JPH06276378A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain the image forming device in which the space is saved by devising the space for a white/black copying machine and an ink jet printer to be reduced enough to be one set space and an optimum image forming means is selected for an original picture to provide an output. CONSTITUTION:When a start key is depressed, copy paper is supplied from a paper feed cassette 132 or 133 and at first ink jet print is executed. The copying paper subject to ink jet print is branched into a direction of a resist roller 112 by a flapper 145, in which electronic photographic recording is executed, the copying paper is discharged to the outside of the device and a predetermined copy picture is obtained. An output position on the copying paper of the ink jet print is set optionally but the output position of the electronic photographic recording is set movably only in the direction of copying paper feed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus having two kinds of image forming means in the same apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a black-and-white copying machine has been used in the office, and since most of the originals are usually black-and-white originals, it is sufficient to use only the black-and-white copying machine.
However, the number of users who need to output a color image, although it is smaller than that of a black-and-white document, is increasing. Therefore, the user is currently making a color copy of a color original using a color copying machine or an inkjet printer.

[0003]

However, for users who do not use color copies very often,
Since a color copying machine such as an electrophotographic system is expensive, an inkjet printer or the like, which is relatively low in price, and a black-and-white copying machine are often used together. Therefore, there is a drawback that a space for two units such as a black-and-white copying machine and an inkjet printer is required.

Further, when copying an original having a color image only in a part of black and white characters, the color image portion cannot be copied in color in a black and white copying machine.
Although copying is performed by a color copying machine such as an inkjet method, there is a disadvantage that the quality of the black and white character portion is deteriorated as compared with when copying is performed by an electrophotographic black and white copying machine. Occurs.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to save space so that the space for two black and white copiers and an ink jet printer can be occupied by one, and at the same time, an optimum image forming means is selected for a document image. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of outputting the same.

[0006]

In order to achieve such an object, the present invention has the constitution described below.

Means 1 The present invention comprises: a first image forming means for scanning an original and outputting an image by an electrophotographic method; a second image forming means for scanning an original and outputting an image by an ink jet method; First
And an output control means for outputting the image by the second image forming means to the same copy sheet, and an image by the first and second image forming means when the output control means is operated to output an image. And an output image position designating means for designating the respective output positions of. Further, in addition to the above configuration, it is possible to further include an input image position designating unit for designating an image position on the original for outputting an image by the first and second image forming units.

Further, the first image forming means for scanning the original and outputting the image by the electrophotographic method and the first digital image information for scanning the original and analog / digital conversion output the image by the ink jet method. An image is formed from the original image by the second image forming means, the third image forming means for forming an image by the second digital image information inputted from the outside of the apparatus, and the original image by the first and second image forming means. A third image formed from the first and second images and the second digital image information by the third image forming means.
Output image on the same copy sheet, and when outputting the image by operating the output control unit, the output positions of the first, second and third images are designated. It is also possible to provide an output image position designating means. Further, the respective image positions on the document corresponding to the images to be output as the first and second images are designated, and the second digital image information on the second digital image information corresponding to the images to be output as the third image is specified. It is also possible to have an input image position specifying means for specifying the image position.

Means 2 The present invention comprises a first image forming means for scanning an original and outputting an image by an electrophotographic method, and a second image forming means for scanning an original and outputting an image by an ink jet method. The output control means for outputting the images by the first and second image forming means to the same copy sheet, the color separation means for discriminating the monochrome image portion and the color image portion of the original image area, and the color separation means According to the discriminated area, a selecting means for selecting either one of the first and second image forming means to output an image is provided. Here, of the areas discriminated by the color separation means, the area discriminated as a monochrome image portion is image-formed by the first image forming means, and the area discriminated as a color image portion is formed as the second image. It is preferable to form an image with the forming means.

In addition to the above configuration, a unit for inputting digital image information from the outside of the apparatus, an image formed by the digital image information input from the outside of the apparatus, and an image formed by the original image are further provided. And a means for composite output on the same copy sheet, and among the areas discriminated by the color separation means, only the area discriminated as a black and white image portion is image-formed by the first image forming means, and the color discrimination is made. It is also possible to form an image in the area discriminated as a color image portion by the means or in the digital image information portion inputted from the outside of the apparatus by the second image forming means.

Means 3 The present invention comprises first image forming means for scanning an original and outputting an image by an electrophotographic method, and second image forming means for scanning an original and outputting an image by an ink jet method. Output control means for outputting the images by the first and second image forming means to the same copy sheet, first area discriminating means for separating image areas of a character portion and a halftone image portion of an original image, and an original Either of the first and second image forming means, depending on the second area discriminating means for color-separating the monochrome image portion and the color image portion of the image and the area discriminated by the first and second area discriminating means. And a selecting means for selecting one of them to form an image. Here, the first image forming means forms an image only on the area which is determined to be the character portion by the first area determining means and is determined to be the monochrome image portion by the second area determining means, It is preferable to form an image in the other area by the second image forming means.

In addition to the above-mentioned structure, means for inputting digital image information from the outside of the apparatus, an image formed by the digital image information input from the outside of the apparatus, and an image formed by the original image are further provided. And a unit for performing composite output on the same copy sheet, and only the area determined to be the character portion by the first area determination unit and the black-and-white image portion by the second area determination unit is described above. An area where an image is formed by the first image forming means and which is determined as a halftone image portion by the first area determining means, or an area which is determined as a color image portion by the second area determining means, or It is also possible to form an image on the digital image information portion input from the outside of the apparatus by the second image forming means.

[0013]

According to the construction shown in the means 1 means 1, the two types of image forming means for black and white images and color images are provided in the same apparatus, and a space for two black and white copiers and ink jet printers is provided.
In addition to reducing the space required for a car,
By having means for outputting the output images from the respective image forming means to the same copy sheet and means for designating the output position and the input position of the images by the respective image forming means, various editing work can be performed, and It is possible to select and output the most suitable image forming means for the original image for each set area.

According to the construction shown in the function 2 means 2, the two types of image forming means for the black and white image and the color image are provided in the same apparatus, and the space for two black and white copiers and ink jet printers is reduced to one.
In addition to reducing the space required for a car,
It has means for outputting the output images from the respective image forming means to the same copy sheet, and color separation means for discriminating the black-and-white image portion and the color image portion of the original image area. By forming an image in step (1) and forming an image in the color image portion by an inkjet method, it is possible to select and output the most suitable image forming means for the original image.

