting the access, the memory can be used as a document storage device and the confidentiality of the image data in the memory can be surely maintained. Also, it is possible to always print under the same copy conditions as when stored in the memory.

Further, in the digital copying apparatus of the present invention, in the above-mentioned configuration, the control means displays all the image data in which the user ID read by the ID card reading means and the user ID stored in the management table match. Since the data is displayed on the display unit and can be selected via the operation unit, the operability and convenience for using the memory as a document storage device can be improved.

Further, in the digital copying apparatus of the present invention, the reading means for electrically reading the original, the coding means for coding the read image data, and the code for storing the image data coded by the coding means. A digital copying apparatus comprising a storage means and a decoding means for decoding the encoded image data stored in the code storage means,
When selecting a predetermined image data from the image data stored in the code storage means, a display means for confirming and displaying the image data, and an operating means for performing a display operation of the image data to be displayed on the display means. Since it is equipped with, the desired image data can be easily obtained from the image data stored in the memory,
Moreover, it is possible to make a reliable selection.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a digital copying apparatus of this embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a copying apparatus main body of the present embodiment.

FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B are a plan view and a side view of a writing unit.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of an ADF.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a sorter.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a double-sided reversing unit.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a control system in the digital copying apparatus according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an electrical equipment control unit of the digital copying apparatus according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an electrical equipment control unit of the digital copying apparatus according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing the flow of image data in the digital copying apparatus of this embodiment.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing details of an encoding unit, a decoding unit, and a code storage unit.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing an 8 × 8 pixel block read by a block reading unit.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing a quantization matrix.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing DCT coefficients.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a storage data management operation unit.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart of image data storage processing (image input).

FIG. 17 is a flowchart of an image output processing subroutine.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart of an image output processing subroutine.

[Explanation of symbols]

750 Operation unit 751 Stored data management operation unit 752 Liquid crystal display 753 Management table push button 754 Front / back push button 755 Image selection push button 756 Up / down / left / right push button 757 Data clear push button 758 Cancel push button 800 Control unit 801 Image reading unit 802 Encoding unit 802a
Block reading unit 802b DCT conversion unit 802c
Quantization unit 802d Huffman coding unit 803 Decoding unit 803a
Block writing unit 803b Inverse DCT conversion unit 803c
Inverse quantization unit 803d Huffman decoding unit 804 Image processing unit 805 Image output unit 806 Code storage unit 807 Quantization matrix storage unit 808 Scale factor control unit 806a
Dual port memory 806b RAM 806c 806d Multiplexer (MUX)

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued Front Page (72) Inventor Yoshimichi Kanda 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Co., Ltd. (72) Shinji Yamakawa 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo In stock company Ricoh (72) Inventor Yasuyuki Nomizu 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Within Ricoh stock company (72) Inventor Nomura Katsura-shi 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Tokyo Ota-ku Ricoh Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Shin Hidaka 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Company (72) Inventor Midori Aida 1-3-3 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Company (72) ) Inventor Prince Maruyama 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Within Ricoh Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Tomio Sasaki 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Shares Company Ricoh

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A reading unit for electrically reading a document, a coding unit for coding the read image data, a code storage unit for storing the image data coded by the coding unit, and the code storage. In a digital copying apparatus equipped with a decoding means for decoding the encoded image data stored in the means,
The ID information reading unit for reading D and the coded image data stored in the code storage unit when the document is read by the reading unit and the user ID read by the ID information reading unit are matched and managed. And a control means for storing the image data in the table and permitting access to the image data only when the user ID read by the ID card reading means and the user ID stored in the management table match in the subsequent processing. A digital copying apparatus characterized in that 2. A reading means for electrically reading a document, a coding means for coding the read image data, a code storage means for storing the image data coded by the coding means, and the code storage. In a digital copying apparatus equipped with a decoding means for decoding the encoded image data stored in the means,
ID information reading means for reading D, coded image data stored in the code storage means when a document is read by the reading means, copy conditions designated for the document, and the ID information reading means User ID read by
And are stored in the management table by matching, and in the subsequent processing, access to the image data is permitted only when the user ID read by the ID card reading unit matches the user ID stored in the management table. And a control means for controlling the digital copying apparatus. 3. The control means displays, via the display means, all image data in which the user ID read by the ID card reading means and the user ID stored in the management table match, and the operating means is displayed. 3. The digital copying apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the digital copying apparatus is selectable via. 4. A reading unit that electrically reads a document, an encoding unit that encodes the read image data, a code storage unit that stores the image data encoded by the encoding unit, and the code storage. In a digital copying apparatus provided with a decoding means for decoding encoded image data stored in the means, when selecting predetermined image data from the image data stored in the code storage means, A digital copying apparatus comprising: display means for confirming and displaying image data; and operating means for performing a display operation of image data to be displayed on the display means.