JPH0641420Y2 - Portable reader - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial field of application] The present invention relates to a small portable reading device for reading images such as characters and images.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, an image reading apparatus has been used as an image scanner used integrally with a personal computer or the like as a peripheral device such as a copying machine, a facsimile or the like, or a personal computer, but most of these apparatuses are: It is a method in which a read document is placed above the reading unit and operated to read it, or a method in which the read document is read while being sent to a fixed reading unit.

However, in the conventional image reading apparatus, it is not possible to image-read only a part of the read original, and it is necessary to print the paper after reading the entire original, cut and paste the necessary part of the paper, and read it again. was there. Further, the conventional image reading apparatus is large in size and cannot be carried.

In order to solve this, recently, a portable image reading device such as a portable small copying machine or a small image scanner has been proposed.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, these portable image reading devices have a problem that the read state of the read image information is not known until the read image information is recorded. That is, there is a defect such as a reading error due to an error in the actual reading range, contrast, etc. or waste of recording paper due to this.

[Object of the Invention] The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object thereof is to provide a small-sized portable reading device without reading errors.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the portable reading device of the present invention has a reading unit for reading information such as characters and images written on a paper sheet, and a reading unit for reading the information. A portable reading device capable of being driven by a battery, which includes a storage unit for storing information stored in the housing, and is provided on the upper surface of the housing so as to be substantially parallel to the reading unit. A display that displays scanned characters / images, etc., and a density adjustment unit that is provided near the display and sets the density determination conditions for the characters / images from the scanning unit, and the characters / images displayed on the display. While observing, the storage unit stores the information such as characters and images read by the reading unit in the recording unit based on the density determination condition adjusted by the density adjustment unit, and the information stored in the storage unit is displayed on the display. It And a control unit for controlling the control.

The storage unit may be composed of an internal memory provided in the body of the portable reading device and a floppy disk removable from the device body.

[Operation] In the portable reading device of the present invention having the above configuration,
Information such as characters and images read by the reading unit is displayed on the display on the upper surface of the housing so that the display state is in the same direction as the reading state based on the currently set light / dark discrimination condition. . Then, the user adjusts the lightness / darkness discrimination condition by the lightness / darkness adjusting section provided near the display so that the lightness / darkness of the display is in a desired state while observing the displayed contents. In addition, the control unit stores the information such as characters and images read by the reading unit in the storage unit based on the newly adjusted light / dark discrimination condition, and displays the information stored in the storage unit on the display. Let

[Embodiment] An embodiment of a portable reading device embodying the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portable reading device. Inside a main body 1 of the image reading device, an image of a document 9 facing an image reading surface (not shown) arranged on a bottom surface is formed by a lens 3. A CCD image sensor 2 is provided for reading via the. Further, on the upper surface of the main body 1, a liquid crystal display 6 having a display screen substantially parallel to the image reading surface of the bottom surface and having the same longitudinal direction is arranged so that the user can easily see the screen during the reading operation. Has been done. The liquid crystal display 6 constantly displays the image data input by the CCD image sensor 2 in a monitor of substantially the same size.

Further, on the upper surface of the main body 1, adjacent to the liquid crystal display 6, there is provided an input contrast adjusting switch 7 which is a shade adjusting portion of the present invention.

The CCD image sensor 2 is provided on the upper side surface of the main body 1.
A floppy disk drive 4 for storing the image data input by the above is stored in the floppy disk 5. The floppy disk 5 for storing image data is preferably 3.5 inches in order to downsize the apparatus.

Further, an operation panel 8 having various operation parts such as an operation part to be operated when starting image reading and an operation part to execute storage to the floppy disk 5 is arranged on the upper front surface of the main body 1 of the image reading device. There is.

Further, the image reading device is controlled by a control device as shown in FIG. 2, and a control circuit as a control unit of the present invention.
12, a CCD circuit 10, a binarization circuit 11, a memory unit 13,
It is composed of the operation panel 8, an input contrast adjusting section 14, and a monitor display control section 15. Then, the control circuit 12 includes a CCD circuit 10 and a memory unit 1 via the binarization circuit 11.
3, an operation panel 8, an input contrast adjusting unit 14, a monitor display control unit 15 are connected, and a printer 16 and a personal computer 17 can be connected via an interface 18.

The CCD circuit 10 is a document 9 input from the CCD image sensor 2.
Is to electrically output the contents of the binarization circuit 11
Is a binary encoding of the output of the CCD circuit 10.
The memory unit 13 uses a ROM 19 storing a program for controlling the entire apparatus, a RAM 20 temporarily storing image data input via the binarization circuit 11, and a floppy disk drive 4. And a floppy disk 5 for storing image data.

The input contrast adjusting section 14 controls the density of the encoded image data based on the density condition adjusted and set by the input contrast adjusting switch 7. Then, the monitor display controller 15 includes the input contrast adjuster 14
The image data whose density is controlled by the liquid crystal display 6
For display.