According to the structure shown in the means 3 means 3, two types of image forming means for black and white images and color images are provided in the same device, and a space for two black and white copiers and ink jet printers is provided.
In addition to reducing the space required for a car,
Means for outputting the output images from the respective image forming means to the same copy sheet, first area discriminating means for separating the character portion and the halftone image portion of the original image into image areas, and the black and white image portion and the color of the original image A second area discriminating means for color-separating the image portion, and only the areas discriminated as the character portion and the black and white image portion by the first and second area discriminating means are image-formed by the electrophotographic method. By forming an image on the area by the inkjet method, it is possible to select and output the most suitable image forming means for the original image.

[0016]

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, each example of the present invention will be described in detail.

Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a sectional configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a copying apparatus main body, which includes a document scanning section, a paper feeding section, an electrophotographic recording section, and an inkjet recording section.

The operation of the image forming apparatus of this embodiment will be described below in the order of parallel processing with electrophotographic recording, inkjet printing electrophotography, inkjet composite printing printer, and facsimile.

(Electrophotographic recording) 102a is a controller unit, which is composed of means for controlling the copy sequence as a whole. Reference numeral 102b is a power switch, and 102c is an original exposure lamp that constitutes a scanning mirror and an optical scanning system, and scans at a predetermined speed.

An image forming lens 102d forms an image of the reflected light on the photosensitive drum 111 of the image recording section 4. An optical system drive motor (optical motor) 102f drives the optical scanning system and the like with high accuracy.

In the paper feeding operation by the upper cassette 130, the cut sheet SH is fed from the cassette by driving the paper feeding roller 135, and is conveyed to the registration roller 112 by the conveying roller 139.

In the paper feeding operation by the lower cassette, the cut sheet SH is fed from the cassette by driving the paper feeding roller 136, and is conveyed to the registration rollers 112 by the conveying rollers 139 and 140.

The upper and lower cassettes 130 and 131
It is assumed that plain paper (non-coated paper such as SK paper) is put in the.

Reference numeral 112 is a registration roller, which is the paper feed roller 1.
The cut sheet SH fed by the driving of 35 and 136 and conveyed by the conveying roller 139 is once stopped, and after synchronizing the leading edge of the image, the cut sheet SH is conveyed again.

Reference numeral 113 denotes a developing unit, which is the photosensitive drum 11
Place closer to 1.

Reference numeral 115 is a transfer charger, which is a developing unit 11
3 is transferred to the cut sheet SH, and after the transfer, the separation charging device 116 causes the photosensitive drum 111 to move.
The cut sheet SH is separated from. A pre-exposure lamp 117 neutralizes the surface potential of the photosensitive drum 111 to prepare for the primary charging. A cleaner device 118 includes a cleaning blade and a cleaning roller, and collects toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 111. A fixing device 119 fixes the toner image transferred to the cut sheet SH by heat and pressure. A discharge roller 120 conveys the cut sheet after the fixing process to a discharge tray 124.

(Inkjet printing) Next, copy output by inkjet printing will be described. Figure 2
Shows the configuration of the document scanning unit.

In FIG. 2, the original image on the original table 201 is read by the CCD image reading unit 143. The image reading unit 143 includes a document illumination lamp 217 and a CCD imaging lens 20.
3 and CCD line sensor 204. This CC
The D-line sensor 204 can read as a full-color image by having an RGB filter.

The CCD reading unit 143 is a unit fixed on the rail 207, and the scanning system unit 210 fixed on the rails 214 and 216 includes the main scanning motor 20.
A drive system in the main scanning direction composed of a wire 208 is used to move on the rail 207 to read an image on the platen glass 201 in the main scanning.

Home position sensor 218 for main scanning
Are used for position control when moving the CCD reading unit 143. The scanning system unit 210 includes a sub-scanning motor 211,
It is moved by a drive system in the sub-scanning direction which is composed of wires 213 and 215. Sub-scanning home position sensor 219
Are used for position control when moving on the rails 214 and 216.

As shown in FIG. 4, the scanning method of the CCD reading section 143 is such that an image having a width of 8 mm is read by one scanning, and printing is also performed in synchronization with it.

However, the line indicated by the arrow is the CCD sensor 20.
The midpoint of 4 is shown. Prior to scanning the original image, black level correction, shading correction, and color correction for correcting the output of the CCD sensor 204 are performed. This correction operation is performed for each scan and continues until the entire original image is read. After that, the CCD reading unit 143 is returned to the home position again.

In this embodiment, it is possible to read a document image of maximum A3 size through the document glass.

The image read by the CCD reading unit 143 is subjected to various kinds of image processing by the scanner unit and the controller unit, and is printed on the recording paper by the printer unit. As the recording paper, in the standard state, a special paper called a coated paper, which is hard to see the water-soluble ink, is used. However, even for ink jet printing, when used as a computer printer or facsimile, or when only black color is required, coated paper or plain paper can be selected.

From the coated paper cassette, the coated paper cut by the pickup roller is fed one by one. As shown in FIG. 3, the coated paper 304 is conveyed to a predetermined position by the positioning rollers 302 and 303. The predetermined position is a print start position detected near the paper detection sensor 308. When the coated paper 304 comes to a predetermined position, printing is performed by the inkjet head unit 301, and the printing operation is started.

The ink jet head portion 301 is composed of four heads of C (cyan), M (magenta), Y (yellow) and Bk (black), and prints in a predetermined width in that order. Meanwhile, the positioning rollers 302 and 303 driven by the paper feed motor 305 are stopped, and the coated paper 3
04 is fixed.

The head unit 301 is a head scanning motor 307.
The image is recorded on the coated paper 304 with a predetermined width while being scanned. When one scan is completed, the positioning rollers 302 and 303 convey the coated paper 304 by a predetermined width, and the head unit 301 moves the home position sensor 3
The position is controlled by 06 to return to the print start position. By repeating this operation, a full-color image corresponding to the paper size is formed.

When the printing on the entire surface of the original is completed, the coated paper is carried by the carrying rollers 140 and 139 (see FIG. 1), and the flapper 145 is switched to send the printed coated paper to the ink jet path, and again the carrying roller 146. , 147, 148, and the paper output trays 124, 151 are selected by the flapper 150 at the final stage to discharge the paper.

(Electrophotographic and Inkjet Composite Printing) In the case of electrophotographic recording after ink jet printing, the electrophotographic recording is carried by the carrying rollers 139 and 140, branched by the flapper in the resist roller direction, and carried to the resist roller 112.

Next, at the registration roller 112, the conveyed cut sheet SH is once stopped, and after synchronizing the leading edge of the image, the cut sheet SH is conveyed again.

In the transfer charger 115, the developing unit 11
3 is transferred to the cut sheet SH, and after the transfer, the separation charging device 116 causes the photosensitive drum 111 to move.
The cut sheet SH is separated from. Pre-exposure lamp 11
At 7, the surface potential of the photosensitive drum 111 is neutralized to prepare for the primary charging. The cleaner device 118 includes a cleaning blade and a cleaning roller, and collects toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 111. The fixing device 119 fixes the toner image transferred onto the cut sheet SH by heat and pressure. Finally, the cut sheet whose fixing process has been completed by the paper discharge rollers 120 is conveyed to the paper discharge tray 124.

(Parallel processing with printer and facsimile)
When the I / F control unit requests a printer or a facsimile, it performs a function of printing the input information by inkjet printing. When the request is made, if only analog printing is performed, either operation is accepted. In other words, analog print,
Control the work of the printer to perform processing in parallel.

At this time, the portion passing through the transport rollers 139 and 140 is a common pass for both analog printing and ink jet printing.

Further, since the inkjet printing has a slower printing speed than the analog printing, every time the inkjet printing is completed, the feeding of the analog printing is stopped for a time of 1 minute per inkjet printing, and the inkjet printing is stopped. The flapper 145 is switched to send only the paper to the inkjet printing path. Then, the inkjet-printed paper is output to the inkjet discharge tray 151 side through the flapper 150 at the final stage. For analog printing, the operation in the normal state is continued.

(Functional block) Next, referring to FIG.
The functional blocks of the image forming apparatus according to this embodiment will be described.

Control units 601, 621, 641, 661,
Reference numeral 681 denotes a master control unit 600, a scanner control unit 620, an image control unit 640, and an inkjet control unit 6, respectively.
60, a control unit that controls the electrophotographic control unit 680, and includes a microcomputer, a program ROM, a data memory, a communication circuit, and the like.

Further, between the control units 600 and 620, the control unit 6
00-640, control units 600-660, and control units 600-680 are connected by a communication line,
The control units 620, 640, 66 are instructed by the control unit 600.
A so-called master / slave control mode in which 0,680 operates is adopted.

When operating as a copying machine, the control unit 600 operates according to the input from the operation unit 602 and the editor 603.

The operation unit 602 uses, for example, a liquid crystal as a display unit and is provided with a touch panel made of a transparent electrode on the surface thereof to give a selection instruction such as a color specification and an edit operation specification. . Further, a key related to the operation, for example, a key for instructing the start of the copying operation = start.
Key, key to stop copying operation = stop key,
Keys that are frequently used, such as a key for resetting the operation mode to the standard state = reset key, are provided independently.

The editor 603 is for inputting position information such as trimming / masking processing and is connected as an option when complicated editing processing is required.

The feeder 604 is for automatically setting a plurality of originals, and is optionally connected.

The sorter 605 is for sorting discharged cut sheets, and is optionally connected.

The control unit 641 controls, for example, a control circuit of a general-purpose parallel interface such as a GP-IB interface = I / F control unit 647, and inputs / outputs image data between external devices and by an external device. Remote control is performed via this interface.

Further, the control unit 641 has a multi-value synthesizing unit 642, an image processing unit 643, which performs various kinds of image processing.
It also controls the binarization processing unit 644, the binary synthesis unit 645, and the buffer memory 646.

The control unit 621 controls the mechanical drive unit 624 that controls the drive of the scanner control unit 620, and the lamp exposure control units 625 (for BJ) and 62 when reading a reflected original.
6 (for electrophotography) is controlled. In addition, the control unit 621
Also controls the analog signal processing unit 622 and the input image processing unit 623 which perform various kinds of processing relating to the image.

The control unit 661 is an inkjet control unit 6.
Mechanism drive unit 663 for controlling the drive of the mechanism in 60
Then, the synchronous delay memory 662 is controlled to absorb the time variation in the mechanical operation of the inkjet control unit 660 and to correct the delay due to the arrangement of the recording heads 301 on the mechanism.

The control unit 681 includes a mechanical drive unit 682 for controlling the drive of the mechanism in the electrophotographic unit 680, and a blank exposure control unit 6 for erasing unnecessary portions of the electrophotographic image.
84, the charging system, and the high voltage unit 683 for applying a voltage of a predetermined potential to the developing unit 113 are controlled.

Next, the image processing block shown in FIG.
A description will be given along the flow of images.

The image formed on the CCD 204 is the CCD
It is converted from 204 into an analog electric signal. The converted image information is serially processed as red → green → blue and input to the analog signal processing unit 622.

In the analog signal processing unit 622, red, green,
After sample & hold, dark level correction, and dynamic range control for each blue color, analog
Digital conversion (A / D conversion) is performed to convert into a serial multi-value (in this embodiment, 8-bit length for each color) digital image signal and output to the input image processing unit 623.

In the input image processing unit 623, correction processing necessary for the reading system such as shading correction, color correction, and γ correction is similarly performed with the serial multivalued digital image signal.

The multi-value synthesis section 642 of the image control section 640 is
Selection of a serial multi-valued digital image signal sent from the scanner control unit 620 and a serial multi-valued digital image signal sent via a parallel I / F, and
It is a circuit block that performs a combining process. The image data that has been selectively combined is sent to the image processing unit 643 as it is as a serial multi-valued digital image signal.

The image processing unit 643 performs smoothing processing,
It is a circuit that performs edge enhancement, black extraction, masking processing for color correction of recording ink used in the recording head 301, and the like. The serial multi-valued digital image signal output is input to the binarization processing unit 644 and the buffer memory 646, respectively. Further, as will be described later in detail, the image processing section 643 also performs image area discrimination processing for discriminating a character portion and an intermediate image portion of a document image, color separation processing for discriminating a monochrome image portion and a color image portion. 8 to 13).

The binarization processing unit 644 is a circuit for binarizing a serial multi-valued digital image signal, and selects simple binary with fixed slice level, pseudo halftone processing with dither method, etc. You can Here, the serial multivalued digital image signal is converted into a binary parallel image signal of four colors. Image data of four colors is sent to the binary synthesizing unit 645, and image data of three colors is sent to the buffer memory 646.

The binary synthesizing unit 645 is provided in the buffer memory 6
3 color binary parallel image signals sent from
It is a circuit for selecting and synthesizing the four color binary parallel image signals sent from the binarization processing unit 644 into a four color binary parallel image signal.

The buffer memory 646 is a parallel I /
It is a buffer memory for inputting and outputting a multi-valued image and a binary image via F, and has a memory for three colors.

The synchronous delay memory 662 of the ink jet control unit 660 is a circuit for absorbing the time variation of the mechanical operation in the ink jet control unit 660 and correcting the delay due to the arrangement of the recording head 301 in the mechanism. The timing required for driving the head 301 is also generated.

The head driver 664 is for the recording head 3
This is an analog drive circuit for driving 01 and internally generates a signal capable of directly driving the recording head 301.