Further, the input data (read data) can specify the address of the memory unit 13 by the operation panel 8 and output not only in the storage order but also by freely calling and outputting the necessary part as needed.

In this image reading device, the memory capacity of the floppy disk 5 for storing image data becomes a problem. 3.5-inch floppy disk 5 has a memory capacity of 2 Mbytes and CCD image sensor 2 has a resolution of dot / mm
And the main scanning width for reading is 100 mm, one original 9 having an area of 100 mm × 100 mm can be placed on one floppy disk 5.
It is possible to store 25 sheets. As for the power source, the floppy disk drive 4 consumes a relatively large amount of power but the others are small, so that it can be driven by a battery, and a rechargeable type is also conceivable. In addition, the AC adapter can be used.

Next, the operation of the image reading apparatus thus configured will be described with reference to FIG.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, an image reading surface (not shown) arranged on the bottom surface of the main body 1 of the image reading apparatus is pressed against a document 9 to be input placed on a desk or the like. When the user operates the operation section of the operation panel 8, the LED array of the light source (not shown) is turned on to illuminate the original document 9,
The reflected light is condensed by the lens 3 and read by the CCD image sensor 2.

At this time, the user manually presses the main body 1 of the image reading apparatus downward to bring the original 9 and the image reading surface of the main body 1 into contact with each other, and shift the reading in the direction of the arrow in FIG. Take action.

Since the image data read in this way is constantly displayed on the liquid crystal display 6 on the upper surface of the main body 1 as a monitor,
Since the user can always check the read image from above, the input level (shading level) is adjusted by the adjacent input contrast adjustment switch 7 as necessary.

Next, when the user operates the operation unit of the operation panel 8, the read or input image data is stored in the floppy disk 5 by the floppy disk drive 4. Further, the contents of the floppy disk 5 can be erased by operating the operation panel 8.

The image data stored in the floppy disk 5 in this way is enlarged or reduced if necessary later, and is output to the printer 16 or the personal computer 17 via the interface 18 as shown in FIG.

As described above, by using the present image reading apparatus, the user can freely carry it to any place such as a library, and the portion that the user thinks is necessary can be properly viewed without fail while watching the liquid crystal display 6 for the monitor. The image data can be surely stored in various shades and the image data stored later can be output to a printer or the like. Therefore,
The image reading apparatus can be widely used as a peripheral device of a personal computer instead of a copying machine.

The invention is not limited to the above embodiment,
For example, it is possible to provide a rotatable roller or the like on the surface of the main body 1 of the image reading apparatus, which is in contact with the original document 9, that is, the bottom surface, and to provide a sensor for speed detection and an encoder that rotates via the roller or the like. By doing so, it is possible to keep the reading speed of the image information such as characters and images constant, eliminate the uneven reading speed when reading manually, and further improve the reliability of the image reading apparatus.

Further, it goes without saying that a contact type image sensor can be used as the reading element, a fluorescent lamp can be used as the light source, and a display method such as plasma or LED can be used for the display. It is of course possible to have an interface that enables output to etc. and also have an editing function.

[Advantages of the Invention] As described above, the portable reading device of the present invention makes it very easy for the user to read the read data displayed on the display during the reading operation, and the density adjusting unit provided near the display. Since the density of the image data can be adjusted while watching the read data displayed on the display, the image data of the original can be stored in the density desired by the user. As a result, it can be freely carried to any place, and characters and images can be reliably read and stored without failure at any time, and only necessary parts can be output later.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment embodying the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control device of the embodiment. In the figure, 1 is a main body, 2 is a CCD image sensor, 3 is a lens, 4 is a floppy disk drive, 5 is a floppy disk, 6 is a liquid crystal display, 7 is an input contrast adjustment switch, 8 is an operation panel, 9 is an original, and 12 Is a control circuit, 13 is a memory section, 14 is an input contrast adjustment section, and 15 is
Is a monitor display control unit, and 20 is a RAM.

Claims (2)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A battery-powerable portable device comprising a reading unit for reading information such as characters and images written on a sheet of paper and the like, and a storage unit for storing information read by the reading unit inside a housing. In the reading device for use, a display provided on the upper surface of the housing so as to be substantially parallel to the reading unit and displaying characters / images read by the reading unit, and provided in the vicinity of the display, Based on the lightness / darkness adjustment condition adjusted by the lightness / darkness adjustment unit while observing the lightness / lightness adjustment unit that sets the lightness / darkness determination condition for the character / image or the like from the reading unit, and the character / image displayed on the display. A control unit for storing information such as characters and images read by the reading unit in the storage unit and displaying the information stored in the storage unit on a display. Portable reading device. 2. The portable reading device according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit comprises an internal memory and a floppy disk detachable from the main body of the device.