The recording head 301 includes cyan, magenta,
Yellow and black inks are ejected to record an image on recording paper.

FIG. 5 is a timing chart of an image in the circuit described in FIG.

The signal BVE is a signal indicating the image effective section for each scan in the main scanning reading operation described with reference to FIG. By outputting the signal BVE a plurality of times, the image output of the entire screen is performed.

The signal VE is 1 read by the CCD 204.
It is a signal indicating the effective section of the image for each line. Signal BV
Only the signal VE when E is valid is valid.

The signal VCK is a sending clock signal for the image data VD. The signal BVE and the signal VE also change in synchronization with the signal VCK.

The signal HS is a signal used when the valid and invalid sections are discontinuously repeated while the signal VE outputs one line. When the signal VE is continuously valid while the signal VE outputs one line, it is effective. , Is an unnecessary signal. This is a signal indicating the start of image output for one line.

(Operation Flowchart) A specific example of specifying an area on one original and outputting a composite image of electrophotographic recording and ink jet printing will be described with reference to the operation flowchart shown in FIG.

The liquid crystal touch panel of the operation unit 602 or an optional editor 603 is used to input an input position on a document to be output by ink jet printing (step 701), and electrophotographic recording and BJ printing onto copy paper. After the output position is input (step 702), the process waits until the start key is pressed.

In the present embodiment, the input of the input position on the original is performed only for ink jet printing, and electrophotographic recording is performed except when ink jet printing is set. The output position of the inkjet print on the copy paper can be set to an arbitrary position, but the output position of the electrophotographic recording can be moved only in the paper feed direction of the copy paper.

When the start key is pressed in step 703, copy paper is fed from the paper feed cassette 132 or 133 (step 704), and first, inkjet printing as described later is performed (step 705).

The ink-jet printed copy paper is branched toward the registration roller 112 by the flapper 145, electrophotographic recording is performed as described later (step 706), and the copy paper is ejected outside the machine (step 7).
07), a predetermined copy image is obtained.

Next, the ink jet printing in step 705 and the electrophotographic recording in step 706 will be described with reference to the functional block diagram shown in FIG.

The input position information and the output position information input from the operation unit 602 or the editor 603 are transferred from the control unit 601 of the master control unit 600 to the ink jet control unit 6.
60 and the control unit 681 of the electrophotographic control unit 680.

The control unit 661 controls the mechanical drive unit 663 based on the information from the control unit 601 to read the image at the set position on the document and perform ink jet printing at the set position on the copy paper.

The control unit 681 controls the blank exposure unit 684 based on the information from the control unit 601 to erase the electrophotographic recorded image of the ink-jet printed portion. Further, the mechanical drive unit 682 is controlled, the operation timing of the registration roller 112 is changed back and forth, and the timing of image leading edge adjustment of the copy sheet is changed, so that the copy sheet is moved by the set position in the paper feed direction. Then, electrophotographic recording is performed.

Embodiment 2 Next, a specific example of outputting a composite image of an ink jet print by digital information inputted from the outside to a part of a copy image of an original by electrophotographic recording will be shown.

The operation flow chart of this embodiment is the same as the flow chart of FIG. 7 described in the first embodiment except for the ink jet printing in step 705, so that only the ink jet printing of this embodiment is shown in FIG. A functional block diagram will be described.

The output position information input from the operation unit 602 or the editor 603 is sent from the control unit 601 of the master control unit 600 to the control unit 641 of the image control unit 640.

On the other hand, the digital information (image information for three colors) externally input to the I / F control unit 647 is temporarily stored in the buffer memory 646.

The control unit 641 controls the buffer memory 646 at a predetermined timing based on the information from the control unit 601, and the digital information is output to the ink jet control unit 660 after the predetermined image processing is performed, and the copy paper is copied. Inkjet printing is performed at the set position above.

Third Embodiment Next, a third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9.

FIG. 8 shows the image processing unit 643 described with reference to FIG.
3 is an example of a block diagram showing only the color separation processing unit of the present embodiment extracted from the functions of FIG.

The input image signal 851 is input to the selector 80.
5, flip-flop 803, and color separation circuit 801.

The color separation circuit 801 is a color separation circuit composed of known technical means, and discriminates the area between the black and white image portion and the color image portion and outputs a discrimination signal 852. Here, the discrimination signal 8
In the present embodiment, the reference numeral 52 is for outputting a High signal in the monochrome image portion and a Low signal in the color image portion.

The discrimination signal 852 output from the color separation circuit 801 is input to the selector 804 as a control signal, input to the memory 802, and stored in the memory 802.

On the other hand, the image signal input to the flip-flop 803 is input to the selector 804 after the flip-flop 803 matches the timing with the determination signal 852 output from the color separation circuit 801.

The selector 804 is controlled by the discrimination signal 852 output from the color separation circuit 801, and when the discrimination signal 852 is the Low signal (color image portion), the A input is selected to output the image signal 853 and the High signal. In the case of (black and white image portion), the B input is selected and the image signal is output as zero, and the output signal 854 is input to the selector 805.

The selector 805 is controlled by the control unit 641, and when the control signal 855 from the control unit 641 is a Low signal, the A input is selected and the input image signal 851 is output as the output signal 856, and when it is the High signal, the B input is input. Is selected and the output signal 854 of the selector 804 is output.

The control section 641 controls the selector 805, and when the color separation processing is not performed, it can output the input image signal 851 as the output signal 756 without changing the control signal 855 to the Low signal.

The control section 641 also includes a color separation circuit 801.
While setting various parameters to, the memory 802 is controlled, and the discrimination signal 852 from the color separation circuit 801 stored in the memory 802 is read. The read discrimination signal 852 is sent from the control unit 641 to the control unit 601 of the master control unit shown in FIG. 6, and further from the control unit 601 to the control unit 681 of the electrophotographic control unit 680 by communication means.

The control section 681 controls the blank exposure section 684 according to the received data, and the discrimination signal 852 becomes High.
Electrophotographic recording is performed only in the area of the h signal (black and white image portion).

In this embodiment, the discrimination signal 852 is sent from the control unit 641 to the control unit 681 by the communication means. However, the control unit 601 or the control unit 681 directly sends the memory 8 to the memory 8.
The data of No. 02 may be read. Further, although the memory 802 dedicated to the color separation processing is used in the present embodiment, another memory, for example, the buffer memory 646 in FIG. 6 may be used in combination.

(Operation Flowchart) A specific example of performing color separation processing on an original image and outputting a composite image of electrophotographic recording and ink jet printing will be described with reference to the operation flowchart of FIG.

First, when the color separation mode is selected by the key input from the operation unit 602 and the start key is pressed to start the copy operation, the control input signal 855 of the selector 805 shown in FIG. 8 is set to the High signal. Then, various mode settings such as B input selection are made (step 90).
1).

Next, copy paper is fed from the paper feed cassette 132 or 133 (step 902), and ink jet printing is first performed (step 903). At this time, as described with reference to FIG. 8, the image signal of the area determined to be the monochrome image portion by the color separation processing circuit is output as zero to the inkjet control unit 660, so that the area determined to be the color image portion is output. Only inkjet printing is done.

The ink-jet printed copy paper is branched by the flapper 145 toward the registration roller 112, and is temporarily held by the registration roller 112 in preparation for electrophotographic recording.

Here, at the time of ink jet printing, FIG.
The color separation determination data stored in the memory 802 of the image control unit 640 is read out by the control unit 641 of the image control unit 640, and is further input to the control unit 601 of the master control unit illustrated in FIG.
1 to the control unit 681 of the electrophotographic control unit 680 by communication means (step 904).

The control section 681 controls the mechanical drive section 682 to operate the registration roller 112 so that the copy sheet once on standby is aligned with the leading edge of the image, conveys the copy sheet, and determines the image area separation data. The blank exposure section 684 is controlled to erase the image in the area determined to be the color image section, and the electrophotographic recording is performed only to the area determined to be the monochrome image section (step 905).

Then, the copy sheet is ejected out of the machine (step 906), and the copy operation ends.

Embodiment 4 FIG. 10 is another embodiment of the color separation processing circuit shown in FIG. 8, in which a composite image of an ink jet print by digital information input from the outside is added to a part of the copy image of the original. An example for enabling output will be shown.

FIG. 10 is an example of a block diagram in which only the part relating to the color separation processing section of the present embodiment is extracted from the functions of the multilevel synthesis section 642 and the image processing section 643 described in FIG. is there.

In FIG. 10, the same functions as those in FIG. 8 are designated by the same reference numerals as those in FIG.

The image signal input from the buffer memory 646 and the input image processing unit 623 is input to the selector 1001.

The multi-value synthesis processing unit 1002 outputs a signal 1053 indicating the synthesis position of the ink jet print based on the digital information input from the outside, and is composed of, for example, a memory or the like, and the synthesis position is controlled by the control unit 641. Set. Here, as the composite position signal 1053, a High signal is output from the composite image output unit and a Low signal is output from the document image output unit in this embodiment.

The combined position signal 1053 output from the multi-valued combination processing unit 1002 is input as a control signal for the selector 1001 and also to the flip-flop 1003.

The composite position signal 1053 input to the flip-flop 1003 is the flip-flop 1003.
Thus, after being timed with a separation signal 1055 output from a color separation circuit 801, which will be described later, it is input to an AND gate (negative logic OR gate) 1004.

The selector 1001 is a multi-value synthesis processing unit 100.
2 is controlled by the composite position signal 1053, and when the composite position signal 1053 is a Low signal (composite image output unit), the A input is selected and the buffer memory 646.
From the input image processing unit 623 is output, and the B input is selected when the High signal (original image output unit) is output.

The output signal 851 of the selector 1001 is the selector 805, the flip-flop 803, and the color separation circuit 8.
01 is input.

The color separation circuit 801 is a color separation circuit composed of known technical means, and discriminates between a monochrome image portion and a color image portion and outputs a separation signal 1055. In this embodiment, as the separation signal 1055, a high signal is output in the monochrome image portion and a low signal is output in the color image portion.

The separation signal 1055 output from the color separation circuit 801 is input to the AND gate 1004. Further, the AND gate 1004 has a flip-flop 1
An output signal 1054 of 003 is also input, and when either of the input signals is a Low signal, that is, when it is a combined image output unit or a color image unit, the determination signal 852 output from the AND gate 1004 becomes a Low signal.

The discrimination signal 852 output from the AND gate 1004 is input to the selector 804 as a control signal, input to the memory 802, and stored in the memory 802.

On the other hand, the image signal 851 input to the flip-flop 803 is separated by the flip-flop 803 by the separation signal 1055 output from the color separation circuit 801.
And the timing is adjusted, and then input to the selector 804.

The selector 804 has an AND gate 1004.
Is controlled by the discrimination signal 852 output from the image signal. When the discrimination signal 852 is a Low signal (composite image output section or color image section), the A input is selected and the image signal 853
Is output, and when the signal is a High signal (original image output section and monochrome image section), B input is selected and the image signal is output as zero, and the output signal 854 is input to the selector 805.

The selector 805 is controlled by the control unit 641. When the control signal 855 from the control unit 641 is a Low signal, the A input is selected, the output signal 851 of the selector 1001 is output as the output signal 856, and High.
When it is a signal, the B input is selected and the output signal 854 of the selector 804 is output.

The control unit 641 controls the selector 805, and when the color separation processing is not performed, it can output the output signal 851 of the selector 1001 as the output signal 856 without changing the control signal 855 to the Low signal.

Further, the control unit 641 has the multi-valued synthesis processing unit 1
002 and various parameters are set in the color separation circuit 801, the memory 802 is controlled, and the discrimination signal 852 stored in the memory 802 is read.

The read discrimination signal 852 is supplied to the control unit 6
41 to the control unit 601 of the master control unit shown in FIG.
Further, it is sent from the control unit 601 to the control unit 681 of the electrophotographic control unit 680 by communication means. The control unit 681 controls the blank exposure unit 684 based on the received data, and performs electrophotographic recording only in the area where the determination signal 852 is the High signal (black and white image portion).

Fifth Embodiment Next, a fifth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12.

FIG. 11 shows the image processing unit 64 described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 7 is an example of a block diagram showing only the area discrimination processing section including image area separation and color separation of the present embodiment out of the functions of FIG.

The input image signal 1151 corresponds to the selector 1
105, flip-flop 1103, image area separation 110
1, input to the color separation circuit 1106.

The image area separation circuit 1101 is an image area separation circuit composed of known technical means and discriminates an area between a character portion and a halftone image portion and outputs an image area separation signal 1157. Here, the image area separation signal 1157 is High in the character portion in this embodiment.
A low signal is output in the signal and halftone image section.

The image area separation signal 1157 output from the image area separation circuit 1101 is input to an AND gate (negative logic OR gate) 1107.

The color separation circuit 1106 is a color separation circuit composed of known technical means, and discriminates between the black and white image portion and the color image portion, and outputs a color separation signal 1158. Here, the color separation signal 1158 is High in the black and white image portion in this embodiment.
Signal, the Low signal is output in the color image section. In addition, the image area separation circuit 1101 and the color separation circuit 1
The output signal of 106 is adjusted by a flip-flop (not shown) or the like.

The color separation signal 1158 output from the color separation circuit 1106 is an AND gate (negative logic OR gate).
It is input to 1107.

The discrimination signal 1152 output from the AND gate 1107 is input to the selector 1104 as a control signal and also to the memory 1102, and the memory 1
Stored in 102.

On the other hand, the image signal input to the flip-flop 1104 is the discrimination signal 11 output from the AND gate 1107 by the flip-flop 1103.
It is input to the selector 1104 after being timed with 52.

The selector 1104 has an AND gate 110.
7 is controlled by the discrimination signal 1152 output from
When the determination signal 1152 is the Low signal (halftone image portion or color image portion), the A input is selected and the image signal 1
153 is output, and when the signal is a High signal (character portion and monochrome image portion), B input is selected and the image signal is output as zero, and the output signal 1154 is input to the selector 1105.

The selector 1105 is controlled by the control unit 641 and the control signal 1155 from the control unit 641 is Low.
In the case of a signal, the A input is selected and the input image signal 115
1 is output as the output signal 1156, and when it is the High signal, the B input is selected and the output signal 1154 of the selector 1104 is output.

The control section 641 controls the selector 1105, and when the area discrimination processing is not performed, the control signal 115
5 can be made into a Low signal, and the input image signal 1151 can be output as it is as the output signal 1156.

Further, the control section 641 has the image area separation circuit 11
01 and the color separation circuit 1106, various parameters are set, and the memory 1102 is controlled.
The discrimination signal 1152 stored in the memory is read. The read discrimination signal 1152 is sent from the control unit 641 to the control unit 601 of the master control unit shown in FIG. 6, and further from the control unit 601 to the control unit 681 of the electrophotographic control unit 680 by communication means.

The control unit 681 controls the blank exposure unit 684 based on the received data, and the discrimination signal 1152 changes to Hi.
Electrophotographic recording is performed only in the area of the gh signal (character portion and black and white image portion).

In this embodiment, the discrimination signal 1152 is sent from the control unit 641 to the control unit 681 by the communication means. However, the control unit 601 or the control unit 681 is constructed so that the data of the memory 1102 can be read directly. Good.
Further, in this embodiment, the memory 1102 dedicated to the area discrimination processing is used.
However, the other memory, for example, the buffer memory 646 in FIG. 6 may be used in combination.

(Operation Flowchart) A specific example of performing the area discrimination processing of the original image and outputting the composite image of the electrophotographic recording and the ink jet printing will be described with reference to the operation flowchart of FIG.

First, when the area discrimination mode is selected by the key input from the operation unit 602 and the start key is pressed to start the copy operation, the selector 1105 shown in FIG.
Various mode settings such as setting the control input signal 1155 of 1 to the High signal and selecting the B input are performed (step 1201).

Next, the paper feed cassette 132 or 133
Copy paper is fed from (see FIG. 1) (step 120).
2) First, inkjet printing is performed (step 1203). At this time, the inkjet controller 660
As described with reference to FIG. 11, since the image signal of the area determined as the character portion and the monochrome image portion by the area determination processing unit is output as zero, it is determined as the halftone image portion or the color image portion. Inkjet printing is performed only on the area.

The ink-jet printed copy sheet is branched by the flapper 145 toward the registration roller 112, and is temporarily held by the registration roller 112 in preparation for electrophotographic recording.

Here, at the time of ink jet printing, FIG.
The area discrimination data stored in the memory 1102 of No. 1 is read by the control unit 641 of the image control unit 640, and is further transferred to the control unit 601 of the master control unit shown in FIG.
1 to the control unit 681 of the electrophotographic control unit 680 by communication means (step 1204).

The control unit 681 controls the mechanical drive unit 682 to operate the registration rollers 112 so that the once-copied copy paper is aligned with the leading edge of the image, convey the copy paper, and determine the image area separation data. The blank exposure unit 684 is controlled to erase the image in the area determined as the halftone image section or the color image section, and the electrophotographic recording is performed only in the area determined as the character section and the monochrome image section (step 1205). ).

Then, the copy sheet is ejected to the outside of the machine (step 1206), and the copy operation ends.

Embodiment 6 FIG. 13 is another embodiment of the area discrimination processing block shown in FIG. 11, in which a composite image of an ink jet print by digital information input from the outside is added to a part of the copy image of the original. An example for enabling output will be shown.

FIG. 13 is an example of a block diagram showing only the portion related to the area discrimination processing unit of the present embodiment extracted from the functions of the multi-value synthesis unit 642 and the image processing unit 643 described in FIG. is there.

Note that, in FIG. 13, those having the same functions as those in FIG. 11 are given the same numbers as in FIG.

The image signal input from the buffer memory 646 and the input image processing unit 623 is input to the selector 1301.

The multi-value synthesizing processing unit 1302 outputs a signal 1353 indicating the synthesizing position of the ink jet print based on digital information input from the outside, and is composed of, for example, a memory or the like, and the synthesizing position is controlled by the control unit 1155. Set. In this embodiment, as the composite position signal 1353, a High signal is output from the composite image output unit and a Low signal is output from the original image output unit.

The composite position signal 1353 output from the multi-value synthesis processor 1302 is input as a control signal for the selector 1301 and also to the flip-flop 1303.

The composite position signal 1353 input to the flip-flop 1303 is the flip-flop 1303.
Thus, after being timed with an image area separation signal 1157 and a color separation signal 1158, which will be described later, they are input to an AND gate (negative logic OR gate) 1107.

The selector 1301 is a multi-value synthesis processing unit 130.
2 is controlled by the combined position signal 1353, and when the combined position signal 1353 is a Low signal (composite image output unit), the A input is selected and the buffer memory 646 is selected.
From the input image processing unit 623, the B input is selected when the signal is a High signal (original image output unit), and the original image signal from the input image processing unit 623 is output.

The output signal 1151 of the selector 1301 is input to the selector 1105, the flip-flop 1103, the image area separation circuit 1101, and the color separation circuit 1106.

The image area separation circuit 1101 is an image area separation circuit composed of known technical means, and discriminates an area between the character portion and the halftone image portion and outputs an image area separation signal 1157. Here, the image area separation signal 1157 is High in the character portion in this embodiment.
A low signal is output in the signal and halftone image section.

The color separation circuit 1106 is a color separation circuit composed of known technical means, and discriminates between the black and white image area and the color image area, and outputs a color separation signal 1158. Here, the color separation signal 1158 is High in the black and white image portion in this embodiment.
Signal, the Low signal is output in the color image section. In addition, the image area separation circuit 1101 and the color separation circuit 1
The output signal of 106 is adjusted by a flip-flop (not shown) or the like.

The image area separation signal 1157 output from the image area separation circuit 1101 and the color separation signal 1158 output from the color separation circuit 1106 are input to the AND gate 1107. The output signal 1354 of the flip-flop 1303 is also input to the AND gate 1107,
When any one of the input signals is a Low signal, that is, when it is a composite image output unit, a halftone image unit, or a color image unit, the determination signal 11 output from the AND gate 1107.
52 becomes a Low signal.

The discrimination signal 1152 output from the AND gate 1304 is input to the selector 1104 as a control signal and also to the memory 1102, and the memory 1
Stored in 102.

On the other hand, the image signal 1151 input to the flip-flop 1103 is the flip-flop 110.
3 is timed with the discrimination signal 1152 output from the AND gate 1107, the selector 11
It is input to 04.

The selector 1104 has an AND gate 110.
7 is controlled by the discrimination signal 1152 output from
When the determination signal 1152 is a Low signal (composite image output unit or halftone image unit or color image unit), the A input is selected and the image signal 753 is output, and the High signal (original image output unit and character and monochrome image unit) is output. ) When B
The input is selected and the image signal is output as zero, and the output signal 1154 is input to the selector 1105.

The selector 1105 is controlled by the control unit 641 and the control signal 1155 from the control unit 641 is Low.
When it is a signal, the A input is selected and the output signal 1151 of the selector 1301 is output as the output signal 1156,
When the signal is High, the B input is selected and the selector 1
The output signal 1154 of 104 is output.

The control section 641 controls the selector 1105, and when the area discrimination processing is not performed, the control signal 115
5 as a Low signal and the output signal 11 of the selector 1301
It is possible to output 51 as the output signal 1156 as it is.

Further, the control section 641 has a multi-value synthesis processing section 1
302, image area separation circuit 1101 and color separation circuit 1106
Various parameters are set in the memory 1102.
The discrimination signal 752 stored in the memory 1102
Read out. The read determination signal 1152 is sent to the control unit 6
41 to the control unit 601 of the master control unit shown in FIG.
Further, it is sent from the control unit 601 to the control unit 681 of the electrophotographic control unit 680 by communication means.

The control section 681 controls the blank exposure section 684 according to the received data, and the discrimination signal 1152 becomes H level.
Electrophotographic recording is performed only in the area of the high signal (character portion).

(Others) The present invention is particularly provided with means for generating thermal energy as energy used for ejecting ink (for example, an electrothermal converter or a laser beam) even in the ink jet recording system. The present invention brings about excellent effects in a recording head and a recording apparatus of the type in which the state of ink is changed by the heat energy. This is because such a system can achieve high density recording and high definition recording.

Regarding its typical structure and principle, see, for example, US Pat. No. 4,723,129 and US Pat. No. 4,740.
What is done using the basic principles disclosed in 796 is preferred. This method is a so-called on-demand type,
Although it can be applied to any of the continuous type, in particular, in the case of the on-demand type, it can be applied to the sheet holding the liquid (ink) or the electrothermal converter arranged corresponding to the liquid path. By applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the recording information and giving a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling, heat energy is generated in the electrothermal converter, and film boiling is caused on the heat acting surface of the recording head. Liquid (ink) corresponding to this drive signal in a one-to-one correspondence
It is effective because bubbles can be formed inside. Due to the growth and contraction of the bubbles, the liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection opening to form at least one droplet. It is more preferable to make this drive signal into a pulse shape because bubbles can be immediately and appropriately grown and contracted, so that liquid (ink) ejection with excellent responsiveness can be achieved. As the pulse-shaped drive signal, those described in US Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262 are suitable. If the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 of the invention relating to the rate of temperature rise on the heat acting surface are adopted, further excellent recording can be performed.

As the constitution of the recording head, in addition to the combination constitution of the discharge port, the liquid passage, and the electrothermal converter (the linear liquid passage or the right-angled liquid passage) as disclosed in the above-mentioned respective specifications, US Pat. No. 4,558,333, US Pat. No. 4,558,333, which discloses a configuration in which a heat acting portion is arranged in a bending region.
The structure using the specification of No. 59600 is also included in the present invention. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 59-123670 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of the electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and an opening for absorbing a pressure wave of thermal energy is provided. The effect of the present invention is effective even if the configuration corresponding to the ejection portion is disclosed in JP-A-59-138461. That is, according to the present invention, recording can be surely and efficiently performed regardless of the form of the recording head.

Furthermore, the present invention can be effectively applied to a full line type recording head having a length corresponding to the maximum width of a recording medium which can be recorded by the recording apparatus. Such a recording head may have a configuration that satisfies the length by a combination of a plurality of recording heads or a configuration as one recording head integrally formed.

In addition, even in the case of the serial type as in the above example, the recording head fixed to the apparatus main body or the electrical connection with the apparatus main body or the ink from the apparatus main body by being attached to the apparatus main body The present invention is also effective when a replaceable chip-type recording head that can be supplied or a cartridge-type recording head in which an ink tank is integrally provided in the recording head itself is used.

Further, as the constitution of the recording apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable to add the ejection recovery means of the recording head, the preliminary auxiliary means and the like because the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. Specifically, heating is performed by using a capping unit, a cleaning unit, a pressure or suction unit for the recording head, an electrothermal converter or a heating element other than this, or a combination thereof. Examples thereof include a preliminary heating unit for performing the discharge and a preliminary discharge unit for performing discharge different from the recording.

Regarding the type or number of recording heads to be mounted, for example, only one is provided corresponding to a single color ink, or a plurality of inks having different recording colors and densities are supported. A plurality of pieces may be provided. That is, for example, the recording mode of the recording apparatus is not limited to the recording mode of only the mainstream color such as black, but it may be either the recording head is integrally formed or a plurality of combinations may be used. The present invention is also extremely effective for an apparatus provided with at least one of full-color recording modes by color mixing.

In addition, in the above-described embodiments of the present invention, the ink is described as a liquid, but an ink that solidifies at room temperature or lower and that softens or liquefies at room temperature may be used. Or, in the inkjet system, it is common to control the temperature of the ink itself within the range of 30 ° C. or higher and 70 ° C. or lower to control the temperature so that the viscosity of the ink is within the stable ejection range. Sometimes, a liquid ink may be used. In addition, the temperature rise due to thermal energy is positively prevented by using it as the energy of the state change from the solid state of the ink to the liquid state, or in order to prevent the evaporation of the ink, it is solidified and heated in the standing state. You may use the ink liquefied by. In any case, by applying heat energy such as ink that is liquefied by applying heat energy according to the recording signal and liquid ink is ejected or that begins to solidify when it reaches the recording medium. The present invention can be applied to the case where an ink having a property of being liquefied for the first time is used. In this case, the ink is
JP-A-54-56847 or JP-A-60-7
As described in Japanese Patent No. 1260, it may be configured to face the electrothermal converter in a state of being held as a liquid or a solid in the concave portion or the through hole of the porous sheet. In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

In addition, as the form of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention, other than the one used as an image output terminal of information processing equipment such as a computer, a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like, and a facsimile apparatus having a transmitting / receiving function can be used. It may be a form or the like.

[0176]

By implementing the present invention, the effects listed below can be obtained.

1) According to the present invention, two types of image forming means, that is, a monochrome image for electrophotographic recording and a color image for inkjet printing, are provided in the same apparatus, so that two units, a monochrome copying machine and a color copying machine are provided. The space for one unit is enough to save space.

2) Further, by providing means for outputting the output images from the respective image forming means to the same copy sheet and means for designating the output position and the input position of the image by the respective image forming means, various means can be provided. Editing work can be performed, and an optimum image forming unit can be selected and output for each set area for the document image.

3) A means for outputting the output images from the respective image forming means on the same copy sheet and a color separation means for discriminating the black and white image portion and the color image portion of the original image area are provided, and the black and white characters of the original image are provided. By forming an image on a copy image by an electrophotographic method and forming an image on a color image area by an inkjet method, it is possible to select and output an optimum image forming unit for a document image.

4) Further, means for outputting the output images from the respective image forming means on the same copy sheet, first area discriminating means for separating the character portion and the halftone image portion of the original image into image areas, and the original A second area discriminating means for color-separating the black and white image portion and the color image portion of the image;
By forming an image in the electrophotographic system only in the area determined to be a character portion and a black and white image portion by the area determining means, and forming an image in the other area by the inkjet method, the optimum image forming means for the original image is formed. You can select and output.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a document scanning unit of the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing an ink jet recording unit in the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a scanning method of a CCD reading unit in the present embodiment.

5 is a timing diagram of the functional blocks shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram in the present embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of this embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a color separation processing unit according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the third embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a color separation processing unit according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an area discrimination processing unit in the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the operation of the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a region discrimination processing unit in the sixth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 102a Controller section 102b Power switch 102c Original exposure lamp 102d Imaging lens 102f Optical system drive motor 111 Photosensitive drum 112 Registration roller 113 Developing unit 115 Transfer charger 116 Separation charger 117 Exposure lamp 118 Cleaner device 119 Fixer 120 Discharge roller 1 124 Paper ejection tray 130 Upper cassette 131 Lower cassette 132 3rd cassette 133 4th cassette 134 Positioning roller 135 Upper feeding roller 136 Lower feeding roller 137 3rd feeding roller 138 4th feeding roller 139 Conveying Roller 1 140 Conveying roller 2 141 Conveying roller 3 142 Conveying roller 4 143 CCD image reading unit 144 BJ head 145 Flapper 146 to 148 BJ path conveying roller 149 B Path for discharge roller 150 discharge outlet switching flapper 151 ejection tray 2

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A first image forming unit that scans a document and outputs an image by an electrophotographic system; a second image forming unit that scans a document and outputs an image by an inkjet system; An output control unit that outputs the image by the second image forming unit to the same copy sheet, and an image output by the first and second image forming units when the output control unit is operated to output the image. An image forming apparatus comprising: an output image position designating unit that designates each output position. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising input image position designating means for designating image positions on a document for image output by the first and second image forming means. Image forming apparatus. 3. A first image forming unit that scans a document and outputs an image by an electrophotographic system; and a document is scanned and outputs an image by an inkjet system by analog / digital converted first digital image information. Second image forming means, third image forming means for forming an image based on second digital image information input from outside the apparatus, and image formation from a document image by the first and second image forming means. Output control means for outputting the first and second images and the third image formed from the second digital image information by the third image forming means onto the same copy sheet; and the output control An image forming apparatus comprising: an output image position designating unit that designates an output position of each of the first, second and third images when the unit is operated to output an image. 4. The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising designating respective image positions on a document corresponding to the images output as the first and second images, and corresponding to the images output as the third image. An image forming apparatus, comprising: input image position specifying means for specifying an image position on the second digital image information. 5. A first image forming unit that scans an original and outputs an image by an electrophotographic system; a second image forming unit that scans an original and outputs an image by an inkjet system; Output control means for outputting the image by the second image forming means on the same copy sheet, color separation means for area-determining the black-and-white image portion and the color image portion of the original image, and the area determined by the color separation means. According to the first
And an selecting unit for selecting one of the second image forming unit and outputting an image. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein, of the areas determined by the color separation unit, an area determined to be a black and white image portion is image-formed by the first image forming unit and is determined to be a color image portion. An image forming apparatus, wherein an image is formed on the area by the second image forming unit. 7. The apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising means for inputting digital image information from the outside of the apparatus, an image formed by the digital image information input from outside the apparatus, and an image formed by the original image. And a means for composite output on the same copy sheet, and of the areas discriminated by the color separation means, only the area discriminated as a black and white image portion is image-formed by the first image forming means, and the color discrimination is carried out. An image forming apparatus, wherein the second image forming means forms an image on an area discriminated as a color image portion by means or a digital image information portion inputted from outside the apparatus. 8. A first image forming unit that scans an original and outputs an image by an electrophotographic method; a second image forming unit that scans an original and outputs an image by an inkjet method; Output control means for outputting the image by the second image forming means to the same copy sheet, first area discriminating means for separating the character portion and halftone image portion of the original image into image areas, and a monochrome image of the original image Second for color separation between image part and color image part
Area determining means, and selecting means for selecting one of the first and second image forming means to form an image according to the area determined by the first and second area determining means. An image forming apparatus characterized by the above. 9. The first image according to claim 8, wherein only the area determined to be a character portion by the first area determination means and the monochrome image portion determined by the second area determination means. An image forming apparatus, wherein an image is formed by the forming means, and the other area is formed by the second image forming means. 10. The device according to claim 8, further comprising means for inputting digital image information from the outside of the apparatus, an image formed by the digital image information input from outside the apparatus, and an image formed by the original image. And a unit for performing composite output on the same copy sheet, wherein only the area determined to be the character portion by the first area determination unit and the monochrome image section determined by the second area determination unit An area formed by the first image forming means and judged as the halftone image area by the first area judging means, or an area judged as the color image portion by the second area judging means, or An image forming apparatus, wherein the second image forming unit forms an image of a digital image information portion input from outside the apparatus.